The Lumberjack August 23, 2018

WHAT’S ALL THE HUBBUB? A SPECIAL WELCOME WEEK ISSUE

T H E L U M BE R JACK

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018

Online at JackCentral.org

From the Editor

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elcome back, Jacks!

Get involved.

Those were some of the best words of advice that were spoken to me when I was starting my freshman year at NAU. Since then, I have been involved.

At first it was writing for The Lumberjack and competing on the Logging Sports Team — like literal lumberjacks. I have since abandoned the logging world to pursue a career in journalism. We have worked hard over the past three years to help make The Lumberjack and jackcentral.org a powerful journalistic engine that covers campus, student life and the greater Flagstaff community.

We have tried new ideas semester after semester at The Lumberjack. We have new staff members every term, and we even have different curriculum and standards set by ourselves and faculty advisers. But one thing has not changed in my time at this publication: the dedication and pride that our reporters, photographers and CONOR editors put into their work and the unwavering commitment from all of the student SWEETMAN journalists to push for the truth and demand transparency.

DIRECTOR OF As we move forward into this semester we want to recommit to The Lumberjack’s DIGITAL CONTENT 100-year tradition of honest and fair reporting. We at The Lumberjack are also continuing to work on the stories that we’ve brought to you in the past.

As the Director of Digital Content, I also want to make the commitment to you that our online presence will be bolstered.

At the end of the day, we are a student-run news publication. Everything from the writing to the editing to the photos and videos are all done by students. Faculty give some guidance but almost all day-to-day operations are handled by students. We would love to hear your feedback and to help us investigate new ideas.

And to all of you starting your first year away from home, I urge you to get involved and participate. Don’t get hung up on the little things that won’t matter two months down the road, be there for those you care about and, most importantly, have fun.

Welcome and welcome back to NAU, Lumberjacks.

Be smart. Be safe.

“Trail design is art ... It’s like you’re taking people on a journey when you’re designing a trail” - recreation specialist Kevin Letho, 2018

Thank you for reading.

Brett Newcomer swings an ax at the roots of a downed tree, hopefully avoiding the boulder located directly in his strike zone. This tree had been there for a long time but for the new trail to have ample space, the tree must be removed. Sean Cadigan | The Lumberjack

THE LUMBERJACK VOL. 106 ISSUE 18

Phone: (928) 523-4921 Fax: (928) 523-9313 Lumberjack@nau.edu P.O. Box 6000 Flagstaff, AZ 86011

On the cover The Hub Flagstaff opened Aug. 21. The building will affect many businesses in downtown Flagstaff, Aug 18. Shannon Ainsley Cowan | The Lumberjack

Summer Editorial Board and Staff Adviser Scott Buffon

Adviser Nick Rabe

Sales Manager Marsha Simon

Editor-in-Chief Matthew Strissel

Managing Editor Ariel Cianfarano

Web Chief Conor Sweetman

News Editor Owen Sexton

Features Editor MaryAnn Witt

Culture Editor Ashley Besing

Op-Ed Editor Peggy Packer

Director of Photography Shannon Cowan

Sports Editor Kade Gilliss

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Corrections & Clarifications The Lumberjack is committed to factual correctness and accuracy. If you find an error in our publication, please email Matthew Strissel at mbs263@nau.edu.

PoliceBeat July 23 At 2:05 a.m., a nonstudent was arrested near the Cline Library by an NAUPD officer for possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a previous warrant. The subject was booked into Coconino County Detention Facility (CCDF).

At 1:07 p.m., a student called to report a cat stuck in a tree outside of Gabaldon Hall.

Flagstaff Fire Department (FFD) and NAUPD responded. The cat was safely rescued from the tree with all nine lives still intact.

At 8:47 p.m., an NAUPD officer reported a stray dog near the corner of San Francisco Street and Franklin Avenue.

The dog ran away, leaving campus.

July 24 At 8:30 p.m., An NAUPD officer initiated a traffic stop at the corner of Beaver Street and Franklin Avenue. The officer cited and released a student for driving on a suspended license with no proof of insurance.

July 25 At 12:10 a.m., a nonstudent reported loud singing near the Fieldhouse. No one was in the area upon NAUPD’s arrival.

Compiled by Sean Cadigan

July 30 At 2:55 p.m., a staff member called to report a subject urinating outside the Gammage Building. Three non-students were interviewed by an NAUPD officer and proceeded to leave the area.

Aug. 1 At 8:09 p.m., at the corner of Beulah Boulevard and Woodlands Village Boulevard, an NAUPD officer assisted FPD with a traffic stop where a foot pursuit occurred.

No other information was provided.

Aug. 2 At 5:51 p.m., a subject called to report criminal damage to a window of the Blome Building. An NAUPD officer contacted a suspected non-student and found that he had been injured by broken glass. FPD, FFD and Guardian Medical Transport (GMT) responded and the suspect was transferred to FMC for medical treatment. The suspect was later cited and released for criminal damage and trespassing.

Aug. 4 At 11:23 a.m., a subject reported loud music in the area of the Skydome practice fields.

An NAUPD officer responded and determined the music was reasonable for the time of day.

At 7:21 p.m., an NAUPD officer was waved down and Aug. 6 informed of an injured bird At 3:01 p.m., a staff near the Cline Library. The member called to report an bird was taken to the Coconino intoxicated subject laying on Humane Association. the ground near the corner of Beaver Street Transit Way July 29 and University Avenue. An At 12:49 p.m., staff in NAUPD officer responded, McConnell Hall reported interviewed the non-student a squirrel in the building. and provided a ride to a local NAUPD officers responded shelter. but were unable to locate the rodent.

At 9:08 p.m., an NAUPD officer questioned a subject regarding a prior case. The

non-student was then booked into CCDF for the charges of criminal damage, first-degree trespassing, possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and stolen property.

Aug. 7 At 10:21 a.m., an NAUPD officer assisted in the capturing of a loose dog near the corner of Franklin Avenue and Leroux Street. No criminal activity was witnessed and the dog was safely returned to the owner.

Aug. 10 At 12:19 a.m., an alarm was triggered at Tinsley Hall.

An NAUPD officer responded and upon arrival learned the alarm had been set off by burned food.

Aug. 11 At 3:32 p.m., a staff member called to report a group of skateboarders possibly causing damage to a construction site. An NAUPD officer responded but the skateboarders were gone upon arrival.

At 3:49 p.m., near the corner of Beaver Street and Butler Avenue, an NAUPD officer reported assisting a non-student that had been observed inhaling aerosols and passing out. FFD and GMT responded but the non-student refused medical transport and was escorted off campus.

Aug. 13 At 12:53 p.m., an NAUPD officer initiated a traffic stop at the corner of Pine Knoll Drive and McConnell Drive. A non-student was booked into CCDF for one count of driving on a suspended license, two counts of theft and multiple traffic violations.

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 3

NEWS

Amid tensions, Hub residents move in Conor Sweetman

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early two years since Hub Flagstaff got the approval of the Flagstaff City Council, the building is finished and students have moved in. It has left long-time residents, businesses and other students in the Southside neighborhood with mixed reactions.

This issue of Flagstaff’s latest student-housing complex is nothing new either. When the plan was brought to council in 2016, it was met with skepticism and vocal opposition.

Despite the initial opposition some business owners had when the Hub was being proposed and zoned, they are now trying to take things in stride and make do with what they have. The Toasted Owl Cafe owner Cecily Maniaci said she is trying to be positive in regards to Hub Flagstaff.

“It is what it is, I can’t do anything about it,” said Maniaci. “I hope it’s good for us.”

Maniaci said her customer base ranges from 4-years-old to 70-years-old, and she hopes the students living at Hub Flagstaff embrace the Toasted Owl. Maniaci also said that growth like this is “always an unknown,” in regards to how it will affect business.

“Anytime there’s growth, it’s a struggle,” Maniaci said.

Not everyone is as optimistic as those at The Toasted Owl. Custom Roofing employee Justin Hill said while it’s bad now, it should get better.

Hill has worked closely with other studenthousing complexes like Fremont Station and The Standard.

“Give it time and [the parking will] straighten itself out,” said Hill.

According to an Arizona Daily Sun article, NAU has bought the nearby Granny’s Closet property that was on the market since November 2016. The university’s intentions with the property are currently unknown.

One of the repeated complaints was the number of parking spaces the Hub provided to its potential 664 residents. Hub Flagstaff’s parking garage has less parking spaces than residents.

Flagstaff police were present throughout the move-in days for the Hub to direct traffic and ensure there were no traffic issues. Despite initial concerns from locals, the Hub’s move-in went smoothly and few if any issues arose as a result.

Move-in was staggered heavily throughout the day to mitigate traffic and parking was

Hub Flagstaff is finished and ready to welcome new residents, Aug. 21. It has been nearly two years since Hub Flagstaff received approval.

Shannon Ainsley Cowan | The Lumberjack

blocked off on part of Phoenix Avenue in front of the Hub. Developers have fought long and hard to see this project completed.

Several of the meetings with developers and City Council were standing room only as dozens of residents from Flagstaff crowded the chambers to voice their discontent with the project. Despite the numerous hurdles that faced the project, the Hub cleared them all and construction went ahead through 2017.

The final touches and appliance installations were completed the week before students were scheduled to move in.

The reason for the strong outcry on Hub Flagstaff is partly due to the location of the towering structure. It is situated on, what three

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years ago, was an underused parcel of land between Milton Road, Mike’s Pike Street and Phoenix Avenue. Another issue of concern was the increased traffic the Hub would bring in an already regularly congested area of Milton Road.

Even with the Hub being the latest studenthousing project in Flagstaff, it is important to note that while the Hub and similar dorm-style apartments are marketed to students, they are not exclusively for students. The Fair Housing act of 1968 prohibits discrimination based on someone’s class when buying or renting a dwelling.

NAU’s growth has, in part, led to the increase of housing complexes created and marketed to students. While NAU can house up to 50 percent of students on campus, that still

leaves approximately 11,000 students to find off-campus housing for the Fall 2018 semester.

A year ago, NAU had 22,740 students enrolled in classes at NAU’s mountain campus alone.

System wide, the number was just over 31,000 students.

Last year Fremont Station opened. While not exclusively for students, it is marketed to them. At the same time, NAU opened SkyView on campus. There are still two outstanding student-housing projects in Flagstaff: The Standard and Mill Town.

The Standard is currently under construction off of Route 66 across from Galaxy Diner, and Mill Town recently cleared its own obstacles in City Council and construction is likely to start by the end of the year.

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 5

NEWS

A breakdown of what your fees do Ashley Besing

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rom tuition, parking passes and housing, students can pay thousands of dollars every year to attend college. However, NAU has a series of additional fees to keep the campus running and to provide services for students.

Read the fee breakdown below to find out where the fees are going and how to get the most out of what you’re paying for. After all, you’re paying anywhere from $513 to $662 total in fees every semester.

The highest out of the eight fees, the Health and Recreation Fee goes towards various facilities and services around campus. From group-fitness classes, mental health services and an Olympic-sized swimming pool, this fee supports healthy lifestyle choices for NAU students.

The Green Fee, introduced in 2010, was made to “promote student participation in and provide funding for projects that reduce NAU’s negative impact on the environment and create a culture of sustainability,” according to the NAU website.

Since its inception, it has funded around 50 projects, such as installing LED lighting around campus and supporting the annual NAU Earth Week.

The Arizona Legislature House passed Bill 2144 in 1989, creating the Financial Aid Trust Fee, which requires all students to pay a fee to support other students in need. The cost of the fee varies on how many credits a student is enrolled in.

The Associated Students of Northern Arizona University, (ASNAU) is a program on campus that provides various events and services, like extended library hours, guest speakers and funding student organizations. The ASNAU Fee supports ASNAU’s operational budget.

The Information Technology Fee supports the technological needs of students by funding a myriad of technologies around campus. Like

Illustration By Katie Dobrydney

the Financial Aid Trust fee, the cost of this fee varies depending on how many credits a student is enrolled in.

Newly added in Fall 2018, the Athletics Fee supports athletics on campus, funding facilities, services and various operations.

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The Student Activity Fee goes toward various programs and activities on campus, like providing free admission to the Wall Aquatic Center and supporting the SafeRide program, a service that shuttles students from downtown Flagstaff to

the NAU campus Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

The Transportation Fee supports everything transportation related on campus, this includes shuttle services, bike registration and signs for bike paths. However, not every student

needs to pay this fee.

Students who purchase a parking permit will be reimbursed the $75 charge, and students meeting certain requirements can fill out a Transportation Fee waiver form to be exempted from the fee.

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 7

NEWS

Photo courtesy of Paul Deasy

Photo courtesy of Regina Salas

Photo courtesy of Alex Martinez

Who’s running for City Council? Get to know the candidates Owen Sexton

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his upcoming November residents of Flagstaff will choose three new city council members out of six candidates for three upcoming vacancies.

The Lumberjack interviewed all six candidates and discussed their reasons for running, issues they want to tackle, their thoughts on the current city council and why they think they are the best choice to serve NAU students and Flagstaff voters.

Paul Deasy Paul Deasy currently works for NAU as a policy analyst who specializes in government spending efficiency. He uses statistics to advise executives on how to spend tax dollars in order to improve student performance. Having been raised in Flagstaff, he continues to live in the city while raising his three children with his wife. And now, he hopes to serve on the city council.

Though he does see flaws in the current council, he believes they have done better than previous councils.

“I think they’re doing a lot better at representing the peoples’ interests,” said Deasy. “It’s certainly not perfect by any means but it’s a step in the right direction.”

Deasy helped the city council when restructuring Flagstaff’s minimum-wage laws. He proposed a middle ground with a solution that ultimately prevented an extreme minimum wage increase.

He believes there have been flaws in the council’s actions.

He cited their recent approval of a prison labor contract as an example, which he opposed due to human rights violations within the Arizona Department of Corrections.

“I pulled a lot of evidence, a lot of legal cases, and sent it to

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[city council] and said, ‘look, we shouldn’t be doing business with somebody who has, for example, one medical violation for every two prison inmates every single year,’” Deasy said.

Despite his opposition, city council approved the contract.

He believes this was a logical inconsistency because two weeks before that vote he saw city council have a conversation about no longer investing in any private company involved with the border wall due to it being inhumane in their eyes.

Regina Salas Out of all of the candidates running for city council this year, Regina Salas is the only woman. She came to Flagstaff in 2006 after emigrating from the Philippines and is the mother of two sons, one currently serving in the United States Army while the other attends Flagstaff High School.

Before immigrating to the United States, she spent her career in public service to her local Philippine government and she is seeking to bring that experience to Flagstaff’s City Council.

When it comes to the current council, she is pleased with their performance overall, saying they have done their best.

She brought up the council goals for 2017-2019 that Mayor Coral Evans and city council set for themselves, but said that it was clear that city council could not do everything.

“They have done their best,” said Salas. “Putting forward those goals and trying to achieve those goals, however, they can only do so much. Recently they have faced controversies with recent developments such as Mill Town. It’s a policy issue.”

From what she has seen, such developments are being approved because they are within accordance with the regional plan and in compliance with building codes. To oppose these developments would have had legal repercussions for city council,

resulting in a lawsuit against the city by the developers according to Salas.

There are other policy issues Salas seeks to solve as well. She wants to create an actual policy for waste and recycling collections.

“I was gathering signatures and people were asking me to look into this issue, because our landfill is overflowing. We have to figure out how to manage that,” Salas said.

Alex Martinez Alex Martinez believes he can use his experience to serve on city council. He is a retired educator and reserve naval officer who currently sits on Flagstaff’s Planning and Zoning Commission, served in the armed forces and taught in a variety of places including Alaska.

Martinez is running because he believes the council is fractured.

“They have lost track of what their job is. Their job is to provide services to the city, and to look out for our health, welfare and safety,” said Martinez. “To make sure everything is running right.”

One issue he cited was Flagstaff’s water department not having a back-up system for pumping water. According to Martinez, if the city’s power grid fails Flagstaff has about a twoand-a-half-day supply of water.

Forest growth is also a concern for him. With the increased risk of wildfires public safety concerns him.

“From Florida all the way to California, things are burning down. I think about it every time I look out my window. If that ever happens in this city there might be a tragedy, because there are only a couple of ways out of here,” Martinez said.

Economic development is also a key issue he feels the current

NEWS

Photo courtesy of Adam Shimoni

Photo courtesy of Austin Aslan

council has not done well on.

“I’ve lived here going on 19 years now and one of my biggest concerns is economic development,” Martinez said. “We have a lot of people who graduate here and were born and raised here in Flagstaff, and they look around here for work, but they don’t have opportunity for careers.”

Martinez wants to bring more companies similar to W.L. Gore and Purina to Flagstaff, which offer high-paying positions with benefits even to non-college graduates.

stop putting students in the middle of this all. That’s not fair to the students. I already hear community members talking bad about students and the university.”

Adam Shimoni Having lost his previous bid to get on the council in 2016, Shimoni is once again throwing his hat in the ring to get on council. A heavily involved community organizer, he works with nonprofits and organizations like Friends of Flagstaff’s Future, and if elected to the council, seeks to bring more community involvement to the local government.

Shimoni believes the current council has done a good job of listening to the community when it comes to their needs and concerns, however just listening isn’t enough in his opinion.

“I feel as though past councils weren’t listening to us as we would come forward and speak about our needs and issues.

They would just brush us off, and didn’t think the government should’ve intervened in the issues we were bringing forward,” said Shimoni. “They weren’t taking us seriously.”

He feels the current council has failed in their negotiations with NAU about the developments that have been occurring in Flagstaff related to the university’s growth.

With NAU growing rapidly, he feels as though there has been a lack of good planning when it comes to the city facilitating that growth.

“With our lack of ability to expand a lot as a town, we don’t have a lot of land to develop. It’s tough to be putting up all these student-housing developments,” Shimoni said. “There needs to be more integration with workforce and residential housing. NAU needs to understand our concerns as a city and take action and

Austin Aslan Born and raised in Prescott, Arizona, Aslan has always felt an attachment to the Flagstaff area and even once declined a higherpaying job in Iowa to remain in Flagstaff where he lives with his wife and children. An avid outdoorsman, he has even completed the Arizona Trail — hiking the entire state from the border of Mexico to the border of Utah.

He is a published author who believes that even his experience in getting published helped him gain tenacity and persistence, which he believes is needed on city council. Aslan is also a biologist.

“With a master’s in conservation biology, I highly value evidence-based practices in policy making,” said Aslan. “And that will certainly guide my approach to council.”

As for his thoughts on the current council, he gives them a passing grade.

“They’re doing a good job, in good faith, tackling very complex issues that don’t have black-and-white solutions,” Aslan said. “I think we need to be careful with how we manage growth in the coming decades, but council has a limited say in how to shape development.”

He believes the council itself has been to blame in the past for only having limited say. In his view, past councils didn’t act proactively enough to capitalize on new innovations or have compromised the city’s character with certain decisions.

Aslan, however, was impressed by the council’s handling of Flagstaff’s Watershed Protection Act. “There are challenges with implementation, but I’m so grateful that Flag is the kind of community with the type of appetite to address long-term issues starting now, and this project is a fine example of that spirit of building consensus and taking action,” Aslan said.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Lavin

Dennis Lavin A retired certified public accountant (CPA) and business executive, Dennis Lavin resides in Flagstaff with his wife and enjoys the art scene. His business experience helped him develop skills in balancing budgets, financial reporting and creating strategies for all situations.

Lavin is also familiar with the regulatory process and hopes to bring these along with many other skills to city council. Overall, he is pleased with the current council’s performance.

“Our city leaders have provided for a solid financial base in order to deliver essential city services,” said Lavin. “The city is well run and I am proud to live here.”

However, he does take issue with the high number of nonbinding resolutions the council passes. Lavin believes the money spent on those could be spent on other things.

“I am not in favor of non-binding resolutions. The costs associated with such matters could be allocated to our city employees’ compensation,” Lavin said.

Communication is another area he seeks to improve for the council. While collecting signatures to get on the ballot he said that most locals told him they wanted enhanced messaging and up-to-date information whenever the next major student-housing project is proposed.

Lavin sees many issues facing Flagstaff in the future, including jobs, public safety, housing, infrastructure and traffic.

Whatever the issue may be, he hopes to seek a solution by collaborating not only with others in the council but other government, educational, community and business partners.

Input from residents will also be sought out by him.

“In addition, listening to what our residents have to say about quality of life issues,” Lavin said.

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 9

NEWS

Move in for The Standard is expected to be fall 2019. Construction is well underway, Aug 18. Shannon Ainsley Cowan | The Lumberjack

The Standard on schedule for completion in 2019 Owen Sexton

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hile The Standard’s website advertises that leasing begins in fall 2018, students should not expect to be able to move in until fall 2019. The Standard is a new student-housing complex being constructed on West Route 66.

Georgia-based real estate investment firm Landmark Properties owns The Standard and specializes in building luxury-student apartments around the nation.

Spokesperson for Landmark Properties Cody Nichelson offered a rough timeline for completion in an Aug. 15, 2018 emailed statement.

“Pre-leasing will begin in early fall 2018,” said Nichelson. “Leases will start during the

month of August 2019, prior to the start of NAU’s Fall 2019 semester.”

It is still unknown how much the units will cost to rent.

“We are still in the process of finalizing monthly rates. They will be shared with interested leaseholders prior to the start of preleasing,” Nichelson said.

No solid date for completion was given either, although with the above average monsoon rainfall Flagstaff is experiencing right now combined with the upcoming winter, it is possible construction might be delayed.

Nichelson still expects The Standard to be completed on time for the Fall 2019 semester.

The new student-apartment complex has already had its fair share of controversy in the past.

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Threats of lawsuits by the developers against city council came in 2016 over required changes the council asked the developers, which included roadway safety improvements. Also the recent closure of the Arrowhead Village trailer park and eviction of its tenants stirred up controversy earlier this year.

Despite the controversy, construction cranes now tower over the site as the apartment buildings and other associated structures rise out of the ground. And as with all construction, it comes with its fair share of noise.

Millpond Village resident Omar Cruz lives in the neighborhood directly behind the construction site on West Kaibab Lane. He, along with many other residents, are not happy with the construction going on right next to their neighborhood.

“They start early in the morning and are loud,” said Cruz. “It goes on all day.”

On The Standard’s website, they list their leasing office will be located on 30 S. San Francisco St. right next to The Tinderbox.

That location, formerly a T-shirt shop, is still empty but Tinderbox owner Kevin Heinonen confirmed that Landmark Properties is indeed opening a leasing office at that location for The Standard.

“We expect them to be open next month,” said Heinonen. “They have already brought a few things into the back to begin setting up.”

While students now have an idea of when The Standard will be completed, they will still have to wait to find out how much they will be paying for rooms.

COMIC SPOT

XKCD.com/2018

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 11

OPINION-EDITORIAL

Not just a sex writer

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ast fall, I started writing for PillowTalk. For almost an entire year prior, the idea of a sex column was in the works — thanks to my girl Elizabeth Wendler — and I was excited to help bring just a little bit of sexiness to The Lumberjack.

It was an interesting transition to say the least. I went from writing about Nazis and social justice to writing about hand jobs. I had so little time to produce other content for The Lumberjack that the only thing in print with my name on it was PillowTalk. And while I was very proud of being a part of the first sex column at our school in a long time, I felt limited and less like a journalist.

The problem is, when you write about PEGGY sex often, you get labeled as a sex columnist.

PACKER And that’s all you are to the public. I’m OP-ED EDITOR the girl who writes about sex. No longer a journalist, a reporter, a writer — simply a sex columnist. It makes you feel like you can no longer write about anything but sex.

I struggled with this for months. I felt like I could only write for PillowTalk. I felt like my work wasn’t meaningful.

I felt like a sell out. I had crossed over into the world of sex writing and could never go back.

However, it wasn’t until I sat down to brainstorm my very first column as editor of the Opinion-Editorial section for the fall 2018 semester that I realized, I didn’t have to go back. I can be a journalist and a sex columnist. I can provide meaningful content about sex, or whatever I please. Sure, I am a sex columnist, but not just a sex columnist.

Many people claim they don’t want to read about sex — usually they’re lying, but whatever. Being labeled as a sex writer leads people to think you are less intelligent and a less meaningful writer. They see the stuff you produce as unintelligent fluff. Readers don’t want fluff. They want you to talk about things that are important.

The thing is: sex is important. Sex has a direct effect on your physical and emotional health, and it deserves to be discussed. So many people on our campus alone need guidance and knowledge in the realm of sex. PillowTalk aims to do just that.

If I have to label myself as a sex writer to do my job and educate people, so be it.

Sincerely, A now-proud sex columnist

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Rapping up a race Peggy Packer

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ntonio Delgado is a Democratic candidate for Congress in New York, a graduate from Harvard Law School, a husband, a father, and — perhaps the most important to the public — a former rapper. Delgado previously went by his rap name “A.D. The Voice” before entering the race for Congress. Of course, being a rapper makes many people, especially conservatives, concerned about whether or not he is fit for Congress.

An uncommon belief in today’s society — mostly asserted by people who aren’t educated in rap — is that rappers are not smart.

They are instead seen as violent, unintelligent and often sexist.

While issues of violence and sexism within hip-hop music are very prominent and should be addressed, this does not mean that all rappers feel this way or live this kind of lifestyle.

The negative outlooks expressed in hip-hop tend to outweigh the positives. And yes, there are positives.

Regardless of the reason, people think that rappers are incapable of doing anything other than rapping. This is false. Rappers and hip-hop artists are arguably some of the most intelligent people in the public eye. I mean, have you ever sat down and tried to write a rap song?

Most people haven’t, but if you have, you know it’s definitely no walk in the park.

Coming up with clever raps takes work and deliberate thought. Rap songs are filled with clever innuendos, double entendres, word play and so much more. In fact, in most hip-hop songs, the surface-level meaning isn’t what the artist is really trying to convey.

It’s usually much deeper than that. Coming up with songs that are catchy but have a deep meaning takes intelligence. Rapping is not a job for the small-minded, regardless of what people may think.

Alongside being able to put together words in a clever and catchy way, many rappers “stay woke” in terms of what is going on in the world. Think of artists like Mos Def, Talib Kweli or Lauryn Hill.

These artists are often referred to as “conscious” rappers.

This term also includes rappers like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Joyner Lucas. These artists are undoubtedly intelligent and knowledgeable about the wrongdoings

in today’s society. But, rappers aren’t smart right?

Judging someone negatively for simply being a rapper is closed-minded. Rapping is just another way to show your creativity. Just because you can rap doesn’t mean you can only rap.

There are plenty of intelligent people out there who could help our society get to where it needs to be, who also choose to spend their free time rapping. But instead, voters are too concerned about their creative passion to even give them the time of day.

Being a rapper and a member of Congress should not be mutually exclusive.

In fact, being a rapper and anything else you want to be in life should not be mutually exclusive. Stop judging by someone’s title and consider who they are as a person and how they could benefit the world today. Who knows?

Perhaps “A.D. the Voice” is just the voice we need in Congress.

Illustration By Katie Dobrydney

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 13

OPINION-EDITORIAL

Advice from a fifth-year college student Jayna Arola

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ear freshmen, This will be my last and final year of schooling for the rest of my life — hopefully. I will be going into my fifth year of college this fall. Therefore, I have been dealing with and adapting to the college lifestyle for about four long years now. I really don’t mean to make it sound bad at all because I know as a freshmen you are all excited and eager for this new chapter in your lives.

However, as a “super senior” I am just looking forward to getting that degree and finally starting my career.

As an incoming freshmen, there is so much to learn and grow from in college. I am sure most of you have heard that line before, but it is true.

The first week at NAU felt picture perfect.

I was moved in by my family and enjoyed Welcome Week with them and all the other incoming freshmen of 2014. I was amazed by everything that this college has to offer.

I must say that I made the best experiences of college during Welcome Week. I highly recommend going to all the events, and don’t be afraid to meet new people. I think you should definitely go to these activities with your roommates so that you can create a good relationship with them.

The trick to succeeding in your academics in college is definitely planning. I think that every college student should have a planner where you can write all your assignment due dates and exams down. This will help you to visually see and know when everything is due so that you can plan work and other activities around your schoolwork.

Scheduling tip: When you get the chance to make your own schedules, you should definitely make all your classes right after each other if possible. This will help you go to every class without going back to your dorm and forgetting that you have another class. It will also eliminate the chances of you taking a nap and not wanting to get back up for classes.

In addition to this, no 8 a.m. classes — unless you are a morning person and will 100 percent make it. If not, you will just end up not going and probably fail the course if you don’t drop it in time.

As far as exams go, I am a very bad test taker. However, I found that flash cards do help me. But, make sure that you say the words and phrases out loud while you study. The repetitions

Illustration By Katie Dobrydney

be glued in your head and you will eventually memorize it.

There will be times when you will stay up all night to get homework done or study for exams. However, I learned that staying up all night does not help you succeed. It will only make you tired for your exam and you will not remember anything because you did not have enough sleep. Therefore, I highly suggest studying for 2-4 hours a day during the week of your exam so that you can just refresh on everything the night before.

Also, it is perfectly normal to change your major. I changed my major about three times within my college career and I have friends who changed it more than that. You will mostly likely still graduate on time if you are worried about that. However, graduating late is not that big of

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a deal, assuming your scholarship isn’t affected.

Honestly, college is about learning and if you need some extra time to do so then that is perfectly fine. There is nothing wrong with it.

Creating a social life in college is essential to college freshmen. It can make or break a person. Especially as an out-of-state student it is important that you surround yourself with good friends who can keep your mind away from home. It is going to be extremely hard at times when you get homesick. I am very far from my home of Oahu, Hawaii.

I couldn’t go home every other weekend or school break like other students who are just a drive away. However, having good girlfriends really helped me out. That came from being in a sorority. So, I highly recommend joining an organization if you are having trouble finding a

good group of friends.

I think that one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that you do not need to be friends with the same group of people that you were friends with in high school. It’s more than fine, even expected, to stray away from your normal friend scene and branch out — make friends with everyone. It is nice to learn from people with different backgrounds and grow with each other.

In addition to this, you should definitely make friends with your classmates because they can help you with homework or exams.

However, remember that your social life should happen after you get your work done. If you say you will do it later, you really aren’t going to do it later. Your friends will understand that you have work to do. Your social life could even include studying with friends so that it is enjoyable.

The whole partying aspect of college is what every single freshmen is looking forward to. Trust me, I know. I can’t even count the amount of parties I have been to my freshman year of college. I think that every college student should experience partying. There can be good lessons and growing opportunities that you learn from it.

It is OK to have fun and let loose because of the stress you have during the school week.

I also learned that if you are going to a party, you should never go alone. You should come and leave in big groups and have a buddy system with your friends. Don’t worry, partying is just a phase and it will go away maybe your junior or senior year. However, it is not for everybody so don’t feel pressured to go or do anything you do not want to do.

My freshman year experience at NAU was filled with so many memories ­­­­­­— the good and the bad. However, looking back now, I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about it. I made some mistakes and learned from them. I also gained an understanding of how to manage my time and life. Looking back, I know that I was right where I needed to be.

Most of all, remember that college is a lifechanging experience. You do not need to stress over everything. There will be challenges that you feel you cannot handle at times, but you can.

You can do this!

Sincerely, Jayna

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 15

OPINION-EDITORIAL

Battling senior-year FOMO Ariel Cianfarano

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enior year. This last year of college can be daunting — capstones, time-consuming projects, resumes and job applications — but it can also be the year students finally do everything they said they wanted to do. Trying to finish all requirements to graduate and find a job while still wanting to have fun is a hard balance. Students can’t get caught up with partying hard Thursday through Sunday every week and still think they can finish their school work on time and well.

And I’m not saying not to have fun, but it is all about time management and prioritization.

If students make a list of the top 10 things they want to do before they graduate, they can manage gaining experiences while doing well in their classes. Even if one of the things they want to do is go out on the weekend, students just need to make sure that they finish their school work first. The worst thing is when you think you can do it after partying and not having time to finish it after all.

This becomes especially hard for people who are applying to graduate school. Some

majors require students to have a certain amount of volunteer hours, and applications for graduate school can be extensive. A student’s GPA during this year can also be critical if they want to continue their education.

Despite all of this, there is still hope to have free time. I am a firm believer that if you manage your time well, you can pretty much do everything. The only downside is you will probably miss out on a few hours of sleep. One semester I took 19 credits, had an internships and two jobs. It was extremely stressful, I felt like I was doing homework all the time, but I was still able to enjoy myself every weekend because I set up a strict routine for myself. My grades didn’t suffer, but other parts of my life suffered, like talking to my roommates or my sleep schedule. I also lost my Sunday, which I personally like to keep for myself, finishing up homework and preparing for the next week.

Usually, senior year, students take less credits and have more free time. So, if I could do it during a busy semester, seniors can do the same and probably have more time to do so.

While having fun and doing everything on the senior bucket list, there are many resources

on campus that can help students prepare to get a job in the “real world.” Career Development on campus can go over and help students organize their resumes in order to have a better chance at getting a job. They also have advice on job searching, internships and do mock interviews.

Career Development also puts on job fairs for students so that they can network with employers they might want to work with some day. These are good events to put your name out there and make a good first impression, especially with a company you want to work for, so they

can remember you in the future.

As a senior myself, I have already looked at different job openings to see the qualifications for the jobs I want. I think all seniors should do this at some point because it really helps to prepare yourself and what you need to do in order to get the jobs you want.

And this is all totally possible while hanging out with friends, hiking, going to the Grand Canyon finally or going out on the weekends. There will be no FOMO for seniors if they have good time management skills and prioritize their responsibilities.

Illustration By Katie Dobrydney

There is no such thing as ‘talking white’ Peggy Packer

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t’s not an uncommon phrase. When you’re a person of color (POC), everything is subject to judgment. Yes, even the way we speak.

Surely, there are plenty of times I have been cut off mid-sentence only to be told the infamous, “you talk white” — cue eye roll.

What does this even mean? That I speak prim and proper? That I carry myself with intelligence? Why not just say that?

Instead, people resort to telling us we talk white. This is more common between POC, who tell it to each other as a friendly jab. In fact, it’s hardly used maliciously and usually taken lightly. However, what people fail to realize is this rhetoric is damaging to the colored community.

While at first it may seem unharmful, phrases like this have many implications that represents the United States’ dangerous opinions about colored people.

First, it implies that “colored” and “unintelligent” are synonymous. By taking

away someone’s culture and comparing them to white people every time they show their own intelligence, we are teaching colored youth that white is good, and black — or brown — is bad.

It is implying that you can either be colored or smart, but not both. This is not only false, but harmful to the mindsets of colored people in this country.

Next, it implies that intelligence and articulation are patented by the white folks. By telling me I “talk white,” you’re telling me that me being articulate is a white trait that I’ve just happened to adopt.

Lucky me! This phrase is an attempt to make POC feel like speaking well is a result of white culture, and those who do so are just a little less

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colored, and therefore a little more valuable in the eyes of society.

This is the reason POC feel the need to prove their intelligence nearly all of the time.

When many white people see a POC, they almost automatically assume them to be unintelligent.

Every conversation has that underlying goal of proving to someone, “Hey, I’m a human being and I’m smart, even if my skin isn’t white.”

It shouldn’t have to be, but it is. We have to “talk white” because if we don’t, non-colored people will assume we are unintelligent. It’s a matter of proving our worth.

Responding to this effort by telling us we talk white is telling us that we are slightly more acceptable because we can codeswitch into something that makes white people comfortable.

Illustration By Katie Dobrydney

This is not the message we should be sending our colored youth, even if it is rooted in a harmless joke. We need to start seeing “colored” and “greatness” to be synonymous.

We need to be proud of ourselves in a way that doesn’t discredit our race and our culture.

We are not smart despite being colored. We are smart and colored. We can be both.

So speak how you want and when you want. Don’t be brainwashed by what is “white enough” for society. Speak in full sentences, or don’t. Speak with slang, or don’t. Speak in your native language, or English, or even a little bit of both. Don’t worry about sounding white or brown or any of the colors in between. You don’t have to prove your intelligence to anyone, and even if you did, proving your intelligence isn’t about “talking white.”

Long story short, “you talk white” is a backhanded compliment and should be removed from everyone’s vocabulary. Don’t let anyone fool you. You don’t gotta be white to be right.

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 17

FEATURES

Along Schultz Creek Trail hikers can see where the improved route is planned to go through. This new trail is mapped out with the use of pink flags, which the crew will use as their guide when making the new trail, Aug. 18. Sean Cadigan | The Lumberjack

The clever art of trailblazing Ashley Besing

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mall, pink flags dotted the ground on Schultz Creek Trail, leading to a crew of four people clad in hard hats and shirts that read, “Dirt Don’t Hurt.”

The forest technicians for the Flagstaff District of Coconino National Forest were hard at work with various tools such as mattock picks, sledgehammers and rock drills. They had been there since 7 a.m., tediously clearing the pathway of rocks, trees and brush to create a new trail. The crew works seasonally, only from April or May to the end of October.

Trail technician Nick Cowall graduated from NAU with a degree in environmental science in 2014 and has worked for the Coconino National Forest for two seasons.

“It’s awesome. You’re outside all day. I’m an avid outdoor person so it’s nice working

on the trails that I enjoy,” said Cowall. “You’re able to put more heart into it, because it’s your community and you want everyone that recreates outside to be happy.”

This small crew of four, three of whom graduated from NAU, is the only trail crew in the entirety of Flagstaff. The Flagstaff Ranger District works hard to build and maintain all of the trails in Flagstaff, but needs the help of volunteers to keep their trails up to date.

However, the process of making a trail starts long before Cowall and the rest of the technicians even step foot on the trails.

“It starts with a twinkle in someone’s eye,” said recreation specialist Kevin Letho.

“Then they go out and really scope it out, go on Google Earth. But before we ever put a tool to the ground, we have to do an environmental analysis of it. So that process can take a little while. Months, or in some cases even longer.”

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The environmental analysis is done to ensure that the land is protected, like making sure native species will be protected and the surrounding environment will not be harmed by the addition of a trail.

After the area is deemed safe to work on, the crew lines the desired path with pink flags, creating an outline of a trail that’s usually around 24 inches in width.

The forest technicians go out with their tools to start working on the trail, a process that can take anywhere from months to years.

The biggest projects on their plate are major renovations to Little Elden Trail, Heart Trail and Schultz Creek Trail.

“The main intent is to build a section of trail that’s going to last,” said trail coordinator Bret Edstrom. “When we say ‘sustainability,’ we mean longevity of the trail and how the trail fits into the landscape.”

The Schultz Creek Trail is moving to a newer, higher location, which will not only make for a better view for trailgoers, but also makes the trail more sustainable.

“The main purpose why we’re doing this is sustainability, water quality, watershed, [to] prevent soil erosion,” Edstrom said.

Water flow is very important to keep in mind when building or working on a trail, as water could fill up a trail and make it unuseable if not careful. The new design of Schultz Creek Trail is made with this specifically in mind.

“When we have these big monsoon events where we have lots of water that comes down at one time, if it’s a poor trail design, all that water is going to flow straight down the trail and cause a lot of erosion and really, in many places, it makes the trails impassable,” Edstrom said. “If we have good trail design and lay it out right, the water will naturally flow off the trail and be able

FEATURES

Above: NAU alumna Kristian Cordell assists her fellow forestry technicians in removing a particularly difficult tree, Aug. 18. Right: Brad Baxter takes an electric drill to a rock with the intention of breaking it up into smaller pieces for removal, Aug. 18.

Sean Cadigan | The Lumberjack

to maintain a good, useable trail system for all the locals and people that visit.”

Though sustainability is the main aspect Edstrom is concerned with when designing the trail, he also has to keep the trail users in mind. “[The trail] raises you up, gives you a little better views, there’s some really cool rocks in there. Just providing more of an attraction for more people,” Edstrom said.

Letho went as far to call trail a creative process.

“Trail design is art; this guy [Edstrom] has the artist mind to do that,” Letho said. “It’s like you’re taking people on a journey when you’re designing a trail.”

Edstrom and the forest technicians have been working on Schultz Creek for a month and plan to work for another month or two before the trail is complete. When finished, the trail could be used by over 100 people each day.

“One of the aspects of Flagstaff is that the local population are very much outdoor enthusiasts,” Edstrom said. “So we get a pretty consistent amount of trail use, NAU students or not, we have a lot of locals and tourists out.”

However, working can sometimes be difficult with various environmental setbacks, such as trails closed due to fire safety concerns.

“In locations that were closed, we were not allowed to go in there and work in those areas.

Just as the public is closed and not allowed in those areas, it’s the same for our work crews,” Edstrom said.

Even though the rangers almost always found work to do, the fire restrictions did take the team a few steps backs.

“We’re still catching up on that backlog of work that’s out there,” Edstrom said.

The rain is also a big concern for the crew.

They work early in the morning to not only

beat the heat, but also avoid the afternoon monsoonal storm.

If the crew is caught in the storm, they have to hurry back to their cars and leave the work unfinished.

“A major safety precaution, just as it is for the trail users that are out there, is during the monsoon season. Our biggest safety concern is the lightning,” Edstrom said.

“Having the trail crew and the trail work that they do is critical because for so many

people, it’s their connection to the forest,” said Lethos. “So the opportunity that we’re helping provide, just helps build that connection with nature. And that’s just so critical right now in the technological age to be able to go out and just walk in the woods.”

Though the work is tedious, the hundreds of bikers, runners, horseback riders and hikers that use Flagstaff trails every day can appreciate the nature around them thanks to the hard work of the Flagstaff Ranger District.

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 19

FEATURES

Hey freshman! Welcome to your new home for the next four years. To help you get out there and have fun while living away from home, we have compiled a list of some of our favorite places to visit around campus.

There were plenty more that we didn’t have room for, but we had to end the list somewhere.

You have at least four years to do as much as you possibly can, so get out, get involved and make the most of your time at NAU.

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FEATURES

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 21

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AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 23

FEATURES

Saving our climate, one student at a time Sebastian A. Moore

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AU professor Darrell Kaufman has helped students, the climate and the future generation in ways that may seem small, but could have a huge impact in the long run.

The geology professor has dedicated his career to the study of Earth’s climate, teaching students about climate change and was asked to contribute as an author for the sixth report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that will be released in 2021.

Kaufman hopes his research will contribute to secure a sustainable future for our planet by inspiring future scientists in the classroom.

Senior mathematics major Emalina Bidari is an international student from Malaysia who has been attending NAU since 2016. This is Bidari’s second semester as a peer teaching assistant for Kaufman’s climate change 115 class.

Bidari took the Kaufman’s class as a sophomore and enjoyed his teaching style.

“He was a good teacher and very knowledgeable about the topics at hand. He is very consistent in his teaching,” said Bidari.

“He loves to bring up recent events and news articles. He likes getting the students to go out and read news articles but he also cares about the students.”

Bidari said Kaufman’s teaching habits reflect what type of person he is. She thinks Kaufman is very considerate about his students and cares about their learning.

“Dr. Kaufman is a really nice guy. Sometimes I’m sick and can’t make it to a class and he will accept that. He’s such an understanding person,” Bidari said. “He really thinks about his students so much more than any other teacher I’ve had or worked for. He’s one of the better professors at replying to emails. I really appreciate that.”

Kaufman received his master’s degree from the University of Washington and has had a passion for science since then. Kaufman also saw science as an opportunity to work outdoors.

Upon completing his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in 1991, Kaufman began his research in Alaska studying lake sediment deposits.

“My undergraduate degrees were in geology and environmental studies. When I graduated I knew I wanted to live in Alaska for the field opportunities. I got a job with the United States Geological Survey and have been working there since,” said Kaufman.

Photo courtesy of Darrell Kaufman

Kaufman spends most of his time in Alaska working on his research, as well as in Switzerland where he is involved with research a coordination group on an international level and in Flagstaff as a professor at NAU in the College of Earth and Sustainability. Kaufman wants to help the younger generation have a better appreciation for the natural world and the climate system.

“I think it’s important that my students should be aware of the effects of climate change.

Hopefully that will motivate them to vote and pay attention to what the politicians positions on reducing carbon emissions [are],” Kaufman said.

The group Kaufman will be contributing to considers themselves to be a leading voice in climate research. The IPCC reviews and assesses new research and determines what is important to help inform politicians on making informed policy decisions on topics such as fossil fuel emissions and understanding the effects of climate change.

“It’s important to translate the science that I and others are doing into information that can be used to make solid, science based decisions,”

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Kaufman said. “Climate is changing because of human activity, primarily burning fossil fuels which is the basis of our economy. Changing a large sector of our economy is difficult considering the powerful interests involved in maintaining the current situation. Its been politicized.”

For the report, Kaufman is contributing to research in the “Working Group I,” which focuses on physical science bases of climate change. Kaufman is one of 10 lead authors writing a chapter on the changing state of the climate system.

“In all, there are about 250 authors and about 20 of those are from the U.S. The first meeting of the author group will be at the end of June in China. Then there are three other subsequent meetings scheduled until the final report is published in 2021,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman said another great aspect of the IPCC is that they are dedicated to transparency.

There is a shared idea that the public should be as informed as possible about our changing climate to make improvements for the future.

“There are a lot of little things that everyone

can do that add up, but we need big change that requires financial incentives to discourage the use of fossil fuels and encourage development of alternative energy sources,” Kaufman said.

“The ordinary, everyday person can make a big difference by voting for policy makers who see the urgency in a tax on carbon.”

There is a lot on Kaufman’s plate, but he doesn’t complain. Kaufman’s work is his passion and that makes it much easier to get out of bed every morning.

“When I am in the field, I am doing what I enjoy the most. For me, working with young people, being outdoors and discovering new things, it’s not like a regular job,” Kaufman said.

NAU senior Chris Benson is a masters student in geology and is graduating in May. Kaufman met Benson in the fall of 2015 when Benson took his global climate change class. In April 2016, Kaufman and Benson conducted research in the Brooks Range of Northern Alaska for three weeks. The research Kaufman and Benson did was based on understanding the variations in sea ice and glacier melt and how they reflect changes in lake sediments.

“This coring project was just a smaller part of a larger research effort that is looking at stream flow and glacier size changes, basically the amount of sediment entering the lake. It’s part of the Arctic Glacier Lakes Project, which is looking at glacial lakes across the Arctic,” said Benson.

Benson has loved the experience studying a subject that he is passionate about and doing research with Kaufman. Kaufman’s level of commitment and support to his students and colleagues has increased Benson’s passion for the subject.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with Darrell.

He is interesting in doing things really well.

So, sometimes he has high expectations but I would say that those high expectations are sort of paralleled by high levels of support to help get meaningful feedback on a paper, chapter, or a figure,” Benson said. “In the field he’s a lot of fun. He’s a super hard worker and I really enjoyed getting to go to the field with him last summer.”

While 99 percent of scientists are in agreement about climate change, it takes educators like Kaufman to translate the rough science into an understandable concept that influences students to continue his work in the future.

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 25

CULTURE

Six mouth-watering stops on Flagstaff Food Tours Ashley Besing

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mong the plethora of things to do in downtown Flagstaff, a walking food tour was just added to the list. With classic stops such as The Toasted Owl Cafe, One Speed Coffee Shop and Sosoba, tour creator Brad Lawrence chose places that he knew were good, local favorites, but also that a tourist may not be familiar with.

“There’s one or two places everyone always says to go to when you come into town. Those are good places, but then you end up going there and end up waiting in line for an hour to get a table,” said Lawrence. “It’s still worth it, but there’s these other places that people just don’t know about that should get some exposure.”

Lawrence is a firefighter in Tucson and was inspired to create his own food tour after attending one in Chicago.

Six years ago, he created Tucson Food Tours, which has now blossomed into two separate tours. Tucson Food Tours is the number one activity to do in Tucson according to TripAdvisor and was featured in the book “100 Things to Do in Tucson Before You Die”

by Clark Norton.

Following his success in Tucson, Lawrence created Flagstaff Food Tours, hand-selecting his favorite restaurants in town and holding weekly tours.

“I’m passionate about food and people, and I’m a big fan of supporting these businesses,” Lawrence said. “We’re a small business supporting small businesses.”

The Aug. 16 tour was followed by four attendees, with the maximum number being 12.

Lawrence said this creates a more relaxed and intimate experience for the tourgoers.

The tour is led by Logan Kappel, Flagstaff local for 11 years, who talks about the history of each restaurant and sprinkles in general Flagstaff history when walking to the different stops. He mentions tidbits like the origin of the town’s name, Heritage Square, Hotel Monte Vista, the big, painted murals and the first residents of Flagstaff.

“People really like the variety,” said Kappel.

“The tourists really like the history. They love it.

They eat it up. It’s the history and the variety of the food.”

At each stop, Lawrence and Kappel give a brief history of the restaurant before going inside. Once inside, the guides and attendees on the tour eat the provided sample of food and chat about the restaurant or whatever the conversation leads to. Lawrence said he likes

Top Left: Homemade Pop-Tarts from Single Speed Cofffe Shop glisten in the light, Aug. 16. Top Right: Platter of various desserts at the Sweet Shoppe sit on a plate. Bottom Left: Wings from Sosoba garnished with saffron. Bottom Right: Swordfish slider from Root Public House featured on the Flagstaff Food Tour. Sean Cadigan | The Lumberjack

the tour to feel as relaxed and low-pressure as possible.

Attendees can purchase alcoholic drinks if they like, but all food, drinks and history lessons are included in the $60 charge.

The first stop on the list is The Toasted Owl Cafe, where members of the tour enjoy a bacon burrito. However, various accommodations can be made for all of the stops for dietary

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restrictions, such as vegetarian and gluten-free options.

The second location is Single Speed Coffee Cafe where their homemade Pop-Tart is served with house-made coffee — the Aug. 16 tour had the two flavors Tanzanian Peaberry and Work Ethic available to try.

The third stop brings the patrons to Root Public House, the only rooftop patio location in

Flagstaff. There, the food sampled is a swordfish slider with potato salad and Caesar salad.

The tour then makes its way over to Sosoba, a restaurant fused with many different Asian-inspired dishes. There, the food available was fried cauliflower, wings and sweet chili calamari. Lawrence said he likes to make the food selections a bit different from the norm but also not too adventurous — he said the calamari is the most ambitious food of the tour.

The next location is normally Cuvee 928, however, had to be skipped for this tour.

Normally, however, this stop would include a variety of bruschetta flavors and a small sample of wine for those of age.

The final stop rounds out the tour at The Sweet Shoppe, with a platter of various treats to sample from flavored caramel apples, mountain bark, fudge and chocolate-covered strawberries.

Members of the tour may also sample any kind of gelato flavors.

Donald Kappel, father of tour guide Logan Kappel, attended the tour and appreciated the different foods available to try. He said his favorite stop was Sosoba, because that was a restaurant he would’ve never thought to try.

“I liked the diversity. I tried a lot of things that I never have — never would have even thought of having. It forced me to go outside of my comfort zone and try something I wouldn’t normally,” said David Kappel. “This gives you a little taste, and you can come back to restaurants that you got a little taste of.”

Originally from Chicago, Kappel also learned more about Flagstaff in addition to learning about and trying new food.

“I’ve been to Flagstaff quite a few times, and I did learn some other things today,” David Kappel said. “That was a good element to learn about Flagstaff itself.”

As for Lawrence, the tour is all about bringing people together to enjoy local food.

“It’s not like some corporate entity or someone who invested their money in it but doesn’t actually work at the spot,” Lawrence said. “These are mom and pop places and mom and pop are probably going to be there.”

For Lawrence and the businesses, it’s a winwin — members of his tour enjoy delicious food and local restaurants gain exposure.

“We’re trying to get those places exposure.

Local places, they’re making everything fresh with a cool story to tell and that I like to eat at,” Lawrence said.

Tours are held once a week and can be booked online.

CULTURE

Bringing importance back to tabletop gaming Sebastian A. Moore

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indles have replaced paper books, iPads have replaced toys and video games have replaced everything else in this new age of technology. While the pleasures of technology present positive aspects such as global communication and instant information, technology has replaced some basic forms of amusement.

Instead of choosing from classic games like Monopoly, Clue, Chutes and Ladders or even a card game like Uno, many people choose to spend their leisure time watching TV, playing on their smartphones or tablets, or for many college students, playing hours of Fortnite.

However, there is hope for these older forms of entertainment. Across the country, in cities from New York to Los Angeles, people gather to combat the infiltration of technology and go back to a time of playing tabletop board games. In Flagstaff, every Tuesday night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Charly’s Pub and Grill at the Weatherford Hotel downtown, tabletop game night is hosted by Vault owner and founder Caleb Alexander.

Vault is a company that hosts public tabletop game nights throughout Flagstaff. The company began hosting public game nights in 2013, but did not officially become a company until 2015.

Since 2015, Vault has expanded to include trivia and role-playing games. The mission of Vault is simple — to bring back tabletop games and the joy of competition, teamwork and storytelling that comes from a simple game without a screen.

“This is a business that came out of me running this game night,” said Alexander.

“The idea was that it’s a way to provide an entertainment option that is face-to-face, that’s unplugged, that is engaging and for a lot of venues, it is adaptable.”

All ages are welcome at game night, kids and adults all enjoy the environment of tabletop game night. Alexander said he believes tabletop events benefit kids academically in small, but noticeable ways.

“I think for kids what I try to emphasize are dexterity games. Jenga is the typical one, where you are actually physically doing something.

There’s that kinetic thing that you’re doing that you can simulate on a screen, but you get to see gravity in action and other games can talk about other sorts of curricular like probability, basic arithmetic and storytelling even,” Alexander said.

He also noted the benefits of role-playing

Photo courtesy of Caleb Alexander

games and how they encourage teamwork.

“I really love having kids play around roleplaying games — Dungeons and Dragons is the most well known of those. You don’t have a controller in front of you, whatever you feel like your character would do, you do it,” Alexander said. “And, hey, you’ve got two, three or four other people to work with. You might have to lean on each other’s strengths, they might need you to do something and that teamwork element shines in these kinds of environments.

It is making teamwork fun and does touch on other skills.”

The selection of games available to play at Charly’s are virtually endless, and attendees are welcome to bring their own games. Some of the many games available to play are Spot It!, Dead of Winter, Via Nebula, Cash n’ Guns, Blokus, Citadels, Bloodborne the card game, The Settlers of Catan, Anomia, Good Cop Bad Cop and Bananagram.

“I would come in with about a dozen

games to get started but I connected with Cab Comics, who I was getting comic books and occasional games from,” Alexander said. “A lot of the content that I have is partly through that relationship I have with Cab Comics, knowing that I am going to get more people to play these games when [Cab Comics] gets them.”

During game night, Alexander walks around and explains the rules of games to people who are trying a new one. Alexander says the most difficult part about board games is navigating through the instructions, but once participants get an understanding of how the game works, it becomes much easier and fun to play.

Attendees Amanda Leighton and Jonathan Wulbern were playing the game Spot It! while waiting for their other friends to arrive. Both Leighton and Wulbern have been attending game night on a weekly basis for the past two years and first heard about the event from a sign at Cab Comics.

“We are avid gamers. We didn’t know anybody when we first moved here so this was a good way to make friends,” said Leighton.

“Caleb will have games that we’ve never seen before, and then we usually go home and buy them ourselves.”

Wulbern has been living in Flagstaff for 14 years and said he enjoys the atmosphere that game night provide.

“I found out about the game renaissance, that there’s all these new games that don’t suck the way old games used to mostly. I’m basically just a board game addict now,” said Wulbern.

“A board game has something going on that you can’t replace with a screen quite yet. The social feeling of sitting at a table can’t be replaced by a screen.”

Community members of all ages are welcome to partake in the joy tabletop games can bring — just leave the laptops at home.

AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 27

CULTURE

Welcome Week event calendar Thursday, Aug. 23 KnockerBall Tournament, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Location: Observatory Field Description: Come participate in a KnockerBall tournament and meet other incoming freshmen.

Rec the Night, 8.p.m. to 11 p.m.

Location: Rec Center Description: The night includes rock wall climbing and bingo along with other activities.

Late Night Bingo, 10 p.m. to 11:55 p.m.

Location: Health and Learning Center Description: Bingo night with prizes for winners.

Friday, Aug. 24 Native American Culture Center and Native American Student Services Free Open House, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Location: Native American Cultural Center Description: Stop by for a tour, meet NACC and NASS professional staff and learn about their services.

Abandoned Bike Sale, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Location: University Union Fieldhouse Description: There will be more than 200 bicycles during move-in weekend. People will be able to choose from various bicycles with prices ranging from $20 to $125. All proceeds will be going to support NAU’s Yellow Bike Program.

Teas, Treats and Tissues, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Location: Health and Learning Center Description: Lumberjack families are welcome to meet NAU staff, visit other families, and meet Parent and Family Services Director, Shannon Clark. There will also be cookies, tea, lemonade and other treats.

Part-time job fair, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Location: Health and Learning Center Description: This is a free event for all students who want to apply and even interview on the spot for part-time work.

First-Generation programs, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Location: Sechrist Hall, room 42.

Description: This free event will feature treats and beverages as students learn more about their support network as firstgeneration college students.

NAU Women’s Soccer game vs. New Mexico State, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Location: Lumberjack Stadium Description: This is the first home game of the season. There is free admission for students with an NAU ID. Inclusion Block Party, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Location: University Union Dining, Expansion 30C. Description: This party is a free event for students that

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welcomes and engages students with one another. There will be social activities along with a DJ for music and dancing.

Saturday, Aug. 25

Navigators Dinner, 5:30 Location: DuBois center Description: This event is geared to help students meet the navigators and meet new friends.

Ultimate Frisbee and Cricket, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Location: Observatory Field Description: This is a free event that will feature both ultimate Frisbee games and cricket games.

Transfer Student Welcome Picnic, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Location: University Union Fieldhouse Description: There will be free food, games and prizes. This is an opportunity for other transfer students to meet and socialize.

Welcome Week Concert featuring The ShadowBoxers and Ripe, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Location: South Quad Description: There will be food, bounce houses, games, face painting and other activities. No bags will be allowed into the field.

NAU Men’s Basketball Team Dunk Contest, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Location: Holy Trinity Catholic Newman Center basketball court at 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Description: People can meet NAU Men’s Basketball Team as you watch or participate in a dunk contest.

Sunday, Aug. 26 The Letters, 10 a.m.

Location: South Recreation Complex Description: Freshmen will have the opportunity to create the NAU sign together. Students will be given a free T-shirt when they arrive and be welcomed by President Rita Cheng. Students will meet in their residence hall lobby at 10 a.m. and walk over together.

Mass and BBQ Event, 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Location: Holy Trinity Catholic Newman Center Description: This is an off-campus event that allows students and families to attend mass at the Newman Center and enjoy a BBQ social after.

Monday, Aug. 27 Navigators 2-ball soccer and Frisbee, 5 p.m.

Location: Raymond Hall Description: It will include 2-ball soccer, Frisbee and socialization. The Navigators are a community of Christian students.

Community Welcome, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Description: The event features teams of Flagstaff locals, students and community members as they socialize with one another to create a friendly neighborhood atmosphere.

Tuesday, Aug. 28 Collegiate Reverie Program Open House, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Location: Health and Learning Center, room 25.

Description: This free open house welcomes students who are in recovery and who are interested in living a sober lifestyle.

They will be able to meet other students and learn more about the program.

Wednesday, Aug. 29 Welcome Week Community Fair, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Location: Union Dining Services Expansion Description: This is a free event that will be an opportunity for people to meet Flagstaff’s businesses.

Axe the Trash!, 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Location: multiple Description: This is a campus cleanup before the President’s BBQ. There will be four different locations where people will clean the campus before heading to Central Quad for the BBQ. President’s Welcome Week BBQ, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Location: Central Quad Description: President Rita Cheng is sponsoring this annual free event for students, faculty and staff. There will be hamburgers, hot dogs, dunk tanks and games.

Out-of-State Welcome Event, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Location: Health and Learning Center Description: This event welcomes out-of-state freshmen hosted

by Peer Jacks Mentoring and Undergraduate Admissions. This is an opportunity for students to meet and talk to other out-ofstate students and find their support.

Thursday, Aug. 30 Study Abroad Fair, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Location: University Union Description: This is a free event open to everyone who is interested in learning and traveling the world.

Water War by NAU Dance Marathon, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Location: South Recreation Complex Description: The event will feature reusable water sponge balls in place of water balloons and other water toys. Students must pre-register online through the Dance Marathon.

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CULTURE

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AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 31

CULTURE

Left: Plastic jugs are still recyclable in Flagstaff after the new recycling regulations, June 26. Right: Clamshell containers are no longer recyclable in Flagstaff after the new recycling regulations, June 26. Shannon Ainsley Cowan | The Lumberjack

Flagstaff changes recycling policy Jayna Arola

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he city of Flagstaff had to make changes to its recycling policies due to China’s recent ban of the importation of certain plastics.

Flagstaff residents have been adapting to this new recycling ban since June 1. Residents have been forced to only recycle plastic bottles, jugs and jars. Residents and tourists alike now must put all lighter plastics such as yogurt cups and to-go containers into regular trash bins.

Under this new recycling policy, the city only accepts plastics with the recycling triangle symbol 1 and 2 in curbside bins. Before June 1, people were able to recycle plastics with recycling symbol numbers 1 through 7.

China had been the main purchaser of recycled products for Flagstaff and other United States cities. However, China stopped its importation of about two dozen scraps of plastic. This was banned in order to further reduce environmental pollution in China.

According to the city of Flagstaff, the city had been working with Norton Environment in sorting Flagstaff’s recyclables. However, since China’s ban, Norton Environment had no buyers for those types of plastics. Flagstaff and other U.S. cities were left making changes and adjustments to their own recycling policies.

Flagstaff along with these cities have removed items from their recycled items list and send the rest of the recyclable materials to the landfill.

The recycled plastic bottles, jugs and jars must be empty and clean before residents throw them into the recycling bin. These plastic recyclables include, “milk jugs, peanut butter jars, beverage bottles and toiletry bottles,” according to the city’s website.

In order to adapt to the ban, Flagstaff had to also increase its list of banned recycled items.

These include plastic bags and film packaging, plastic food trays, Styrofoam, plastic-coated beverage cups, straws and lids. In addition to these items, all other plastic packaging that doesn’t conform to a bottle, jug, or jar form is

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also banned from curbside pickups.

Since NAU follows the same recycling rules as the city, NAU will recycle the same plastic materials. NAU plans on implementing signs throughout campus that will show what are recyclable materials and what are landfill materials.

Green NAU has been promoting the posters for teachers and faculty to post on their buildings. According to Green NAU’s website, the landfill materials include paper cups, napkins and paper towels, bags, wraps, and hangers, plastics, food waste, Styrofoam and glass. The recyclable materials include paper, metal, plastic bottles, jugs and jars.

NAU’s Sustainability Coordinator for Campus Dining, Gabriela Galvan mentioned campus dining already uses compostable items.

However, they plan to make some changes to abide to the new recycling ban.

“This semester we will be switching over to compostable straws and are planning to use paper straws in the future,” said Galvan.

Although most plastic items are banned from the curbside, some are recyclable through grocery stores. For example, plastic bags and film packaging can be brought back to grocery stores.

This will keep them out of processing facilities, which decreases the chances of it getting caught in machinery and natural areas.

In addition to this, the City of Flagstaff created drop-off recycling. This allows residents to continue to recycle plastic bags and glass through drop-off recycling services. Since these items cannot be recycled in regular recycling bins. This aids in conserving landfill spaces and resources.

“I think that it’s inconvenient for a lot of people because if you’re paying for recycling you should be able to recycle your things onto the curb instead of having to go out of your way to another location to recycle,” said NAU senior biomedical science major Carmen Carrillo.

The city of Flagstaff had made these changes in order to follow China’s plastic ban, however, it may help Flagstaff in the future.

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SPORTS

The first dynasty

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t hasn’t been done in nearly two decades and has only happened four times throughout the entirety of the NCAA men’s cross country meet. However, come Nov. 17, the NAU men’s cross country team can cement its legacy with three-straight national championships.

Two years ago, seven of the team’s runners came together in a historically collaborative effort to bring the mountainous terrain of NAU its first NCAA National Championship.

The first runner to pass the decorated finish line in blue and gold was Futsum Zienasellassie, with a time of 29:49.8 and a fourth-place finish overall. Matt Baxter and Tyler Day followed with a time of 30:03.1 and 30:13, respectively. Baxter finished 11th place and Day came in 23rd overall.

The three ultimately gave the Lumberjacks a sizeable victory margin, winning first place with 125 points, 33 points better than the second-placed Stanford Cardinals — the lowest score wins. It convincingly trumped NAU’s KADE GILLISS previous meet-record of 142 dating back to 1995.

SPORTS EDITOR The win was telling, imposing and a quintessential sendoff to the historic decadelong tenure for Director of Cross Country Eric Heins.

Then the following season, the Jacks did the unfathomable and substantially improved, lapping NAU’s previous championship team with ease.

NAU pulled together a dominating performance, winning with a 74-point outing, a whopping 53-point differential to the second-place team and 51 points better than their previous season, paving the way for their first back-to-back NCAA National Championships.

A remarkable five Jacks finished in the top 40 at the meet, led again by Baxter and Day, embarassing the rest of the field.

Baxter finished second place with a time of 29:00.78, over a minute faster than his previous year, and Day clocked in right behind him for a third-place finish and a time of 29:04.55, 68 seconds faster than his previous NCAA meet performance.

After Peter Lomong crossed with an eighth-place time of 29:33.09, Northern Arizona’s fate was sealed. The team pushed three runners into top 10 finishes, making the Jacks the first team since the 2013-2014 University of Colorado men’s cross country to win back-to-back National Championships.

This upcoming season, NAU will be returning with the trio of Baxter, Day, and Lomong. In total, four of the five athletes that placed top-40 in last year’s meet will be at this season’s starting line.

NAU is also bringing in the strongest class to date, headlined by the No. 1 ranked distance runner in the nation, Brodey Hasty.

Since 2007, four teams have won back-to-back NCAA men’s cross country National Championships. The other three, Oregon, Oklahoma State and Colorado all gut-wrenchingly finished runner-up on their third attempt.

The runners of NAU will put an end to that trend.

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NAU sophomore wide receiver Justis Stokes gets driven out of bounds by an MSU defender during the football game Nov. 11, 2017. Matthew Strissel | The Lumberjack

Big returners bring big hopes Kade Gilliss

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Offense

fter finishing with an overall 7-5 record and 6-2 within the Big Sky Conference, the Lumberjacks have an opportunity to punch their ticket to a second-straight FCS playoff berth this upcoming season.

With 18 returning starters, NAU ranks No. 3 in Big Sky Conference coaches and media poll projections. Likely the most valuable returner is two-time All-Big Sky First Team senior wide receiver Emmanuel Butler, who played in only two games last year before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

“Our expectations [this season] are the same, but when your team is more mature, you’re closer to that endpoint,” said head coach Jerome Souers. “We want a championship caliber team and in order to do that you got to get as many mature players as you possibly can.”

The pairing of Butler and fellow two-time All-Big Sky First Team recipient, junior quarterback Case Cookus have been sensational when not battling injuries. However, in their past three seasons together, the duo has only played in 15 full games.

In their first and only full season together, they led the NAU offense to 39 points-per-game, ranking second in the Big Sky for the 2015 season.

The offense will also welcome another dual-threat in their

backfield with senior running back Cory Young and junior Joe Logan. The two paved the way for the ground game with over 1,400 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns and averaging more than five yards per carry.

“I think all great offenses, there’s great balance to them,” said offensive coordinator Aaron Pflugrad. “So it’s going to be a run game and pass game.”

Pflugrad is the most recent hire on the carousel of NAU offensive coordinators, a position that has gone through three different coaches in three seasons. Offering some variable of stability, Pflugrad has been with the program as the team’s wide receivers coach for the past three seasons. His vacancy at receivers coach was filled by his own father Robin Pflugrad.

“The one thing [Aaron] Pflugrad did very well was he came in and he brought out running backs coach [Jimmy Beal], offensive line coach [Tim Davis], and they all really worked together to make sure they were meshing well,” said Cookus.

“So, it seems like everyone is on the same page here, which is awesome. Play calling has been great, we’re excited. We’ve got a lot of explosive plays in.”

Offensively, the Jacks are loaded with titan-sized talent, but their success and possibly their season will come down to the five linemen up front who have to recoup after two significant departures. The exits of interior linemen Tyler Shank and Blake Porter, who each started all 12 games last year, creates NAU’s

SPORTS biggest question mark going forward.

It’s an offensive line that has already gone through recent struggles, allowing 32 sacks the previous season, a career-high in Cookus’ tenure, and the second-worst in the conference. The team will also be without last year’s starting tackle Cole Habib after suffering a season-ending injury during the spring.

Previous reserves such as senior Josh Sparks and sophomore Luke Rudolph will likely be leaned upon for the upcoming season. The two have seen a combined 12 games in the previous two seasons. NAU heavily invested the offensive line after loading up with four junior college transfers, which should certainly elevate competition.

The Jacks are equipped to put up another 30-plus points per game season, but their offensive line will need to be formidable in order to make another playoff push.

Defense

On the other side of the ball, the Jacks are bringing back a bulk of their starters, highlighted by the four tenacious defensive backs that led the Big Sky in passing yards allowed with just 174.2 yards per game and finished second in the conference with 14 interceptions.

All-Big Sky First Team senior safety Wes Sutton commands the secondary with 72 tackles, ranking third on the team and adding two interceptions. Fellow senior safety Kam’ron Johnson led the team with 81 tackles and reeled in four interceptions.

“We established ourselves as a great [defensive back] unit so we just got to stick to that,” said Sutton. “Focusing on that standard, not getting ahead of ourselves, not getting complacent is the biggest thing.”

The cornerback tandem of juniors, Maruice Davison and Khalil Dorsey each split three interceptions of their own, while Davison batted away a team-high 10 passes.

The front-seven also has some familiar faces with senior defensive tackles Hamilton To’o and Sione Talakai. To’o proved to be disruptive with 7.5 tackles for loss.

Experience will hopefully assist the defensive unit who fared great against the pass but allowed 208 rushing yards per game which ranked 10th in the conference.

“The plan is to be better in all facets, but especially our run defense,” said defensive coordinator Andy Thompson. “We played a lot more run teams last year, so stats don’t always tell that, but we definitely want to improve our run defense.”

Along with the struggle against the run, the pass rush put up a lackluster performance last season with 19 sacks and 24 hurries in 12 games. The sack leader on the team held the title at a meager 2.5 sacks.

Even with a prominent defensive back unit, the absence of pressure is certainly a concern, but newcomer junior Chris Jules could fill in admirably as a rotational lineman, and potentially work his way into the starting rotation.

Jules is a transfer from Scottsdale Community College where he racked up 12.5 sacks last season in 10 games, finishing second in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference.

After his consistent disruptiveness in practice, the team believes in the impact that he can make heading into the season.

“I think defensively we saw that Chris Jules is going to be an excellent player for us,” Souers said following the team’s first organized scrimmage.

The emergence of Jules will be one that NAU hopes materializes, and with the combination of the top-ranked

After getting another Lumberjack touchdown, running back Cory Young (6) and running back Joe Logan (22) celebrate, Sept. 30, 2017 Victoria Kaschl | The Lumberjack

defensive back core returning, it could prove to be a special year for the defense.

The schedule and the bottom line

The fate of the Jacks season could come before they even reach their bye-week. Six weeks into their schedule, NAU will face the two teams ranked higher than them in the preseason standings, Eastern Washington and Big Sky Co-champion Weber State.

Eastern Washington, who finished 7-4 overall last season and 6-2 in the conference will head into the Walkup Skydome Sept.

8 for the Jacks home opener. While the game won’t count against their conference record, it can greatly influence playoff probability with a win. The Eagles offense is led by two-time Walter Payton award finalist Gage Gubrud who finished second in total offense per game in the FCS at 357.8 yards per game.

NAU will again be at home against Weber State Oct. 6.

The Wildcats are fresh off their best season in university history

after posting a program-record 11 wins and a 7-1 conference record. Weber State returns eight starters on offense and six on the defensive side but will have to fill the void at quarterback left

by Stefan Cantwell who finished second in the conference with a 151.9 pass efficiency rating and 3,575 total offensive yards.

Prior to the showdown with Weber State, the Jacks will face off against other Big Sky Co-champion Southern Utah Sept. 22.

With either a clean 8-0 or 7-1 conference record to essentially guarantee a playoff berth, the Jacks would have to likely win two of these matchups, preferably against Southern Utah and Weber State. If NAU lost those two but brought down Eastern Washington, they could find themselves in a similar situation to last year, caught in the playoff bubble, looking to get in.

“We found out last year that playing the tougher schedule helped us in the end when it came to playoffs,” Souers said.

Significant experience and additional help along the defensive line could push NAU to their first Big Sky Championship since 2003.

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SPORTS

The future playmakers of the fall Stories and photos by Bailey Helton

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AU is introduced to thousands of new faces at the start of both the spring and fall semesters. Between students, faculty, administration and student athletes, there is no possible way to know exactly who the best recruits are. In light of the new season, The Lumberjack wants to introduce you to some of the players to keep an eye on this upcoming season.

RYANN DAVIS

SYDNEY DENNIS

fter being the volleyball team captain at Perry High School, freshman outside hitter Ryann Davis is trading in her high school jersey for the navy blue and gold.

According to Maxpreps.com, Davis completed her high school career being a four-year starter with 16 awards for “Player of the Match.” However, Davis doesn’t count the four years of being a starting athlete and the recipient of a multitude of awards as her greatest accomplishment.

Instead, Davis counts the victory in the Division I Section I Sand Volleyball State Championship as her number one accomplishment to date.

In the recruiting process, Davis received offers from both University of Eastern Washington and University of Northern Colorado in addition to her offer from NAU. Nonetheless, it was NAU that stole her heart.

“When I came up to NAU for my visit, I just developed that bond with the coaches and the girls and just fell in love with it,” said Davis.

Davis not only has a love for the school and the team but is also very optimistic for what her future holds here at NAU. “I see a lot of accomplishments coming in my future. This team is such a good group of girls, and we’re all so talented that I think we can make it pretty far in certain things,” Davis said. “I feel like we’re just going to keep getting better and better.”

As far as what the future holds for Davis, she plans to study business and then settle down after college to start a family of her own.

lso joining the NAU Lumberjacks as a high school four-year starter is freshman midfielder Sydney Dennis. Dennis became a part of the women’s soccer team as an undeclared major after graduating in the spring of 2018 from Pahrump Valley High School located in Pahrump, Nevada.

According to Maxpreps.com, Dennis recorded a high school career total of 154 points, 64 goals, 26 assists and 4 steals with her senior year being the most impressive of the four.

Similar to Davis, Dennis made her connection with the campus once she arrived for her visit.

“I looked at quite a few schools before this, and I just knew right when I got on campus it was a school I wanted to be a part of,” said Dennis. “I could just feel from the atmosphere, and coach Andre obviously made me feel very welcomed.”

Being recruited by NAU and making her parents proud is what Dennis names as her greatest accomplishment. In addition to making her small town and family proud, Dennis is most excited to see who exactly she is as a person throughout her collegiate career.

“Being away from home, seeing who I am and how I do with challenges is pretty exciting,” Dennis said. “Obviously, it’s tough, but I know I am capable [of ] dealing with stuff that comes my way.”

In her academic career, Dennis plans to find a major that suits her and hopes to be successful.

In her athletic career she plans to be the player and the teammate everyone expects her to be, as well as realizing her full potential as an athlete.

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DANIEL BRIDGE-GADD

CIANA ‘ANA’ RIVERA

fter graduating from Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, then attending the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, Washington, sophomore quarterback Daniel Bridge-Gadd is back in his home state.

According to Playeroftheyear.gatorade.com, in 2015, his senior year of high school, BridgeGadd was awarded Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Arizona. Maxpreps highlights his high school career stats as 5,150 total passing yards, 68 touchdowns, 407 pass completions and 21 interceptions.

During his time at UW, Bridge-Gadd made use of his redshirt eligibility in 2016 and played in his first intercollegiate game in 2017 against California State University, Fresno.

In terms of what brought Bridge-Gadd back to Arizona, he attributes his move with wanting to be closer to family and wanting to learn from offensive coordinator Aaron Pflugrad.

“Ultimately I wanted to go somewhere my family could come watch and I really believe in coach [Pflugrad] and what he’s doing in the offensive system,” said Bridge-Gadd.

While Bridge-Gadd believes in the offensive coaching of Pflugrad, he also is very confident in what he can bring to the team.

“I feel like [my talents] just unlocks a half of what we couldn’t do before,” Bridge-Gadd said.

nother athlete finding herself in a Lumberjack jersey is freshman forward Ciana (Ana) Rivera from Kaneohe, Hawaii. According to NAU Athletics, Rivera comes to NAU with the title of the 2016 Oahu Interscholastic Association East Division I Player of the Year in soccer.

Rivera’s motivation for leaving the island of Oahu resides in the tradition of being “encouraged to go out to the mainland and see what other opportunities there are.” After coming to NAU Rivera was instantly able to see a similarity between her home on the island and this mountain town.

“It kind of reminded me of home because of the environment and everyone being welcoming,” said Rivera.

Rivera starts her academic career here at NAU with a declared major of kinesiology — the study of the mechanics of body movements. Rivera knew she wanted to study in this field after an incident that took place on the field resulting in a face injury. After breaking her face, Rivera went through intensive rehabilitation with her sports medicine physician where she was able to make a full recovery. Since being injured, rehabbed and back onto the field, Rivera has found inspiration in her recovery and wants to be able to make a difference in the lives of others.

All in all, Rivera wants to leave her NAUm experience with a degree in kinesiology, which she knows will take a great deal of effort and motivation, but also wants to leave Flagstaff knowing exactly who she is.

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AUG. 23, 2018 – AUG. 29, 2018 | THE LUMBERJACK 39

Welcome Lumberjacks!

Secure your housing today!

You’ve never lived like this. · Private bedrooms and bathrooms available · Fully furnished apartments with leather-style furniture · Amenities for a fit and healthy lifestyle

· Academic Success Center with iMacs and free printing · State-of-the-art fitness center · Internet and cable TV included

Learn more and apply online at AmericanCampus.com/Flagstaff

Amenities and utilities included are subject to change. Limited time only. See office for details.

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AS #848783 | 611, 608 &615