The Lumberjack -- December 9

Over-tourism takes Hawaii by storm

Millions of people visit Hawaii every year without a second thought about the locals.

Lots of tourists don’t realize the ethical controversy about visiting Hawaii, but there are a variety of reasons why people should do more research and stop going to the state altogether.

Traveling is an essential part of modern-day culture, and something many people consider their passion. Summer, specifically, has become synonymous with traveling.

When people travel for the summer, the most popular places to visit in the United States are New York, Las Vegas and Maui; Hawaii has been listed as the second most popular travel destination in 2021.

The islands are some of the most popular summer vacation destinations because of their beauty, from the beaches to the palm trees. However, the islands may not stay this way for long.

As people continue traveling to the islands, Hawaii is getting slammed with over-tourism.

Over-tourism is a phenomenon that occurs when popular spots are highly populated by tourists, causing harmful effects on those places, ranging from excessive traffic and crowding to making room for more tourists by displacing locals.

After the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, over-tourism only grew as people wanted to get out of their houses and travel. Nearly 600,000 people visited Hawaii in 2021

The population of Hawaii is only 1.4 million people, so an influx of visitors was too much for the small state to handle. The islands are only so big. When large groups come it becomes overcrowded, and the locals are the ones who end up displaced to make room for more tourist attractions.

Many tourists think of Hawaii as a vacation spot, rather than a home to locals, which can lead to many people disrespecting the island. Being mindless in their own vacation bubble, tourists do not recognize there are islanders who pay the price for their actions.

Visitors have been seen purposely going to places that are sacred to Native Hawaiians, trashing the island and disrespecting wild animals. Sacred sites such as certain temples and mountains are even advertised to tourists.

Last year, people posted videos of themselves in Hawaii touching the endangered Hawaiian Monk seals. The seals were resting on the beach and the tourists took it as an opportunity to disturb the animals.

The underlying sex trafficking issue in Flagstaff

WILLIAM COMBS III

Arizona is considered one of the hotspots for human trafficking and sexual exploitation in the United States, according the the U.S. State Department. Nevertheless, state laws — many of which blame victims — have discouraged reporting these crimes in Flagstaff and in turn have led to a disconnect between the victims and number of arrests made.

Records obtained from the Flagstaff Police Department (FPD) show there has been only one recent arrest made in regard to suspected human trafficking in the area. The arrest was made Aug. 28, when FPD assisted the Department of Public Safety in the arrest of Samuel Bateman, who was traveling through Colorado City with three females in a truck trailer. Authorities said trafficking was not taking place and Bateman

pleaded not guilty to tampering and endangerment charges. No other arrest for sex trafficking in Flagstaff has been made over the past three years.

At first glance, this would seem like an isolated incident. However, when looking at the issue from the perspective of Kate Wyatt, director of human trafficking services at the Northland Family Help Center, sexual exploitation in Flagstaff is much more prevalent.

Since the inception of the Flagstaff Initiative Against Trafficking (FIAT) in 2017, Wyatt has recorded over 600 victim-reported incidents of exploitation in the area. This stark disconnect between victims and arrests is a problem Wyatt said is clouded in misconceptions about the nature of the crime.

Public perception of human trafficking and sexual exploitation is usually confined to sex workers who operate on the city streets, Wyatt said. However, since this is not the case in Flagstaff, many people do not realize it is happening in the community. Further misunderstandings involve the issue being limited to non-citizens, kidnappings or the use of travel, Wyatt added.

Records obtained from Flagstaff Police Department show Flagstaff has sex trafficking issues

SAMANTHA LOGERWELL

Left: Two Hawaiian monk seals fight near the shore at Kaena Point on Oahu, Hawaii, Mar. 26, 2018. Harassment of Hawaiian Monk Seals is a felony with fines up to $50,000 and/or five years in prison. Middle: Waves roll over rocks that are covered in bright green seaweed at Laniakea Beach on Oahu, Hawaii, Apr. 2, 2020. Right: Tents, city lights and roads create a layout of the night on the Ko’olau Range, Oahu, Hawaii, Jan. 8. Photo courtesy of Storey Welch

The Lumberjack is home to a lot of things for me. It is home to the beginning of my journalism career. It is home to my first published pieces from the fall of my freshman year in 2019. It is home to the over 100 articles I have written for the paper since then. It is also home to my favorite college memories and my best friends. This may be construed as a love letter to The Lumberjack and its staff, and perhaps it is. As cheesy as it sounds, I wouldn’t be half the journalist I am today or feel nearly as confident in my writing if it weren’t for the people who encouraged me and stuck by me along the way.

Trevor Skeen, Nathan Manni, Ash Lohmann, Bailey (Helton) Wright, Sabrina (Proffitt) Grimaldi, Scout Ehrler, Nayomi Garcia, Tess Stafford, Mark Fabery, Emily Gerdes, Marley Green, Jessie McCann, Liam Combs, Brenden Martin, Daisy Johnston, Emily Rehling, Jonah Graham, Hannah Elsmore, Brian Burke, Lian Muneno and Lydia Nelson.

Each of these individuals were integral to my growth during my time at NAU, both as a journalist and as a person. Some of them taught me how to write journalistically, how to edit, how to write news pieces or how to manage a staff. Some of them reported alongside me and continue to share my passion for journalism. Some of them simply offered a kind word when I really needed it or provided encouragement when I was doubting myself. Some of them gave me a much needed laugh on the rougher newsroom days. And some of them are now my best friends. But what do all of these people have in common? Every single one of them worked on The Lumberjack.

When I think about the fact that I am leaving The Lumberjack I have no words. People have asked me, “Well how do you feel about this decision?” I, quite literally, have no answer for them. I don’t know how I feel, other than sad. I am sad to leave something that has become so entwined in my life that it’s like breathing. However, it also feels like the right decision. It’s time. I’ve done everything I can for The Lumberjack so it’s time to pass the torch on to those who can build off of my work and create something even more amazing.

I don’t know where I am going once I graduate in the spring. I don’t know what I will be doing a year from now. That scares me more than anything. But you know what? It also excites me more than anything. Because of everything I have learned and the real-life career skills I have developed while working in NAU’s Media Innovation Center (MIC), I feel ready to jump into journalism at full speed and continue doing what I love. I am so insanely proud of everyone who works at The Lumberjack, in any capacity. You all inspire me everyday. There is only one thing I am more excited for than my own journalism career: Seeing where each of you go and how each of you inevitably shape the world.

While it may change over the years and look different than the paper I have lovingly cultivated over the last four years, I know one thing will stay the same: The Lumberjack is home to me. It always will be.

Thank you for reading!

Pepperdine pulls away from NAU 88-69

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Camille Sipple, Editor-in-Chief

Brenden Martin, Managing Editor

Emily Gerdes, Director of Digital Content

Marley Green, Copy Editor

Lian Muneno, Director of Print Design

Lydia Nelson, Director of Marketing

EDITORIAL STAFF

Daisy Johnston, News Editor

Sophia Swainson, Assistant News Editor

Jorja Heinkel, Online News Editor

Xavier Juarez, Assistant Online News Editor

William Combs III, Senior Reporter

Jessie McCann, Opinion Editor

Maria Rodriguez, Assistant Opinion Editor

Hannah Elsmore, Features Editor

Brisa Karow, Assistant Features Editor

Emily Rehling, Culture Editor

Emma Long, Assistant Culture Editor

Evan McNelia, Sports Editor

Noah Butler, Assistant Sports Editor

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

VISUALS

Jonah Graham, Director of Photography

Rainee Favela, Director of Illustration

Collin Vanderwerf, Director of Multimedia

Taylor McCormick, Assistant Director of Photography

Tess Bandstra, Assistant Director of Print Design

Jacob Handley, Senior Photographer

Octavia Freeland, Senior Photographer

Amirah Rogers, Director of Social Media

FACULTY ADVISERS

David Harpster, Faculty Adviser

Rory Faust, Sports Adviser

The Lumberjack is committed to factual correctness and accuracy. If you find an error in our publication, please email Camille Sipple at ces475@nau.edu.

CAMILLE

Photo by Collin Vanderwerf

Traveling doesn’t have to hurt the environment or your wallet

JORJA HEINKEL

Arizona is well-known for its incredible national parks and long scenic roads, but with gas prices rising and passenger vehicle emissions becoming a concern in a changing climate, travel is becoming more difficult for the average resident.

Arizona has the eighth-highest gas prices in the United States, and many stations in Flagstaff are higher than average. These costs can be daunting for students already struggling with rising rent and utility costs. NAU students, however, have access to several low-cost and environmentally friendly transportation options from the NAU Green Fund

Among these options are the Yellow Bike Program and free access to limited routes on the Mountain Line bus.

The Yellow Bike Program offers students the ability to rent a bike for up to seven days, including a lock, key and helmet for no cost. The program has around 50 bikes available to students on a first come, first serve basis.

NAU students have the free option to ride the Mountain Line Route 10 from Downtown Connection Center to several spots on campus and Woodlands Village. While Route 10 does not leave Flagstaff, FlixBus offers cheap tickets for students to be picked up at the John Haeger Health and Learning Center and travel to cities throughout the U.S.

Greyhound has similar offers, such as a bus trip from Flagstaff to Phoenix starting at $20.

For those that want easy, free and scenic travel throughout the city, Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS) is a city-wide network of pathways for non-motorized travel, such as biking,

walking, hiking and running.

There are about 55 miles of FUTS trails, though the city of Flagstaff plans to expand the trail system with an extra 75 miles to reach a complete trail system of 130 miles.

Roughly half of existing trails are paved in concrete or asphalt, and the other half are hard-packed with natural materials like dirt and rocks.

Martin Ince, a senior transportation planner for FUTS, said the organization is planning to add another 8 miles of trails over the next 20 years. Those 8 miles do not incorporate additional trails from private development or trails that are part of a roadway.

Planned trails for the next five years include connecting Sinclair Ridge neighborhood to De Miguel Elementary School which connects Sawmill Trail to Sinclair Wash. Ince said the initiative is working on filling small gaps that will connect and improve trails.

“All those don’t necessarily add any miles,” Ince said. “But they make the system work a little better.”

Flagstaff Trails Initiative has been working with the Forest Service, the county and the Flagstaff Open Space Program to connect FUTS to regional trails in Coconino County forest.

These trails will be different from the Urban Trail System as they connect neighborhoods to areas of regional and national forest. This will make trails more accessible for people who do not have cars or transportation.

“They don’t necessarily have to drive out to a trailhead,” Ince said. “They can head out from right where they live.”

While the urban trail system has many scenic hikes right off the busy streets, the extensive nature of the trail system also connects neighborhoods,

shopping complexes and schools to tracts of natural land in Flagstaff.

Flagstaff Trails Initiative (FTI) is an organization that plans, monitors and improves FUTS. The organization won the Governor’s Tourism Award in 2021 and partnered with Discover Flagstaff and Pledge for the Wild to support ecotourism and eco-friendly travel.

Tod Lewis, a FTI representative, said there are a number of factors involved in developing a trail system.

“The Flagstaff Trail Initiative is looking to take the region’s trails from good to extraordinary,” Lewis said.

Trail etiquette posters show residents how to respect their surroundings while using the trail, including the Leave No Trace policy which asks hikers to carry out any trash and an acknowledgment that much of the trails are on sacred ancestral lands to Indigenous people.

While FTI works consistently on trail maintenance and improvements, there are also opportunities for residents to volunteer in trail maintenance through the Community Stewards Program Residents can adopt a trail through the program and maintain the trail through one time or continuous trash collection.

“We are fortunate to have this incredible surrounding of national forest and country lands to access quite easily from anywhere in the city,” Lewis said. “The urban trail system provides a means for people to recreate, whether walking to work or walking their dog.”

Walking and biking are some of the cheapest and most eco-friendly travel methods, but sometimes traveling by car is unavoidable. Over six million Arizona residents registered a vehicle in 2020, and over 91% of American households report having access to at

least one vehicle.

However, electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. A Bloomberg New Energy Finance study projects passenger electric vehicle sales to increase from 20 million vehicles in 2020 to roughly 60 million vehicles by 2025.

Free electric vehicle charging stations are available at the Flagstaff City Hall parking lot on Aspen Avenue, and additional stations can be found downtown and on East Route 66.

NAU charging stations are located at the San Francisco Parking Garage, University Union and Babbitt Administrative Center. These spaces charge $1.50 for four hours and $5 for every hour after. These parking spaces are also subject to NAU’s parking policies

Electric vehicle charging stations are becoming more prominent in Arizona as the Federal Highway Administration approved the Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) proposal for a $76.5 million budget to expand electric vehicle infrastructure for the next five years.

ADOT will begin requesting bids for upgrading existing stations in spring 2023 and bids for new construction the following fall.

The new stations will be located in truck stops, roadside lodging, restaurants and shopping centers along the six federal interstate highways in Arizona, including Interstate 17. These stations are expected to be no more than 50 miles apart from each other.

With options such as the Yellow Bike Program at NAU and ADOT’s electric charging stations, affordable and eco-friendly transportation options are enabling Arizona residents to travel with less fossil fuel emissions.

Top left: Top right: An NAU bus heads north on Knoles Drive, Nov. 28. A Mountain Line Route 10 bus goes north on Beaver Street, Nov. 28 Bottom left: An NAU student rides an electric scooter, Nov. 28. Bottom right: An NAU bus heads south on Knoles Drive, Nov. 28. Ethon Peddle | The Lumberjack

NAU’s Turning Point and

NAU’s Turning Point USA and Young Democrats branches met to promote civil discussion

XAVIER JUAREZ

The NAU branches of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and Young Democrats met at the International Pavilion Friday, Dec. 2 to debate and promote civil discussion. Hosted by Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society, the debate featured three key topics followed by a panel discussion.

The Electoral College

The first topic of debate centered around the Electoral College, specifically whether it is democratic. Debating first was Connor Gay for TPUSA, who said the Electoral College is an important institution.

During his remarks, Gay spoke on the history of the Electoral College and how he views it as fundamental to a democratic republic.

Gay’s Young Democrat opponent, Jacob Carter, argued the Electoral College gives too much representation to states with small populations.

“In our country, the power of one person’s vote is actually decided depending on where you live,” Carter said. “And unfortunately, the college was designed for this exact purpose in mind: to overrepresent the voting power of the less populous states — back when we had only 13 states — and the southern states demanded assurances that their way of life be preserved; aka, slavery.”

Gay’s first rebuttal targeted the implication of the Electoral College being rooted in racism, saying this has not been the case since the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which made discriminatory and predatory voting practices illegal. He also mentioned the birth and death of the Three-Fifths Compromise, which gave southern states more voting power by counting each individual slave as three-fifths of a vote.

Carter denounced this, claiming he never said the Electoral College was rooted in racism before bringing up the Three-Fifths Compromise, pointing out it helped southern states secure control at the time while not actually reflecting the voice of the Black population. Carter pointed out the Electoral College had not been amended in the Constitution since 1804,

saying the system was wildly out of date, thereby giving unfair representation to states that not only have less population, but less contribution toward the gross domestic product (GDP) as well.

“But really, when we look at it, according to the Burmese Institution, 15% of American counties account for 64% of the GDP, with the most concentration being on the East and West Coast,” Carter said. “And most of the prosperous parts of America include only 15 states. Those 15 states, though, they’re represented by only 30 senators, whereas the least prosperous 35 states — the poorest ones — are represented by 70 senators. Those states are also the least populated.”

In his final rebuttal, Gay mentioned his upbringing as a California native before asking why his home state should have more power than the middle of the country.

“We have 55 electoral votes,” Gay said of his home state. “And California is a hard blue state. Three of our biggest counties are all blue: San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. So why should it be fair that we take the bigger numbers? … Why? Why should we leave out the little states? They’re Americans, just the same as the other people.”

Gay also mentioned removing the Electoral College would disincentivize politicians from campaigning in mid-west states, instead allowing them to focus on farming votes from bigger states on the coastlines while ignoring rural Americans and their issues.

Carter responded by saying that leaving out the mid-west states is what the Electoral College does already. Bringing up the 2016 presidential election, he noted that 87% of campaign visits in the two months leading up to the election were held in 12 battleground states, leaving out most of rural America in the process. He said the Electoral College requires presidential candidates to make a plan of hopping from one battleground state to another in hopes of winning.

In his closing statement, Gay mentioned the history of the Electoral College, saying it has been in place for over 200 years, therefore there is no need to change it. Carter also spoke of how old the system was in his closing statement, saying the age of the system was the problem, and it does not reflect the United States in its current state.

He also mentioned the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement between a group of states as well as D.C. that agrees to award their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the popular vote

nationwide, pointing out that the system accurately reflects the will of the greater American population.

State interference in the classroom

The second topic of the debate consisted of the state’s role in the classroom. Debaters were asked “Is it constitutional for the state to ban certain topics such as discussing sexuality, gender and race?” Young Dems were up first, with their debater Sierra Tyson, followed by TPUSA’s Ruby Criss.

In her introduction, Tyson brought up the First Amendment, specifically that the right to freedom of expression and speech does not stop when a student enters a school building. She went on to bring up critical race theory before posing a question to the audience: What good has ever come from governmental interference in education?

Criss’ introduction posed a question too, asking parents in the room how they would feel if their daughter came back from school one day saying they were a boy. She said the subjects of gender, sexuality and race are topics that parents have the right to discuss with their children, a right that is guaranteed to them under the Constitution. She finished her opening statement by saying critical race theory contradicts the 14th Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Arizona Constitution.

In her first rebuttal, Tyson countered the point of gender identity poised by Criss.

“Your daughter goes to school, comes home and wants to be a boy,” Tyson said. “Well, then I hate to break it to you, but she wanted to be a boy before she went to school. That is the truth. That is like saying that someone went to school, learned it was OK to be left-handed and came home left-handed.”

Tyson went on to say it is in fact a parents’ right to choose what their child learns, bringing up options such as private schools and homeschooling as well as the lived, at-home experience of the child in question, things that parents have control over. She went on to bring up a study from CBS News that found 96% of teachers surveyed nationwide said the curriculum supplied by the state did not include critical race theory, and the simple fact that it was being discussed in the debate was playing into a nationwide fear campaign. Tyson ended by saying simply talking about America’s history of things such as slavery is not going to lead to children of today repeating it when they get older, instead ensuring it won’t be repeated.

Criss’ rebuttal started off bringing up the lefthanded analogy from Tyson’s rebuttal, but took it a step further by mentioning cases of young students coming back from school and claiming they were the opposite gender, bringing up a California lawsuit where a seventh grade student was told her gender identity was incorrect. She ended her rebuttal discussing critical race theory, and that America was not founded on slavery, instead being founded on the Constitution.

“To the point of critical race theory,” Criss said. “We, as Americans, were not founded on slavery. We were founded on the U.S. Constitution that was created by our Founding Fathers. We were created on the Constitution that gives us rights as Americans that we take so much for granted.”

Tyson’s final rebuttal circled back to the gender identity debate once more, settling on those types of discussions and disagreements needing to be handled between the parents, the child and the teacher. She proceeded to bring up the fact that gender transitioning of youth under 18 is not taking place at any higher rate than it has before the current day. She mentioned the dropout and suicide rates of LGBTQ teens, saying the attacks on these youtwh is only making these statistics worse. Tyson then ended her rebuttal by pointing out the failings of the original Constitution.

“Let’s talk about the Constitution,” Tyson said. “Me and you would not be able to vote under the Constitution as it was written. Black people were slaves, and allowed to be slaves, under the Constitution as it

Members of Turning Point NAU and the NAU Young Democrats pose for a picture at the debate, Dec. 2.

Photo courtesy of Turning Point NAU

Young Democrats debate

was written. So you do not need to say that we were not founded on slavery when slavery was legal in the founding document of America.”

Criss started her final response by saying she did not understand how anything relating to the education of children could be politicized. She went on to say there’s nothing in the Constitution that directly permits or stops certain topics from being discussed. She then went on to say that without some of the legislation pushed by Republicans in recent months, children could be shown pornographic material in the classroom. Criss said children have the minds of sponges, soaking up all the information they can, making it dangerous for some discussions to be had without parents present. She ended her rebuttal by bringing up parents and families that are less financially stable, saying they are not afforded the opportunity to take advantage of things such as private or homeschooling opportunities.

“What about the parents who are struggling enough already to put food on the dinner table,” Criss asked. “How do you expect them to pay for private schooling? How do you expect them to take their time out of their day that they work so hard to put food on the table, and you expect them to pay so much money for private schooling or so much money to even homeschool their children. It’s not logical in that sense.”

In her closing statement, Tyson reflected on her own experience as a bisexual woman growing up in Texas, noting that despite the fact that she never saw herself represented in her education that she still turned out the way she did. She brought up that LGBTQ kids are exposed to a litany of straight representation as children, and their sexuality is not changed as a result of it. She asked why it’s fair for one unhappy parent to dictate the education of the rest of the classroom. Tyson ended her closing statement by saying that a lot of the misunderstanding comes from refusal to learn about LGBTQ issues from LGBTQ groups and individuals.

Criss started her closing statement by saying she has plenty of LGBTQ friends before discussing legislation being passed in multiple states. Criss said the new legislations are focused on stopping the sexualization of children, and not changing their sexuality whether it be gay or straight. She ended her statement by saying the sexualization of children as well as the teaching of these topics is detrimental to their health and should be stopped entirely.

Climate change

The final topic of the debate was climate change. Debaters were asked whether the government should pass more comprehensive pollution laws. TPUSA was back at the top of the order, with Chad Rowan taking the hot seat while Young Dems sent forth Alex Lipinski.

Rowan’s introduction started off by mentioning that TPUSA is more than the Republican party, saying the party holds true to conservative values. He discussed the strong conservative values of conservation in the U.S., as well as protection of wildlife.

Lipinski started her introduction by asking those in attendance to raise their hands if they had seen climate crises on the news or in their social media, before asking those same people if they had been victims of climate change. She said corporations and government organizations were the leading drivers of climate change, and brought up the Paris Climate Accords before asking if U.S. is doing enough to combat these issues.

In his rebuttal, Rowan said it was unfair to blame corporations for climate changes that have occurred.

“Throughout all of human history, there has constantly been an evolution in the change of climate,” Rowan said. “To put all the burden on corporations, who A: provide jobs for the average Americans, B: basically improve the standard of living for everyone across the globe, and C: putting it squarely on the shoulders of corporations is not entirely fair.”

He argued against the Paris Climate Accords, saying it put too much of a burden on the global

south, with little to no consideration for them and their needs. Rowan said the natural flow and growth of the economy has pushed demand, resulting in corporations creating the emissions produce today. He said it would be unfair to force the government to put regulations on these industries, some of which are already becoming more sustainable. He ended by saying it is unfair conservatives and Republicans are labeled as not caring about the environment when they were the ones that started conservation efforts with national parks.

Lipinski’s started her rebuttal by talking about national parks and how climate change will impact them down the line.

“If we really wanted to protect national parks, we would need to do way more for climate change,” Lipinski said. “Companies can’t regulate themselves, so the government would have to get involved. They’ve proven that.”

fighting climate change. We’re not there yet. We’re not there yet because we pulled out during Trump era, and now we’re just getting back in.”

She then discussed topics such as the Inflation Reduction Act and financial benefits of switching to clean energy as a way to show change is possible. She asked if that was enough, pointing out that harsh weather events were still happening despite the move towards sustainability. She ended her rebuttal with the point that change will take time, but the time spent will be worth it in the end.

Rowan started his closing statement by harkening back to his opening statement, saying the conservative movement started with Teddy Roosevelt deciding to preserve the nation’s wildlife and environments for future generations. He brought up the Paris Climate Accord once more, reiterating that it isn’t fair for the global south. His final point highlighted that humans have lived with natural disasters since their inception.

Lipinksi’s closing statement started out by saying everyone is responsible for climate change, and everyone needs to take action in order to make a difference. She pivoted to natural disasters, pointing out they have gotten worse in recent years resulting in more deaths and injuries. She ended her statement by saying if something isn’t done, the national parks and wildlife the conservative party is based on will soon cease to exist.

The Young Democrat went on to discuss how climate change is not a problem of the future, but a problem facing people today, mentioning how extreme weather events such as droughts or flooding are impacting agriculture and thereby food sources. She warned if this keeps up, America will eventually need to trade more with other nations, resulting in tax increases. She furthered this point by talking about hurricanes and the tax impacts that such disasters already have, arguing costs will escalate if something is not done about the negative climate impact soon. She ended by refuting Rowan’s claim that corporations should not have to shoulder this burden by bringing up research that found 100 active fossil fuel producers were linked to 71% of industrial greenhouse gasses.

Rowan’s final rebuttal started by clarifying that he never said corporations do not cause waste, before he pivoted to the potential dangers of expanding on resources such as solar.

“If we were to implement things like solar panels and create an entirely new industry from the ground up, that would cause us to have to go and mine these resources,” Rowan said. “That would cause further degradation of the environment, and that would cause us to basically have to create a brand-new industry from the ground up. The amount of waste and chemicals that would basically be put into that is probably just as staggering.”

He went on to discuss the reduction in emissions from gas and oil companies, pointing out the companies have been actively working towards bettering themselves. Rowan proceeded to bring up the gestation period of new technology, arguing it would take a while for them to be implemented across the board. He ended his rebuttal by talking about Europe’s struggle with their energy infrastructure as a result of moving away from the previous energy sources.

Lipinski started her final rebuttal by saying the creation of a new industry will mean the death of certain jobs, but will create new jobs as well. She went on to agree that strides are being made in the right direction, specifically citing the rejoining of the Paris Climate Accord.

“We are making strides through most of Biden’s initiatives, like joining back into the Paris Climate Accord,” Lipinski said. “By doing that, we’ll be with 195 signatories already. Also, 194 parties that are already

After the three rounds of debate, individuals from both TPUSA and Young Democrats took the stage to answer audience questions in a panel-like discussion, answering questions about the benefits and shortcomings of both organizations. It was a way for them to further promote civil discussion following the debate.

Pi Sigma Alpha moderated the debate, Dec. 2. Photo courtesy of Pi Sigma Alpha NAU

“IF WE REALLY WANTED TO PROTECT NATIONAL PARKS, WE WOULD NEED TO DO WAY MORE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE. COMPANIES CAN’T REGULATE THEMSELVES, SO GOVERNMENT WOULD HAVE TO GET INVOLVED. THEY’VE PROVEN THAT.”

- Young Democrat member Alex Lipinski

The cost of long-distance relationships

Leaving your hometown for college can be hard, especially if you leave a significant other behind. Many people participate in longdistance relationships when going to college, but are they always worth the sacrifice and travel?

Battling vacation inflation

LISA HALL

Ilove going on vacations and escaping from reality for a while to rest and recharge.

Although, with the current state of the world and rising inflation, the costs of traveling have become ridiculously high.

Every year I do whatever possible to ensure I can go on at least one vacation. Most of the time, if I really want to go somewhere, I can make it happen.

I think there are many people in this same situation, although vacationing is extremely expensive. The average cost for a single person taking a week-long trip within the United States is around $1,500, and the price can vary depending on travel accommodations, location and activities.

constant burnout.

Many people view vacation as a need. A survey from this past summer by The Vacationer showed 80% of adults planned to travel this year.

Yet, a fair amount of people still do not take vacations and are consumed by not having a manageable work-life balance. An article published by Entrepreneur showed 55% of people do not take their paid vacation time. This can lead to increased feelings of stress and burnout, all while taking a toll on long-term mental and physical health.

People should do what they can to ensure they can take time away from work or school to fully relax and recharge.

ANGELICA NAVARRO

When some teenagers enter college and are still dating their high school partners, they believe they can make it work since some long-distance relationships thrive. Although, when it really comes down to it, fewer than 60% of couples survive the distance. Even then, after surviving it, another 37% break up when moving geographically closer to each other.

Breaking up after dealing with the stress of doing long distance can be hard and can cause people to realize why these relationships are not worth it.

Long-distance relationships in college can be difficult emotionally, but it’s also not cost-efficient. Being a college student alone is already stressful, but having to plan out trips and spend money on them does not seem worth the time and effort.

In June, it was reported that round-trip domestic flights cost an average of $398, and that’s getting a "good deal." It is also not including many other necessities you might need to plan out for the trip, as well as budgeting for dates.

People always have different opinions on how far is too far for a relationship, from a two-hour drive to a five-hour or longer plane ride just to see someone for a short amount of time. Even if it is a shorter drive, you still have to spend money on gas as well as other necessities like food or to go out somewhere while visiting.

Traveling for long-distance relationships can also be inconvenient due to the fact that college students are usually short on money, and around 70% of students work throughout college to be able to support themselves.

Planning accordingly on how to fit that into your schedule can be hard, considering homework and classes. Although most partners in long-distance relationships usually do not live that close to each other, it only makes traveling to see them much harder.

Traveling can also be exhausting; when I have to travel back home, I dread the five-hour drive, and I only do that drive around once a month. I could not imagine what it would be like to travel multiple times in a single month.

Long-distance relationships can also cause more heartbreak because not being able to see your significant other can be depressing, especially while attending college. It can definitely be harder to see them as often as one would like due to money or not having enough time because school can be time consuming on its own.

All relationships, even if they’re not long-distance, are time consuming before adding all of the struggles which come along with long distance obstacles. College on its own is very hard and stressful, and adding the stress of a relationship that most likely will not last is not a very smart decision.

Price increases due to inflation can discourage many people from taking vacations or traveling altogether.

In 2019, before the pandemic and travel restrictions — when life was “normal” — over one-third of people had not taken a vacation in more than two years, and over half had not taken a trip in the last year.

It can be overwhelming to take time off work and run the risk of spreading COVID-19, as the cost of traveling continues to rise

Kelley Rosenfeld, senior editor of TravelAge West, commented on the hardship of traveling during the pandemic.

“The pandemic remains a big driver for travel intent, as well, with 70% of Americans looking at travel as a reward for what they have gone through over the past two years,” Rosenfeld wrote.

I worked throughout the pandemic as an essential worker, and I fully agree that I look at vacations as a reward.

Now that society is coming back to “normal,” many people continue to live busy lives with demanding jobs and families they must care for on top of everyday stress. However, the feelings of burnout are still there.

While a majority of restrictions have been lifted regarding travel and people have taken numerous vacations, many are still experiencing burnout.

Forty-nine percent of Phoenix's workforce experienced burnout in 2021, so I know I’m not alone in these feelings of

The most common reasons employees did not take vacations in 2018 included feeling they would not be able to disconnect from work and a fear of possible negative outcomes from taking time off. Another reason was people would not feel relaxed or feel they would not be able to connect with others.

Depending on the company one works for, it is fair to say that some employers only care about productivity and view employees as replaceable. It is unfortunate that the fear of employer retaliation is a factor of why people decide not to take vacations. Everyone has a right to the vacation time they worked to earn.

Vacations can lead to improved physical and mental health, as well as family relations. Even having a planned trip can boost happiness, and when returning from vacation, people are often refocused and more productive. All of this can lead to overall greater well-being and decreased chance of burnout.

Taking a vacation may not completely resolve feelings of stress or burnout, but it is an opportunity for people to catch a break for at least a few days.

Regardless of the cost, many people still recognize the importance of dedicating time, energy and money to vacations.

The result of traveling and taking time away from work, school and everyday stressors can result in a more fulfilling life with better relationships and overall health. People should take advantage of paid time off and breaks from school to reconnect with what matters most to them by taking vacations.

There are rules in place to prevent these types of offenses to begin with. However, some tourists don’t respect the island and think they can do whatever they want. These people should know better, but their top priorities are themselves and their families having a good time.

Furthermore, the locals and Native Hawaiians have been telling people to stop visiting the islands. This is shown by locals protesting and speaking out against the desecration of land to build hotels and resorts.

There are a few reasons why locals say not to travel to Hawaii; one is that a significant portion of natural resources in Hawaii go toward tourism instead of the locals.

Fifty-one percent of Hawaii's homeless population is Native Hawaiian and are homeless because most of the state's real estate is built for tourists, which drives up residential property prices. Single-family homes on average are about $1 million, but most Hawaiians earn about $88,000 a year.

Real estate developers care more about making money and building resorts than the locals.

Tourists also aren’t always good for Hawaii because of the problem it poses with people looking for unexplored areas to venture to.

Additionally, people build hotels and resorts on sacred land, even though the Native Hawaiians protest these builds. People do not listen to or care what

Native Hawaiians and locals have to say.

In the process of building on sacred land, resort and hotel contractors are also destroying the environment by clearing land to make hotels and tourist attractions. Also, an important factor for tourists to consider is the impacts of visiting Hawaii.

This goes hand in hand with the issue of how polluted the island is; tourism is a big part of that. With the number of people that visit Hawaii, it’s no surprise how much plastic pollution there is.

People litter and trash Hawaii without a care in the world. It was found the amount of trash entering the ocean near Hawaii increases by 40% during the summer seasons. Though, this isn’t only happening in Hawaii — it occurs all over the world thanks to consumerism.

After reading, if you still decide to travel to Hawaii and want to try to do it ethically and respectfully, the best way is to do research on how you can support Native Hawaiian businesses. There’s no need to go to sacred locations on the islands and cause more harm than good.

It is better to avoid traveling to Hawaii overall, but if you do, there are resources on how to be more respectful.

Take a trip with solitude

ROSE BAILLIE

Henry David Thoreau wrote, "The man who goes alone can start today but he who travels with another must wait until the other is ready, and it may be a long time before they get off.”

In his memoir "Walden," Thoreau reflected upon the benefits of solitude and how having a quiet space can be a great friend and teacher.

“I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude,” Thoreau wrote.

The idea of being alone can be scary. However, entering this unknown space provides the opportunity for personal transformation and introspection.

Solitude is not the same as loneliness. Solitude, the state of being alone, can have a positive connotation, while loneliness is a negative experience. Quality alone time is beneficial. It helps to define and prioritize interests, boosts creativity and can improve relationships with others in the long run.

The road to such solitude can be found down an array of avenues, including venturing off on a solo trip.

Although in “Walden,” Thoreau spoke more about the journey of solitude as a state of mind, with a figurative “movement through life” sense, these ideas can also be applied on a more literal basis.

Traveling alone allows for the potential to self-reflect and discover new parts of oneself, which can then be incorporated into everyday life when surrounded by others and the usual distractions.

Spending time alone has become increasingly difficult over the past decade. With social media and smartphones, we are constantly connected — whether with those we know or just the information we receive from the internet.

This has enhanced the desire for quiet time and peace, as well as a need for solitude and self-reflection. Traveling alone provides this opportunity.

When thinking of traveling or taking a vacation, it often involves going somewhere fun with family and friends or maybe visiting someone you know in a different city or country. However, taking a solo trip somewhere new provides personal rewards that Thoreau mentions in “Walden.”

A journey alone can reacquaint us with ourselves and explore our thoughts and ideas. It allows for personal insight and a chance to recharge from the chaos of everyday life.

One study published by Research Gate and conducted by Elaine Chiao Ling Yang, reviewed what prompts people to travel by themselves, and found that a transformative experience is one of the top motivators. Yang described this transformative experience.

“Self-change resulting from the inward journey taken by travelers when encountering an unfamiliar environment and experience, and the transformation is amplified in solitude,” Yang wrote.

Solitude does not necessarily mean being cooped up all day but rather relying on oneself for decision-making. Traveling alone can also help to overcome the fear of being lonely — by learning how to be by yourself and have fun.

Many who have taken solo journeys are motivated by self-empowerment, reflection, confidence, growth and peace.

When by yourself in a new place, one is forced to make decisions and face challenges of their own volition. This may be navigating obstacles such as a new city’s transportation, culture and language. It includes choosing where to eat, stay, and the activities to participate in.

These choices and experiences provide confidence and a better understanding of oneself. The solitude experienced in a new environment gives time to think and reflect on life circumstances that need more contemplation and insight.

Self-reflection on a solo journey provides clarity to help navigate thoughts,

ideas, memories and emotions in a way that may not happen in one’s typical surroundings.

We see this transformation from self-reflection in solo adventure play out within history and pop culture.

Amelia Earhart exemplified this in her solo aviation journeys, both nationally and internationally. Earhart’s eagerness to explore led her to make history. She conquered achievements alone that no one thought was possible and took risks that required confidence and self-reliance.

The meaning behind Maggie Rogers’ popular song “Alaska,” also encapsulates this idea of taking time for self-discovery. She reflects on how traveling alone to Alaska provided her with clarity about relationships and young adulthood, with lyrics like, “I walked off you, I walked off an old me.”

Similarly, award-winning author Cheryl Strayed embarked on a journey that completely changed her life. Her book, “Wild,” is a testament to what can happen when taking a trip alone and the meaning that emerges from it. The solitude she experienced on her 1,100-mile hike along the Pacific Coast Trail saved her life and helped her return to sanity.

Although we may not all become famous from the solitude experienced on our solo trips, like Maggie Rogers or Amelia Earhart, we may still experience some of the epiphanies and achievements that these individuals did.

Learning to befriend solitude allows you to become better acquainted with yourself. Living in a cabin in the woods like Thoreau did is unnecessary, but traveling somewhere new on your own can provide the same life-altering benefits.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIS BEAMAN

Exploring Lumberjack country

Northern Arizona is home to over 95 hiking trails and is surrounded by states that value outdoor exploration such as Utah and Nevada. One group at NAU takes pride in exploring these trails and appreciating the natural beauty that surrounds Lumberjack country.

As the oldest club on campus, the NAU Hiking Club travels to trails as close as Humphrey’s Peak and to locations as far as Zion National Park in Utah.

The club was founded in 1927 and since then has not lost its importance on campus, with a large social media following on Instagram and Facebook Since its inception, the club has had myriad officers and members, but its goal has remained the same: Exploring the great outdoors.

Justin Portillo-Wightman is the current president of the Hiking Club. He said the number of members is one of the largest it has had in recent years.

“Right now, it's a lot bigger than it was the previous semester since we really tried to be active on social media,” Portillo-Wightman said. “We tried to network a lot more.”

Portillo-Wightman said there are 50 active members, and the club's members since its birth numbers more than 2,000 alumni.

Despite a large number of members, he said the amount of spots are limited. In order to preserve the ecosystem surrounding the trail, only 15 to 20 hikers are permitted to attend each hike.

Julia Totty is a fifth-year student and a former officer of the club. Totty is majoring in environmental science with an emphasis in communication as well as an ecology and evolutionary biology emphasis. She said bringing smaller amounts of hikers for each excursion is necessary if they are going to follow the Leave No

“

THE LEAVE NO TRACE PRINCIPLES ARE PRINCIPLES OF RESPECTING NATURE. [BRINGING LARGE GROUPS] GOES AGAINST ALL OF THEM, BECAUSE IMAGINE YOU'RE OVERCROWDING THE TRAIL, RUINING THE EXPERIENCE FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE OUT THERE, CREATING A LOT OF NOISE AND YOU'RE JUST WEARING DOWN THE TRAIL.

Trace principles encouraged by the National Park Service.

“The Leave No Trace principles are principles of respecting nature,” Totty said. “[Bringing large groups] goes against all of them, because imagine you're taking a group of 50 people out, you're overcrowding the trail, ruining the experience for other people who might be out there, creating a lot of noise and you're just wearing down the trail.”

Not respecting the Leave No Trace principles can also severely damage the environment, she said. Totty said she attended a hike in Sedona a few years ago where the biocrust — a soil microbial community that takes millennia to form — was destroyed because members were walking off of the trail.

Now members work hard to educate each other on the Leave No Trace principles. Smaller groups enable attendees to hold each other accountable, PortilloWightman said.

“We try to not scold people, but we explain the concept and how it’s important and how it impacts the ecosystem,” Portillo-Wightman said. “Other people need to enjoy the trail too.”

Furthermore, Portillo-Wightman said the smaller group sizes allow hikers to form meaningful bonds with other students in the club.

It was these smaller groups that encouraged him to join in spring 2019, he said. Suffering from severe social anxiety, Portillo-Wightman said he wanted to be part of a club that would let him slowly become comfortable dealing with social situations.

“Hiking is kind of unique because you're able to sit there and just spend time with people, and you don’t necessarily have to talk to them since you're both doing something,” Portillo-Wightman said. “You both are doing an activity and slowly bond over that.”

The four officers make it their goal to form connections with each member of the club, he said, with at least two attending each hike. Officers do this not just to include all hikers, but also for everyone’s safety, he said. With a smaller amount of people, officers are able to make sure hikers do not get left behind or lost on the trail, he said.

Mara Effinger is one of the newest members of the Hiking Club. Effinger is a freshman who joined the club this semester and said she benefited from the friendliness of the officers.

“I’m from Wisconsin, so I didn’t know anybody before I came here,” Effinger said. “The Hiking Club helps you make friends as well as go on awesome adventures. I hiked up Humphrey’s Peak with a group, and we all just kept encouraging and pushing each other to make it to the top.”

Effinger said it was the hike to Humphrey’s Peak

that solidified her love for the club. She said it was incredibly difficult, but the ability to challenge herself among like-minded people made the journey worthwhile.

“Once we got [to the top], you could see the Grand Canyon and the changing leaves below,” Effinger said. “It was absolutely breathtaking. I had never been up so high, and I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else. I was very proud of myself.”

She said along with conquering the highest peak in Arizona, the club also traveled to Nevada to hike the Gold Strike Hot Springs trail. This hike is one of the most anticipated annual excursions for the Hiking Club. The trail led the hikers into a canyon that required them to climb over large boulders. At the end of the 6-mile endeavor, travelers come across a view of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. This viewpoint lets out to an area that allows members to cliff jump before they begin their trip back.

The club has had close calls with serious emergencies in the past. Some of these issues included heat exhaustion, altitude sickness this year and a dislocated shoulder two years ago.

However, Portillo-Wightman said it is the duty of the officers to make sure each member is safe.

“The officer is in charge of making sure everyone gets on the hike,” Portillo-Wightman said. “They have first-aid kits, extra water, extra snacks … stuff like that so that when people aren't prepared, we can help them out.”

Effinger said she feels safe within the club, and the limited number of hikers in each excursion allows officers to focus on individuals.

“I think that smaller groups are super smart: It allows for people to meet each other while also creating a safe environment,” Effinger said.

In the time that NAU Hiking Club has been active, students have joined to explore the world surrounding them. Although there is the possibility of officer issues, the club continues to unite like-minded members who wish to connect more with northern Arizona and surrounding states.

MAKAYLA RICHARDSON

Justin Portillo-Wightman (left), president of the NAU Hiking Club poses at Beaver Creek with another member of the club. Photo courtesy of Julia Totty

– Julia Totty, former NAU Hiking Club officer

Julia Totty, a former club officer, poses at the Grand Canyon. Photo courtesy of Julia Totty

“WE TRY NOT TO SCOLD PEOPLE, BUT WE EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT AND HOW IT'S IMPORTANT AND HOW IT IMPACTS THE ECOSYSTEM. OTHER PEOPLE NEED TO ENJOY THE TRAIL TOO."

– Justin Portillo-Wightman, president of NAU Hiking Club

25 Million Stitches: One stitch, one refugee

This exhibit at the Coconino Center for the Arts is part of a global art showcase exploring the refugee crisis and the significant number of people who have been displaced from their homes. Exhibition dates last through Jan. 21, 2023.

Top left: Flagstaff resident and NAU alumna, Rachel Blair, gazes at — and is surrounded by — the expanse of stitches each representing a refugee currently in the world. Top right: Embroidery provides the definition of refugee above a depiction of a refugee camp. Bottom left: A piece that depicts a mass exodus of people in the 25 Million Stitches exhibit at Coconino Center for the Arts. Bottom right: A recreation of The Creation of Adam done with stitches, each of which represents a refugee currently in the world, Dec. 4. Collin Vanderwerf | The Lumberjack

“Being abroad had many ups and downs, but my most impactful experience was when I explored Windsor Castle with my German friend Esther. We got to see so much history within the castle walls and walked around the grounds for hours. It was one of my favorite moments because the late Queen Elizabeth II was there at the same time that we were. Overall, being able to see all of the history with one of my best friends is a memory that I’ll always remember.”

Studying in a different country surrounded by new people and cultures their degree. Whether these students traveled to another country or abroad can create memories that last a lifetime. While reflecting on

Germany

“My favorite moment so far was probably my weekend trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon. I did a road trip with some friends, and I had such an amazing time hiking and driving through the national parks. The landscape is stunning there, and we loved Zion so much that we drove back there on our last day just for an hour. I was able to watch and capture the night sky full of stars — a truly memorable moment in Zion.”

“My favorite and most memorable how I faced my fear and dislike abroad, I never went in the ocean first full day there I faced my Almost every day after, I was during our private sailing tour off the coast. Besides conquering in such a beautiful culture was granted.”

Lena Zaubzer Senior (7th year undergraduate) Political Science (in Flagstaff), Journalism (in Germany) Studied abroad in Flagstaff, United States Originally from:

Isabella Kaltschnee Senior Business Management Studied abroad in London, England Originally from: United States

Olivia Senior Social

Studied abroad in Originally from:

COMPILED BY MARIAN HERNANDEZ

cultures can help students gain a global perspective while they work toward or have come to Flagstaff to continue their education at NAU, studying on their memories, students shared one of their favorite moments abroad.

Herndon Senior Social Work

San Sebastian, Spain

from: United States

memorable moment abroad was dislike of the ocean. Before studying ocean past my knees, but on my fear and swam in the ocean. swimming in the ocean, and in Barcelona I even swam far conquering my fear, being immersed was something I’ll never take for

Gale Senior Psychology

Studied abroad in Athens, Greece

Originally from: United States

“My favorite memory from studying abroad is when I went to a small island called Hydra. While there, I went on the most beautiful hike where I accidentally ended up in someone’s backyard, but it was literally the ocean. The family was super nice and bought us dinner that day.”

Studied abroad in Hong Kong, China

Originally from: United States

“One of my favorite moments abroad was walking through a rainstorm during a tropical storm without an umbrella and getting completely drenched! A local student, who I didn’t know, was walking by and they kindly let me walk under their umbrella with them even though she was already late to a class. When I got back to the dorms, the security guard and I had a good laugh because it looked like I went for a swim.”

Madelyn

Catherine Cameron Senior International Affairs

Background photo courtesy of Megan Ford-Fyffe

Magical Holiday Travels

Thanksgiving Day, usually meant to be spent in the kitchen throwing together a bowl of mashed potatoes and basting a turkey.

My family chooses to travel. Escaping the cooking expectations and the need to host both sides of the family.

We choose to travel five hours from home and go to Disneyland along with California Adventure to celebrate the holidays. It isn’t much different than a regular Thanksgiving Day event though.

Many people wake up on the morning of Thanksgiving Day to watch the Macy’s Day Parade on TV while I’m beating my new high-score on the Toy Story Mania ride.

When families are normally sitting down for the grand meal, I am hopping off Pirates of the Caribbean and heading to the little red trolly cart to get my corndog.

Very similar to the turkey eating holiday, you have to roll my family and I out of the parks because of our churro and Mickey pretzel intake throughout the day.

Don’t worry though. Just like annual Turkey Trot runs, my family and I get our steps in by running from park to park.

The perfect photo-op for many families'

upcoming holiday cards would be Sleeping Beauty Castle. Fully ready for the upcoming holidays with shimmering garlands and hanging icicles.

I might not get to snuggle up in my pajamas to watch a holiday movie after a filling meal.

But I get to see the Haunted Mansion ride switch over to the Nightmare Before Christmas for the holidays. Along with getting to witness all the children singing holiday carols in It’s a Small World. Two of my favorite seasonal changes in both parks.

Speaking of the Nightmare Before Christmas, how could I go to Disneyland and not visit Jack Skellington and Sally in the graveyard?

Do not even get me started on the endless shopping.

I was so wrapped up in the holiday cheer I had to purchase every seasonal item in sight to bring home as souvenirs.

Trust me, every single family member will receive some sort of Mickey memorabilia as a “Sorry we weren’t there for Thanksgiving” gift.

I wouldn’t rather do anything other than travel to Anaheim, California for a little magic with my family during the holidays.

Top:

Bottom:

5 p.m.,

OLIVIA LOPEZ

A Christmas tree is displayed on Main Street in Disneyland, Nov. 20. Every evening at

guests are welcomed to Main Street for the lighting of the tree.

Disney California Adventure Park displays their Festival of Holidays for guests to see as they enter the park, Nov. 19. The Festival of Holidays is a seasonal celebration of diverse holidays like Christmas, Navidad, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa and Three Kings’ Day. Victoria Medina | The Lumberjack

Photographer Spotlight Storey Welch

Photography is something that I was introduced to on my first trip to the mainland. Coming from Hawaii, I wanted to capture everything with a camera on my first trip while I was about 9 years old. Since then I have been wandering around Oahu taking photos of whatever catches my eye and expanding my portfolio. This is my first year of college at NAU and first year on The Lumberjack. I am majoring in photography and I am particularly passionate about wildlife and nature photography which is why I am also very interested in studying abroad. When I arrived in Flagstaff I immediately started taking photos of hummingbirds, which caught my eye. I spent hours at a time just sitting and waiting to get cool photos and videos of them. I want to expand my reach from what I take photos of to things like sports and portraits and that is something I am slowly working on. Eventually, it would be a dream to work for National Geographic or do video work for something similar to BBC Earth. Overall, I just enjoy taking photos and showing the world through different perspectives. For now, I am going to try to improve my photography and take as many photos as I can.

FEATURES

Illustrator Spotlight Hannah Redwood

Hello hello! My name is Hannah Redwood and I’m a visual communications major with an emphasis in motion design! I love utilizing programs such as Blender, Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, and Unity to create a variety of projects and pieces. I used to compete in high school in the SkillsUSA for the 3-D Visualization and Animation section for regionals and state! I find myself fascinated by how to improve my art and create characters and stories that resonate with people. I am currently working on a horror game as well as working with the Game Design team here at the NAU Advanced Media Lab to improve my 3D modeling skills as well as the processes that go into game design. I am very into the horror genre and find inspiration from Junji Ito’s Japanese horror manga as well as Markiplier’s three scary games video series.

Sedona, Arizona photo Gallery

Top Left: Stars create streaks over a towering spire in Sedona, Arizona on Nov. 17. Middle Left: Ice covers mud vegitation that is scattered throughout Sedona, Arizona on Nov. 17. Bottom Left: Stars race across the sky over towering mountains in Sedona, Arizona on Nov. 17. Right: Ice creates interesting designs over a frozen mud puddle in a located within Sedona, Arizona on Nov. 17. Storey Welch | The Lumberjack

Xavier Juarez Assistant Breaking News Editor Collin

STELLA SPERIDON

But "Bones and All" stands apart from the usual romance movies and television series we’d seen from Guadagnino. The premise of the movie is two cannibals who fall in love featuring excess amounts of blood, addiction and fear.

A guide to camping, featuring my dad

For many people, there is no greater pleasure than trading in the complications and excess of modern life for a simple getaway into nature. My dad, John Rehling, is one of them. I spoke to him to get a breakdown of what campers should be prepared for before setting up their home base in the woods.

Q: First things first, what should you have packed to prepare yourself for a camping trip?

A: The most important item is water. Make sure that you have enough drinking water for every person in your outfit. Otherwise, have water purification equipment that you can use to take water from a stream or a lake and put through a purification process for drinking. Beyond that, essential gear to stay warm and to stay dry is critical. Sleeping bags, tents, personal clothing items and items that aid with your comfort are essential.

Q: When you're in the woods, you can face a lot of different types of weather. What kind of weather conditions are the best for camping trips?

WRITER

The movie has great cinematography, a killer soundtrack and two good-looking main characters, though the main thing the movie lacks is a central plot. It feels as if the movie is all over the place. Now, if that was the point then the director did a great job, but personally it felt like an unplanned mess.

The first 15 minutes are the most essential, yet possibly most disturbing part of the movie. Set in the 1980s, the main character, Maren, seems to be living in a coming-of-age film.

At the beginning of the movie, Maren sneaks out of her bolt-locked bed to her friend’s house for a sleepover. Then, suddenly she’s chewing on the flesh of her friend’s bony finger. After the beginning scene, the movie shifts from this coming-of-age movie to a true American horror story.

For a majority of the movie Maren was searching for her mother who left her at a young age for an unknown reason. The director leads the audience to believe it is because her mother was scared of her, which turns out not to be the case.

When Maren finds her, she soon realizes her mother is also a cannibal and was scared of what she would do to Maren. Though, after this strange interaction, the plot is dismissed leaving the film with little to no direction.

One of the only things that held this film together was the on-screen chemistry of the two leads, Russell and Chalamet. Both actors made the situation feel like a true trial. If it weren’t for the exceptional acting, this movie would have been ridiculed even further.

There were definitely times in the movie where other characters made no sense, and honestly, the film would have been better off if they were rewritten or never written at all. One of the characters that comes to mind is Sully, who ultimately ends up serving one purpose — to kill off Chalamet's character, Lee.

In addition to being cliché, this made little sense since Sully had minimal screen time. This makes it seem like his only purpose, besides being a creepy old man who stalks Maren a few times throughout the movie.

Other characters just seemed like they only served Maren or Lee’s character development. Though, the characters never stop eating flesh and have no strong personal development.

The reason why this film gets such a harsh review is because of the lack of complexity in the script. Guadagnino’s other movies show strength in the script, which makes this movie a complete disappointment.

A prime example of this is at the end of the movie when Lee is bleeding out while Maren leans over his dying body. This was when the film became dramatically worse. In Lee’s final moments, instead of heartfelt words about their romance or his last wishes, he tells Maren to eat him.

The ending was almost laughable yet disgusting. Spoiler alert: She does end up eating him. Overall, the film was a 7/10. It was aesthetically pleasing to watch and the acting was great from the two main characters, but it was one of the hardest movies to follow.

A: I prefer cooler weather, typically between 50 and 70 degrees for camping, which generally lends itself to the spring and fall seasons in Arizona. Summertime, even in the higher elevations in Arizona, can be quite warm.

Q: A lot of people might go on a camping trip without being properly prepared. What are some things you should know how to do before a camping trip?

A: The first thing that comes to mind is first aid. Minor bumps and bruises can be treated with a cold compress, cuts and scrapes can be dealt with with an antibiotic ointment and Band-Aids, but in the event something more serious happens, you need to be in a position where you can comunicate with someone in the outside world to get help.

Q: There's a lot of wildlife and plants you can come across while camping. What can you expect to encounter in the wilderness?

A: Generally speaking, a little bit of knowledge about poisonous plants could go a long way. But with respect to animals, you have to respect this is their environment and you're a visitor. So the best thing to do with most animals is to steer clear of them and give them a wider path around you. With respect to bears — and there are bears in Arizona — the most important thing I can pass along is to take all of your food that they can smell, and get it in a net way up in the air, away from your immediate sleeping area. Otherwise, have it locked tight in containers, like coolers and such.

Q: In terms of actually enjoying your trip, what are some fun things to do once you're all set up and well-prepared?

A: That's a good question. I think it's great to have some activities planned when you're on a camping trip. If you can take a fishing rod and do some fishing in a nearby lake or stream, that's always fun. If you can teach your sons and daughters some knot-tying tips and things like that, that's always fun. Cooking itself in the outdoors is an adventure. It's a lot of fun, but there's a right way to cook and a wrong way to cook, and that has to do with fires. You have to practice fire safety — maybe you're relegated to using only gas grills — but it's important to learn how to build a safe cooking environment at your campsite.

Q: Finally, you've been on many camping trips in your long life. What's your favorite memory?

A: My favorite memory was when we had all of the family up in Flagstaff, and we had a great big tent and we set it up for all of us to sleep in it. We were stepping on each other all night long, telling stories, and we didn't go to bed until real late, and we had a lot of fun. It's more fun when you get more people that you know on a camping trip.

Director Luca Guadagnino’s latest film starring Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell was released on Nov. 18. Guadagnino is known for directing “Call Me By Your Name” and “We Are Who We Are.”

A cannibalistic nightmare: "Bones and All"

Photo courtesy of John Rehling

EMILY REHLING

Editor's Note: This column contains spoilers

An international perspective

ALICE COLLINGWOOD

As an international student at NAU, I’ve had to adapt to a new lifestyle during my time abroad. Having grown up in a small village in Italy from the age of 7, I already had to adjust to a new way of life when I moved back to England to attend the University of Leeds after I finished high school. However, I often came back to visit during the 13 years I lived in Italy.

Coming to the United States this year abroad was a completely foreign experience for me. I had only been to the states three times before, twice to Florida and once to New York City, so coming to Flagstaff was very different from all those experiences. This difference was enhanced by the fact that I was on my own this time, with no family with me on my travels. Luckily, one of my friends from Leeds was also accepted into NAU, so I wasn’t completely alone.

NAU is definitely very different from Leeds because Flagstaff is a much smaller and quieter city. I really like this about it though; I think Flagstaff has a very peaceful and laid-back feel to it, whereas Leeds is a lot more busy and fast-paced. Although I do enjoy this quality about Leeds, I’ve been really enjoying having a break from it by coming to NAU. Of course, this isn’t to say Flagstaff is boring. I’ve definitely had a lot of fun so far during my time here, but it’s very different from what I’m used to.

University life in general is also very different over here. The fact that attendance is such a big part of your grade over here is very different from Leeds, but I like that it forces you to get up and out. The workload is also different, because at home I usually have a few big essays to write at the end of each term, whereas over here I have quizzes and discussion board posts due each week, as well as exams. I do like this because it pushes me to keep on top of my homework and manage my time a lot better.

When it comes to social life at NAU and making friends, I haven’t struggled much because there are so many opportunities to meet different people. When I first got here, there were a lot of events hosted for international students where I got to meet a lot of people from all over the world. Most of the friends I’ve made while I’ve been here are actually other exchange students, which I’m very happy about, because I hope to travel to see some of them in the future.

Being able to meet all these people has really opened my mind and made me grow as a person. When you interact with people from so many different places, who have different traditions and views from you, it makes you learn something new every time you’re with them.

For many international students, a year abroad is a mandatory part of their degree, but for me and other students from the United Kingdom, it was optional. I didn’t feel ready to go into my final year at Leeds, and I was really keen to travel somewhere new, so that’s why I decided to take a year abroad.

Fourth year Olivia Schofield, another exchange student from the U.K., explained she always knew she wanted to do this.

“It is something I always wanted to do from when I first started university,” Schofield said. “And I thought it would be a good opportunity to make new friends and experience living, studying in a different country.”

I will admit NAU wasn’t my first choice, but I’m still really happy with it. My home university let us make a list of up to seven universities from all over the world, and we were then allocated a spot at one of them based on the demand. It was a really long process to look through all the options and narrow it down to just seven, but all the ones I selected were choices I knew I would be happy with if I got placed there.

Junior French exchange student Anna Nicolas explained she chose NAU based on both location and availability.

“I chose it because it’s a city but also close to nature, and not many other American universities were available with my school program,” Nicolas said.

From what I gathered speaking to various international students, it seemed as though NAU was one of the only options for many others too. This was the case for Alexane Fauveau, another student from France.

“I came here to get a double diploma in biology and for the double diploma NAU was the only option,” Fauveau said.

One of my favorite things about NAU is the campus. The location is stunning with the view of the San Francisco Peaks in the distance, and I was amazed by the colors all the trees turned during fall.

First impressions of NAU may vary but the majority of students I spoke to also said they were immediately struck by the campus' stunning views.

“I thought the campus was really great compared to the one in Bordeaux [France],” Fauveau said. “It seemed very nice and peaceful.”

Fourth year Welsh student Rhys Davies was also impressed by the size of the campus compared to what he is used to.

“I thought it was really big,” Davies said. “It’s about four times the size of my home [university].”

For Salvinija Kucinskaite, a student from the Netherlands, it was the busyness at NAU that impressed her.

“The campus was so full of people,” Kucinskaite said. “It reminded me of one of the metropolises in the Netherlands or the United States. The professors and students were also very friendly and helped me find my way around campus.”

The friendliness here is something I have noticed too, and I really appreciate it.

The people seem a lot more enthusiastic, and this applies to everything. Everywhere I go, people are so friendly and will ask how you are and how your day has been. I’ve had so many random people complimenting me on something I’m wearing while walking down the street, which I’d never experienced before. This is not to say that people at home are rude, but I definitely think they keep to themselves and are more reserved.

Schofield said she also thought this about many of the people she encountered on campus.

“The staff and students were very welcoming and made me feel at ease and comfortable straight away, which was important to me and much appreciated as I was so far away from home and I was quite nervous,” Schofield said.

Nerves are a big part of the whole experience for most students, I think. I found the thought of being so far away from home with only one friend very daunting.

Homesickness is certainly something I’ve experienced during my time here, but only in small waves. I think having made a good friend group and doing things to keep me busy have undoubtedly helped with that.

Second year German student Johanna Huber agreed that staying occupied is a good way of coping with these feelings.

“Keeping yourself busy and interacting with good people is the best method to stop thinking about home too much,” Huber said.

For Davies, however, distraction is not always the solution to homesickness.

“I think keeping busy when appropriate is good but also acknowledging it is important,” Davies said. “Pushing it off does no good in the long run, but if you sit in it for a little when it happens then it’ll come in small bursts rather than a massive feeling of wanting to go home.”

One thing I’ve taken advantage of while here is being able to travel and see so many new places. I’ve been on a few camping trips with my friends and plan on doing a lot more traveling when I’m back next semester.

Going to visit other places seems to be something a lot of other international students have been doing. I think this is because we really want to make the most of the time we have here, whether that be for a whole year, like myself, or just one semester, which is the case for the majority of people I’ve met.

“I plan to visit a few places during my time here,” Schofield said. “I have only been to Las Vegas and Sedona so far, which were both amazing and beautiful in their own ways.”

Phoenix seemed to be a popular destination for many students. Davies said he was very impressed by the size of the city.

“I’ve been to Phoenix for a few days,” Davies said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a city that big. The sheer scale of it alone had me in awe.”

When I asked the other students what their favorite part of the experience has been so far, almost all of them said meeting so many new people from all around the world.

“The best part for me has been meeting internationals from all over the world and learning about new cultures besides the American culture,” Huber said.

Schofield expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to study abroad, explaining it has connected her with new people from around the world and allowed her to make some lifelong friends.

The study abroad experience is certainly one that forces you to step out of your comfort zone and embrace new opportunities. I’ve gotten involved in many different experiences whilst at NAU, including writing for The Lumberjack, and I definitely feel as though this has made me more outgoing and open-minded.

“I have met many people from different cultures and countries which has allowed me to expand my social circle and cultural understanding,” Kucinskaite said. “Taking various classes at NAU also gave me new knowledge which will undoubtedly be beneficial for my study program at my home university.”

Davies said he believed the experience has made him more independent.

“I think it’s pushed me into a space which is more embracing of opportunities and doing things on my own,” Davies said.

This was also the case for Fauveau, who added that it had changed her overall outlook and attitude on life.

“It has changed my way of seeing and doing things,” Fauveau said. “I want to do more stuff and more traveling now. I am also a little bit less shy and I talk more easily to unknown people.”

I’m really grateful for this experience studying abroad and am so glad I’m doing it for a whole year and not just a semester. I don’t feel ready to go home yet and want to do so much more with my time here, so I’m really looking forward to coming back for my second semester after Christmas.

All the other students agreed that studying abroad has been a fantastic experience so far, and one that has allowed them not only to meet new people, but also to learn and experience new things.

“I was unsure and nervous coming here,” Schofield said. “But I quickly realized I had nothing to worry about, and I can honestly say that so far it’s been one of the best experiences of my life!”

I would recommend this experience to anyone who has the chance to do it without hesitation. Moving somewhere new can definitely be scary, but it is so much fun and allows you to make some amazing friendships and memories.

Hometown Spotlight: O’ahu, Hawai’i

As someone who jumps at every opportunity

I get to talk about my hometown, I was very hesitant when executives of The Lumberjack suggested I write a spotlight for our travel issue. I figured I could blame it on my lack of AP style knowledge or limited vocabulary, but I now realize that what I was really nervous about was how difficult it would be to put into words how much significance Hawai’i holds for people who call the islands home.

I get asked a lot of wacky questions about Hawai’i. Some honorable mentions include, “Do you guys have internet out there?,” “How did you learn to speak English so well?” and “What’s it like being able to go to the beach every day?” Although those questions are fun for witty responses, the one question I always have a difficult time answering is: “Why would you ever leave a place like Hawai’i?” And trust me, coming into week 15 of the semester, I think a lot about that question too.

O’ahu is known as “The Gathering Place,” home to talented artists, hardworking craftsmen, one-of-akind food culture, diverse families, surf enthusiasts and beach lovers alike! While all the islands are as pictureperfect as the next, each has its unique characteristics that keep them so endearing to outsiders. I grew up on the island of O’ahu on the outskirts of Honolulu. Being the capital of Hawai’i, Honolulu is a very familiar name to non-residents. Popular places like Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head Crater lure tourists from around the globe, but O’ahu goes far beyond the Waikiki strip.

Living in Flagstaff for the past two years has made me appreciate the humid, muggy atmosphere that O’ahu provides. The warmer months of April through October are when residents race to our lovely beaches and hiking trails. While Flagstaff may be lacking in oceanside views, the hiking trails on O’ahu are just as beautiful as our Aspen trees up north. O’ahu may not have golden trees and snow-peaked mountains, but the ridge trails along the Ko’olau mountains will surely impress with their luscious greenery and breathtaking bird's-eye view.

You can’t think of O’ahu without its postcard landscape coming to mind. Botanical gardens like Lyon Arboretum in Mānoa and Ho’omaluhia Gardens in Kāne’ohe are open to the public. Most of these gardens are devoted to preserving O’ahu’s native plant species. On the east coast, beaches like Hanauma Bay, Waimanalo and Lanikai are known for their calm, crystal-clear oceans. Up on the North Shore, the seas of Waimea, Pipeline and Sharks Cove are known for their surf culture and massive swells ranging from 3050 feet during the winter months.

Winter in O’ahu consists of tradewinds and excessive rainfall. Anything below 70 degrees is when the locals start wearing jackets and adding socks with their sandals. A positive to this weather is it gives our farmers markets and craft fairs a chance to shine. You can find these maker’s markets in schools, malls and even parking lots with a quick Google search. Local vendors sell everything from handmade jewelry to local food favorites. Malasadas, spam musubis, kalua pork and plate lunches with Hawaiian barbecue are a

staple in Hawaiian cuisine and are worth a try.

Native Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian history are something people raised in Hawai’i were taught as early as elementary school. Hawaiian philosophy emphasizes how the land provides the resources its people need to survive and in return, the people protect those resources. While this is an ancient belief, the people of Hawai’i still know the importance of giving back.

Honolulu from an outside perspective seems like the perfect place, but growing up on a small island gets confining and when you are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, O’ahu definitely feels like a bubble. Leaving home always feels like a wish granted for the Hawai’i teenager. There are only so many beach trips and mall outings you can take before scenes get repetitive. When I graduated high school, I convinced myself I had grown out of Honolulu, and there wasn’t anything left for me to see on the island.

Plus, our housing prices are one of the highest in America, residents often work multiple jobs to support themselves and it’s even harder to find a job compared to the endless opportunities on the mainland. It took me a moment to understand why so many O’ahu natives end up returning after living off-island for so long.

While Honolulu is a very small city, the island has always given its people a sense of purpose. Being surrounded by a community that supports one another brings a feeling of comfort but also belonging. Though I have grown to love our mountain town, the longer I am away from O’ahu, the more I want to return to the people that make O’ahu worth coming back to.

LIAN MUNENO

The view looking back atop the 'Aiea Loop hiking trail on O'ahu, Hawai'i, June 12. Photo courtesy of Lian Muneno

Left: Guava, mango, dragon fruit, and papaya being sold at a local farmers market in Pukalani, Maui, July 23 Middle: Lian Muneno walks down a pathway that leads to the Ho'omaluhia fish pond in Kāneohe, Hawaii, Dec. 15. Right: Bouquets of flowers sit in water at a local famers market in Pukalani, Maui, July 23.

Photo courtesy of Lian Muneno

Hometown Spotlight: Vico Pancellorum, Italy

one of the waitresses, and the profiteroles are definitely my number one choice.

High up in the Tuscan hills, at 2,067 feet above sea level, sits the small village of Vico Pancellorum. With about 90 inhabitants, the village — also known simply as Vico — is a very small traditional Tuscan village full of sweet old ladies always wearing aprons and slippers. Despite being very small, the town is renowned not only in the local area but also in many other places in Italy.

Its name derives from Latin, with Vico meaning village, but the meaning of Pancellorum has always been uncertain. There are two medieval churches, a smaller one at the top of the village, and the main one at the bottom, which is where the weekly mass is held every Sunday morning.

Moving to such a small and remote place in a different country at a very young age was a huge culture shock, but the close-knit community was so welcoming of a new English family with three small children, especially the elderly lady who lived across the road from us, who would often invite my brothers and me into her house to play with her kittens and enjoy some homemade treats.

Vico’s remoteness was definitely a blessing growing up as a child. It is such a safe location, so my small group of friends and I were able to roam the cobbled streets all day long and stay out until relatively late, often in the village square or at the local restaurant, the Buca di Baldabò.

The restaurant is probably my favorite thing about Vico and the reason for most of its notoriety. The restaurant is owned by a local couple, who cook all the food from scratch and hunt the meat they serve. The pasta is made fresh and is by far the best I’ve ever tasted. An interesting thing about this spot is there is no menu, meaning when you arrive you are simply told what’s available on that day, so it’s always a bit of a surprise! There are, of course, some staple dishes that you can count on most of the time, such as pappardelle with wild game ragù, or roast pork with mushroom sauce, but my favorite has to be the homemade gnocchi with saffron and sausage. The desserts are also homemade by

Each summer, every Thursday evening in the outdoor area of the local restaurant, the village association hosts its weekly bingo nights. This is probably the most frequented event of the summer, with people of all ages, tourists and locals taking part. I have always joined in on this event ever since I moved to Vico, and not to brag, but I probably win at least once a year. The prizes for winning the game are quite random but often very practical. They usually include some kind of meat, cheese or wine, but in my time playing, I have also won a juicer, a set of bedding and even an ashtray.

Another thing that attracts a lot of visitors is the annual Artist’s Week which the village association hosts. This is usually at the beginning of August, involves many artists from all over Italy and displays some of their work around Vico. Art is something that has become a big part of the village’s identity in recent years, with the association going to great efforts to bring new artwork to Vico. If you take a walk through the village, you will see many different pieces dotted through the streets, which add a lot of character to the location.

Nestled between the mountains of the Apennines, Vico offers a wide range of stunning walks and hikes through the woods and up the mountain. The main two are Croce di Castello and Balzo Nero. Croce di Castello, which translates to ‘Castle’s Cross’ is a threehour round trip hike up to a Cross monument that overlooks the village.

Balzo Nero is the name of the mountain on which Vico sits and is a much longer walk, taking roughly five hours to complete. At the top of the mountain, there is a book to sign for those who have made it to the top. I hate to admit it, but I’ve only ever done this hike once when I was much younger, and I’m pretty sure I signed the book with some kind of reference to One Direction. The panoramic views from both these trails are absolutely breathtaking, as they are from most points in the village. As far as the eye can see there are rolling mountains, and small villages nestled within

them, from which you can see flickering lights if you look at night.

Another one of my favorite outdoor activities is to go for a swim in the nearby river during the summer. The stream flows at the foot of the mountain, and although the water is freezing, even during the hot summer months, swimming in it is a must if you ever find yourself here. There is an ancient Roman bridge that arches over the river, and some people have even jumped off it, although it looks very dangerous to me!

Although Vico was truly a beautiful place to grow up, as I got older, living there full-time also became slightly boring at times. The closest city is Lucca, which is about a 45-minute drive from Vico. This is where I and most other people from my area went to high school. Lucca is a really interesting place to visit because it is surrounded by ancient walls. These were built hundreds of years ago to protect the city from being attacked but are now the main attraction of the city. You can walk or rent bikes and cycle around the top of the walls, or go for a stroll on the green grass which lies at their feet. Inside the walls is Lucca’s historical centre, which is filled with hundreds of little streets, small independent shops and most importantly many delicious restaurants serving authentic Italian food!

About a 30-minute drive from Vico in the other direction is the Abetone ski resort. I have been going here ever since I was little, and it is where I learned to ski. The slopes vary in difficulty, so there is something for everyone. There are also bars and restaurants to take a break at or to relax in if skiing or snowboarding is not your thing.

In about an hour and a half, you can also get to either Florence or Pisa, which both offer gorgeous sights to see. I prefer Florence, as it is much bigger so there are more options for things to do. There are so many different museums that house some of the most famous art in the world, such as Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, which is truly an amazing sight.

If you ever find yourself on a trip to Tuscany and fancy a peaceful and quiet getaway, you should add Vico Pancellorum to your itinerary. I promise you won’t regret it.

ALICE COLLINGWOOD

Left: The cobbled streets of Vico Pancellorum decorated with art and flags from around the world, June 23. Middle: The village seen from the woods below during an evening sunset, March 10. Right: The ancient Roman bridge arching over the river Lima which flows at the feet of the mountain, Aug. 9. Photos courtesy of Alice Collingwood

A weekend at ZONA Festival

telling someone to watch him because he looked drunk.

Saturday morning: Soggy muffin

To start the day, I have to be honest and let you all know my partner, Jessie McCann, and I showed up unfashionably early. Doors opened at noon, the first set started at 12:30 p.m. and Jessie and I were in line waiting at 11 a.m. For context, I had been asking all morning to hurry up because I misread an email about timing.

We left separately from all our friends — they wanted to show up at a reasonable time — with only a Costco chocolate muffin, courtesy of the parents who let us stay in their home for the weekend. As we were leaving, they asked us if we’d seen the weather forecast and if we wanted rain jackets, to both of which we answered no.

Once we were at ZONA Fest, an hour early, there was nothing to do but wait in line. Among us were the first people of many to be soaked and uncomfortable on Saturday. My blazer was already sticking to my skin, and the muffin I was still holding was dripping.

Eventually, it was noon, people were being let in and I remembered my muffin was contraband they wouldn't let me bring inside. Originally I had planned to eat it until it got all wet and started dissolving in my hands, so I began to look for a trash can, but there weren't any. With nowhere in sight to throw away my muffin, all I could do was hold my head up high and hope they didn’t notice my criminal smuggling of soaked goods from Costco into their festival.

When it was my turn to go through security, the guard looked at me immediately and told me I couldn’t come in with a muffin. I explained I had no actual desire to eat or even carry this muffin anymore and that there were no trash bags. At this point, I had to pull my first big shot move in my journalism career and flash my media pass, which got a manager security guard to come over in response.

“She has a muffin she’s trying to bring in but she’s press,” the guard said, to which the manager said, “OK, then I’m going to need you two to step aside and call someone inside to come to get you.”

So finally, Jessie and I got inside and because we are both good Samaritans, as well as believers in the honor system, we immediately threw away the muffin.

Saturday afternoon: How to make mud

After getting inside and buying ourselves each a ZONA Fest jacket — honestly, money well spent during our wet desperation — Jessie and I made it to our first set of the day: Pariah Pete, which is like Mariah with a P. Pariah Pete is a local. I only knew of him through my friend who grew up in Phoenix and met him during a photoshoot years back. She told me Pete was the first person to show her Erykah Badu’s "Mama’s Gun" and it changed her life. I, however, had already listened to "Mama’s Gun," so I wasn’t expecting my life to be changed.

Despite how it may have looked I loved Pete’s set. The guy standing in front of me loved it even more. He was adding ad-libs to everything.

“Oh yeah Pete! OK Pete, I see you! Peeeeeteeee!” just like that the whole set. Another person in front of me was dancing so hard, I overheard a security guard

Pariah Pete is a hip-hop artist and the only musician within that genre at ZONA Fest so far as either of us knew. His set was vibrant and fun, backed up by an incredible band. I was so mesmerized by Carly Bates on the keyboard during their new song "Sunkissed," I didn’t take my eyes off her until an umbrella enemy at the front blocked my view.

After Pariah Pete, we met with friends who brought my neon pink rain jacket for me. It was an unfortunate color to be wearing the rest of the weekend as a journalist standing in front of the barricade, but it was what I had and better than being wet. Together we walked with every other person at ZONA Fest toward the main stage to see The Garden. After Jessie and I said goodbye, she went in front of the stage to take photos, and I went to the pit.

Right before the start of The Garden’s set was the last time anyone saw green grass at ZONA Fest.

Every mosh pit has its own type of etiquette. The fans at the mosh pit at The Garden didn’t have rhythm, they didn’t have organization, they didn’t even know how to dance, and I had the time of my life with them. As soon as Wyatt and Fletcher Shears began playing the crowd was wild. To explain to you what it was like to be in that mosh pit I’ll say it was similar to going down a Slip ‘N Slide. With my giant pink fluffy jacket, I had no slip resistance whatsoever — wherever I was pushed, that’s where I was going.

I went on slipping n’ sliding until the people standing next to me started to look down. A couple thousand people danced in the rain in a confined space, and we all had to face the consequences. Mud was everywhere. My shoes and socks, covered. There was mud two feet up the bottom of my pants. It wasn’t that we ignored it, there just wasn’t much anyone could do, so the solution to the growing mud problem was “don’t look down.”

At some point during The Garden’s set, Jessie followed a pack of photographers into the mosh, and if you are wondering how the photo people made it from the barricade to the pit, I’m not at liberty to disclose their secrets. I gave Jessie a giant shove which translated to “Hey, how’d it go? Glad to see you down here. Missed you while you were gone!”

The Garden had a 45-minute set, and they performed every second of it. There were backflips and banana peels being thrown between the stage and the audience. None of the fans I saw walking away after the set were disappointed.

If there was ever a moment that would make someone who just watched “Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99” worry, that would have been it. Putting aside the image of mud everywhere, no one should really be making that comparison. ZONA Fest was wild, and then before too long, it was calm again. The few times I saw people fall in the mud or just want out, the crowd was there to help them to the front, and a medical team was somewhere nearby.

Saturday night: All smiles over here

After The Garden, Jessie and I had to make a difficult decision between The Happy Fits, who we met and loved, or TV Girl. In the end, we reached a compromise and split our time between the two bands, which is sometimes just the nature of a

DAISY JOHNSTON

Toward the end of the night, indie pop band, Japanese Breakfast, slows the set pace down by playing more heartfelt songs, Dec. 4. Jessie McCann | The Lumberjack

festival. Then we met back up again to get food.

Jessie and I used our VIP wristbands to get VIP tacos. For the vendors, being VIP looked slow. Of course, I wasn’t monitoring it the whole day but I never saw the lines for the food trucks in VIP get even half as big as those in general admission.

I should say the VIP tacos really were VIP levels of delicious, and I will also use VIP as many times as I want in this paragraph to reiterate I’m a Very Important Person.

Eventually, it was time for Bleachers to begin their set and for Jessie to cross the fence into the barricade while I went back into the crowd. Originally, I decided I was going to sit this one out. I could watch the show from the back and be OK with that. Wrong. I don’t know what it is that pulls a person to the front, but it was like every pocket of emptiness in front of me was an opportunity to get closer. With the classic “I’m so sorry, my friend is up there, I’m just gonna get right by, thanks,” I was 15 feet away from Jack Antonoff.

Bleachers had a good crowd dancing along to their music despite the rain. With 10 minutes left in their set, I was gone at the press tent waiting for an interview, although I heard the ending was amazing. Maybe because of problems with the rain, the speakers blew out and Jack Antonoff finished the set a capella. Fans went wild, everyone sang along, the crowd went crazy — that’s just what I heard.

To end the day, Bleachers was followed by Beach House. Writing about Beach House, it’s hard to imagine where I should even begin. Everyone was miserable, wanting to go home and still it was the biggest crowd I saw at ZONA Fest. My friend turned to me, holding her boyfriend’s hand to the left of her, and told me she was in love with Victoria Legrand.

Please note, serious credit is deserved to whoever was the gaffer for Beach House. Flashes of light made the band look that much more like mysterious secret agents of amazing music on a keyboard and drums.

After Beach House, thousands of people cleared out of the festival within minutes. My friends and I washed our shoes off in a pond on the sidewalk out of respect for the car we drove home in and finally made it back to get dry for the first time since 10:59 a.m.

Sunday: I can’t believe it’s over

“I am a complex, fascinating human being with a wide range of emotions, experiences and thoughts. There is more to my identity than one feeling or another. I can value all of my feelings without allowing them to contradict my actions.”

I started Sunday with a passage from a self-help book my mom gave me at Thanksgiving, because I kind of needed it. The Dec. 4 passage couldn’t have been more accurate to the way I’d been feeling. Saturday I was tired, uncomfortable,

wanting to go home and at the same time incredibly grateful to be surrounded by amazing music and people. Every emotion was tense, overwhelming and temporary. It sounds like a lot for a music festival, but let me tell you, Saturday was a lot.

For every five things I could say about Saturday, I have one to say about Sunday, mainly because being dry cut the amount of drama in half. Sunday was all about the music, and everyone from the fans to the musicians felt it too.

Our first set of the day was The Red Pears, and after seeing the long line of fans waiting to talk with them, we felt incredibly lucky to have an interview already scheduled for later. If The Lumberjack could offer an award for biggest sweethearts of the festival, they would be a serious contender. The Red Pears said the best part of playing festivals instead of house shows was that the police won’t shut things down, and as two college kids, Jessie and I agreed wholeheartedly.

After The Red Pears, Jessie and I both went to work — she went to photograph The Regrettes and I spoke with Taylor, the lead singer of UPSAHL. Taylor Upsahl grew up in Phoenix and despite becoming popular recently, had a front row stacked with die-hard fans.

Sometime between Upsahl and The Regrettes, Jessie and I stopped to get food and people-watch. The outfits at ZONA Festival day two were a cross between insanely cute clothes that had been planned months in advance and people who experienced the rain on day one. My outfit was closer to the second option with a long sleeve shirt and the same pair of shoes as yesterday as to not ruin another pair in the mud.

By Sunday, the mud had traveled from the main stage, via the bottom of everyone’s shoes, and expanded to the entire festival. You wanted to walk to the bathroom? Stomp, slush, stomp, slush, bathroom. You wanted to walk to another set? Stomp, slush, stomp, slush, set. It didn’t matter if a seven-foot man with the world’s largest umbrella stood in front of you, sometimes you were better off just staying where you were.

The amazingly talented Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast was our last set of the day. Powers of the parking lords which were out of our control forced us to leave before we got to see Portugal. The Man.

On the ride back, classical music was playing on the radio, and I don’t think any of us had the energy to turn it off. Jessie took a nap, and I stared directly forward from the middle seat. Occasionally, I heard a muffled video from someone’s phone replaying one of the moments we had lived over the weekend, usually a clip from Beach House.

Music festivals are a society of their own, and once they're done, it takes a minute to adjust. The only thing I heard anyone say on the way home was “I can’t believe it’s over.”

Top left: After playing crazy guitar chords to her heavy metal songs, solo artist, SASAMI, takes a moment to play some of her slower, more emotional ones, Dec. 4. Top right: Lydia Night, the lead vocalist of The Regrettes, jumps to their upbeat set at ZONA Fest, Dec. 4. Bottom left: The Front Bottoms, belted some of their alt rock classics just before sunset, Dec. 4. Bottom right: One of the headlining bands, Bleachers, brings a cheerful, feel-good vibe to ZONA Fest, Dec. 3. Jessie McCann | The Lumberjack

CASEY EVERETT WRITER

As we all know, the World Cup is going on right now and it is a little different this time around. In past years, the World Cup was held during the summer. This time around it is being held in the winter due to excessive heat during Qatari summers. I believe this is going to be one of the worst decisions for not only the clubs that are giving up their players to be in the World Cup but more importantly, the players themselves.

Having the World Cup in the winter split the season for most European soccer leagues. The leagues had to take this break to give players the chance to represent their country and play in the World Cup. I am not saying this is a bad thing. Taking this break allows teams to rest players that are not going to the World Cup but increases the chance of injury for those who are playing.

We can already see there are many names left out of World Cup squads due to injury. Some players not active due to injury include Karim Benzema of France, Sadio Mané of Senegal, Reece James of England, and the list goes on. All these players are key on their respective teams, but because the World Cup is during the middle of their season, they will not be able to play.

Usually, the World Cup is during the summer. All major European countries’ seasons are over and players can recover from injury because they have a couple of months before the World Cup starts.

That is not the case this time around.

Players only had a week before they had to play in this competition. That is not enough time to recover from most injuries.

We are being denied the chance to see all the best players perform during the World Cup and these players are not able to fight for the most prestigious cup in all of the world of soccer. After the World Cup is over, they have a month or so until league competitions resume play. This is usually the case, but it almost feels like they are splitting the season into two different halves.

Do you expect players to just jump right back into another hardy competition environment right off the bat?

This is unrealistic.

Players are going to be exhausted after the World Cup and jumping right back into league competitions is only going to make things worse.

NAU soccer celebrates

AU soccer had one of its most successful seasons in program history in 2022, claiming both the Big Sky regular season title and the conference tournament championship in the same season for the first time in program history. It was the first time since 2014 that NAU had won the conference championship, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

NAU played the No. 1 seeded UCLA Bruins in the first round of the NCAA Women’s College Cup and fell 4-1. After defeating the Lumberjacks, UCLA went on a run through the tournament, beating Central Florida, Northwestern, Virginia and Alabama on its way to the championship game. UCLA came back against No. 2 seeded North Carolina and won in double overtime, 3-2.

NAU finished the regular season 8-5-4, ending the year on a seven-match, conference win streak to finish its conference schedule at 7-1. With the Lumberjacks claiming their first Big Sky regular season title since 2010, they will get to host next year’s Big Sky Conference Tournament. Northern Colorado held that privilege this season as last year’s regular season champions despite missing the tournament this season as they finished in the bottom three in the conference. It was NAU’s second-ever regular-season title.

Early in the year, it looked like NAU could be one of the bottom three teams in the conference. It took NAU nearly a month into the season for the Lumberjacks to notch their first win, starting the season 0-4-2.

On Sept. 15 against NAIA Ottawa (Arizona) University, NAU released its frustration, setting a program and conference record for goals scored in a match, with a whopping 11-0 victory over the Spirit for the Lumberjacks first win of the year. Five NAU players managed to score two goals in the match.

One of those players was Big Sky 2022 points leader, junior midfielder Maddie Shafer She finished the season tied for the Big Sky assist lead with six and tied for third in the conference in goals with five, a point total of 16.

Junior forward Josie Novak also had two goals against Ottawa and finished with the team lead and second in the Big Sky in goals with six on the season. Only Montana’s sophomore forward Delaney Lou Schorr had more in the conference with seven.

Following the win, NAU drew its next two matches on the road against California schools and lost its conference opener 1-0 at Weber State

Over that time, NAU head coach Kylie Louw had been quietly missing from the sideline. It was first mentioned — only briefly — that she was not with the team on the broadcast at Loyola Marymont, the first of the California road matches. Louw was not seen the rest of the season as NAU Athletics announced in early October that she had been placed on administrative leave with no additional comment.

Associate head coach Alan Berrios took over the program following the win against Ottawa and once the Lumberjacks found their stride, they never looked back.

EVAN MCNELIA

Junior defensive midfielder Grace Quinn (9) winds up for a strong kick Sunday at Lumberjack Stadium, Oct. 23. Colin Vanderwerf | The Lumberjack

celebrates successful 2022 season

Following the loss to Weber State, NAU won each of its final seven matches and Berrios was named Big Sky Coach of the Year. He was the first NAU coach named conference coach of the year since Andre Luciano was given the award in 2008 and 2009.

After only scoring seven goals in its eight nonconference matches, not including Ottawa — but you could include Weber State for a scoreless ninth match — NAU scored 12 goals over its end-of-season sevenmatch winning streak.

The Lumberjacks finished with players near the top of the conference in practically every offensive category. Junior forward Dai Williams — who finished the season eighth in the conference with four goals — Novak and Shafer finished top three in the conference in shots and shots per game. They are also at the top in shots on goal in the order of Shafer, Novak and Williams. They each had more than 20.

Shafer was named first-team all-Big Sky and Novak was an honorable mention.

Aside from the first two matches of the season in which it gave up five goals, NAU’s defense was stellar throughout most of the year. Each of NAU’s regularseason losses came by one goal, and NAU was held scoreless in two of those losses. NAU posted nine clean sheets on the year, six came during the streak.

NAU’s 2021 starting goalkeeper, sophomore Natalie Manzo missed most of the season, and NAU looked to sophomore Trinity Corcoran in her place. Early in the season Northwest Missouri junior transfer Ashley Williams competed for the starting spot but she was beaten out by Corcoran after allowing multiple goals in a few games.

Corcoran finished the season with 16 games played, 15 of which she started. She posted nine complete match shutouts, including a 110-minute shutout and penalty shootout win in the Big Sky championship She’s now tied for the fourth most shutouts in a season in school history

With 69 saves and 10 goals allowed, Corcoran had the highest save percentage in the Big Sky and was named to the all-conference second team. The 10 goals allowed are the third least in a season in school history by a goalkeeper that played at least 500 minutes. Her .67 goals-against average was also the third-lowest in a season in program history.

Redshirt senior midfielder Logan Maszton and senior defender Abby Donathan both earned first team all-conference selections for their defensive efforts, helping keep pressure off of the young goalkeeping group.

Maszton was in her second season at NAU after transferring from Ottawa University and formerly playing at Glendale Community College. After making 14 appearances off the bench as a junior she appeared in 19 matches, starting 17 this season. Her 1,541 minutes were the third most of any Lumberjack and she served as a huge defensive piece for NAU.

Donathan started 51 of her 62 career matches at NAU and had five shots on goal and an assist in 2022. She played a career-high 1,430 minutes, capping her career with 4,622 minutes.

The late-season run catapulted NAU to the top of the conference through adversity and NAU was granted a first-round bye in the conference tournament as one of the top two seeds in the six-team field. NAU played Weber State in the semifinal as the No. 5 seeded Wildcats upset the No. 4 seed Sacramento State 4-2 in penalty kicks in the first round.

That ended up being the story of NAU’s side of the bracket as Weber State also took NAU through extra time and into penalties tied 1-1. NAU took the shootout 4-2 to advance to the championship for the second time in three seasons.

The 2020 season was moved to spring 2021 due to COVID-19. After beating Idaho in the semifinal, COVID protocols within the NAU program forced the Lumberjacks to concede the championship match, and Montana was awarded the Big Sky Championship.

NAU got its chance at redemption this season and pulled through in a rematch against Idaho, this time in the championship

Gridlocked at zero through 110 minutes, NAU faced another penalty kick shootout. The Lumberjacks exorcised their past demons, pulling through 4-3. The win marked NAU’s fourth Big Sky title in program history and its first in eight years. Though faced with a tough first-round NCAA matchup, the season overall was a massive success for the program.

Though there will be some key departures, especially defensively, with a lot of experienced seniors on the roster, NAU seems to always compete near the top of

the conference even if there is an occasional down year, the low times have not seemed to last as the program has not had back-to-back in-conference losing seasons since 2001-2002. NAU has a consistent culture of competing.

Graduate midfielder Mikhail Johnson led NAU in minutes played this season with 1,707 minutes while starting and playing in 19 matches. Johnson was a transfer from NC State and started 35 matches for NAU over two seasons. She scored three goals all of which came in 2021, but she did put ten shots on goal this year.

Senior defender Rylie Curran was named allconference honorable mention. Curran appeared in 61 matches over four seasons for NAU and was second on the team in minutes in 2022. She landed two of her four shots on goal in 2022 and recorded two assists.

NAU will need to look to some of its younger upcoming talent to mitigate the loss of some of these heavily experienced players. They have often found players to step up when it is their time.

This season there were some younger players who managed to step up and make a difference in the opportunities they were given.

One of the most impactful young players on the team this season was freshman midfielder Avery Ott Ott played 1,218 minutes and scored four goals with one assist in her first season. She played the most minutes of any freshman, appearing in 18 matches, 16 of which she started. Ott’s 19 shots on goal were the fifth most in the conference

Junior forward Allison Veloz made an impact in her first season with NAU after transferring from Long Beach City College. She appeared in 19 matches, playing 1,040 minutes in 12 starts. Veloz finished the year with 11 total points off of four goals and three assists. Of her 29 shots taken, 15 landed on target. She was named all-conference honorable mention.

NAU will have some offensive creators to rely upon going forward, but new faces on the defensive side if the team is to continue its success and build off of this past season. A conference championship is no small feat, and the 2022 NAU soccer season will be one to never forget. Through the ups and downs, it was possibly the best season in program history.

NAU soccer poses with the Big Sky Championship trophy following their championship win over the University of Idaho at Nottingham Field on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Nov. 6. Photo courtesy of University of Northern Colorado Athletics