April 2, 2019

APRIL 2 - APRIL 8, 2019

A&E

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

OPINION

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Embrace the spring season with a gallery nested in Woven Homes

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG

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Recent tragedies show that the government is too lenient towards Boeing

UAA’s Multicultural Fair: Celebration for everyone

Mariachi Agave Azul plays Mexican music.

PHOTOS BY LEVI BROWN

Sankofa Dance Theatre performs a dance routine at UAA’s Multicultural Fair.

By Mary Ryan

features@thenorthernlight.org

UAA’s first Multicultural Fair took place in the Student Union on March 21.

The event offered a chance for students to experience different nationalities through food, singing and dance performances. ‌ “I think it’s a great way to celebrate diversity and inclusion here,” Student Activities coordi-

nator Corey Miller said.‌ In previous years, the Daily Den has held Global Kitchen events, which focused on food from different cultures. The Student Activities Event Planning team decided to broaden the focus of this event to include more performances. They changed the event to a multicultural fair, which other universities have done.‌ “What UAA has to offer isn’t just literacy in earning degrees, but also literacy in diverse cul-

tures,” Nicolas Parker, a journalism student who attended the event, said. “[It] was an opportunity for students to expand their mindsets on culture by simply watching unique performances, exotic food and talking to those of different backgrounds.”‌ The Daily Den and a few individual students served food from different cultures, including Filipino, Russian and Mexican dishes. ‌ Psychology student Philip Brandon Verano made sinigang

na baboy, a Filipino soup with a sour yet sweet taste served over rice.‌ “From what I was told by my grandmother, it used to be a dish served only for royalty, like the Kastila, [who were] the Spaniards that occupied our country… now it can be enjoyed by everyone,” Verano said.‌ Verano began cooking with his grandmother when he was very young. He feels it is the strongest way to connect with the origins of Filipino culture.‌ “Even though our food has been influenced by Latin and Chinese culture, the kind of flair and hospitality just screams Filipino,” Verano said.‌ While students tasted different cultures, their experience was complimented by several singers and dancers.‌

Dawn Berg, who works at the Consortium Interlibrary Loan Office, sang folk music from Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Though she is Scottish, Berg enjoys other Celtic and British cultures as well.‌ “I’ve always enjoyed singing all the folk songs,” Berg said.

“The first real song I remember is ‘Arthur and Celeste’... maybe when I was three.”‌ She learned traditional folk songs like the Scottish “Blooming Heather” and the Irish “Tell Me Ma” through her elementary school in Oregon and college in England.‌

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Green revamps volleyball roster with new players and coaches

By Lauren Cuddihy sports@thenorthernlight.org

While most UAA athletic teams are just wrapping up their 2018-19 season, volleyball will be the first to begin their 2019-20 season in just a few months. With the season debut closing in, head coach Chris Green is working hard to revamp his roster with new players and new coaching staff.‌ There are currently six official letter of intent signees joining the team and two assistant coaches added to the staff.‌ The incoming roster includes players from both Alaska and Hawaii.

Julia Fetko, from Anchorage, will be joining the team after a standout high

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school season as a setter at Service High School. Mia Ekstrand, another Alaskan, is joining the team after a successful career at Dimond High School.

The third local athlete is Emma Kleven, originally from South High School.

Kleven already started training with the team after transferring to UAA in January. ‌ Green was excited to have another local recruit join the team. However, he explained that Fetko will most likely transition into a libero or defensive specialist for her collegiate career rather than playing setter. ‌ The second Alaska recruit, Ekstrand, will be joining the Seawolves as an outside hitter.‌ “I’ve wanted to play at

UAA since I was young.

I’d love watching their games. I actually remember writing an essay in my 7th-grade class about how much I wanted to play for UAA. I was lucky enough to have Coach Green reach out to me this fall with the opportunity to be a part of the program,” Ekstrand said. ‌ At Dimond, she played three seasons at the varsity level, helping the Lynx to a 4A state title in 2018.

At the time, she averaged a .243 attack percentage, 2.41 kills and 3.29 digs per set. ‌ “Only a few people can say they played for a program who won four state titles all while I was a part of the program. I was blessed enough with such a talented group of

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girls and coaching staff,” Ekstrand said. “Without them, I don’t think I’d be able to play with such high caliber team like the Seawolves.”‌ Kleven is the third local that has already joined the Seawolves as a transfer.‌ She started her collegiate career at Notre Dame de Namur in a Division II program, where she played for two years.

During her time there she played as a setter, averaging 8.10 assists and 2.68 digs per set during her starter role in her sophomore year. ‌ Prior to that, Kleven made significant contributions during her playing time at South High, including helping her team to a 4A state runner-up

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finish during her senior year. ‌ Green explained that Kleven will play an instrumental role at UAA after the departure of former setter Casey Davenport. ‌ As for the Hawaiians, Nohokula Lind is coming to Alaska from Hana, Nina MacPhetrigde is joining from Makawao

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and Makana Eleneki is leaving Kailua to join the Seawolves. ‌ Eleneki will be joining the Seawolves as a setter as well. The Kailua local made significant contributions on her club team rather than playing at her high school during

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FEATURES

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019

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Inclusive bathrooms on campus

By Robert Gant

features2@thenorthernlight.org

As summer approaches, the need for inclusive bathrooms on campus increases.‌ School is out for children in the summer, but many adults may still choose to earn college credits during the summer.

If a parent ends up having to bring their young child to campus, they will inevitably run into the age-old issue: where’s the bathroom? Younger children need to be supervised in the bathroom for their safety, but a dad may not be comfortable taking his daughter into the men’s room.

One solution is inclusive bathrooms. ‌ A gender-neutral bathroom is a singlestalled bathroom available for any person who may need it. Transgender activists often advocate for these inclusive bathrooms. The student body of UAA is diverse, and many students do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Transitioning openly or not, using a gendered bathroom is unpleasant and some-

times dangerous for many transgender students. Inclusive bathrooms are also equipped for assisting handicapped students, or any individual who feels uncomfortable in a public bathroom.‌ Although there are three inclusive bathrooms in buildings near the Cuddy Quad, one of the highest traffic areas on campus, they are often difficult to locate.‌ Samantha Bruffet, an accounting major, believes that the construction of additional bathrooms on campus would be costly. She thinks the money could be better spent elsewhere.‌ “I don’t really have an opinion on gender-neutral bathrooms,” Bruffet said.

“Budget cuts are risking professors’ jobs right now.”‌ The Wendy Williamson Auditorium has two inclusive bathrooms. They are on either side of the stage behind two sets of doors. The bathrooms are fairly clean, single stalled and include a mirror.

However, most students do not have class within the actual auditorium, and events often take place within it that close it off from the public. ‌

The Student Health and Counseling Center also has an inclusive bathroom.

However, as SHCC office manager Michele Bach explained, the restroom is usually reserved for urine samples.‌ “We don’t get the public student traffic from the hallways asking to use the bathroom,” Bach said. “Normally just our clients [use the bathroom].”‌ Those are the only inclusive bathrooms located near the Cuddy Quad.

Amanda Hamlin is a barista contracted on campus in the engineering building.

She was not aware that the campus had inclusive bathrooms in the first place, but has strong feelings about them. ‌ “I think there should be more [inclusive bathrooms],” Hamlin said. “Parents and people who identify with that are going to feel more comfortable in them, which is great. They should feel safe, but there will probably be people who complain about it.”‌ The student body of UAA is extremely diverse, but one thing all students have in common is needing to use the bathroom.

Raising awareness of the existence and

PHOTO BY ROBERT GANT

location of inclusive bathrooms embraces student diversity. ‌

The aftermath of April Fools’

By Robert Gant

features2@thenorthernlight.org

Most people have encountered some sort of prank within their lifetime, but the line between a harmful prank and a fun joke can be difficult to navigate on April Fools’ Day.‌ Many students at the university are looking forward to April Fools’ Day. Shawn Street is a sophomore business administration major who enjoys sending YouTube pranks to his friends, but he also recognizes that some pranks can be harmful. ‌ “It depends on the person you’re doing it to,” Street said.

“If you’re doing a jump scare with flashing lights and the person is epileptic, that’s not cool.”‌ An epileptic individual suffering from a seizure is one of the many ways a prank could backfire. Microsoft released an internal memo, according to the Verge, declaring it will not be participating in April Fools’

Day this year. In light of other companies’ pranks backfiring, Microsoft determined it was not worth the effort. YouTube also updated its user policies, banning harmful or dangerous pranks from its platform in January. ‌ Despite a few exceptions, the majority of major media platforms encourage or even actively participate in April Fools’ Day pranks. Google has consistently participated in pranks for the past decade, such as in 2016 where they added Minion gifs to all user emails. However, people who do not celebrate the holiday may find it difficult to avoid some form of prank on April Fools’ Day. ‌ If this is a challenge, it is important to identify which pranks are enjoyable, and which ones could potentially cause harm.

In Google’s email prank, the comical gifs were inadvertently added to serious emails, leading Google to publicly apologize for the harm the prank caused. This

evaluation of harm versus benefit changes on a case by case basis. The opinions expressed by the student body of UAA vary greatly on the topic of pranks. ‌ Selene Stoll is a student with an associate’s degree in art and currently majoring in digital arts and illustration. Stoll actively participates in April Fools’ Day with her children and considers it a learning experience for them, but she believes jump scares are lazy and harmless jokes are much funnier. ‌ “The difference between a good joke and a bad joke is who is laughing,” Stoll said. “If I cause harm to another person, and I know beforehand they would not be OK with that, that would be considered a bad prank, because only one person is laughing.”‌ Jiamang Xue is a finance major, and she doesn’t celebrate April Fools’ Day. Xue has not experienced many pranks before but does recall some jump scares.‌

PHOTO BY ROBERT GANT

“I don’t like [jump scares] at all,” Xue said. “They may be fun to some people, but not to me.”‌ Adam Abdallah is a psychology major studying human behavior. He considers pranking to be good human behavior when done correctly and looks forward to April Fools’ Day. ‌ “It’s a fun day to play some pranks on your friends, but don’t take it too far,” Abdallah said.

“It’s only a prank if everyone is laughing. I would say that some-

thing that is annoying can still be funny, but something that is offensive or insulting does not have potential to be funny.”‌ While many students have different beliefs about April Fools’ Day, there is at least one consensus: be considerate when pranking others. Whether participating, pranking or observing, a prank gone wrong can ruin anyone’s day. ‌

FEATURES

03

Put some chocolate into your spring

By Malia Barto

arts@thenorthernlight.org

Who doesn’t love a big, chocolate bunny for Easter? Just in time for the holiday, give a sweet treat to family or friends (or keep it for yourself!), made with some extra TLC.‌ The Culinary Arts and Hospitality Administration division at UAA is holding a chocolate workshop for all students to learn how to make some divine chocolate treats.‌ Kellie Puff, professor for baking and pastries, will be leading the event for the first time. There

will be information on prepping and buying molds, finding the difference between high and low-quality chocolates, the process of tempering chocolates, casting and then, of course, sampling.‌ Solid, chocolate bunnies and filled eggs, replicating Cadbury Eggs and Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, will be made at the workshop.‌ “I did that for my kids years ago. I started making their candies for Easter so I thought it would be fun to share that with [students],” Puff said.‌ These chocolate workshops were normally held by Chef

Vern Wolfram for years during his tenure at UAA, but have not been back since his retirement in May of 2018.‌ “This event will give folks in Anchorage the opportunity to meet Chef Puff and learn about chocolate,” Rachel Epstein, special events coordinator for the Campus Bookstore, said. “I am very glad that events with the UAA Culinary Arts and Hospitality [department] are continuing after Chef Vern [Wolfram] and Timothy Doebler have retired.”‌ If you’re curious about other delicacies made by culinary students, check out Lucy’s for lunch

Tuesday-Friday from 11:30 a.m.

- 2 p.m. You can also purchase a snack on the way to class from their recently-opened bakery cart. The cart is run three days a week: Tuesday-Thursday from 9-11 a.m. in front of Lucy’s in Cuddy Hall. They will even start selling the chocolate treats taught at the workshop around Easter time.‌ The chocolate workshop with Chef Puff will be held on the second floor of the UAA Campus Bookstore on Thursday, April 4 from 1 - 2 p.m. The event is free and open to everyone.‌‌

GRAPHIC BY LEVI BROWN

CULTURE: Diversity through food, music and dance

PHOTOS BY LEVI BROWN

Sankofa Dance Theatre plays African-inspired drum beats.

The Multicultural Fair featured food from a variety of cultures.

Continued from cover

“What helped me get through [the move] was having that connection to my home through the Mariachi band,” she said.‌ Along with the musical style, a few of the band’s instruments are from Mexico. Fransisco Badillo plays the vihuela and German Badillo plays the guitarrón.

These traditional Mexican instruments are similar to a guitar and a bass guitar.‌ However, not all of the band members are Mexican.‌ “That’s another thing about our band,

Berg participates in Celtic, British and Amercian folk culture by hosting song circles. Some types of song circles are programmed sing-alongs. Others allow everyone to take a turn requesting and leading a song.‌ The band Mariachi Agave Azul filled the Multicultural Fair with their resonating voices and instruments. Our Lady of Guadalupe community members started

the band in 2010. The current band members are UAA students Isabel Azpilcueta and Javier Acuña, highschool student Oscar Corrales and college graduates Francisco Badillo, German Badillo, Mia Badillo, Mariana Herrera, Leila Spelman and Mark Williams.‌ “Mariachi music is very cultural.

When you hear it, you think Mexico,” Azpilcueta said. ‌ Azpilcueta grew up in Mexico and moved to Alaska when she was 13, taking her love of music with her.‌

we are super diverse. So it’s not just Mexican for Mexican — it’s for everyone,” Azpilcueta said. “I feel like that’s what we are all about: just sharing our culture with other people and also bringing back home people who are so far away.”‌ That is essentially what the Multicultural Fair itself was all about: celebrating and experiencing a variety of cultures.‌ In the future, the Student Activities events planning team would like to host more events to celebrate cultures, such as a multicultural fashion show. ‌‌‌

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THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019

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‘Infinite possibility’: ARC Gallery displays nests in various forms

By Malia Barto

arts@thenorthernlight.org

The subject of “nests” can mean many things. It can symbolize a home, a place of growth and even femininity. The ARC Gallery is displaying 11 pieces in their new gallery, experimenting with that particular idea.‌ The gallery is titled “Woven Homes.”

The contributing artists consist of four, female, Alaska-based artists who are exploring nests through their own perspectives. ‌ One of the artists, Sara Tabbert, has two pieces in the gallery from two very different points in her life. One of the pieces called “Dervish” is wood-engraved and full of detail.‌ “[Dervish] was made in a long residency in a small town in Montana, at a time when I had recently finished graduate school and was bouncing around between Alaska, Montana and the Midwest.

Things felt very exciting and unsettled, and I think the image has references to home, movement and difficulty,” Tabbert said.‌ Tabbert is trained in printmaking and often works in woodcut. Her second piece in the gallery, “Nest,” is a print of a nest as the title implies. While it is simpler than her other piece, it is still full of patterns and details.‌ For Melanie Lombard’s pieces in the gallery, inspiration came after a windstorm several years ago.‌

PHOTOS BY MALIA BARTO

“Dervish” by Sara Tabbert.

Carol Lambert’s “Nest Makings” is made of twigs, grass, linen, moss, wool and lichen.

“[A nest] had fallen on the ground and it was so amazing and just so beautifully crafted I just wanted to look at it for a long time,” Lombard said. “So I made a drawing of it and I just couldn’t stop drawing it, it was all I wanted to draw... I would think about how the nest is almost like an external womb or like, a piece of infinite possibility. I wanted to express those more abstract ideas and so my work [became] more abstract.”‌ Her medium for the gallery is an experimental watercolor with salt and graphite. Her work gives a pop of vibrant color to the exhibit with the blue, purple

and pink hues.‌ The gallery is curated by UAA fine arts student Matilda Jacobson, who is currently in a curatorial internship through the Kimura Gallery. She was researching Alaska artists when she started noticing the recurring theme of nests through many artists’ work. ‌ “This coincidence happened far too often for me to ignore, and I decided that it had to be worth looking into,” Jacobson said. “Even after assembling the artists and the work, nearly every day I seem to encounter more artwork surrounding the nest, either from other art students here

at UAA or from additional local artists.”‌ Jacobson is featuring Lombard, Tabbert, Carol Lambert and Holly Nordlum in the gallery. She hopes the exhibit has viewers enjoying the different renditions of nests and realizing their own personal association with them.‌ The exhibit opened March 27 and will stay on display at the ARC Gallery, located between the Kaladi Brother’s Cafe in the Social Sciences Building and the UAA/APU Consortium Library, until May 7. There is an opening reception for the gallery on Friday, April 12, from 4 7 p.m.‌‌

UAA Dance Club adapts to physical abilities

By Mary Ryan

features@thenorthernlight.org

Most students hear about Dance Club through UAA’s dance program, which allows them to continue to dance outside of classes and performances. However, the group is also for students and non-students outside of the dance program.‌ The UAA Dance Club is for anyone, beginner or experienced, who is looking for a dance community. The main goal is to make dance more inclusive and increase dance involvement on campus and in Anchorage, Vice President Marissa Citro said.‌ “It’s just a campus-wide activity that you can come to and have freedom of expression,” Dance Club President Kimberly McGrath said. “Everyone needs art.

For some people it’s drawing, for some it’s photography or music. Ours is dance.”‌ Social work student Panika Teeple is pursuing a dance minor. Even though she hasn’t been dancing very long, she is very passionate about the art form.‌ “It’s such a good feeling to create something with your body, and let your body speak for you instead of words,” Teeple said.‌ The club meets on Fridays at 4 p.m. for movement sessions. These are free

PHOTO COURTESY OF UAA DANCE CLUB

UAA Dance Club members at the PSB dance studio.

lessons that primarily teach modern and contemporary dance but also include a variety of other styles, such as musical theater, ballet, hip-hop, jazz and salsa.‌ Dance Club teaches dance in a way that adapts to all skill levels and limitations. McGrath described modern dance as “where you take movements from ballet and shift them in a direction that is not as structured and more fluid.”‌ McGrath and Citro have both had knee

injuries and have to wear braces while they dance. Through the accommodating nature of Dance Club, they are still able to continue dancing.‌ “We are trying to include everybody.

It doesn’t matter what physical implications you may have,” McGrath said.‌ The UAA Dance Club started sometime in the 1980s, according to professor and Dance Program coordinator Jill Flanders-Crosby. ‌

“It was started by students in collaboration with a faculty advisor, myself, who wanted to support and integrate dance concerts, dance master classes and guest artist residencies with the dance program,” Flanders-Crosby said. ‌ The Dance Club also produces shows in the fall and spring. In previous years, the Dance Company Ensemble was in charge of performances. With the departure of assistant professor Brian Jeffery, who directed performance, the responsibility fell to Dance Club.‌ “We decided to do a student showcase, otherwise the students wouldn’t have a show to participate in,” Citro said.‌ The club brings in revenue through bake sales. In the past, they have also hosted flash mob performances and dance parties to raise awareness of the club.‌ There are no more movement sessions for the spring semester, but they will continue fall semester.‌ UAA’s Dance Club will showcase modern, contemporary and ballet at the Alaska Dance Theater on April 5-6 and 12-13 at 7:30 p.m. and April 7 and 14 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $12 for the public and $10 for students, military and senior citizens.‌ For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the UAA Dance Club Facebook page.‌

SPORTS

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019

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ROSTER: UAA volleyball recruits Alaskans, Hawaiians to team Continued from cover her senior year. ‌ “Some players are choosing club volleyball over high school volleyball, and honing their skills just as well. Watching her play in person, we’ve been impressed with her setting skills and her all-around defensive presence,” Green said.‌ MacPhetridge will also be

joining Eleneki from Hawaii.

In contrast, MacPhetridge finished off her pre-college season at her high school, including a standout set with 13 kills and 5 blocks. ‌ Lind is the third Hawaiian joining the team so far. From Hana, Maui, she helped her team to the state tournament twice and was named 2016 MIL Division II Player of the Year. ‌

In addition to the new players, Green added two former players to the coaching staff as assistant coaches. Stacie Meisner played for UAA in 2008-09 while Brooke Pottle played more recently in 2013 and 2014. ‌ Meisner helped coach the team last year as a graduate assistant but has now been promoted to top assistant coach, replacing former associate head

coach Sheldon Carvalho. ‌ During her time playing for UAA, she helped the Seawolves win their first GNAC title and reach the NCAA Tournament.

She was also honored with academic All-Conference and AllGNAC honorable mention.‌ Pottle will also be joining the Seawolves as an assistant after serving as junior varsity volleyball coach at Service High

School last year. ‌ Previously, Pottle played for UAA as an outside hitter and helped the team to two NCAA tournaments. ‌ The Seawolves will be continuing to add recruits in the coming months and will be back in action in August. ‌

OPINION

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019

06

Boeing is too cozy with the government

GRAPHIC BY LEVI BROWN

By Ben Edwards

opinion2@thenorthernlight.org

The crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10 is revitalizing scrutiny against the Boeing Company. Deservedly so, since this latest tragedy follows the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 on Oct. 29. The incidents had alarming similarities. Both flights were aboard a Boeing 737 MAX, which is the newest version of Boeing’s 737 aircraft series and had debuted for commercial use as recently as May 2017. Additionally, both crashes occurred shortly after takeoff and the pilots struggled to maintain a steady climb. Investigators are narrowing in on the new Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System

that this model is equipped with.

The MCAS is an automated system that intentionally forces the plane’s nose down if it detects an unsafe ascending tilt in the aircraft. The sensors that it relies on may have malfunctioned and forced the plane into a fatal nosedive, as was determined in the Lion Air crash. ‌ Investigators are right to propose MCAS as the cause of the problem. Boeing seems to agree, given that the company hastily deployed a software update that they think might fix the system.

But questions remain as to why the 737 MAX was approved as airworthy in the first place. ‌ Many are criticizing Boeing’s government regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States. The FAA has conceded a lot of its evaluation responsibilities to

the manufacturers, resulting in a situation where Boeing employees conduct most of the evaluation themselves. The FAA then verifies that Boeing has gone through the checklist.‌ The FAA has argued a plausible defense of this. Aircraft manufacturing is incredibly technical, and the FAA doesn’t have the staff necessary to understand the 4 million lines of code that comprise the 737 MAX’s flight-control computer.

Only Boeing understands the machines that it produces. ‌ Obviously, this exposes a conflict of interest. Boeing was desperate to compete with its arch-rival, Airbus, which had released the fuel-efficient A320neo to European airliners in 2016.

Boeing reportedly rushed its engineers to complete the designs for the 737 MAX at twice the standard pace. They may have cut corners to get their new plane to market.‌ Reigning in Boeing’s hastiness isn’t as easy as increasing the FAA budget. Even with more staff, regulators cannot be expected to keep up with the rapid technological change in the airline industry. FAA evaluators would have to be trained by Boeing on the program being evaluated, which is still a conflict of interest in a different format. ‌ Instead, we should start enforcing a separation between the government and Boeing. The

two have had a cozy relationship since World War II, where the manufacturer obtained unprecedented subsidization from the federal government as it massproduced 98,965 aircrafts for the war effort. That subsidization hasn’t really disappeared to this day. 36 percent of Boeing’s revenue comes from the U.S. Department of Defense. The company’s lobbyists wield a lot of clout in Washington D.C., where legislators are regularly persuaded to allocate make-work funds for Boeing to produce things that no one needs. ‌ This could easily be a whole article about corporate welfare, but this relationship also has safety implications with deadly consequences. Boeing and the FAA released very similar public statements after the Lion Air crash, which makes you wonder if the two agreed on what to say beforehand. That is concerning because it undermines the independence of the FAA. We want it to be a regulator, not a lapdog.‌ Since the FAA cannot evaluate Boeing’s aircraft effectively, it should at least enforce its independence from the corporate behemoth. Close ties breed complacency as well as corruption.

The FAA should be authorized to wield two new tools in its oversight. First, Boeing should be subject to extreme fines when manufacturer’s error is cited in a plane crash. BP had to pay a

record $62 billion for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Considering Boeing’s entire revenue of $101 billion in 2018, a fine of even half that size would be punishment aplenty. The threat of fines can temper the urgency that Boeing felt when they rushed the 737 MAX out of the hangar.‌ Second, the FAA should preemptively investigate Boeing at all times. This means conducting surprise visits to company facilities, similar to how food safety regulators drop into restaurants with little warning. The goal is to be sure that Boeing is taking safety measures seriously in every stage of aircraft development, from blueprint to assembly, instead of just sprucing up a nice report at the final evaluation stage. Additionally, the FAA should be easy to access for any Boeing employee that wants to expose unaddressed safety flaws without losing their job. The FAA can protect the anonymity of these whistleblowers by crediting the information found to its investigators.‌ Boeing does take safety seriously. The U.S. airline industry remains the safest in the world.

But decades of having a cozy relationship with the government has given Boeing more safety leeway than it should have. Even the slightest mistakes can cause hundreds of deaths, so we must not turn a blind eye.‌

Quit breeding pedigree dogs

GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA

By Ben Edwards

opinion2@thenorthernlight.org

It doesn’t take much to convince reasonable people that human inbreeding is bad. The physical abnormalities and high infant mortality rates that are attributed to incestual reproduction are visible enough to form consensus on a taboo.

Yet, we don’t seem to mind inbreeding other animals. Even our adorable household companions, dogs, are subject to a whole industry designed to mate them with their close relatives in pursuit of arbitrary characteristics. This needs to stop.‌ It’s not like inbreeding dogs is biologically different than inbreeding humans. The science is still the same. Offspring inherit chromosomes from both parents, and the dominant allele will be

expressed over the recessive allele. But if both paired alleles are recessive, then the offspring gets that trait. For example, progressive retinal atrophy is a genetic trait that causes blindness in some dog breeds.

Since it is recessive, it could be gradually eliminated if all affected dogs were mated with unaffected dogs. But breeders are pairing affected dogs with their close relatives in order to produce purebred offspring, so the disease persists.‌ It is important to recognize that none of these pedigree, or purebred, dogs are naturally occurring. Obviously, poodles and Dachshunds did not hunt in packs alongside primordial wolves. It was 19th century, eugenic-crazed aristocrats who created many of these breeds by mating dogs with certain traits and then compounding on those traits by inbreeding the offspring together. They did this for sport, show, convenience or just because the breed looked silly.‌ So, what is the problem with this? Humans genetically modify species of edible plants all the time, without objection.

But purebred dogs are suffering from horrible, degenerative diseases. Their bodies are deformed and prone to dysfunction. Their life expectancies are frequently shorter than 10 years. The dogs may be blissful in their ignorance, but it’s us who have to live with a pang of guilt

for promoting their deformities for our amusement.‌ Looking at some of the most problematic breeds highlights how extraordinarily abusive purebred genetics has become.

Pugs have such short, crunched snouts that they can hardly breathe. Over 80 percent of bulldogs have to be birthed by cesarean section because their skulls are too large for the mother’s pelvis. The skeletal structure of a Dachshund is so warped that they barely clear the ground and suffer from spinal problems. A study of 88,635 dogs at the University of California Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital identified 10 inherited diseases with higher prevalence in pure-breeds: aortic stenosis, atopy/allergic dermatitis, gastric dilatation volvulus, early onset cataracts, dilated cardiomyopathy, elbow dysplasia, epilepsy, hypothyroidism, intervertebral disk disease and hepatic portosystemic shunt.‌ At the helm of all this misery are the kennel clubs. These organizations set arbitrary standards for show dogs, and actively promote breeding arrangements that emphasize that standard. The American Kennel Club sponsors shows where dogs are judged on conformity to their breed. Spayed or neutered dogs are disqualified, as well as mixed breeds. Male dogs who win contests become “popular

sires” and are bred repeatedly, further limiting the gene pool. ‌ Kennel clubs are just the modern version of the same old problem. No matter how they spin their message, they are still promoting an environment where contestants bring ruin upon the canine genome.

The human wins the money and glory.

The dog gets stuck with the diseases.‌ We bear responsibility for creating this mess, but we also possess the power to fix it. Quit breeding pedigree dogs and quit supporting that industry. If you want a new pet, visit the countless lonely mutts wasting away in city pounds and adoption clinics. There is no reason why a purebred dog, even with a meaningless pedigree certificate, should be superior to a mutt. Genetically, the reality is quite the opposite. Mixed breeds benefit from a genetic phenomenon called hybrid vigor, where an organism is more likely to acquire superior genes if it participates in a wide and varied gene pool. Genes selected by nature are more likely to result in a healthy, functional animal than genes selected by humans for their amusement.‌ Dogs need to be freed from our genetic meddling. No more Frankenstein games. That’s the least we can give to an animal that gives so much to us.

OPINION

07

UPD Chief’s Corner

Welcome to the March edition of Chief’s Corner.‌ First, I would like to welcome you all back from spring break.

I am pleased to report vehicle accidents for the winter months at the university are down almost 40 percent from last year.

I am also pleased to report that the UAA Safe App continues to gain traction, and the usage of the virtual walk rose another 10 percent this month. Our Student Safety patrol has been hard at work patrolling the library and core buildings resulting in a reduction in police-related calls.

This frees officers to interact further with our community.

Thanks, Seawolves, for your continued support.‌ Upcoming UPD Events UPD will be participating in a screening of “Chasing the Dragon” followed by a panel discus-

sion with our partners in the Anchorage community afterward.

This event will take place in the Student Union Den on April 15 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. UPD is also offering Rape Aggression Defense training April 6 and 7 in the Dance Studio located at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

Register at UAA_RAD@alaska. edu. For questions, contact Officer Smock at cwsmock@alaska.edu or (907)786-1120. This class is free to UAA students.‌ Safety Tips As the snow melts and the trees gain their leaves, Alaska wildlife will be out in abundance. Moose will be feeding on fresh leaves; bears will awake from their long winter nap. The gulls will return to campus and once again chase students, staff and faculty in the parking lots and the Quad as they guard their nests. However tempting it is to get close to these creatures, always remember they are still wild animals. If a University Police Officer is present in a wildlife situation, follow his or her orders. It is for your safety.‌ Send any questions or comments to uaa_updchief@alaska. edu. We will see you around campus!‌ Interim Chief Beckner‌

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