THENORTHERNLIGHT
Features
04 February 14, 2012
Experience many different Alaskan ways to spend Valentine’s Day
A&E
B2
Cocktail for the broken heart
University of Alaska Anchorage
Sports
B8
Time to draw a line between fan and fanatic
Long lasting marriages of UAA
time apart before, so this By Alden Lee latest separation isn’t an Assistant Features Editor entirely new experience. For Love, in all of its a while during his graduate unbridled passion, schooling, Thorn lived in bonding and loveyNevada while Stephanie dovey mushiness, is a lived in California. And commitment. Several of for a nine-month period, UAA’s faculty can attest to his wife studied in Senegal, how deep a commitment it West Africa on a Rotary truly is. Fellowship while he stayed “Our marriage is a in the States. challenge,” said Andre “We felt like if we could Thorn, Director of the get through that early in UAA Multicultural Center. our relationship, you know, “It’s a daily challenge that with 17 years of marriage we both strive to make we can probably get work.” through this at this point in Thorn’s situation is our lives,” said Thorn. different than most: He On the opposite end and his wife of 17 years of the spectrum, close in live in separate states. Five physical terms as well as months ago, the couple emotional, are psychology made the difficult decision professors John Petraitis Lampman and John Petratius on vacation in Freiburg, for Thorn to move up to Claudia and Claudia Lampman. Germany for 25th marriage anniversary. Photo provided by Alaska and assume his Claudia and John. Celebrating their 25th director position, while marriage anniversary just his wife Stephanie remained in friends, which “then evolved into last June, the husband and wife Columbia, Mo. to complete her something a little more serious.” have offices right next to each Bar tests. She will be there for the In 1995, they were married. other and oftentimes teach the next six months. Thorn is originally from Las same classes. A well-built, smartly dressed Vegas, so the long-distance couple The two attended the and soft-spoken man, Thorn says will meet there or in other neutral same graduate school, Loyola the transition has been an ongoing spots such as Seattle. When University in Chicago, Ill., with coping process. they’re apart, technology is their identical degrees, and dated for “We’re still working through relief: phone calls, text, Skype only a month before deciding to it. It can be difficult, but we make and FaceTime help their ache for get married. They waited from the best of our situation. We make interaction. December to June before having sure we meet up at least every “Thank goodness we have the actual ceremony. other month, but still the distance unlimited minutes on our phones,” “It’s not really the greatest is tough. I did marry my best Thorn said. “We don’t have to career move to marry your friend.” worry about racking up long competition,” said Lampman. The two met each other at distance charges for that. And we “But we decided to go through a conference for New College try to tuck each other in every with it.” Admissions Counselors in Santa night over Skype.” Fortunately for the both of See MARRIAGE Page 4 Cruz, Calif. They became quick Luckily the couple has spent
The cost of a condom
SHCC, Res-Life & Bear Necessities all provide condoms for student use
By Teresa Kennedy Assistant News Editor
In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, Student Health & Counseling Center dedicated the 7th through the 14th to being Health Sexuality Week, including the spreading of one particular supply: condoms. In the span of one year, SHCC will give out approximately 7,000 condoms at no cost to students, according to SHCC Director Bette Finn. As a part of their effort to promote safe sex, the center provides a basket with condoms that students may take with no questions asked that is if you are considerate in your taking. Last semester, SHCC had a young man entering the office and grabbing large handfuls of condoms and leaving. The individual did this several times. “We simply moved the basket
closer to the front desk and next time he came through my staff was instructed to ask this individual if he would like to make an appointment,” Finn explained. The young man declined and left, abandoning his weekly gig. “I can only assume he realized we were playing closer attention than he realized,” Finn said. “We moved our free condom supply because really it’s supposed to be a community minded available service by allowing people free access to condoms.” Included in the Health Sexuality Week was “Know Your Status Day,” advertising
the center’s services for students to receive free testing for some sexually transmitted infections, such as Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphilis and HIV. Within the last 12 months, the SHCC received 220 requests for examinations specifically for STIs. Of those 220, 100 were female students and the remaining 120 were male. “I was surprised at the large number of female STD requests because most of them we see through GYN exams or annual exams,” said Finn. Alaska has a very low rate of STIs compared to other states. In 2008, Alaska ranked in the bottom quarter of AIDS and Syphilis cases and the bottom half of gonorrheal infections in 2008, according to STD Testing
See CONDOMS Page 2
Sports
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Highlights from UAA and Seawolf Ski Meets
www.thenorthernlight.org
Hey Beautiful. I’m a sticker. Put me here. Seawolves defend top spot against Vikings
Photo By Spencer Mitchell/TNL
UAA junior guard Sasha King defends against a Western Washington Viking on Feb. 9 in the Seawolves 72-50 win over their GNAC foe. King had 12 points, eight assists and three steals to help the ‘Wolves to their second win over the Vikings season.
By Ashley Smith Assistant Sports Editor
The Seawolf Women’s Basketball team extended its lead in Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings over the Western Washington Vikings with their 72-50 win over WWU on Feb. 9 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. This win kept the Vikings from trying to unseat the Seawolves from their No. 1 spot in the GNAC within the next couple of games and all but locked up the regular season GNAC title for the Seawolves. “Defense is the most important part of the game,” said freshman guard Gritt Ryder. “We let off on some important areas today and that’s not good enough, even though we won by a lot.” UAA came out to play in the first half with defensive intensity and quickly jumped out to a 17-2 lead with a few steal-to-points conversions. The game soon turned into run-and-gun plays and the second half looked more like a “playing not to lose” style according to UAA Head Coach Tim Moser. The Seawolves prepared for a tough psychological battle before this game and knew that, with their top spot on the line, the Vikings would be bringing their
all. “That’s what we talked about before this game, we knew that people were coming in and bringing their emotions,” Moser said. “If we just match it early with tenacity, with our effort and work load, that’ll go away and that emotion will turn sour on them pretty quickly.” The battle was evident on the court with both teams playing controlled but aggressive defense. “You just got to stay focused, you got to take their aggression and their emotion and make it play against them,” said junior guard Sasha King. “They came out and got on center court before the game started and you know that’s just added fuel.” The Seawolves succeeded in keeping their heads in the game and kept their 20+ winning point average up as well. Even so, the whole team has been working on putting in their full 40 minutes of defense in preparation for the GNAC and West Region postseasons coming up in March. “We’re a good team but we always know we have stuff to work on. Like Coach said, we haven’t put a full game together on defense,” King said, who came out of the game with eight assists, three steals and a block. “We’re confident if we do the little
See BASKETBALL Page B7