February 28, 2012

THENO

February 28, 2012

LIGHT

University of Alaska Anchorage

www.thenorthernlight.org

Bookstore not in red, deficit rumors dispelled Speculation by student body that Bookstore is suffering financial deficit have no basis say Directors

By Teresa Kennedy News Editor

Rumors swirling through UAA’s student body have recently included the declaration that the campus bookstore was experiencing financial difficulties and in a deficit.

Alessandra Vanover and Bob McDonnell, the directors of the Bookstore and Business Services, met to dispel the speculation “Right now, we are definitely not in a deficit,” Vanover squarely stated.

Both were very surprised to hear of the rumor traveling the student grapevine, especially given that representatives of the students are privy to the truth of the situation.

Business Services oversees the Bookstore, Housing & Dining, Conference Services, General Support Services, Parking Services and the Wendy Williamson Auditorium.

Interconnecting these sects is a Business Services Working Group, in which there are five USUAA Student Representatives who contribute and know the details of all the components of Business Services.

“The senators know that [the

Satisfying victory over UAF on senior night

New program focuses campus groups on recognizing responding, and providing resources for at-risk students

By Ashley Smith Assistant Sports Editor

By Teresa Kennedy News Editor

Features

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Meet Romal Safi, the first Afghan to come to UAA.

Graphic By Vincete Capala

See ISPI Page2 Opinion

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It’s a battle of the sexual orientations

A&E

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The 77th annual Fur Rondezvous commences

See BOOKSTORE Page2

Seawolves finish regular season with 6th straight win

UAA campus unites in new suicide prevention efforts A study conducted by the Center of Behavioral Health Research (CBHR) in the spring of 2011 concluded 15.3 percent of UAA students have seriously considered suicide at some point in their lives. An additional 5.5 percent of students have seriously considered it in the last year.

The Integrated Suicide Prevention Initiative (ISPI) was created to ensure this 20.8 percent never carry out their idea.

“We’re talking about making sure we can hook students up with the resources if they have active ideation, but I’d say we’re focused actually before that point,” explained Dr. Bridget Hanson, a Research Assistant Professor at CBHR and the Project Director of ISPI. After receiving funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

rumor] is not right,” McDonnell explained. “So I was very surprised.”

The buzz was centered on two issues: the recent renovations done within the store and textbook sales.

The Bookstore has recently installed a new banister, shelves, and most recently spent $100,000 upgrading the elevator between floors. But these expenses were included in the budget, and no loss has been incurred, stated Vanover.

“The expenses come from what we earn,” she explained. “The money that students and faculty spend here stays on campus.”

The UAA Campus Bookstore is categorized as an auxiliary and has no official ties to the University or its funding – a situation differing from UAF’s “eFollet” and other university bookstores around the nation.

The second issue, and perhaps most relevant to students, was textbooks. With a rapidly changing technological interface between students and education resources, the future of paperbound textbooks has been questioned.

In a New York Times article at the end of 2011, Kathy

After a record-breaking and crowd-stunning season, the Seawolves’ women’s basketball team ended its regular season with a crushing 94-49 win over in-state rival University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The game also marked seniors Hanna Johansson, Tijera Mathews, Kaylie Robison, and Torle Nenbee’s last home game and last game of the regular season and the emotions ran high.

“Sometimes it’s a little hard to go into when you have so much going on inside,” Johansson, Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year contender, said. “I was like ‘Oh I hope I don’t mess up now,’ because you’re not completely focused only on the game. But I think it turned out good.”

Johansson’s parents traveled from Sweden to Alaska to watch the game and will also follow the team down to the GNAC tournament. Robison’s father was also able to attend the game.

Other teammates were nervous thinking about their last game and the support they would lose after the rest of the season is over.

“It was a little bit emotional knowing it was my last game on Sports

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Governor’s Cup stays up North

that court. At warm-ups I was a little sad, but my teammates were like calm down, calm down,” senior center Mathews said. “It’s like a community here so it felt really good but I also felt sad.

So it was like mixed emotions.”

The mixed emotions did not stop the Seawolves from coming out with a fiery defense in the first half, sitting with 47-23 at the half.

The UAF Nanooks came out in the second half with a little more intensity but were unable to match or stop the Seawolves’ offense.

“It’s a good rivalry, it’s a good atmosphere, it’s tough to play in, and I just felt like Anchorage is real aggressive and we handle it about 50 percent of the time and unfortunately they were able to get the edge rebounding and transition as well,” said Nanooks’ head coach Cody Burgess. “We’re not quitters and that’s what we like to pride ourselves on.”

The win over Nanooks did not count for anything as far as GNAC standings; the Seawolves are still No. 1, but did mean a few more records. The Seawolves achieved the most assists out of 11 years of GNAC play with 31 assists. The game marked Johansson’s 127th game played, just three games away from Nikki Aden’s No. 1 spot in all-time games played, with 130.

See HOOPS Page B6

Sports

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Men’s Hoops take No. 2 seed ; Skiers qualify 12 for NCAA’s

02

TNL

News| February 28, 2012

NEWS briefs

ISPI: training brings awareness, response skills

Murkowski says ‘ANWR will happen’ but not soon

Continued From Cover

Continued From Cover

Gay marriage is all but legalized in Maryland after the legislature gave its final OK Thursday to the law that’s being sent to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who said he expects to sign it sometime this week.

The state Senate voted 25-22 for the law. The vote comes less than a week after the House of Delegates barely passed the measure.

Maryland will become the eighth state to allow gay marriage when O’Malley signs the legislation. The Democrat made the measure a priority this session after it stalled last year.

“This issue has taken a lot of energy, as well it should, and I’m very proud of the House of Delegates and also the Senate for resolving this issue on the side of human dignity, and I look forward to signing the bill,” O’Malley said after the Senate vote.

Opponents have vowed to bring the measure to referendum in November. They will need to gather at least 55,726 valid signatures of Maryland voters to put it on the ballot.

Some churches and clergy members have spoken out against the bill, saying it threatens religious freedoms.

State of Alaska releases last Palin emails

Sarah Palin’s final months in office found her fighting for a signature accomplishment and frustrated over a series of ethics complaints that had been filed against her, according to emails released by Alaska state officials.

In a June 4, 2009, email to an aide, Palin told her to “push hard to get gasline tweet language today. We MUST give Alaskans their deserved updates on the project.” Just a week later, TransCanada Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. announced that they would be working together to advance a gas line project.

That email was among those released by state officials, who say are the last of her emails from her time as governor. Citizens and news organizations first requested Palin’s emails in September 2008, as part of her Republican vice presidential nomination.

Palin’s frustration over a series of ethics complaints filed against her, one of the issues she cited when stepping down, comes through in a series of e-mails on March 24, 2009.

“These are the things that waste my time and money, and the state’s time and money,” she wrote to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.

The emails released last June showed that Palin was angling for the vice presidential slot months before John McCain picked her to be his running mate.

Compiled by Teresa Kennedy

Photo courtesy of ISPI.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said drilling will happen in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but people shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for it.

The U.S. House cleared a bill last week that would open a portion of ANWR for exploration and drilling, but Murkowski said strong enough support from the White House and her Senate colleagues appears unlikely.

“Even with high unemployment, $100 (per barrel) oil and an empty Treasury, we still don’t seem to have the votes to break a filibuster,” Murkowski said.

Energy development and military security were at the forefront of discussion with the state Legislature.

The Air Force has announced plans to move the F-16 Squadron from Eielson Air Force Base to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

“We should not pit Eielson versus Elmendorf,” Murkowski said. “We can win if we speak as Alaskans with one voice in support of our network of military installations.”

Murkowski said that any discussion of Alaska’s interior merits a mention of the region’s exorbitant energy costs and the need for an instate natural gas pipeline.

A few plans under consideration by state lawmakers would accomplish that by different methods.

“I just want a pipeline,” Murkowksi said.

Gay marriage close to legal in Maryland

The Integrated Suicide Prevention Initiative team. From left to right: (top) Dr. Bridget Hanson, Becky Porter; (bottom) Heather Thompson, Kristin Ohler.

Administration and the Office of the Provost in 2011, Hanson and Becky Porter, ISPI’s project manager, quickly hit the road running.

On Feb. 8, ISPI, along with the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE), held a Gatekeeper Training Workshop for all UAA faculty who wished to participate. Several faculty members attended the three-day event, intimating interest about being able to connect with their students on a more sensitive level.

“People know that [suicide] is a problem across the country and it’s certainly a problem [in Alaska] and on campus, so faculty are asking ‘What can we do?’”

Hanson explained.

Libby Roderick, the associate director of CAFE, also participated in the training. The experience was relieving and helpful to her and other faculty members who may face difficulties connecting with students on a personal level.

“It gave everyone a chance to ask some questions that they haven’t had a chance to ask and get effective responses from people who really know their business in this area,” Roderick said.

She explained that it is difficult for professors to realize which are signs of serious depression and which are signs of a normal overworked college student. The training also focused on giving professors methods of reacting if they identify a student that may be at risk.

“It equipped faculty to feel more confident about genuinely responding,” stated Roderick.

ISPI will be hosting other training sessions targeted for students and staff later in the semester.

While suicide prevention can be a loose term, used to describe different approaches, ISPI focuses upon personal interaction:

Bookstore:

ensuring warning signs are recognized and an appropriate response is given.

“It’s very complex. It’s different for every individual and there’s not one solid answer saying, ‘Here’s how we prevent suicide.’

But we do know that seeking help certainly reduces risk,” explained Hanson.

Seeking help can be one of the biggest obstacles for people at risk of suicide, however.

Porter explained about a damaging stigma surrounding counseling and other methods of treatment among individuals having suicidal ideation.

“I think some people just really want to make it seem like they’re doing fine and life is good. For some people it’s just hard to be vulnerable and to admit that that might be going on for them,” she stated.

Through close relationships with resource centers on campus, ISPI has been able to join events such as the National Depression Screening Day and National Suicide Prevention Week.

“What we’re trying to do is

increase awareness of resources, not only for folks who need them directly, but for the people that are surrounding them,” Hanson said.

ISPI also has an Advisory Council, constituting a variety of invested parties who guide the work of the program.

Organizations such as the University Police, Student Representatives, and Student Health Services, among others, all have members to voice their concerns and experience.

One such campus group on the council excited about ISPI is Resident Life. Dr. Lacy Karpilo, the director of ResLife, has already been including suicide prevention training for staff in her program for over a year now.

ResLife staff are required to undergo the training at least once a year and become nationally certified in suicide prevention.

But Karpilo believes ISPI can offer something new to suicide prevention efforts at UAA: comprehensive cooperation.

“The one thing I really appreciate about this initiative is that it’s campus-wide,” she stated.

“Getting everyone at the table is great.”

ISPI’s funding is limited and set to run out by August of 2014.

The realization that their program will not be around indefinitely have pushed Hanson and Porter to establish a “foundation” that will remain long after the program dissipates.

“The overall goal is to make this a sustainable effort so that when these funds are done, the campus will have a better way to help prevent suicide among UAA students,” Porter said.

The effort to understand and counteract suicidal ideation is something other campus organizations will have to pick up and carry on, come the expiration of ISPI funding.

But for now, the program will build and teach, hoping the 20.8% and others experiencing similar difficulties, can be reached before it’s too late.

Gatekeeper Training will occur for students on March 21 and 23 in Gorsuch Commons. Registration is available at uaa.alaska.edu/ispi

Micky, a senior analyst at the publishing research company Simba Information, projected that by 2013 electronic textbooks will comprise 11 percent of the textbook market revenue.

Vanover believes Alaska will be less affected, but still recognizes the reality of the changing market.

“We’ve expected a decline somewhat,” she said. “But I think the game changer is going to be in a few years with the iPad.” She projects it could be one year or five, but that the transfer is coming.

Right now, textbooks make up the main source of the Bookstore’s revenue, while other commodities (apparel, sundries) generate the actual profit. The Bookstore as an entity is categorized as a nonprofit organization. Instead of focusing on profit, the Bookstore is geared toward breaking even – which is the situation with textbook sells.

“Textbooks bring in the most revenue, but they are also the highest expense,” said Vanover.

The process of textbook purchases and sales is intricate.

The UAA Bookstore will purchase textbooks from a wholesaler and sell them to students. At the end of the semester, faculty members are required to indicate whether they will be used again or not.

If faculty does intend to reuse the textbook, the Bookstore will buyback the book, usually for 50 percent of the original cost, according to Vanover.

Textbook Buyback actually results in profit for the store, due to the saved cost on freight and packaging. Sometimes, however, faculty members change their mind and the Bookstore is left with a book they have no use for.

If this happens, the Bookstore will resell the book to the Missouri Bookstore System, Nebraska Bookstore System, or Amazon.

If none of the wholesalers have a need for the book, it becomes “dead stock” and is thrown into a recycling bin.

Often the Bookstore will donate these books to the Learning Resource Center, the Elmendorf-Fort Richardson Joint Military Base, or other nonprofits that come searching.

Another element of the Bookstore is the speaker series that is offered to faculty and students.

It is the Bookstore’s effort to give back to the UAA community and is part of the community square, stated Vanover.

Through these intricate sections that make up the Bookstore, the campus outlet has managed to keep its head above water and proven any rumors about their financial demise false.

t A News T o ip G

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Contact News Editor Teresa Kennedy news@thenorthernlight.org or 9073608537

TNL NY boy sleeps through theft of dad’s running car Police in upstate New York say a 6-year-old boy snoozing in his father’s car never woke up while the vehicle was being stolen after it was left running outside a store.

Officers tell Rochester media outlets that a 26-year-old man from Irondequoit (uh-RAHN’-duh-kwoyt) left his car running while he went inside a convenience store to get a drink late Saturday night.

While inside the store, someone jumped into the car and drove off with the boy asleep in the car.

Police say the car was found abandoned within 30 minutes.

Officials say the boy wasn’t harmed and had slept through the entire ordeal.

Police charged the boy’s father with endangering the welfare of a child.

The car thief hasn’t been found.

Nepalese man, 72, claims to be world’s shortest

He has never worked outside the home or seen a doctor, and until Wednesday, he had never left his remote mountain village in western Nepal. So 72-year-old Chandra Bahadur Dangi only recently learned he might be the world’s shortest man.

Dangi says he’s only 22 inches (56 centimeters) tall - about the size of a toddler - and he’s hoping to claim the title. Guinness World Records said in an email Wednesday that its officials would arrive in Nepal’s capital Sunday to measure Dangi.

Dangi took his first trip outside his village and his first trip on a plane to reach Katmandu on Wednesday.

Dangi, who has never been married, lives with his eldest brother and his family in Rhimkholi village, about 250 miles west of Katmandu.

Because of his height, he has never worked outside the house, doing only household chores. His five brothers are of average size.

His family is not sure when he stopped growing, and Dangi said he has never been checked by a medical doctor.

Guinness currently recognizes Junrey Balawing of the Philippines, who is 23.5 inches (60 centimeters) tall.

Man charged after cooking own meal at Denny’s

A man who claimed to be the new manager of a Denny’s restaurant in Wisconsin then cooked himself a cheeseburger and fries is facing charges.

Police say 52-year-old James Summers, wearing a tie and carrying a briefcase, claimed he was sent by Denny’s corporate office Tuesday to be the new manager at the restaurant in Madison. The current manager told him he must have the wrong restaurant. Summers told her she apparently had not received the memo about the change in leadership.

Authorities say the manager called her supervisors while Summers helped himself to a meal. WISC-TV says police were summoned and took Summers into custody. Officers say they found a stun gun on his belt.

Summers is charged with disorderly conduct, drug possession and possessing an electric weapon.

Ky. precinct decides alcohol sales with coin flip

One area in Kentucky still won’t be able to buy alcohol - a decision made by the flip of a coin.

A vote held Wednesday on whether to allow alcohol sales in the Graham Precinct in Daviess County ended with a 21-21 tie. So officials flipped a half-dollar coin to decide the issue, and the Messenger-Inquirer newspaper reports it came up tails.

David Osborne, the county clerk, said the election’s outcome was “unprecedented” in an issue vote.

The county has 65 precincts where alcohol sales are legal and 17 where they are not.

Compiled by Teresa Kennedy

“Chat with the Chancellor” offers students chance to have voices heard

By Evan Dodd Staff Reporter

Last Thursday, USUAA hosted “Chat with the Chancellor,” an event that allows students to directly ask questions to UAA Chancellor Tom Case and other faculty.

The event was created as a way for students to gather firsthand information from the university and to have their questions and concerns voiced in a public forum. The program, which started a few years ago, is held once a semester and open to all students who Chancellor Tom Case attended Chat with the Chancellor in the SU on Feb. 23 to discuss various wish to attend.

The open forum was topics about the school with students. hosted by USUAA President university. Each question was Ryan Buchholdt and moderated given serious consideration by

by Denali Blackmore. The event Case and the majority of students was also streamed live online by seemed satisfied with the answers USUAA for concerned students given. who were unable to attend. Those Though the majority of the students were able to submit answers were given by Case, other questions online, which were then members of faculty were often read aloud by Public Relations called upon to discuss concerns Director Amber Wilkerson. specific to their areas of expertise.

Throughout the event, John Johnson, Coordinator of Chancellor Case spoke on a Veteran Financial Assistance, was variety of issues presented by called to speak about veterans and students. He began the discussion the challenges they often face in by highlighting his top three transitioning from the military to priorities for the university: the classroom. growing healthcare education, Johnson spoke extensively furthering the engineering about the Seawolf Boot Camp program to meet state demands program and explained how it is and removing obstacles to student “directed specifically at returning success. veterans coming to campus.”

“I want you to have a college Another faculty member who experience that you will think spoke at the event was Vara Allenfondly of for a lifetime,” explained Jones, Associate Vice Chancellor.

Case, concerning the goal of She was able to elaborate on enabling student success. the topic of Disability Support One major concern, voiced Services and explain their role on by multiple students, was about campus. specific areas of academics, “We are actually just about to such as social sciences and kick off a national search for a the humanities, receiving less new director,” announced Jones in attention than areas like healthcare response to questions concerning and engineering. Case responded the DSS. to these concerns by explaining After the Q&A session, student the process by which matters are government recognized Mike given attention.

Driscoll for his outstanding work “It’s a matter of prioritizing, at UAA. Driscoll, Provost and new projects often get more Executive Vice Chancellor of publicity but it doesn’t mean that Academic Affairs, is leaving at the they are more important,” stated end of the academic year to serve Case. “The fact is, we can’t do as the President of the Indiana everything all at once but it’s not University of Pennsylvania. because we don’t care.”

Student government also Case also spoke extensively presented Driscoll with a plaque on the topic of student life and and made him a lifetime honorary expressed his hope of expanding member of USUAA. opportunities for campus The event concluded with a residents. chance for students and university “I am very pleased with the faculty to mingle, which offered a progress of Residence Life,” said great networking opportunity for Case, “We are getting more and those who attended the discussion. more robust student activities all Students could be seen conversing the time and your participation with faculty members afterwards furthers that.” and seemed genuinely pleased Student concerns were diverse, with the program. ranging from residential issues to the support of veterans by the

Photo by Krystal Garrison/TNL

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February 28, 2012| News

Job openings @ Tnl

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FEATURES

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Office of Sustainability educates students to Romal Safi; from Afghan to AK recycle on campus

By Alden Lee

Assistant Features Editor

Romal Safi would like to bring awareness to Alaska.

More applicably, he would like to bring awareness to the nation.

A 20-year-old citizen of Afghanistan, Safi is UAA’s one and only Afghan student.

As a cultural ambassador for his country, Safi hopes to communicate there is more to the Middle Eastern land and its peoples than the war and strife broadcasted across news and media stations.

“Everybody thinks it’s just a warzone,” Safi said of his homeland. “Thanks to the media, it’s just blood and killing all the time. I’d like people to know that there’s much more to my country, the culture and the people and the way of life.

We’re more than what’s shown on TV.” A tall and soft-spoken young man, Safi is majoring in biological science and hopes to continue on to medical school with doctoral prospects. His journey from a small arid town not far outside the Bagram Air Base, to a public university in Alaska, is quite the interesting story.

Safi was born right at the end of a prolonged, bloody period in Afghanistan. Decades of strife between the People’s Democracy Party of Afghanistan and Soviet forces had left the country in shambles, with 60,000-2 million civilians killed by the Russians alone in a ten-year span. The Soviets withdrew in 1989, and in 1992, Afghani political parties were able to decide on a mutual peace agreement. And though current bloodshed has flared up with Taliban involvement, American troop occupation has helped bring more stability and reform to the shaken country.

American occupation has changed a lot about the day-to-day life in his country, says Safi—now

women have more liberties, culture is once again embraced more, and almost all children are able to attend schooling and get an education. 4,000 schools have been built in the last decade, with 100,000 new teachers and 43

“Everybody thinks it’s just a warzone.

Thanks to the media, it’s just blood and killing all the time. I’d like people to know... we’re more than what’s shown on TV.” universities.

Safi himself said he wanted to experience what an education in America would be like. In 2009, he enrolled in an international exchange program that would send him to an American school for a year as a citizen cultural ambassador. He took a test, and when it came to filling out which states he’d like to travel to, he

wrote in Washington, D.C., California and New York.

However, he was unsure what choose for the final two slots.

“A friend said, ‘Hey, why don’t you put down Alaska?’ I don’t remember why he thought of Alaska in the first place, but I did it, and then found out that’s where I was going,” Safi said with a grin.

“They must have saw my name and said, ‘Okay, this Afghan needs to be in Alaska.’ I guess I’m a good grab.”

Safi’s Alaskan high school experience took place at East High, which he said was a “great blast.”

Upon graduation he returned to his Middle Eastern homeland, but Safi wanted to come back to the state to continue his higher education at UAA. A fund was established to allow Safi’s second sojourn, and the Afghan underwent the tedious Visa application process once again.

“It was difficult, but I had my first trip going for me,” he said.

“I had fulfilled my promises—I didn’t skip to Canada or anything the last time.”

Safi obtained a single-entry Visa, meaning he must fully complete his studies before going home again. The prolonged separation from his family—six brothers and three sisters, as well as several relatives—can be difficult, but Safi says he is enjoying his time here and makes things work the best he can.

“We have no internet where I am from, but I get to talk to my family at least three times a month over the phone,” he said.

“In the meantime, my favorite thing about this place is the skiing and snowboarding. The snow and cold, for sure. My least favorite is waiting for the bus in the morning.”

Safi made the Dean’s list for the fall 2011 semester, and currently plays intramural soccer. He has also been publically speaking about his country’s rich culture and tradition.

“Afghanistan has much to celebrate,” Safi said. “Buzkashi, our national sport; Nowruz, the Afghan New Year; our cityto-city parades celebrating our independence on Aug. 19; our rejoining into the FIFA World Cup...and we are famous for our homemade rugs.”

As UAA’s only Afghan representative, Safi will continually work to spread this awareness.

“The media only covers a tiny part of our world.”

By Ashley Snyder Features Editor

Use, recycle, reuse, repeat.

This is the general goal that UAA’s Office of Sustainability has been attempting to do to make the school a greener place.

Throughout the entire campus, rectangular green boxes display signs with plastic bottles and aluminum cans, while blue bins signify paper products. Placed close to regular trash cans, most would believe that the process of recycling would be entirely effortless. But looking into various garbage cans around campus, they are piled full of items that could be recycled.

“I don’t get it. [The office] tries so hard to make it so easy for even the laziest college student to recycle, yet they don’t,” said student Emily Leary. “Especially in high-traffic places, and places where students eat like the Student Union and Cuddy they try to place recycling bins but still so many people ignore them.”

Leary’s idea that students are lazy can be confirmed even more when glancing around at tables in the Student Union. Subway wrappers, Mein Bowl napkins, and empty Red Bulls can be seen left on the tables and sometimes even on the floor. Paula Williams, director of Sustainability at UAA, sees a lack of recycling on campus as well.

“When I walk into classrooms in particular, I see lots of paper, plastic bottles and aluminum cans in the trash,” said Williams.

So what can the club do to infiltrate the anti-recycling offenders?

“When people have a particular mindset, it is hard to change their opinions and make them do something different,” said Leary.

“Even if we had something like a recycling police force there will still be people who just don’t care.”

Some students just do not know the facts about recycling, claiming the signs on the recycling bins are too vague and it takes too much effort to differentiate what is recyclable and what is not.

“There are too many different varieties of things that can’t be recycled that seem like they could be,” said sophomore Adam Parson.

“I don’t want to sit and decide what is appropriately paper, what is appropriately plastic, what is appropriately metal.”

The Sustainability website does give some insight into what is expected of various items to recycle. Items such as paper plates, glass bottles, and coffee cups cannot be recycled due to unrecyclable materials within them.

“Be educated. Bring tumblers to re-use coffee. Most places give you a discount if you do that. Ask for your food to be placed in a

washable container so as not to have to use Styrofoam containers or paper plates,” said Leary.

“Rinse out water bottles and re-fill them. Ask for paper bags rather than plastic.”

Only small steps at a time can really make a change in the school. It’s not to say that the partial amounts of students who are recycling aren’t making a difference. The club manages to collect over 30,000 pounds or 15 tons of paper and cardboard each semester. That’s not including the bottles and cans.

To help really determine how well, or poorly, the school actually is at recycling, there was a recycling audit on Feb. 20. Initially a research project by Joe Hicks, a science major, it expanded into a full-fledged school-wide event.

High school students were invited to participate, being randomly assigned rooms around campus to go to and collect trash from regular trash cans.

The goal was to bring the trash back with them, go through it, and determine how much trash students throw away that can actually be recyclable.

“It was kind of weird asking for people’s garbage. I don’t think very many people knew what was going on so they just kind of looked at us like we were really weird,” said high school student Shania Thomas.

Even though everyone on campus was advised that the audit was going to occur in multiple ways, people were still clueless as to what was happening.

“There were just people wandering around taking trash everywhere. I was like what the heck is going on, so I asked them and they said it was some audit thing and I was like what?”

Mikaela Andrews said.

The audit collected several tons of trash which is still being sorted, calculated, and number crunched.

Results will not be available immediately, but rather after the office has a chance to analyze all of the data to determine how well UAA recycles.

Williams plans to use the data as part of her education on recycling, and determine what areas of recycling the school needs to improve on.

As to whether this event will happen again, Williams plans for it to.

“It will be either annual or bi-annual, but really the purpose is not just to improve recycling, it is also to raise awareness of how much goes into the landfill,” said Williams.

In the meantime, students like Leary will be working to promote recycling, even if it means targeting one student at a time.

TNL

February 28, 2012 | feATURES

Ka boom!

One less lonely girl H2O blast

By Kate Lindsley

By Danielle Haley Contributor

Coming from a gender that has spent generations upon generations writing poetry, novels and even entire sitcoms around being single, with the quirky heroine relentlessly waiting for her “one true love,” I find it odd that many of my fellow females (and I myself on occasion) would rather continue wallowing in our own single-pity party rather than acknowledge the “good guy” standing in front of us as a potential partner.

Sparked by a recent conversation with a girlfriend of mine, I thought I would contemplate the reasoning behind exactly why we do this.

My friend is an incredibly outgoing, fun-loving individual who seems to associate with the “Samantha” mindset when it comes to dating. She doesn’t fall into relationships often, if at all, but when she does she falls hard.

Coming off a long-term relationship that ended in more or less bad terms, she hasn’t been able to find another partner to spark her attention enough to be in a relationship with, although she continuously states (like the majority of females in our friend group) how she would like to have a boyfriend again.

However, a potential has recently fallen into her lap, so to speak.

He is sweet, kind, treats her like a queen from what I have heard, appears to have a good head on his shoulders and looks exactly like Vinnie from Jersey Shore, and come on ladies, you know he would be the ONLY dateable one from that show—I mean he balled like a baby when his mother surprised him at his homecoming party!

The reason my friend is hesitant to begin a potentially lifelong partnership of bliss? He immediately wanted to make her his girlfriend after only a few dates—red flag. But why?

We cry extensively about wanting to find the “right guy,” when in reality he may literally (or figuratively) be standing toe-to-toe with us. I admit I have also on more than one occasion dismissed a male counterpart due to realistically petty imperfections.

Thinking more about the subject and in correlation to discussions I had with friends,

I formulated a pattern we tend to follow when dating: you meet guy, go out to dinner with said guy, feelings for guy begin to form and then you start to nitpick at guy until you find him revolting and/or unworthy. Maybe it’s because he has longer fingernails than a man should, maybe it’s because he has poor table manners… Or maybe it’s because we think we could do better?

Darwin wasn’t far off with his theory of natural selection—we’re typically attracted to the finest qualities in the opposite sex. But so what? Do the long fingernails or poor table manners (okay, I cannot handle that one, it’s not rocket science—napkin in lap, elbows off table, fork does not equal shovel…) matter so much that we are willing to pass over a potentially decent dude for the sake of saving face amid friends in the future?

The answer is—I don’t know.

The dating patterns of human beings have been studied for ages and one relatively undereducatedon-the-subject journalist is not going to solve this Rubix Cube of a question.

The only solution I can give is this: don’t automatically dismiss someone based on one or two minor traits you deem “unattractive.”

Most of us are nervous initially and others take time to fully hit their prime comfortability level, so the best thing you can do? Give that person a chance—you just might find yourself actually liking them!

And if not, at least you tried, right?

If you have suggestions or ideas for a new Sex & The Seawolf article, please send them to sexandtheseawolf@ thenorthernlight.org

The reason my friend is hesitant to begin a potentially lifelong partnership of bliss? He immediately wanted to make her his girlfriend after only a few dates—red flag.

But why?

Contributor

Why can it be dangerous to boil water in the microwave?

MythBusters has showed us that putting water in the microwave and then sticking a fork in it makes a pretty awesome explosion. But if you don’t have sweet safety glasses and are protected head-to-foot, it can scald you.

This happens because the water gets superheated. Undisturbed by you not testing its heat every 30 seconds (maybe this is just me and my radical impatience), it stores up a whole bunch of energy, but doesn’t get that extra kick it needs to enter gas phase.

Kind of like a kick-start, but one that can radically change the look on your face. Literally.

So it lays in wait. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Until you open the magical microwave door and disturb the arrangement of the water molecules.

“Oh snap,” the mug of 300°F water says, “it’s my time to shine.”

This disturbance creates a cascade reaction where each H2O molecule shoots into the gas phase and releases a whole bunch of energy in the process. And where will all that energy go? It is contained on three sides by the microwave…but that fourth side is a doozy.

There are many factors that play into the likelihood of this occurring: how scratched the mug is, how long the liquid has been sitting undisturbed for, and if the drink is mixed thoroughly before heating.

If the mug is scratched, there will more likely be gases trapped within the mug—pre-disturbing the liquid and preventing Blister Party 2012. Liquids that have been sitting for a while (like if you left that tea in the microwave and need to re-heat it) can settle out all of their air bubbles and be ripe for the superheating.

However, not all super-charging of chemicals is scary. Superheated water is used quite often in Alaska in pressure-cookers to make home-canned goods.

Supercharging also happens daily in malls across America, in a really hot way.

Booths set up to sell hair accessories, cell phone gadgets and gym memberships are now accompanied by booths that sell supercoolers (basically the mirror opposite of a superheater).

The merchants tote them as heating pads. Instead of superheating water, they

05

supercool sodium acetate. And instead of superheating it from a liquid to a gas, sodium acetate supercools from a solid to a liquid.

The grand thing about sodium acetate is that it can be harnessed in a small plastic package.

When it is supercooled, it’s fully charged with energy.

The plastic packages look like they’re filled with a clear gel. It is actually liquid sodium acetate that is ready to rush back to its solid form and release a whole bunch of heat energy on its way.

Neat stuff. And it all lets you keep your eyebrows on your face.

It lies in wait.

Waiting, waiting, waiting. Until you open the magical microwave door and disturb the arrangement of the water molecules.

“Oh snap,” the mug of 300°F water says, “it’s my time to shine.

Graphic By Nick Foote

4x7.375 SYK_AC_BCHC.indd 2

1/25/12 11:47 AM

OPINION

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The views expressed in the opinion section do not necessarily reflect the views of UAA or The Northern Light.­­­

06

Firing someone because of transgender identity or sexual orientation is wrong

By Brett Frazer Contributor

Generally, opinion columns should not serve as a writer’s keyboard confessional. However, there are rare circumstances in which divulging personal information is relevant to subject matter. This week is one of those circumstances. I must come out in the open for what I truly am – a huge fan of the show “Glee.” This is not something I usually admit to, but a recent episode of Glee really struck a chord with me (pun intended).

The Glee Valentine’s Day Special aired two weeks ago. In the episode, a Christian song-ogram group called The God Squad sings love songs to people as a Valentine’s Day gift. You pay the God Squad $10, and in exchange they will sing a love song for your Valentine. This all seems well and wonderful until a female character, Santana, asks the God Squad if they will sing a song for her same-sex partner, Brittany.

Uh oh – there’s a dilemma. The God Squad might compromise their values as a Christian group if they chose to sing the song, but on the other hand, it would be discriminatory to deny Santana solely based on her sexual orientation.

Why is this relevant?

Because this is exactly the kind of situation Christian groups complain about when faced with

anti-discrimination laws. This April, Anchorage residents will vote on whether to extend antidiscrimination laws to include homosexual and transgender individuals. Proposition 5 would make it illegal to fire someone because of his or her sexual identity or orientation. The law would exempt “bona fide religious or denominational institutions,” or in other words, churches.

The Alaska Family Council (AFC) has recently released a document that opposes Prop 5, called “Why Vote No.” In this document, AFC argues that Prop 5 would “violate the conscientious right of small business owners [who have] objections to homosexual or transgendered behavior.”

The argument goes something like this: If you are a Christian, and you own a business, your business should be able to deny services to individuals who have characteristics, immutable or otherwise, that you find morally objectionable. Moreover, you should be able to fire a perfectly competent employee if you find that employee to be LGBT. This thinking is not just wrong; it is bigoted and inconsistent with our society’s conception of equal treatment.

First, conflating conscientious objection with public discrimination is inappropriate.

People cannot simply

“conscientiously object” to things they find disagreeable. Most people understand “conscientious objection” as it’s articulated in the UN Declaration of Human Rights – “The Right to Refuse to Kill.” As if hiring a homosexual is akin to shooting someone with an assault rifle.

In the case of conscientious objection, what you are objecting to is the ability of the State to use you as an instrument of war.

Firing someone because of his or her sexual orientation is wholly different.

Firing someone because they are homosexual is no different from firing someone because they are black, a minority, disabled, or possess any other immutable characteristic you happen to find repugnant.

If AFC really believes that they can just throw around terms like “conscientious objection” as a justification for things they don’t like, then perhaps they should re-read the Constitution.

The Religious Right loves citing the Constitution when it benefits them, but the 14th Amendment conveniently disappears when we start talking about homosexuals.

Protecting minorities from people who “conscientiously object” to their characteristics is one major objective of this amendment.

Let’s say I own a restaurant.

Let’s also say I belong to a local church. After cruising through

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, I decide that it would compromise my values as a Christian if I were to hire divorced people or unveiled women. At my restaurant, I fire anyone who is divorced and any woman who walks around unveiled. Why? Because it is my right, dammit!

Is this okay? Of course it’s not. So, if we agree that it is inappropriate to fire a divorced person on religious grounds, why would we ever think it is okay to fire someone because they’re gay?

This is a question I would love AFC to answer.

I hereby issue an open challenge to AFC. What is the meaningful distinction between firing someone because they are divorced, and firing someone because they are gay? I eagerly await your response.

In the final scene of the Glee Valentines Day Special, the God Squad decides that love is more important than convoluted biblical scripture. The song-culminating happiness that Santana and Brittany share outweighs the potential harm of holding onto tenuous principles and antiquated cultural practices. Perhaps the AFC will eventually come to find Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes more important than Paul’s advice. After all, it was Jesus, not Paul, who said, “Judge not lest ye be judged.”

Religious leaders from all across the country fight the Obamacare mandate

By Daniel McDonald Contributor

President Obama has accomplished what many thought impossible. As a result of his recent healthcare mandate, the Catholic leadership in America has managed to grow a spine.

On Jan. 20, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that most health insurance plans must cover birth control, including sterilization and abortifacients. This galvanized religious leaders from across the country to resist the edict.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops associate general secretary Anthony R. Picarello Jr. said they are, “working by every means legally available to us” to get the mandate overturned. They are joined by prominent religious figures, including Bishop William E. Lori, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, and Reverend Richard Land. Even Pastor Rick Warren, who led the presidential inauguration prayer, is on record as stating he would, “go to jail rather than cave in to a government mandate that violates what God commands us to do.”

These are all healthy signs, but where was the Catholic leadership

when a majority of American citizens were voicing their objections to Obamacare? The birth control mandate shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone; after all, this is what progressivism looks like.

What we’re witnessing isn’t some aberration, but the very nature of the administrative welfare state.

The enlightened ones in Washington believe they know what is best for us, and have accordingly granted authority to unelected bureaucrats who will decide these highly personal matters on our behalf.

Despite the overtly unconstitutional nature of forcing religious institutions to pay for something that violates their consience, the President has no shortage of apologists.

Their strategy has been to make this an issue of contraceptives.

Nancy Pelosi has said time and

time again that “98 percent of American Catholic women have used contraception in their lifetimes.” Never mind the fact that the mandate isn’t limited to contraceptives, but includes sterilization and abortifacients , as well. There are others, including John Stewart of The Daily Show, that have also bought into the President’s “compromise” hook, line, and sinker.

Clearly this is not an issue of contraceptives, but one of religious liberty. In order to communicate the absurdity of Nanci Pelosi’s logic, it is best to reflect on Glenn Reynold’s apt analogy: “It’s as if we passed a law requiring mosques to sell bacon and then, when people objected, responded by saying ‘What’s wrong with bacon? You’re trying to ban bacon!!!!’”

As for the so-called compromise, it is an insult to the intelligence of the American

What we’re witnessing isn’t some aberration, but the very nature of the administrative welfare state.

people.

According to the President, if religiously-affiliated employers have moral objections to contraceptives, sterilization, or abortifacients then insurance companies pay for them free of charge. This is, as Paul Ryan says, merely an “accounting trick.”

Insurance companies will have to increase premiums in order to pay for the “free” birth control. The old adage, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” is as relevant as it has ever been. More importantly, many religious organizations are self-insured, meaning they have no exemption.

This turn of events has been a long time coming. The tentacles of progressivism are so entrenched within the government that its advocates have finally become bold enough to take America’s most sacred institutions head-on.

It is, however, not too late to turn course, but a real decision has to be made. Do we still hold these truths to be evident? Or do we fully embrace Hegelian Progressivism and mold ourselves after the European model. We cannot have it both ways. Progressivism is a jealous god, and it suffers no rival.

February 28, 2012 | Comics

TNL

HOROSCOPE

Tundra Comics

07

YOUR STARS THIS WEEK

CRYPTOQUOTE

SODUKU Solutions for puzzles from 02/21 issue Cryptoquote solution “What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well…” - The Little Prince Sudoku solution

By Stella Wilder The coming week is likely to see many people scoring important personal upsets in all manners of contests -- or, at the very least, being presented with the opportunities to score them in the near future. Margin of victory matters little; the victory itself is what counts. The fact is that any victory this week is important and should be considered cause for celebration. That celebration cannot last long, however, as there will no doubt be work to be done toward the end of the week -- and beyond.

Those who focus on the unlikely will be able to control it to a certain extent -- though not completely.

Those who do not will find themselves buffeted about by one unlikely development after another -and these are just the kinds of things that can make a win impossible at this time.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 5) -The “what” will not mean as much this week unless you have a clear understanding of the “how” and the “why.” Key truths can emerge.

(March 6-March 20) -- Take care that you don’t get caught up in your own mechanics this week, but don’t be tough on yourself if you do.

ARIES (March 21-April 4) -- As you develop a new plan this week you may realize that your whole focus is shifting. You will want to study what others are doing. (April 5-April 19) -- Someone may give you the silent treatment during the first part of the week; you can wait it out.

TAURUS (April 20-May 5) -- You may have to do a little rearranging today if you want to stretch your money as far as possible. You can rethink a certain strategy, too. (May 6-May 20) -- Before stepping into a situation that is rather foreign to you, you can get the input of someone who has been there.

GEMINI (May 21-June 6) -- You may be in the best position to provide a timely rescue of sorts to someone you know well. Your unique talents come into play. (June 7-June 20) -- Optimism is on the rise this week, but you understand that there is still a great deal of work to be done.

CANCER (June 21-July 7) -- You’re hoping to gather support throughout the week, but you are

prepared to move forward with your plans even if you don’t. (July 8-July 22) -- What appears magical to others is likely to make perfect, practical sense to you this week.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 7) -- Your unique point of view will allow you to say yes when so many others are saying no as a matter of course. (Aug. 8-Aug. 22) -- You may not be getting the information you need in a timely manner this week, perhaps because of a glitch.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 7) -- You can score a personal victory this week as a result of thinking outside the box -- far, far outside the box! It’s an exciting time. (Sept. 8-Sept. 22) -- You may find yourself criticized for something that is in no way unique to you. State your case this week.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 7) -Restructuring may be necessary this week at the most basic level. You may even want to work with someone else to revise the rules. (Oct. 8-Oct. 22) -- Others may claim that you are hard to read, and indeed you have reason to keep some things to yourself.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 7) -- It’s important to claim responsibility for the things that you have willingly taken on. It may be time to step forward and speak up. (Nov. 8-Nov. 21) -- A conflict can be put to rest permanently this week -- but first you must concede one or two key points.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 7) -- You can wage a successful campaign this week and see one of your pet causes win more support than ever before. (Dec. 8-Dec. 21) -Low energy and a lack of motivation needn’t last long this week; you’ll be inspired by an underdog very soon.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 6) -- It’s time to carefully consider what you want to be when you grow up -no matter how old you may actually be! (Jan. 7-Jan. 19) -- You’re not about to brook any threat from someone who has not endured the kinds of experiences you have.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 3) -- You may receive information early in the week that gives you reason to doubt another’s efforts; you may have the advantage soon. (Feb. 4-Feb. 18) -- You are in a position to share with others the ideas and tactics that have worked well for you in the past.

February 28, 2012

B Section

otio M

the northern light’s sports & entertainment section

thenorthernlight.org

Professor gives local book tour for fourth novel

Low-residency MFA professor Carolyn Turgeon celebrates latest publication, first children’s book

By Heather Hamilton A&E Editor

Photo courtesy of Carolyn Turgeon Author Carolyn Turgeon holding one of the first printed copies of The Next Full Moon in January, 2011

Writers dream of being published authors. Self-publishing allows this dream to be achieved, but more often than not little comes of it. It takes a stroke of luck to be published by someone else, and then have enough people like your book to warrant the company publishing another. It also takes patience.

Carolyn Turgeon, a professor in UAA’s Creative Writing and Literary Arts Low-Residency MFA program, has that luck and patience, as well as four published fiction novels, and a fifth slated to be released next year. Her fourth novel (and first children’s book), The Next Full Moon, was released in January 2012.

Turgeon lives in New York and Pennsylvania, but visits Alaska every July for the one month intensive portion of the MFA program, which is conducted online for the rest of the year.

This March, Turgeon will be in Anchorage and Wasilla for ten days doing a miniature book tour for The Next Full Moon.

“It’s more of a vacation; when

she was up here last July, she had expressed a real interest in the Iditarod and that sort of thing.

She’s never seen anything like that,” said Mary Grove, a good friend of Turgeon’s and a member of the Anchorage Pulpwood Queens book club. Grove told Turgeon that she should come up and participate in some of the Iditarod festivities during Fur Rondy this year.

“Well it happened that it started coinciding with the release of her children’s book. Basically, it kind of evolved in early January, and she decided to come up but to also turn it into a book tour,” said Grove.

Most of Turgeon’s novels are fairytale re-tellings, which isn’t the direction she originally started out in when she began writing.

“That, it started off as me wanting to write something a bit easier after the first book [Rain Village], you know after how much work that had been,” she said.

“It ended up being a lot of work anyway. I didn’t really anticipate writing a bunch of fairytale stuff after that [Godmother].

Then I turned to work on what I

See TURGEON Page B3

B2

TNL

A&E|February 28, 2012

77th Fur Rondy festival offers multitude of events would be hilarious.”

“Fur Rendezvous” received its name from the large economic importance of the Alaskan fur trade in the 1930’s; trappers would ‘rendezvous’ to buy/sell/ trade pelts in late February.

The first “Fur Rondy” took place in February 1935 in the form of a three-day sporty repose from the daily grind of roughing it Alaska style (coinciding with the annual arrival of the miners and trappers bringing their winter wares to town). Owing to the timing of the event, incorporating the fur trade and auction as a main attraction was the natural choice.

Those first festivities consisted of skiing, hockey, basketball, boxing and a Photo By Robert Arrington children’s dog sled race Running of the Reindeer, an annual Rondy event, boasts enthusiastic participants, such as these “Spartans” from the 2011 race. down Fourth Avenue (still a favorite of festival goers)

By Nicole Luchaco Assistant A&E Editor and ended with a large bonfire and provides a rare display of capture the flag and dodge-ball). and torchlight “I haven’t “Rondy, Rendezvous come uniquely Alaskan wares and parade. been [to the on!” The familiar jingle can activities.

Back in the only mean one thing: ladies and The festival kicked off on festivities] early years, gentlemen, it’s Rondy time.

Friday, February 24 with the since I was a men were The citywide Fur Rendezvous amateur photo contest at the little girl, but absolutely festival has been a staple Mall at Sears, and will continue I think I want required to celebration in Anchorage for on with well over 100 citywide to go watch grow facial mattress the last 77 years. Anticipated activities through Sunday, March the hair in order to said by locals and annual pilgrims 4. The festival will conclude with races,” alike, Rondy is one of the largest “Yukigassen” an ultimate outdoor sophomore –Katie Hillstrand be a part of the festivities and tourist attractions that Anchorage snowball fight-game of Japanese Katie presents. It is steeped in history origin (resembling a mesh of Hillstrand. “It sounds like they a law was passed to enact such

“I think I want to go watch the mattress races, it sounds like they would be hilarious.”

facial musings; those lacking in impressive scruff were fined!

And though the event has altered over the years and many things have been modernized, Rondy continues to embody the essence of Alaska.

“I love Fur Rondy,” said student Melissa Parkhouse. “I watched some of the dog sled races today; they were great!”

Fur Rondy offers an wide variety of entertainment opportunities. Overlapping with “First Fridays” on Friday, March 2nd, downtown is sure to be alive with music, art and enthusiastic Fur Rondy goers. From dog sled races to epic snow battles, carnival de l’Rondy and the 62nd annual Miner & Trappers charity ball; this year the ball will be held at the Egan center and themed “Going to the Dogs.” The Trappers’ ball is an opportunity to pull out your inner mountain man; complete with a fur auction and costume, beard and mustache contests (tickets can be purchased on the official Fur Rondy website).

And with the 2012 Iditarod beginning on March 3rd it is a happening time for Alaskans everywhere!

A full list of Fur Rondy activities, and an app, can be found and downloaded online at www.furrondy.net

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TNL

February 28, 2012 | a&e

TURGEON: fairytales rewritten

Continued FromMotion Cover

thought would be my third book, which was going to be about Dante because I’d studied him a lot during graduate school...But then what happened was, when Godmother was in the final stages of its editing process, the editor from the UK swooped in and bought the UK rights to the book and asked what else I was working on.”

Turgeon explained how she gave the editor a list of her in-progress works, as well as a few ideas she threw together. On the bottom of the list was an idea for a book about a mermaid, which the editor ended up purchasing.

“I then had to put everything

else aside and write a book about a mermaid.

And my agent strongly suggested that I base it on a fairytale, and I eventually worked out how I wanted to do it and wrote Mermaid,” she said. “I’ve kind of just let things go where they seem to want to go, in terms of writing about fairytales.”

Turgeon’s fifth book, slated to come out sometime next year, also sticks to her fairytale formula; it’s about Rapunzel growing up to be Snow White’s evil stepmother.

The gritty, re-imagined fairytales of Turgeon’s books have gotten the attention of Hollywood. Her second novel, Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story, was optioned for film, and her third novel, Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale, made it two steps further when the rights were purchased by Sony Pictures, and “Country Strong” screenwriter/ director Shana Feste was assigned to write the script and, potentially, direct the movie as well.

“I got a Google Alert one day; this article had appeared in Variety saying that Sony had auctioned the book, which I knew, but they’d tacked this woman, Shana Feste, who’d written and

directed “Country Strong,” was being assigned to write and direct Mermaid,” she said. “No one told me anything directly, because they don’t, well, need to. I’d only become involved again once a movie was green lit and they’d have to give me a bigger check.”

Turgeon found these articles back in May 2011. When she called her film agent to inquire about whether the project had been dropped a few weeks ago, she received some unexpected news.

“He said that I had perfect timing, and that Shana had just turned in the script. But that is all I know; hopefully everything turns out well,” she said.

Despite her joy at Mermaid’s progress, Turgeon remains realistic, stating that there is still a possibility that the movie won’t happen. Grove however, remains hopeful.

“She’s just a super wonderful human being,” she said. “I think it’s well deserved; she’s a hard working woman and a hard working writer, and she puts her heart and soul into everything she’s ever written.”

Turgeon will be conducting a reading and book signing at Barnes and Noble on Nothern Lights Blvd. from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 2nd, on March 5th at the UAA Campus Bookstore from 5 to 7 p.m. and on March 10th at Pandemonium Booksellers Cafe in Wasilla from 1 to 3 p.m.

Drink review

B3

Blind Russian blindsides

By Heather Hamilton A&E Editor

The Blind Russian is an aptlynamed cocktail that will slap you upside the face if you’re not careful. This beverage contains absolutely no mixers (not even ice), so it isn’t for the faint of heart even if the taste doesn’t work you over.

To make the drink, pour two shots of unflavored vodka into a small glass, add a shot of Kahlua and top it off with Bailey’s (no measurement is given in the recipe used, so TNL poured in a shot and a half). While all the components separately are fantastic (depending on the vodka), together they’re a bit off.

The Kahlua and Bailey’s play beautiful games with your nose; the Kahlua exudes the rich scent of sweetened coffee, while the Bailey’s adds in that bit of creamer that completes the perfect picture

of a peaceful morning. The tip immediately brings you back to the present (hopefully evening) with the slightly different taste that reminds you that you’re drinking a cold cocktail. The Kahlua and Bailey’s blend together brilliantly for a tempered coffee-esque taste in that brief moment of initial contact. And then, as the delightful drink slides further back into you mouth...

And, not so much an aftertaste as it is an in-between one, the flavor immediately morphs into an overpowering monster. The qualities of an unpleasant vodka aftertaste are there, in the middle of your mouth, and the only way to end the misery is to finish the sip and actually experience the aftertaste, which holds absolutely no hint of the Kahlua or Bailey’s that made the initial tip of the drink so lovely.

It also lingers. The only way to get rid of the double-tap of vodka is to take another sip, which starts the process all over again in an vicious cycle that won’t stop until your drink is gone.

Do yourself a favor and don’t be brave; drink a White Russian instead, which substitutes the Bailey’s for creamer or milk, and dilutes the overpowering combination of booze.

Drink: Blind Russian Contents: Kahlua, Bailey’s, vodka

B4

TNL

a&e|February 28, 2012

Movie review

‘Wanderlust’: A sad attempt at comedy

By Nicole Luchaco Assistant A&E Editor

The budget for “Wanderlust” was $35 million, and just one question lingers on my mind: why couldn’t that money have gone to charity?

“Wanderlust” originally seems interesting because it examines a world that is unfamiliar to the everyday American. The movie based primarily in a hippie commune makes one feel as though they are getting an inside look into a world that we as typical city dwellers, know little about. It showcases the paradigm shift that exists between the busy, technological world of a New Yorker and the laid back “freespirited” nature that surrounds communes in general. The concept is simple: a first-hand view of materialistic stress and striving versus living in a “freelove” community, and the idea that there is no “one right way” to live. Those are the very core ideas that we can pull out of this movie

for the sake of contemplation (if you want to look past face value).

The phrase “Hippie commune” (if you are like many Americans), evokes a slightly uncomfortable idea of far too much “community,” neglect dreads and goats.

To be honest, that is how Hollywood has portrayed them, and “Wanderlust” is no exception, falling predictably into a boring cliché’.

Directed by David Wain of “Role Models” and starring Jennifer Anniston and Paul Rudd, “Wanderlust” even falls short of its intriguing name. “Wanderlust” is, by definition, the consuming desire to travel; Anniston and Rudd’s characters don’t. They make it to Georgia and that is where they stay.

With ill-constructed puns, slow dialogue and continual awkward casual nudity; one is left wondering how this movie made it through post-production.

Most movies that rely on nudity as a selling point have at least written clever comedy into their script and an emotional niche for people to identify with, however “Wanderlust” lacks both of these saving grace elements and is therefore left bare. You must simply take it for what it is: an intriguing idea that was adopted by a major studio and made incredibly mainstream and lackluster.

Movie: “Wanderlust” Director: David Wain Genre: Comedy Year: 2012

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SPORTS

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Shootout decides winner of Cup yet again

Despite a strong first game by the Seawolves, UAF keeps the Governor’s Cup

By Ashley Smith Assistant Sports Editor

Photos by Krystal garrison/TNL

ABOVE: The Seawolves get the puck past the Nooks’ goalie in the Feb. 24 game.

BOTTOM LEFT: Senior Forward Jade Portwood controls the puck against UAF. In game two Portwood executed a give-and-go that would get UAA it’s only goal of that game.

BOTTOM RIGHT: UAA sophomore forward Matt Bailey and UAF junior right-wing Andy Taranto wait for the puck to drop.

The Seawolves took on the Nanooks this weekend, beating them 3-2 Friday night but falling 3-1 in Fairbanks Saturday night.

In their Feb. 24 game UAA started off slow but came forward with a barrage of shots in the second period. UAF was unable to stop their attacks, only scoring once more in the third period.

After traveling to Fairbanks the Seawolves played Sat. 25 in the second Governor’s Cup game.

UAA went scoreless in the first period and despite a monster effort from sophomore goaltender Chris Kamal who had 28 saves.

The Wolves would score one goal at the 3:56 marker in the second period, earning a two game split.

The Nanooks won the Cup in a shootout for the second year in a row.This is the fifth time the cup title has been decided by a shootout; UAF has won four of those.

UAA will play one last home pair March 2-3 against Bemidji State at the Sullivan Arena, at 7:07 p.m.

2012 GNAC Championships- Lacey, Washington

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SPorts| February 28, 2012

HOOPS: looking forward to GNAC tourney Continued from Cover: The Seawolves will travel to Lacey, Wash. March 1-3 for the GNAC tournament, playing game by game to try to win the West Regional Championship.

Head coach Tim Moser talked about keeping the season going and the team playing with the seniors as long as possible.

“That’s all we want to do. It’s do or die from now on and that’s

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when we gotta start playing for them and they gotta play like their on life support. We just gotta play really hard and see what we can do to extend it,” Moser said. “I know that Hannah, Kaylie, Tijera and Torle will do it because they know what they are about ready to lose. The more kids they can get on our team to understand that, that is a positive for us.”

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Photos by Spencer Mitchell

Top: Senior Torle Nenbee goes in for a layup in the Seawolves’ senior game against the UAF Nanooks.

Bottom: Senior and Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the year candidate Hanna Johansson hugs teammate Kylie Burns after the game. The Seawolves finish their regular season No. 1 in GNAC standings.

February 28, 2012 | sports

TNL sports briefs Seawolves lock up No. 2 seed in GNAC with win over Nanooks Sophomore guards Travis Thompson and Kyle Fossman combined for 34 points Feb. 23 to spark No. 20 UAA to a 79-74 comeback victory over Alaska Fairbanks in their Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season finale at the Patty Center.

The Seawolves (21-5, 15-3 GNAC) also got a lift from senior guard Lonnie Ridgeway, who scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and added a pair of blocks.

With the victory, the Seawolves clinched no worse than second place outright in the final GNAC standings, plus the No. 2 seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament. Western Washington beat Seattle Pacific 72-70 in Bellingham earlier Feb. 23 to claim the No. 1 seed in the GNAC tourney, but the Vikings must still beat MSU Billings at home on Feb. 25 to avoid sharing the regular-season title with

UAA. The Nanooks (5-23, 2-16) got a game-high 26 points from sophomore forward Stefan Tica and saw all five starters score in double figures. The UAF bench managed just two points, however, as the Seawolves won for the 13th straight time in the rivalry, including six in a row at the Patty Center.

After the Seawolves jumped to an early 9-0 lead, the Nanooks answered immediately and went ahead 14-13.

UAA scored eight of the last 11 points before the half to take a 36-35 lead at the break, with Thompson accounting for 13 of his team-high 18 points in the opening session. UAA went ahead 47-41 when Colton Lauwers hit his second and third three-pointers of the night, but that would be the biggest lead for either team the rest of the game.

Tica made a three-pointer to put the Nanooks up 57-55 at the 8:15 mark, and the home team seemed to have all the momentum, gaining a 6458 lead a few minutes later. Ridgeway answered for UAA with a short jumper and then drew a three-point play on a layup conversion to keep within striking distance, though. He

then rebounded a Nanook miss and brought the ball down court before handing off to Thompson for trey that tied it 66-66 with 3:58 to play.

The teams traded three-pointers on the next four possessions, including back-to-back bombs by Fossman, and Thompson grabbed a defensive rebound to give UAA the ball with 1:50 left and the score tied 72-72.

After a 30-second timeout, UAA junior guard Marcus Jackson got free inside for a layup -his only field goal of the game - with 1:27 remaining.

Both teams missed chances on their ensuing possessions and UAF appeared ready to tie it with a fastbreak basket, but Jackson stepped up and took a charge from Tica with 44 seconds showing.

UAF’s Dominique Brinson sliced his team’s deficit to 75-74 with a pair of free throws at the 14-second mark before Fossman drained a pair of free throws moments later. The Nanooks went to center Sergej Pucar for a game-tying three-pointer with 5 seconds left, but it bounced off the rim and landed in the hands of Thompson for his career-high seventh rebound. Thompson sealed it with two

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free throws, ending his shooting night 5 of 5 at the stripe and 6 of 9 from the field.

Fossman finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2-4 3FGs), while senior center Taylor Rohde - the GNAC’s leading scorer at 20.6 ppg managed 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.

UAA ski team qualifies 12 skiers for NCAA championships The Alaska Anchorage ski team finalized its NCAA qualifying team after finishing sixth in the team standings at the 2012 Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association/ Western Regional Championships following Day 2 on Saturday.

The Seawolves collected five top15 finishes in the final four races for a combined 647 total points. No.1ranked Utah won the team title with 932 points, while NCAA defending champion, Colorado, was second with 862.5 points and New Mexico was third with 768 points. Host Montana State took fourth with 750 points, while Denver (716) rounded out the top five.

Leading the Seawolves with ninth-place finishes were senior AllAmerican Jaime Bronga and freshman Vanessa Berther. Bronga, who missed yesterday’s freestyle race with an illness, returned for the 15K classical at Bohart Ranch with a time of one hour, three minutes and 55.6 seconds.

A local of Anchorage, Bronga led UAA in all nine races that she competed in this season.

From Bellevue, Wash., Berther captured her fourth top-10 showing of her young collegiate career with

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a two-run time of 1:40.13 in the women’s slalom at Bridger Bowl.

Berther’s highest placing of the season came two days earlier when she finished third at the RMISA Alpine Qualifier in the giant slalom.

Also posting a top-15 position was senior All-American Alex Parker in the downhill race. A local of Calgary, Alberta, Parker finished 11th with a time of 1:40.95. Freshman Niko Harmanen(1:57.33) and sophomore Christopher Kollenborg(1:57.40) also finished in the top 15, crossing at 12th and 13th, respectively, in the men’s slalom.

Furnishing the individual titles were Utah’s Anna Kocken (1:37.5) and UNM’s Christopher Acosta (1:55.41) in the women’s and men’s slalom, while Utah’s Maria Graefnings (1:01:17.5) and CU’s Rune Oedegaard (1:02.03.0) won the classical races after winning the freestyle races on Friday.

At the conclusion of the regular season the Seawolves qualified a full 12 skiers to the NCAA Championships for just the second time in the history of the program since changing to the current format – first was in 2009.

Joining Berther and Parker in the women’s Alpine will be freshman Anais Urbain, while junior Andreas Adde and freshman Sean Alexander will join Harmanen in the men’s Alpine races.

On the Nordic side, Bronga will be joined by her senior counterparts in Laura Rombach and Steffi Hiemer, while sophomorer Lukas Ebner and Lasse Molgaard-Nielsen and freshman Nevio Zeni will make up the men’s Nordic squad.

Compiled by Taylor Hall and Ashley Smith

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