January 29, 2019 by The Northern Light

JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 4, 2019

SPORTS

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

OPINION

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UAA track and field scores high in two back-to-back weekend meets

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG

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From being annoyances to harbingers of death, why mosquitoes need to go

New campaign on campus encourages Seawolves to become better bystanders

PHOTO BY CHEYENNE MATHEWS

By Malia Barto

arts@thenorthernlight.org

Posters of UAA students, faculty, staff and community members sporting new ink have been posted across campus. The photos include a portrait of an individual with motivating, encouraging words like “we will not stand by” and “I believe you” written in black marker on their arms, chest or hands. These posters are a part of a new campaign called Seawolves Speak Up. ‌ The Seawolves Speak Up campaign was launched at the beginning of the semester by

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UAA’s Student Health and Counseling Center and aims to encourage the UAA community to become active bystanders by speaking up and intervening when they see something wrong. This includes noticing harassment, bullying, mental health issues, issues within friendships or romantic relationships, sexual violence or any other similar situation. ‌ Hannah Guzzi is the health promotion specialist with UAA’s Student Health and Counseling Center. While the above issues are important to recognize and speak up in, she said the emphasis of the campaign is focusing

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on sexual violence prevention.‌ “[We’re] making sure we’re stepping in when things don’t look right, when people are arguing … making sure people are safe and removed from situations that are kind of escalating, while adding to the conversation of, ‘what is consent?’ in a sexual relationship and how do we educate people on that,” Guzzi said.‌ The campaign started gaining buzz from students noticing the posters of their classmates and professors. The individuals on the posters were all specifically invited for the campaign’s photo shoot last semester, or, for students, after being recom-

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mended by someone in their department.‌ “When we were doing the photo shoot, it was cool that everyone was excited but I was like ‘this is weird to be excited about’ with it being about dating violence and sexual assault. But at the same time, it is exciting because you see how many people care and how many people it’s affected,” Kyra McKay said. “It really did make you feel like you’re not alone and this is a community.”‌ McKay is the employee wellness practicum coordinator in UAA’s department of health, physical education and recre-

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ation.‌ UAA’s Dating Violence Sexual Assault Coalition for Change, or DVSA, is a part of the campaign and is a resource for students to get involved and informed. Their website, uaa. alaska.edu/seawolvesspeakup, contains resources available to students if they need to file an incident, learn more about the Student Health and Counseling Center or Center for Advocacy, Relationships, and Sexual Violence and other ways to become involved in trainings, workshops and more.‌ “You don’t have to be this big superhero, you don’t have to have this big superhero moment, there are very small things you can to do intervene or just let someone know that you’re there as a resource, or as support, or as an ally to them,” Bridget Coffou, prevention and education coordinator for Equity and Compliance, said.‌ Upcoming events through DVSA include their women’s self-defense classes held in February, March and April and monthly DVSA meetings. Visit their website for dates and times, as well as additional information and events.‌ The Seawolves Speak Up campaign is new to campus, but the hope is for it to have lasting effects.‌ “I think long term, we’d definitely like to see this as the goal of when [students] come to UAA, like this is the culture you’re going to be a part of,” Guzzi said. “We’re accepting of anyone and everyone and we’re looking out for each other.”‌‌‌

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THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019

Learn money, earn money

By Malia Barto

arts@thenorthernlight.org

The $avvy $eawolf $eries is back on UAA grounds for its 11th semester of making students more financially literate. The series consists of workshops once-a-week for three weeks that inform students on financial topics, all while giving them the chance to be entered for a scholarship.‌ The three different workshops are offered at the same time each week for three weeks, continuously, until the end of April for a total of 15 workshops. The first workshop, “Stretching Your Dollar,” covers the topic of budgeting: how to manage money well while in college, including tips on how to save some extra cash. The second workshop, “Credit… the Bad, the Good and the Ugly,” covers credit; learn what a credit score is and how can it potentially affect someone’s future. The third workshop, “The Loan Zone,” covers loans: the pros and cons of loans and how it affects credit.‌ “We encourage students to come to

any workshop that they can, even if it’s just one, that’ll hopefully start the ball rolling for thinking more about smart financial choices and financial future,” Laura Zamborsky, financial literacy coordinator for UAA’s Office of Financial Aid, said.‌ UAA students who come to one of the three workshops, and meet certain criteria, can be entered to win a scholarship. If students complete the series by attending all three different workshops, they can be entered to win an even larger scholarship. Scholarships are eligible for use in the following semester.‌ “Usually students are drawn in by that possibility of a scholarship, but they end up leaving saying ‘hmm, I actually learned something, that was really good information,’” Zamborsky said.‌ All classes are free for students, parents and high school students who are thinking about college. Inge Bristow, one of UAA’s financial aid technicians, took the Savvy Seawolf budgeting and loan workshops, with the hope of completing the credit workshop this semester.‌ “There were a lot of questions that you don’t think about like, ‘what things can

you budget for?’ and ‘do you really need to think about money for the future?’ And yes, you do,” Bristow said of the budget class.‌ Bristow said the budgeting class really helped her plan a long-term budget, instead of her normal monthly budgets and, now, she has a five-year budget that helps her keep her eyes on retirement later on.‌ “I’ve been in the financial aid profession for 25 years and I still managed to learn quite a bit from [Zamborsky’s] workshops,” Carrie Burford said.‌ Burford is UAA Financial Aid’s scholarship coordinator. She completed the series and was able to learn something about her own credit and budgeting through the workshops. She said that the credit workshop was the “most interesting,” as Zamborsky got into the meaning of credit cards’ fine print.‌ All workshops run one hour long. There are various times and days from the beginning of the series to the end, so if a student misses one of the three classes, they can make it up by attending one at a later time. Locations of the classes vary as well, locations include the Lyla Richards Conference Room in the Student Union, the University Center, Gorsuch Commons and Rasmuson Hall. Search for Savvy Seawolf on UAA’s website for the full calendar of workshops, dates, locations and times. ‌ “We want to encourage to make smart financial choices, and we want to be aware the choices they’re making now are going to affect them in the future,” Zamborsky said.‌ The first class of spring semester 2019 starts Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. at the University Center in room 114.‌

NEWS BRIEFS By Chase Burnett

features2@thenorthernlight.org

Senator introduces bill on credit transfers On Jan. 23, shortly after UAA’s School of Education announced its loss of accreditation for certain programs, Sen. Gary Stevens introduced Senate Bill 31.‌ If enacted, the bill will amend Alaska Statute 14.40, which refers to the University of Alaska, the Community Colleges and the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, by adding a new section relating to course credit transferability.‌ The bill outlines how the University of Alaska shall establish a foundational curriculum for the first year of lower-division courses to ensure the transferability of completed course credit between programs within the University of Alaska.‌‌ The bill also states that the Board of Regents shall publicly disclose the criteria used to establish the foundational curricula and major areas of study.‌ SB 31 will be heard in the Senate Education and Finance committees before going to the floor for consideration.‌ Chancellor Cathy Sandeen has repeatedly mentioned the possibility of “seamless transfers” from UAA to either UAF or UAS for School of Education students.‌ One-third of degree credits are still required to be taken at the receiving university in the event of a transfer, UAS Dean of the Alaska College of Education Steve Atwater said in a forum with UAA education students.‌ If enacted, the bill would, in theory, allow for a more efficient transfer of first year, lower division course credits within the UA system.‌ SB 31 comes nine days after the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development announced in a press release that its certification office will accept recommendations from UAA’s School of Education for students completing their initial licensure during the spring 2019 and summer 2019 semesters.‌‌‌‌

Dunleavy appoints new members to Board of Regents Gov. Mike Dunleavy appointed two new regents to the University of Alaska Board of Regents.‌ Tammy Randolph, a State Farm insurance agent from North Pole and Darrol Hargraves of Wasilla are Dunleavy’s picks to succeed departing regents, Deena Bishop of Anchorage and Jyotsna Heckman of Fairbanks.‌ Bishop served on the Academic and Student Affairs Committee and Planning and Development Committee.‌ Heckman served on the Academic and Student Affairs Committee, Ad Hoc Committee on Title IX, Ad Hoc Committee on Presidential Performance and the University of Alaska Foundation.‌ In an interview with the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Randolph is quoted saying, “I have not paid attention to the budget issues, so I don’t know how I feel about anything yet.”‌ Randolph comes to the position with experience on the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce board.‌ The UA Board of Regents is comprised of an 11-member board, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska Legislature. ‌ The board votes on matters pertaining to the university budget, education program structure and university initiatives.‌

SPORTS

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019

Men’s and women’s basketball start the semester off with wins By Lauren Cuddihy sports@thenorthernlight.org

Since the spring semester has picked back up, both UAA basketball teams have been back on the court twice for games. While the men’s basketball team has traveled down to Washington and British Columbia, the women’s team stayed in Alaska to play at the Alaska Airlines Center. ‌ Both teams had a successful start with wins in all of the games played.‌ The men’s team started out by playing Simon Fraser on Jan. 24 and then Western Washington on Jan. 26.‌ Against Simon Fraser, the Seawolves won by over 20 points, 74-53. Nearly half of the points accumulated by UAA can be credited to junior Tyler Brimhall who made a total of 31 points. 15 of those points were 3-pointers and 13 were field goals. ‌ This game proved to be the first GNAC away win of the season and also extended their alltime record against SFU to 20-0.‌ Head Coach Rusty Osborne was satisfied with the outcome.‌ “Tyler [Brimhall] really carried us in the first half with his hot hand, and our defense did a good job all night of denying their jump shooters open looks.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWU ATHLETICS

PHOTO COURTESY OF SKIP HICKEY

UAA’s Travis Adams rushes against Western Washington.

UAA’s Hannah Wandersee goes for a layup against Saint Martin’s.

Sjur [Berg] also did an amazing job of fighting for some tough rebounds and getting us some key extra possessions,” Osborne said. ‌ In contrast, their win against Western Washington was more wide-spread on the team. With a final score of 70-63, junior Jack Macdonald made the most points for the Seawolves by accumulating 17. ‌ Following him, sophomore guard Brennan Rymer made 14 points, junior forward Niko Bevens made 12 points and Brimhall made 11. ‌ This game extended their win streak to four games, which also lifted them in the GNAC standings to be tied at fourth. ‌ Osborne thought that the game was played well both defensively and offensively. ‌ “After the first two minutes,

nandez-Roy with 12 points, with junior guard Yazmeen Goo and senior guard Sydni Stallworth tied with 11 points each. ‌ Head Coach Ryan McCarthy is thankful for the opportunity to have made it this far and this successful.‌ “In terms of the win, it’s been the ladies who have gotten that done. A lot of players have made a lot of sacrifices to get the program to this point, so it’s really their accomplishment,” McCarthy said. ‌ The next game proved to be an even larger win for the Seawolves at 78-37. UAA beat out Seattle Pacific by 41 points. ‌ This game was led by senior forward Hannah Wandersee who accumulated a game-high 18 points. ‌ Significant contributions were made by others on the

I thought we really dialed in with our game plan defensively. On the other end, the guys did a good job executing one of our secondary offenses,” Osborne said. ‌ The women’s basketball team excelled during their two games as well.‌ They first played Saint Martin’s on Jan. 24 and then Seattle Pacific on Jan. 26, both at the Alaska Airlines Center. ‌ The Seawolves beat out SMU by a significant 30 points, 88-58.‌ The overall success was the sum of individual successes, five players were able to score over 10 points and all players on the team scoring at least once. ‌ Junior guard Safiyyah Yasin and sophomore guard Sala Langi tied to have the team high with 15 points each, followed by freshman forward Kimani Fer-

team as well. Sala accumulated 12 points, followed by Tara Thompson and Goo with 11 points each. ‌ “I’m really happy that it could be this group to get this win [against Seattle Pacific] because right now they are executing the kind of basketball that we strive to play,” McCarthy said. ‌ After the completion of these two games, the Seawolves boosted their GNAC standings to be tied at first. Both with a conference record of 9-1, UAA is tied with Northwest Nazarene. In addition, the Seawolves currently hold the better streak with a 10 game win streak. ‌ The men’s team will be back in action on Jan. 31 against Concordia University. The women will play next on Jan. 31 against Western Washington. ‌

Track and field takes over Idaho and Washington

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOREN ORR

Junior Christopher Brake placed third in high jump (1.96 meters) and second in triple jump (14.24 meters).

By Lauren Cuddihy sports@thenorthernlight.org

The UAA track and field team competed in two back-to-back weekend meets. They first traveled down to Boise to compete in the Ed Jacoby Invitational on Jan. 18. The following weekend, on Jan. 25, they traveled back down to Seattle to participate in the 2019 UW Invitational. ‌ Senior Yvonne Jeschke is satisfied with how the team has been doing so far.‌ “Overall, our team did a good job at the second and third meet of the season. We had freshman competing great in their first collegiate races and others set some qualifying marks,” Jeschke said. ‌ The Seawolves saw many successes during their first weekend away. ‌ Kicking off the weekend, junior Elena

Cano competed in the pentathlon 60-meter hurdles to finish with a time of 9.22 seconds, placing her at fourth overall. David Sramek, also competing for the multi-event in the men’s heptathlon, placed fifth overall in his first event, the 60-meter dash. ‌ Continuing on to the remaining men’s events, Sramek placed fourth in long jump, ninth in shot put, eighth in high jump, eighth in 60-meter hurdles, and 12th in the 10-meter run.‌ For the women’s events, Cano finished seventh in high jump, 13th in shot put, tied for 10th in long jump and eighth in the 800-meter run. Overall, Cano finished with 3,115 points to put her sixth in a field of 16th athletes. ‌ Other Seawolves were able to excel in individual events as well. ‌ In men’s field events, junior Chris-

topher Brake placed third in high jump (1.96 meters) and second in triple jump (14.24 meters). ‌ As for women’s field events, former UAA volleyball player Chrisalyn Johnson placed first (5.48 meters) in the women long jump, followed by freshman Tylantiss Atlas at third (5.01 meters).‌ In men’s distance events, freshman Drew Johnson placed second in the 1-mile run to finish in 4:17. ‌ As for women’s distance events, Jeschke finished the 800-meter run in sixth place with a time of 2:19.02, followed by senior Yemi Knight in eighth (2:20.92).‌ “I definitely want to improve my time. We have another intense training block before GNAC Indoor and will use that to improve my strength, speed and stamina to improve my personal marks,” Jeschke said. ‌ In the 3,000-meter run, sophomore Grace Gannon (10:57) placed 11th, followed by junior Riley Burroughs (11:21) at 15th. ‌ The sprinters also saw several successes. Atlas finish seventh in the 400-meter sprint with a time of 59.80 seconds. Senior D’Rhema Alston finished 24th in the 200-meter sprint with a time of 26.68 seconds. ‌ The following weekend, on Jan. 25 and 26, the Seawolves took a small group of athletes back down to Washington to compete in exclusive UW meet. ‌ Placing the highest at the meet of all Seawolves, Caroline Kurgat took first place in the 5,000-meter run. In a time 15:28, she was seven seconds ahead of second place, beating out many Division

I and professional runners. ‌ “Caroline [Kurgat] is definitely the outstanding athlete, breaking the DII record for the 3K and 5K [so far in the season],” Jeschke said. “Watching her race was just amazing and really shows that dedication and hard work pays off.” ‌ In the 800-meter, only two UAA females competed. Senior Danielle McCormick finished at 24th in 2:10.90.‌ Knight was the second UAA competitor, with a time of 2:15.10, placing at 42nd overall. ‌ The Seawolves also took several relay teams, both a men’s and women’s 4x400 meter and distance medley. ‌ The women’s 4x400 meter relay (Vanessa Aniteye, Alston, Cano, Jeschke) placed 15th overall, while the men’s team placed eighth. ‌ The women’s distance medley, composed of Ruth Cvancara, Nancy Jeptoo, Atlas and McCormick finished at 18th in a time of 11:53.47. The men’s finished at 12th, composed of Drew Johnson, Joshua Jackman, Eduardo Orozco and Felix Kemboi. ‌ Alston explained that the Seawolves have had to battle some hardships, but have persevered nonetheless. ‌ “I believe the team has done well considering the circumstances,” Alston said. “People have been injured and many are trying to regain their health. We have had a lot of hamstring issues on the team this year but still done well regardless.” ‌ The Seawolves have a short break before they return to Washington to continue in competition at the Husky Classic on Feb. 8. ‌

By Ben Edwards

opinion2@thenorthernlight.org

Most Alaskans can pass mosquitoes off as an annoyance. Little things hellbent on infiltrating your tent, buzzing in your ear and leaving you with an itchy bite. But in other parts of the world, mosquitoes are the harbingers of misery and death. Upwards of 725,000 humans per year are killed by the diseases that mosquitoes spread, earning them the heinous title of the “world’s deadliest animal.” Malaria, Zika, West Nile, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever are just some of the many awful diseases transmitted by this vector organism. ‌ Endeavors to control this ruinous insect tend to be short-term. Nets can be draped over windows and doors. The ponds in which they reproduce can be drained or fogged with pesticide. Species like fish and fungi can be introduced to prey on larvae. But mosquito populations eventually rebound, and time is running out. Global warming is likely to create more warm and wet environments that mosquitoes thrive in.‌ We possess the means to fix this once and for all. A permanent solution to make our world a safer place. A massive, concerted effort to achieve one goal: the eradication of the mosquito. It is time to engineer an extinction. ‌ Such a project should not be conducted with whimsy. Humans have a long history of forcing other species into extinction, but such outcomes were often unintended and brought shame upon our reputation. Mosquitoes are another mat-

ter entirely. Intentionally destroying an animal that has remained competitive for at least 46 million years raises serious ethical concerns. But failing to prevent mass death when we have the means to is worse. ‌ Let us start with honing in on our target. There are more than 3,000 species of mosquito in the world. The Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the two that should earn our wrath first since they are the most common vectors of disease. Targeting them will require a massive international campaign similar to the World Health Organization’s successful eradication of smallpox by 1980.‌ Next, we need to consider the tools to accomplish this. Above all, we have to be smart about it. Mosquito eradication efforts in the 20th century yielded unacceptable environmental damages that we should obviously not repeat. So that rules out intentionally filling waterways with oil, as the Americans did while building the Panama Canal. Nor should we expand chemical operations including pesticide and the repellent DEET, given the evidence of environmental and health concerns related to those tools.‌ The smart option is through genetic engineering. The gene-editing technique CRISPR allows scientists to edit the DNA of an organism. Most of the research on this technology has been in the pursuit of removing genes, particularly harmful ones that make an organism more vulnerable to disease. For mosquito annihilation, however, we will need to employ the inverse of that. Insert a gene into mosquito DNA that gives the species a disadvantage in natural selection. ‌

The sabotage gene would need to be patient. It cannot be too lethal, because the first batch of lab-grown GMO mosquitos will need to reproduce with wild mosquitoes enough to spread the gene. Under normal conditions, the sabotage gene would only have a 50 percent chance of being passed to offspring. That is not enough. Thankfully, the gene drive technique allows scientists to increase the probability that the desired gene will be passed on. For example, every mosquito inherits chromosomes equally from two parents. So they have a 50 percent probability of inheriting our sabotage gene. But if we can design that gene to convert the other chromosome that it is paired with, then the GMO mosquito has duplicate corrupted chromosomes and a higher chance of passing the sabotage gene on to its offspring.‌ So what does our ticking time bomb gene do? It renders the female mosquito sterile. The gene must not affect the male mosquitoes, because we need them to continue mating and passing on the gene. So the first release of these GMO mosquitoes must all be males. This first generation will mate entirely with wild females, resulting in a second generation of fertile males and sterile females. Half of these second generation males will end up with sterile females, and the other half will succeed with wild females. Given that mosquitoes have short lifespans and speedy reproduction, our sterility gene will be endemic in their species within a few generations. ‌‌ Eradicating mosquitoes with this technology needs to be done right. If it goes awry, then the backlash will be so

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GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA

severe that scientists won’t be able to try again for quite some time. So the World Health Organization will need to work closely with partners to securely deploy these GMO mosquitoes in phases. The first phase is releasing them in controlled environments with wild mosquitoes to measure how long it takes to obtain 100 percent sterility. The second phase is through facilities in select disease-prone countries, so that the sabotage gene can be tested in diverse ecosystems. The final phase is a full release in the wild.‌ Wiping out mosquitoes will affect the ecosystem, but to what extent is debated. It is true that these bugs are a food source for some animals. But the preponderance of evidence indicates that a mosquito apocalypse will not be mourned very much. They play a minuscule role in predator’s diets compared to larger and more nutritious alternatives like moths. Plus, the fact that multiple children have died from malaria since you started reading this article is enough to override most other concerns. Let us put a stop to that misery by taking a hard look at the animal that spreads it.

UA is an AA/EO employer and educational institution and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual: www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination.

OPINION Eradicate mosquitoes

OPINION

Ban youth football Ratify UNCLOS By Robert Hockema opinion@thenorthernlight.org

In March 2018, two California state lawmakers proposed a bill banning organized tackle football before high school. New York, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey have also drafted – with varying success – their own plans to ban the youth sport. The proposed bans follow a slew of medical studies warning about the risk football poses to professional players and youth, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.‌ Unsurprisingly, these bills have sparked some controversy. Any government regulation of America’s favorite sport is bound to stir the pot. Yet, the problem with bills that ban tackle football before high school is that they actually don’t go far enough. Tackle football poses irreparable damage to the development of young players, and is deserving of an all-out ban at every level of K-12 education. ‌ Everyone knows that football is an extremely physical sport to play. It involves sustained physical contact between players as a result of repetitive tackling and blocking, where players are incentivized to use the full force of their stature to assist the ball across the field. But the degree to which that sustained activity damages players is phenomenally underestimated.‌ Recent studies put out by a range of medical journals and neurologists are beginning to paint a clear picture as to what that damage truly looks like. Robert Stern, a professor of neurology at Boston University, explains that the most dangerous part of contact is what is called “subconcussive hits,” the repeated blows to the head that usually don’t even result in a concussion. These hits, Stern says, result in changes to the brain’s structural integrity. ‌ The result of these hits, which often occur by the hundreds per season for youth players, is that they make CTE an important risk factor for players. CTE, a progressive degenerative disease, is a condition of brain damage caused by “repetitive brain trauma,” which persists over a period of years or decades. Common symptoms include “memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, suicidality, parkinsonism and eventually progressive dementia.”‌ It’s only recently that the professional football community and the NFL have recognized the real risk playing poses to players, specifically regarding the likelihood of facing CTE. In fact, the NFL actively discouraged and undermined attempts to research the disease and its effects on players for years. ‌

Now, the facts are out. A study in the medical journal JAMA reported that CTE was found in 99 percent of deceased NFL players’ brains that were donated to scientific research. Another study of deceased NFL players found they were three times more likely than the general population to die from a neurodegenerative disease. ‌ The obvious difference between professional football players and youth players are in size and magnitude of physical contact. Kids running into each other aren’t going to produce the same impact as a trained, tackling machine in the NFL. However, even low-impact hits over a long period of time are enough to do damage to young, developing brains. A February 2018 study demonstrated that professional football players who started playing before the age of 12 uniquely revealed signs of “executive dysfunction, memory impairment and lower estimated verbal IQ.”‌ If football doesn’t dramatically increase the likelihood of CTE or concussions, it may well wreak havoc on your brain in other ways. A study in Translational Psychiatry found that people who began playing football before age 12 doubled their risk of behavior problems and cognitive impairment and tripled their risk of suffering from depression later in life. ‌ Based on the available research, it’s clear that at the very least, football even at the earliest levels of competition poses a significant risk. According to the National Sporting Goods Association, around three million kids aged 7-17 play tackle football in America as of 2017. Odds are, if most of those three million kids stick with the sport for more than a few years, they’re subjecting their brains and bodies to irreversible harm. ‌ Some claim there are ways to reduce the harms football incurs on young players. Better helmets and safer training methods that reduce physical contact have been floated as solutions. Unfortunately, that doesn’t take away the fact that tackling inherently involves the use of shoulders and arms, both of which are connected to the head. Regardless of the technique you use, the impact will always place an aggressive strain on the parts of your body that are either attached to or closest to your head. Therefore, you can try to make tackling safer, but you cannot make tackling safe.‌ There is no sense in continuing to introduce minors into a sport that at best harms the development of a child and at worst increases the chance of a debilitating disease. It’s the duty of not only parents and schools, but the state, to protect vulnerable populations from this kind of harm.‌

By Ben Edwards

opinion2@thenorthernlight.org

There are many reasons why the United States became the most powerful country in the world: a massive continent with abundant resources, a vibrant spirit of free-market innovation and few powerful neighbors. But there is one blessing that is seldom recognized: our unrestricted access to both oceans. It is generally understood, with exceptions, that coastal countries tend to be wealthier than those that are landlocked. And they are certainly able to project power abroad more effectively. The fact that the U.S. has lengthy and developed coastlines with two of the world’s largest oceans is strongly correlated to our wealth and power today. ‌ The U.S. likes to enforce the rules for the oceans. We believe in maritime principles like the freedom of navigation and the right of innocent passage. These values are already enshrined in the international legal agreement known as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. UNCLOS is regarded as the authoritative document governing the world’s oceans, its resources and its good stewardship. Although the U.S. participated in the design of UNCLOS, this country has neglected to formally accede to it. We like the rules. We enforce the rules. But we don’t formally recognize the rules.‌ How did we get here? The core of UNCLOS was adopted in the United Nations by 1982. President Ronald Reagan praised the convention’s “many positive and very significant accomplishments”, but objected to some of its provisions on deep seabed mining. Negotiation restarted in 1994 and addressed all of the concerns that Reagan identified a decade earlier. The convention entered into force with 60 nations in agreement. But the U.S. Senate failed to ratify our ascension to UNCLOS and hasn’t since then. Today, UNCLOS has been ratified by 146 member nations and the U.S. isn’t one of them.‌ All of this is born out of our political ambivalence towards international institutions. Senators and pundits inaccurately describe UNCLOS as a wholesale giveaway of our national sovereignty. This ranges from modest misconceptions like the claim that we would be subjecting ourselves to UN regulatory bodies, to the conspiratorial alarmism of the New World Order. The sovereignty objection is worth responding to. It should be understood that UNCLOS bolsters national sovereignty rather than diminish it. All parties to UNCLOS are entitled to a zone of 200 nautical miles off their coastlines.

This is called the Exclusive Economic Zone. Nations have exclusive jurisdiction to all marine resources in the EEZ. Additionally, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the judicial arm of UNCLOS, enables member nations to settle maritime disputes with other nations. The U.S. and Canada have an ongoing dispute over territory in the Beaufort Sea northeast of Alaska, but attempts to settle it bilaterally have failed and we cannot argue a settlement in the tribunal like Canada can. The U.S. has no ability to nominate American judges to the tribunal for as long as we neglect ratification.‌ Another common objection to ratifying UNCLOS is that it wouldn’t be necessary. These critics observe that the U.S. already respects many of the rules in the convention, and we possess the strength to pursue our interests without international law on our side. Those two observations are factually correct, but the conclusion that UNCLOS is unnecessary is flawed. This is because the U.S. often chooses to settle disputes through diplomacy rather than brute strength, even though we have the capability. Yet, the fact that we aren’t party to UNCLOS deprives our diplomats of a legal basis to support their arguments. So it is all just blowing hot air until the Pentagon flexes. That is not the best use of our superpower status.‌ Ratifying UNCLOS would enable the U.S. to produce legally-supported claims on the Arctic. This is extremely pertinent to Alaska, which is why Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan ought to be the legislative drivers of ratification. As sea ice recedes, other Arctic nations like Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark are staking claims on extended continental shelves across the northern pole. This is a function in UNCLOS that the U.S. has no legal basis to take advantage of. The Arctic will be swallowed up by our competitors in this century, and Alaska will miss out on the economic and strategic benefits of polar policy. ‌ Murkowski has already attempted to revive discussion about UNCLOS in the capital. Sullivan is the obstacle right now. If UNCLOS is to ever get ratified in the Senate, then it needs and deserves a unified message from the Alaskan delegation. Sullivan is passionate about some parts of Arctic policy. He wants U.S. leadership in the region, with more icebreakers and a firm counterbalance against Russia. But he doesn’t appear to fully appreciate the existing international agreement that would make U.S. leadership more effective. His reluctance to help ratify UNCLOS may yet be malleable. He just needs another push from his constituents. ‌‌

OPINION

Dunleavy’s Board of Regent appointments are bad for university

By Robert Hockema opinion@thenorthernlight.org

It’s not always easy to grasp the consequences of an election. Last week, we found out what happens when you elect a public education skeptic to the highest office in the state. ‌ On Jan. 21, newly-elected Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced two of his picks for the UA Board of Regents, an independent governing body that oversees all three UA colleges. ‌ One of his appointments is Tammy Randolph, a State Farm insurance agent

and former board member on the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce from the North Pole. According to Randolph’s statement to the Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner, Dunleavy nominated them to give the Board of Regents a business perspective. ‌ There’s just one problem: it’s unclear what even remotely qualifies Randolph to sit on the Board of Regents. ‌ For starters, it’s important to consider the purpose and scope of the Board of Regents. According to the board’s bylaws, regents do everything from formulating policies around tuition increases to appointing the president of the university. Broadly, they help determine the direction of the university, making them an important, impartial organ of the UA system. ‌ As such, the decisions the board makes can have a huge impact on students. How informed a decision a regent makes determines the tuition we pay. How mindful a regent is determines a university’s policy response to allegations of misconduct, both sexual and professional. ‌ It makes sense, then, why regent nominations should have some degree of experience either working at or with universities. Some scope of knowledge as to how they operate, the issues they deal

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dramatically affected the quality of our education. ‌ It’s perhaps even weirder that Randolph says “support the university,” but is unsure to “what degree.” What business an insurance agent with no clear orientation as a policy-maker and questionable support for the university has on the Board of Regents I’m unsure of myself. ‌ To be clear, I’m not saying that every regent needs to be a university insider. The purpose of the board is to be detached from the personal politics of the university and thus should reflect a wide range of perspectives. ‌ That said, those perspectives need to be informed by the stark realities of the UA system. The truth is that, as it stands, we are in crisis mode. We’ve just lost accreditation to one of our most important programs, jeopardizing the credibility of our entire university. Programs continue to struggle as major university cuts gut their institutional capacity, resulting in unsatisfied students and a decreased quality of education. ‌ As a consequence of our struggles, the UA system is in demand for strong and consistent leadership. Appointing unqualified regents to the board like Tammy Randolph will not assuage student fears that such leadership is ever-lacking. ‌

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with or the students they govern should be expected. But Randolph seems to have none of that. The only professional experience Randolph cites is experience as an insurance agent. ‌ A desire for a “business perspective” is understandable, but the board is not a corporation. Decisions on whether or not certain departments or programs should receive support are based on evidence of academic performance and student utility, not whether or not they turn a profit. It’s not bad to have business experience, but it shouldn’t govern your entire philosophy as a regent. ‌ In fact, other than a business mindset, it’s unclear what exactly Randolph would make decisions based on. In an interview with the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Randolph said, “I have not paid attention to the budget issues, so I don’t know how I feel about anything yet. So I’ll just be learning and looking at the budget to see what makes sense and what doesn’t. I support the university, but to what degree I don’t know yet.”‌ It’s odd enough that someone slotted to be a regent of the university has no opinion on the $50 million in cuts over the past five years — the same cuts that have crippled the university system and

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