June 27, 2017

JUNE 27- JULY 11, 2017

FEATURES

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

A&E

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UAA flowerbeds, greenery, maintained by horticulture crew

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG

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Hugh McPeck Gallery hosts “Transatlantic Hullabaloo”

Student Life and Leadership Director retires at almost 31 years

PHOTO BY JAY GUZMAN

Annie Route, Director of Student Life and Leadership, applied for a career counselor job at UAA in 1986.

By Cheyenne Mathews cmathews@thenorthernlight.org

Student Life and Leadership Director, Annie Route, is retiring June 30 after almost 31 years at UAA. Route has been recognized for her service to students with the 2009 Staff Make Students Count Award and the 1998 UAA Outstanding Contribution to Students Award. Route has been an integral part of several programs at UAA including the Martin Luther King Student Luncheon, she start-

ed the first orientation program at UAA, she was the driving force behind putting interpreter logos on event posters, and she changed the name of the Student Gallery to honor Hugh McPeck.

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Bruce Schultz, has known Route since 1991, and he said Route is an icon around campus with a big heart.

“Annie was one of those champions who said we need to do a better job for disabled students, and she was pretty persistent about that,” Schultz said.

One of Route’s first jobs in Anchor-

age was as the Interpreter Referral Line Coordinator, where she was able to use her talents as an ASL interpreter. While employed there she would continue to look for employment at UAA. With a Masters of Arts in College Student Personnel: Administration in Higher Education, Route knew she wanted to work in Student Affairs.

“I came to UAA to look for jobs, and the way jobs were posted was they were really posted on a bulletin board with a five by eight card, typed up, the department, the title of the job, how much it paid, some basic duties, what you had to do to apply. There really wasn’t anything.

There wasn’t really Student Affairs at that point,” Route said. “But I kept watching the University and going back to that bulletin board, and finally there was an opportunity as a Career Counselor.”

Route applied and received the Career Counselor job in 1986, and from there Route has worked a series of jobs that eventually culminated in her employment as Campus Life Director in 1998, a position that is now called Student Life and Leadership Director. Route describes her staff at Student Life and Leadership as a family.

“I would say that a success in our institution really depends on the relationships that you can build, certainly with

SEE DIRECTOR

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Radical Recreation: Touché

By Brenda Craig

features@thenorthernlight.org

Hobbies and passions present themselves in mysterious ways. After watching the fencing scene in “The Parent Trap” with Lindsey Lohan, Joseph Longuevan, double major in economics and history, knew that he wanted to sword fight. At the age of 10, Longuevan began fencing and hasn’t put the sword down since.

Eleven months after Longuevan started fencing, he was the number one Epee fencer in the 10 and under age group in the United States. He later became the number one foil fencer in Colorado in 2012, then in 2014 Longuevan finished in 179th place in Division I foil at Summer Nationals, the largest fencing tournament in the world where the National Team and Olympic fencers are chosen. Since 2015, Longuevan has been the Alaska State Champion in foil, and has won a total of 40 gold, 18 silver and 23 bronze medals.

“Fencing has been the most challenging, remarkable and fun activity in my life. My favorite thing about fencing would be how it drives me to better myself. I know that if I lose a bout [fencing match] against someone that I can go back to training until I understand

thenorthernlight.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSEPH LONGUEVAN

Joseph Longuevan holding medals he has won over the years. Longuevan began fencing at the age of 10, since then, Longuevan has won a total of 40 gold, 18 silver and 23 bronze medals.

how to counter what they beat me with,” Longuevan said. “Fencing is one of the greatest tests of mental and physical skill that I know of. Due to the complex strategies that go into it, fencing is commonly referred to as physical chess.”

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During the summer, Longuevan spends every Tuesday and Thursday coaching students at the Anchorage

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Weidner Center for Real Estate Management opens this fall New center is provided to cater to growing career field

By Brenda Craig

features@thenorthernlight.org

This fall, UAA will be opening a new addition to campus for students in the Weidner Property Management and Real Estate program. The Weidner Center for Real Estate Management will occupy the space in Rasmuson Hall 111.

The center is a dedicated classroom for the WPMRE program that will be equipped with 31 computers, six projectors and five collaboration tables. Each table will have six or seven computers and a projector designed to allow students to work in teams, share ideas and work in a more application-based model.

Between classes, the center will act as a hub for students to come in and study, work on projects and network. Having this home base for students in the WPMRE program can help create physical environment to support sustain the culture of the program. The development of the Weidner Center for Real Estate Management may encourage individuals to join the program and hopefully attract national and international enrollment.

The idea to build the center was proposed last summer by Terry Fields, program director for the WPMRE program at the College of Business and Public Policy, assistant professor and current Weidner professorship.

“As a dedicated space for students in the property management and real estate program, this space will provide a stateof-the-art learning environment and hub for program interaction. It will be a motivator for students to be on-campus and get involved outside of the classroom,” Fields said. “The technology in the room will also allow for better course recording, long-distance guest speakers, and teleconferencing capabilities. As our advisory board consists of both in-state and out-of-state participants, the room will allow for students and the club to be more easily engage with recruiters and speakers.”

Bobi Rinehart, College of Business and Public Policy’s senior development officer, worked closely with Fields and the Weidner Apartment homes on the Weidner Center for Real Estate Management. Because the WPMRE program requires many computer-based tools, Rinehart believes that a room dedicated to the program will provide an efficient recourse for students to learn at their maximum potential.

“WPMRE courses use a varying degree of presentations, team-based learning, and computer-based applications to teach both the interpersonal and analytic skills required to succeed in the industry,” Rinehart said. “Current supply and demand for classrooms and computer labs in Rasmuson Hall create scheduling difficulties, suboptimal learning environ-

SEE WEIDNER

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NEWS The Edge Update: High Alaskan unemployment, Amazon in the real world and CubanAmerican relations harden

| 02 Education job market increases in competition

The new budget demands a wave of pink slips and uncertainty for UAA education graduates

By Sarah Tangog

stangog@thenorthernlight.org

By Max Jungreis KRUA

The Edge Update can be heard every weekday on KRUA 88.1 FM The Edge, UAA's college radio station.

Local According to numbers released by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce, Alaska now has the highest unemployment rate in the United States. In May, the unemployment rate was 6.7 percent, compared to a national rate of 4.3 percent. Still, the state’s high rate is not unusual, to the contrary, it may be lower than expected. Alaska’s unemployment rate tends to be high even when the economy is doing well. In May 2014, before the current recession, the unemployment rate was a full 7 percent. According to state economist Neal Fried, quoted in the Alaska Dispatch News, “It’s kind of counterintuitive that the rate hasn’t increased more.”

National Amazon has announced that they will buy grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.4 billion. The purchase appears to be part of Amazon’s push from the online world into the physical. In the United States, the grocery business grosses over $700 billion annually. Amazon has been slowly but surely begun exploring this market, opening physical locations and experimenting with concepts like grocery delivery services and a convenience store without cashiers.

Global President Donald Trump announced that he would roll back the warming of American-Cuban relations set in motion by his predecessor, Barack Obama. The reversal is not complete, the new embassies opened in Washington and Havana will remain open, and there will be no further restrictions on the types of goods Americans can take from the country; but the American government will tighten controls on other parts of the relationship. The Trump administration will implement stricter rules on American citizens visiting the country, and prohibit transactions with businesses controlled by the military, which includes large parts of the hotel and tourism industry. Although the changes will make it more difficult for Americans to interact with Cuba, effects will likely be more pronounced on the island. Many Cubans derive their livelihoods from the country’s tourism industry and the entrepreneurial opportunities created by the thaw in relations with the vast, rich country 90 miles offshore. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will also create a task force to expand internet access on the island, which is controlled by the Cuban government.

In his speech, given in the Cuban expatriate capital of Miami, President Trump characterized the new direction as a better “deal,” saying that previous arrangements had put the United States in a weak bargaining position while enriching a brutal regime guilty of human rights abuses. “We now hold the cards,” Trump said. “The previous administration’s easing of restrictions of travel and trade does not help the Cuban people. They only enrich the Cuban regime… To the Cuban government, I say, put an end to the abuse of dissidents, release the political prisoners, stop jailing innocent people, open yourselves to political and economic freedoms, return the fugitives from American justice, including the return of the cop killer Joanne Chesimard [a former Black Panther convicted of murder].”

For its part, the Cuban government has signaled a willingness to work with the new mandate. “We know they have a different view of the world. We understand that,” a Cuban official told CNN.

This February marked the deadline for the Anchorage School District’s new budget for the fiscal year of 2017-2018. With that budget came many issues regarding teacher and administration positions throughout the district.

“220 reductions to non-tenured certificated staff were required due to the need to plan for a possible 5.7 percent reduction for which the Senate’s budget proposed,” Deena Bishop, ASD’s superintendent, said. “Approximately $11 million in reductions were made from every sector of our industry.”

ASD positions are budget-based. If there’s no money, cuts have to be made.

“If the state lowers their contribution, we are required to lower our contribution locally,” Tam Agosti-Gisler, school board president, said. “Because our budget is what we call ‘flat-funded,’ it means it doesn’t account for inflation. So even if they gave us the exact same money every year, we would continue to make cuts every year to compensate for that inflationary factor.”

For recent education graduates, these budget cuts mean their chance at getting a job fresh out of college in Alaska became slimmer.

“It’s going to be a really competitive job market,” Jonathan Bartels, assistant professor of secondary education at UAA, said.”There aren’t going to be as many teaching positions, or at least that’s how it seems at this point.”

Since February, 120 positions have been cut.

“Now, that wasn’t only teachers; that was administration in this building, administration in the schools…”

Gisler said. “We were very careful in trying to be as prudent as possible so that the client in the end product of this whole budgetary game is not impacted substantially.

Yes, there are some impacts. We cannot help that.”

The majority of the budget is based for the staff. The school board understands that making reductions in staffing positions impacts the lives of those who were given RIF (Reduction in Force) notices - otherwise known as pink slips.

“We had to – by statute – give pink slips to teachers, and administration chose to do first-year teachers predominantly, knowing that some of those teachers we’re going to need back! But we don’t know how many until we know our final budget number,” Gisler said. “If we

don’t give the RIF notice, and we cut even more and we don’t have the money, we are obligated by law to pay that person one additional year… that would mean we would have to cut someone else.”

“It’s going to be a really tough job market this year,” Bartels said. “Actually for a lot of our graduates, not from this year but from the past two years; a lot of them were given pink slips.”

The board takes great care in making sure to not just cut anybody and everybody.

“We try to be like a surgeon, careful where we were cutting. We didn’t just go in there and slash,” Gisler said.

Unfortunately, aside from teaching positions, there isn’t anywhere else graduates can go within ASD. “For the most part, within school administration, you have to have teaching experience,” Bartels said. “It’s so you know education. I mean, why would somebody follow somebody who isn’t experienced? That kind of thing.”

Though the budget forces the board and ASD staff to face difficult decisions, Gisler said the cuts aren’t personal.

“The pink slip is in no way a reflection of [teachers’] value and contribution, but it’s still hard on an emotional level,” Gisler said. “[ASD] is a great place to work, and we are so proud of our district to meet all the philosophies of learning.”

“The job opportunity is the biggest concern,” Bartels said. “I have seen and read of [budget cuts] that go down like this, but hopefully it’s something that doesn’t become normal.”

Both Gisler and Bartels implore educators-to-be not to give up hope despite the difficult times.

“There’s been a lot of instability around education recently, and the way they treat it in the state. So we’re worried it may be turning some people off. Like any field, there’s always that kind of ebb and flow of financial resources. Right now, unfortunately, we’re in some tight times.” Bartels said.

“The ASD is a great place to work, and I still encourage young people who are interested in a career as an educator to still keep the faith and pursue the profession,” Gisler said.

The cuts on ASD staff make it difficult to find employment, but the reward of teaching and working to create passionate, educated students is worth the risk for many. New and seasoned teachers are encouraged by both ASD and UAA to keep looking up, and to never give up on doing what they love.

WEIDNER: WPMRE program to occupy space in Rasmuson Hall 111 Continued from cover ments, and often require creative solutions to meet the instruction styles best suited for the program material. A dedicated and appropriately designed space will allow for improved instructional capabilities and afford the program the flexibility to utilize classroom resources for students to best collaborate, research and learn.”

Megan Barrett, student in the WPMRE program, is excited for what the center may bring for students currently in the program and those who may join in the future.

“I think the Weidner Center is going to be an excellent tool in bringing many of the property management students together,” Barrett said. “The center will also raise awareness to those who are interest-

ed in the career field and otherwise did not know about the program.

Weidner as a company emphasizes how important furthering education is and they were so generous with the donation for the classroom.”

The Weidner Center for Real Estate Management will be beneficial for students and for professors.

“From an instructor standpoint, this allows me to flip the course a little, lecture less, and allow students to work hands-on and apply their knowledge in class,” Fields said. “Down the road, we hope to develop a partnership with a property management software company that would allow us to incorporate that software in the course materials as well.”

Besides the technological advantages this center will provide, having a space for students in the

WPMRE program to connect is another important tool for the success of the program.

“I really feel like this center will be such a benefit for all of these areas, it will help the teaching and learning process, provide a cultural hub for students in the program to connect and form relationships over their academic careers and better connect students to opportunities outside of the classroom,” Fields said.

The Weidner Center for Real Estate Management will be open this fall for WPMRE program classes. Students and professors are excited about this new addition for campus because it will help further their teaching and learning process, form relationships within the program and open up new opportunities outside of the classroom.

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NEWS

Phishing Awareness Program seeks to decrease number who succumb to email scams

By Cheyenne Mathews cmathews@thenorthernlight.org

The University of Alaska has launched a Phishing Awareness Program to reduce the number of faculty, staff and student employees who fall for email scams.

Nathan Zierfuss-Hubbard, chief information security officer, at the Office of Information Technology is running the program. He defines phishing as “a targeted attack to trick somebody into giving up a credential or information of value that they don’t have any need or right to.”

Zierfuss-Hubbard said the University of Alaska has been facing an increase in phishing attacks, and the Phishing Awareness Program seeks to teach faculty and staff how to detect scam emails by crafting what looks like a phishing email, but instead of destructive links and attachments, the links will take faculty to a informational video on phishing.

The program is currently underway, and Zierfuss-Hubbard said employees will be sent fake phishing emails every three months. Emails are being sent to @alaska.edu addresses.

“The events that led up to the creation of this program had been an increase amount of targeted phishing at employees and faculty and an increased number falling for that,” Zierfuss-Hubbard said.

“Phishing campaigns, we typically get two or three big ones a year. They usually start in September as faculty are coming back and then the last one that we got caught up in was in December during the break.”

In the 24 hours after the first UAA crafted phishing email was sent, 248 out of 5,483 email recipients clicked on the

PHOTO COURTESY OF UA SYSTEM WIDE EMAIL

link, which then sent them to a 30 second training video. Out of those who clicked on the link, 143 recipients spent less than 30 seconds on the website. Three days after the email was sent 4.8 percent of all recipients who opened the email also clicked the link. Reports from ZierfussHubbard after the first three days state that, of those who clicked on the scam link, 57 percent did not complete watching the training video.

Falling for a phishing attack as a University employee has some problematic consequences, according to ZierfussHubbard.

“The immediate impact, for employees, is they’ve immediately lost control of their University resource accounts: the accounts that get them into Banner, the accounts that get them into email,” Zierfuss-Hubbard said. “They’ve given away their username and password to somebody they don’t know. Now that individual has all the access they’ve been

DIRECTOR: Annie Route to retire June 30 Continued from cover the staff you’re working with,” Route said. “We all have lives beyond UAA and we need to recognize that, and yet we are a family here because we spend so much time together.”

Paula Fish, assistant director for Student Leadership, has worked for Route for the past seven years and she said Campus Kick Off “is what it is because of her efforts.”

“Out of all the people I’ve worked for, Annie is someone who is not afraid to do any job of any kind,” Fish said. “She’s all about doing what needs to get done.”

Route was at UAA before the 1987 merger between the Anchorage Community College and the Senior College created the University of Alaska Anchorage. Schultz said it will be a void for Student Affairs to lose someone with those early memories. Because Route has been at UAA since it’s initial development, she has been able to foster new programs like student orientation.

“When she started that [student orientation] program there was no additional funding available. No one else at the univer-

sity said we’re going to, this is the right thing to do, we’re going to invest in it, Schultz said. “But she made the right decision anyways without any additional resources.”

Student Affairs is currently in the process of hiring a new Student Life and Leadership Director, and Schultz said he is optimistic about the new Director.

“Change is an opportunity.

The professionals that we are looking at for Annie’s position, they will bring different characteristics and experiences to this University and students will continue to benefit from them,” Schultz said. “But nobody can replace Annie’s big heart for students.”

In her retirement, Route plans to travel more, and one of her first trips will be to Armenia to visit her daughter, who is currently serving in the Peace Corps. Route will continue to be around campus to teach an ASL class at UAA, but she will use her newfound free time to become more involved in the theatre and art community in Anchorage.

granted. This isn’t necessarily problematic when an employee doesn’t have a lot of access, but for certain employees that do have a lot of access, their credential is worth a lot.”

In the fake phishing email, ZierfussHubbard said there were several red flags.

Some of these warning signs include the fact that the email uses fear or pressure to motivate a recipient to act, the link is obscured in the email and the email is signed “System Administrator Center” which Zierfuss-Hubbard said is not jargon used by the University of Alaska.

Max McGrath, IT security analyst at UAA, said that there will always be a small percentage of email recipients who click on phishing scam links, but that scams typically target financial centers.

“We get phishing emails all the time.

Often they are quite targeted, particularly towards areas where potential financial transactions can take place so Accounting Services, any place that has the abil-

ity to basically move money,” McGrath said.

If you see a suspicious email, ZierfussHubbard said to report the incident to a University of Alaska IT center so they can reduce the potential impacts of such scams. McGrath said one of the struggles UAA has with security is working to keep emails secure when designated email addresses are public information.

“Trying to say, ‘yes, we are going to secure all of these,’ while at the same time providing an open academic environment, that is I think the biggest challenge,” McGrath said. “So we have to look at ways that we can provide services that allow for a good amount of openness, but that are also able to stop bad behaviors, right. So whether that is a phishing attack, a malware attack, a ransomware attack, that kind of thing.”

Mercy Rains is a student assistant for Student Clubs and Greek Life, and as a student employee, she received the phishing scam email.

“They sent out one recently with a yellow progress bar saying your email is at max capacity, you need to click on this link to expand it, and I’m like that doesn’t even look legitimate,” Raines said. “Then I saw the email they sent out later saying we were just testing you. I’m thinking this doesn’t sound like the best idea to test people’s email systems because, I don’t know why, it just made me feel like next time they see an email like that they’re going to think UAA is sending them another test email, and maybe not perceive it for the real danger it may be.”

Zierfuss-Hubbard said he is going to keep statistics to see whether there is a decrease in people clicking on links over the tenure of the program.

FEATURES

| 04

Team Fishers Fuel takes mud volleyball tournament Winners of this year’s Big Lake Mud Volleyball Tournament answer why spectators should play

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAIME ESTES

Fishers Fuel was the winner of this year’s Big Lake Mud Volleyball. The event was held on June 17 from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

By Sarah Tangog

stangog@thenorthernlight.org

This year’s Big Lake Mud Volleyball Tournament was a success. It was the first year of hosting sponsors, and the first year in which the tournament added a third pit to comfortably accommodate the 60-plus teams

that participated.

“Most of our rules come from more of a beach volleyball setting,” Jaime Estes, the tournament director, said. “But we have players, so we have eight people on the court at all times.”

Estes herself has played in mud volleyball before, and is one of the many participants who attended mud volleyball as

a kid.

“My grandmother was actually one of the founders of this group, of being able to start mud volleyball, so I’m kind of a third-generation, now organizing the event,” Estes said.

A similar situation occurred with Jeremy McClurg, a UAA alumnus and the team captain of this year’s winning team, Fish-

ers Fuel.

“I actually used to go as a kid and watch my parents play it,” McClurg said. “I think I was about eight or ten when I remember going to one of my first ones.”

Fishers Fuel has been playing for about 13 years, and the team mostly consists of coaches and volleyball members.

“Most of the guys on the team, we play basketball together,” McClurg said. “This is my one thing for the year. I wanna go out, get sunburned and play volleyball.”

Though McClurg doesn’t play volleyball professionally, he enjoys going out to play during the tournament with family and friends. Fishers Fuel is a seasoned team, having won in previous years.

“I wanna say this is our fourth win,” McClurg said. “We will probably play until they quit doing it or until we can’t get our team together. For the most part there are always five or six of us

who are always there.”

Tournament champions win t-shirts, a trophy, and of course, bragging rights.

“I think I’ve had more Facebook activity the last couple days since Saturday, mainly because of my volleyball friends, since everyone sees it and whatnot. There’s definitely a little bit of trash talk, but that’s predictable.” McClurg said.

McClurg used to pass the word around when he went to UAA — and he still does. He encourages others to come and to enjoy the spring break atmosphere surrounding the competition, especially in the upcoming years.

Fishers Fuel is comprised of the following players: Josie Cannon, Brandy Borough, Mary Beck, Jeremy McClurg, Jeremy Robinson, Billy Cannon, Brandon Gaines, Charlie Graydon, Brittney Marie Lais, Steve Womack, Stephanie Womack and Robin Katherine.

The green thumbs behind UAA’s gardens There’s a reason UAA’s landscaping is kept lively but safe all year long

By Mariah DeJesus-Remaklus mremaklus@thenorthernlight.org

The flowerbeds, abundance of trees and greenery on the University’s campus don’t take care of themselves.

Catherine Shenk, horticulture supervisor for UAA, and her crew are responsible for maintaining the landscape and environment of campus grounds. Their tasks range from snow plowing and ice control in the winter to planting flowerbeds, trees and cleaning up litter during the warmer seasons.

Horticulture, unlike agriculture, is the practice of garden cultivation for beauty and visual effect, Shenk said.

The horticulture crew works to maintain that beauty all year round. The presence of flowers, trees and other greenery on campus is crucial, especially for a healthy learning environment.

“Our role is to make sure the campus stays safe and attractive for students, for all campus users. Keeping campus really beautiful, I think, is important for people deciding where they want to go to college,” Shenk said. “And there are also studies that talk about how being in an environment where there are plants and trees and natural beauty… they enhance creativity and thought. So green space is very important, I believe… not just for people in a campus environment but I think for healthy human beings in general.”

Shenk grew up in a farming community in Ohio, so plants and agriculture are not new to her. It wasn’t until years after she graduated college that she made the decision to get involved with horticulture.

Although the weather and environment in Alaska are much different compared to Ohio, Shenk says she enjoys the fact that the job changes with the seasons.

“Come winter time, plowing snow is fun the first few times but then by the time spring, you know, is ready to come

around… I’m really tired of it by then,” Shenk said. “And by then, we’re starting to plant seeds in the greenhouse.”

The shift from winter to spring early in the year is also Kara Monroe’s favorite part of her job. Monroe has been with the crew for about three years as a maintenance service worker and often looks forward to starting up the greenhouse.

She’s typically used to a longer growing season, having earned her degree in tropical horticulture at the University of Florida, but she appreciates the variety in work with machinery in the winter and garden maintenance in the summer. This transition begins as early as January or February and workers are able to plan for the plants that they will work with.

“So we are given a set of portions of campus and we can actually design the beds. So we choose the flowers, we order the seed…” Monroe said. “And then with spring we get to start all those plants in the greenhouse. And then, you know, we’re just wrapping up planting them out now, so we get to see that whole cycle through, which I’d say is one of my favorite parts.”

Jacob Patton, a journalism and public communications student at UAA, has only worked with the crew since early June, but has quickly come to enjoy the work that he does. As a seasonal maintenance worker, he finds that his time is always taken up with many tasks, some fun and others more tiresome.

“It’s nice to work and see a difference in what you do,” Patton said. “It’s just really pretty sometimes, the flowers we plant, and I feel proud of myself.”

The horticulture crew isn’t always planting flowers or pruning bushes; oftentimes they pick up trash and have other duties that require physical labor, which is a bittersweet part of the job for Patton.

Recently, for several days, he and his coworkers removed cages around trees

PHOTO BY YOUNG KIM

The diverse set of plants around UAA’s campus are the result of the horticulture crew’s hard work. With short spring and summer seasons in Alaska, the green house behind Cuddy Hall helps facilitate growing year-round.

on campus that were designed to protect them from moose. Although he now has blisters on his hands from the hard labor, Patton says he likes the time spent outside in the sun, knowing that there is a purpose behind what they do.

“Everything has a purpose, like taking weeds out of the flowerbeds,” Patton said.

“There’s a lot of doing that, which can be tedious.”

Maintaining sustainability is also important in horticulture and the crew does what they can through several methods, Shenk says. Plant waste is taken to an organic dump rather than a landfill.

They also refrain from using pesticides and prefer more natural methods of pest control, which Monroe says is essential since chemicals are undesirable in a public setting.

Not only is UAA environmentally aware, but the University is also known for having the most diverse set of trees in a communal area.

UAA is a certified Tree Campus USA University and has been for the past eight years. This means that the University demonstrates healthy management of their trees and has met the standards and requirements to be good stewards of Alaska’s forestry.

Shenk and her crew hope that the natural beauty they work to maintain has a lasting and positive effect on others. She

says that the wild lands of Alaska help distinguish UAA from other campuses in the nation.

“We have moose on campus, we have bears… There are fox, lots of different kinds of birds. There’s been an explosion in the population of hares the last couple years,” Shenk said. “I’m wondering if we’ll see a lynx or two in the future.”

Monroe hopes that the experience would be pleasant and relaxing for those who use the campus. Whether they are sitting on the grass and studying or simply checking out a flowerbed, perhaps they will be met with some peace and clarity.

For Patton, there is a story behind each plant to be remembered: each of them has come a long way.

“I just hope people appreciate, the effort that goes into it,” Patton said. “A lot of people probably didn’t think about how easily it could’ve gone wrong with growing these plants, and so there’s a lot of effort involved growing them and getting them out there.”

From plowing snow to planting flowerbeds, the horticulture crew of UAA hardly misses out on a busy day throughout the seasons. In an environment where everyone is hard at work, the rich and colorful greenery of the campus offers a constant reminder to stop and smell the flowers.

| 05

FEATURES A closer look at UAA Parking Services

By Mariah DeJesus-Remaklus mremaklus@thenorthernlight.org

When a student accidentally locks themselves out of their car, needs a jumpstart or requests to be escorted during late hours, the UAA Parking Services is the one to answer the call.

Lisa Thayer, a recent graduate, is one of the dispatchers for parking services and has been working with them for almost three years. She began as a Call Team Officer, the person you will see most often in the parking lots.

“They go around looking for different violations that go against the regulations for the campus, and correcting those actions with citations or warnings, whatever seems fit,” Thayer said.

Now she’s a regular parking enforcement employee, supervising current CTOs and training two other employees who will become dispatchers for this fall semester. So far Thayer has come to appreciate the mobility of the job, saying that having to be stuck in an office all day would have been undesirable. Doing unlocks for students or staff is one of the several duties that allow her to walk around campus.

If a workday seems uneventful, dispatchers will usually resort to CTO tasks and check parking lots, but the chances of a boring day are low.

“Typically we do get quite a few calls, so it’s never really that slow,” Thayer said.

“Summer’s a bit slower, but… there’s always something to be done.”

Getting along with coworkers is important to Thayer and it’s one of the reasons that she has stayed with the Parking Services.

“Everyone seems to have a pretty good vibe. Everyone’s really welcoming and understanding,” Thayer said.

In addition to a positive workplace, the convenience of the job being with the University has its perks as well, she says. Parking Services has been able to work around her school schedule and the proximity of the offices has made it convenient for getting to class after her shift.

Still, Thayer says, there is nothing particularly significant about having a University job versus having one off-campus in retail or at a restaurant. Many of the required skills and lessons to be learned are the same.

“It’s all just a matter of who you’re working with and what you’re doing, so I feel like working for enforcement is a lot of customer service… as well as just basically trying to… make sure you, like, keep doing your job,” Thayer said. “But I feel like you can get that with any job.”

Pursuing enforcement beyond Parking Services is a future prospect for Thayer, who shows interest in possibly working for the University’s police department in the future. Though she has a degree in teaching and wants to earn her master’s, UAA unfortunately cut the program last semester. Thayer says she would have to go out-of-state to continue her education but for now, she’d like to find a job with the state troopers or Anchorage police department, if not with the University.

PHOTO BY JAY GUZMAN

UAA’s south parking lot as seen from the Engineering and Industry Building.

It is seldom that the University police work with Parking Services and usually in the case of the presence of a moose or suspicious vehicle. Yet Thayer still sees the department as her next step.

“I do think it would be good to go into enforcement. I had that thought beforehand so I’m not sure if that plays in… I think it’s justified it a little bit more.”

So far, her experience with parking services has taught her a few things about being not only an employee but also a student. Especially as a CTO, employees have to know how to handle situations in which a person may be unhappy or displeased. Thayer says that it’s essential to be able to explain things to people clearly enough when it comes to citations, violations and other issues that could be poten-

tially problematic.

In terms of being a student, Thayer acknowledges that there are rules and regulations to be followed. Just as a term of agreement asks you to agree that you’ve read it in its entirety, the university also expects students and staff to abide by the rules.

“It’s always like a teetering effect. It’s a give-and-take,” Thayer said. “Knowing what is best to do and not to do. I feel like a lot of people don’t pay attention to that.”

Many enforcement jobs require a lot of patience and people skills, but being with parking services hasn’t discouraged Thayer yet. She hopes that other students will take advantage of other jobs on campus, especially if they are looking to make some money while taking classes.

Political science majors give their two cents on fixing the Alaska Legislature

By Chance Townsend

ctownsend@thenorthernlight.org

As a budget crisis loomed, the state of Alaska was scheduled to shut down on July 1. The Division of Motor Vehicles, Alaska Ferries and 2.5 million fish housed at state hatcheries, according to a list released by Gov. Bill Walker, were all in danger.

On June 22, however, the Alaska State Legislature passed a budget, effectively funding the state for another year. Concern by the public still exists on whether or not Alaska’s budget troubles have been resolved by a seemingly hastily passed budget bill.

Morgan Hartley, Moira Pyhala and Catherine Schoessler are political science majors at UAA, and they proposed their own possible solutions on preventing the legislative standoff that occurred in Juneau this spring and summer.

Hartley says that creating a “pie in the sky budget” would be the best way to start to see just how short on funding the state is.

“For starters, I would start by creating a budget that includes all necessary programs including increases to those that have been cut in the past, including but not limited to the department of transportation and various educational institutions.” Hartley said. “This would ideally correct the misconception that our current deficit projections create. They show primarily the difference between this budget and the last rather than this budget and what the state needs.”

For the budget crisis to end, both parties in the legislature have to work together, which is something Schoessler says needs to happen.

GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA

“If I had to choose one solution it would be for our legislature to work outside of party lines and stop using compromise as a negative word,” Schoessler said. “The job of our legislature to work together to find the best possible solution for Alaskans and I believe that having two parties working against each other is not the way to achieve that goal.”

“There really is no easy answer, so hopefully our state legislation is able to work together in order to create possible solutions that will benefit Alaskans alto-

gether,” Pyhala said.

The State of Alaska runs on the money and energy brought in from oil. If the oil business is slow, it means less money for the state. Possible solutions discussed by the students were increasing the tax on oil companies or switching to renewable energy.

“I want to reevaluate the tax credit system for oil and gas companies because these companies should be paying taxes before Alaskans or especially if Alaskans are paying taxes,”Schoessler said. “I

think that the investments made from the PFD fund could be invested in Alaskan energy companies even though that may not yield the highest profit at the moment but that would help boost local companies and help Alaska develop state of the art technologies that could be shared or sold else where.”

Cutting the PFD or eliminating it all together was a view shared by all three students. On June 14, the House approved the increase of the PFD to $2200, but on June 22 the House-Senate subcommittee settled on $1,100 dividends for this year.

The House also passed a proposal to levy a state income tax, something that the students think could be a possible idea to add compromise to the budget crisis.

“What I would say regarding the income tax is that a pr campaign could have been done to warm Alaskans up to the idea,” Hartley said. “The majority of people do not realize that state taxes are a federal tax write off. This means more money for Alaska and less for Washington which I believe is an idea most Alaskans are friendly too.”

“I think that the capping of the PFD in order to preserve it for the long run was a good idea, I am not sure that most Alaskans fully understand what was done and how it actually affects them,” Schoessler said.

In the end, is no perfect way to solve the problems occurring in the state legislature.

“I can’t pretend that I know the completely correct answer or that any one idea will magically solve all the state’s budget issues,” Schoessler said. “In the end, we are going to need multiple solutions that work together to help us out of this hole we have dug for ourselves.”

06 | FEATURES College Cookbook: Roses gone wild

Bring food and drink to another level with this burst of floral flavor

By Victoria Petersen Contributor

Ingredients • 6 cups of rose petals • 3 1/2 cups of water • 3 cups of sugar

You can spot the pink flowers of wild roses off the trails and possibly in your own backyard. Take advantage of the bounty by making a floral-flavored syrup to use in cocktails, baked goods or even over ice cream.

Spend a couple of hours outside to pick the petals.

Make sure you only grab the petals, as the center part of the flower is its reproductive system. Harvesting should be done in areas free of pollution, avoiding any roads or railroad tracks. Once you gather about six cups, bring the petals home and wash them of any dirt or tag-along spiders and bugs.

Student Spotlight: Meet Student Showcase winner, Kaylin Jones

PHOTO BY JAY GUZMAN

Mathematics and civil engineering major Kaylin Jones was a winner of the 2017 Student Showcase Awards.

By Cheyenne Mathews cmathews@thenorthernlight.org

Directions 1. In a large saucepan, combine the roses and water and heat on medium, making sure the petals are all under the water.

2. Once boiling, bring the heat down and let simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Strain the petal water and discard the roses. This is rosewater, and is good to use for other recipes as well.

4. Add in the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring the syrup to a boil.

5. Remove the pan from heat and store the rose syrup in a capped bottle for storing. It will stay good for about a month.

PHOTO BY VICTORIA PETERSEN

One of 2017’s Student Showcase winners, Kaylin Jones is skilled at writing, public speaking, and she has a third often elusive ability –for those talented in reading and writing– to understand mathematics. When Jones started her freshman year at UAA she planned to graduate with a B.A. in journalism.

“When I first applied here I did not think I was going to do anything [math related]. I actually wanted to do journalism, but then I took calculus one and about halfway through it I realized that I loved it,” Jones said.

“I found what I was interested in and it was math.”

Since that calculus one class, Jones has switched her degree to a double major in mathematics and civil engineering, and she plans to graduate in four and a half years. Jones wants to become an environmental engineer, and after she graduates from UAA she will pursue a masters degree in environmental engineering.

“I think our environment has a lot of issues facing it right now, and I want to be one of the people who can help that,” Jones said. “I think that we need good, smart people in that discipline right now, and I want to be one of those people. I feel like it is a good way to make a difference; even if it is just on the local level, small environmental projects are always important.”

Jones loves math but she wanted to find a way to apply math outside of an academic setting, so she became an engineering major too. For the past two years Jones has worked as a research assistant with civil engineering professor, Osama Abaza, and their work focuses on reducing crashes around Anchorage and Alaska by researching anything from depressed medians to red light running.

As a female engineering and mathematics student, Jones said she is often the minority in her

classes.

“I think, because there is a lot of men in the classes versus women, student wise it’s kind of an interesting experience because you kind of get this feeling when you first go into a class that many people don’t expect you to be overly great,” Jones said.

Jones has been on the Dean’s list or Chancellor’s list every semester she has attended UAA while taking heavy course loads of mathematics and engineering.

Mathematics Professor, Kamal Narang, said Jones is able to succeed in her courses, not just because she is a talented student, but because she is confident in her abilities.

“To me what stands out the most for her is the level of confidence she has,” Kamal Narang said. “She’s very aware of what she can do. She knows she can do it.”

Jones said part of what encouraged her to double major was her oldest sister, who has degrees in both mathematics and civil engineering.

“I think another big issue is that growing up women feel like they’re not as good at math,” Jones said. “If you want to study it, study it anyway, because I can guarantee you’re going to be just as good as anyone else. No one in math or engineering, none of us are like geniuses where everything is easy, we have to try hard too. Just do it.”

In her free time Jones has participated in the Cabin Fever Debates, where she was a finalist, she has written letters to the editor surrounding the issue of health care, she is a member of the American Society of Engineers and she enjoys rock climbing.

Kamal Narang encouraged Jones to submit a paper she wrote in his course, Historical Mathematics, to Student Showcase. Kamal Narang said he was impressed both by the content of the paper and the delivery. As one of Jones’ mentors, Kamal Narang has expressed how remarkable it is that she main-

tains good grades while taking 22 plus credits a semester.

“When [Jones] came for the [Student] Showcase her mother came… Her mother was mentioning in [Jones’] free time she likes to do so and so, and I said, ‘Kaylin has free time! Where does that come from?!’ And her mother said, ‘I don’t know either, where does that come from?’”

Debbie Narang, is also one of Jones’ mathematics professors, and she describes Jones as “just kind of a dynamo.” In the summer semester of 2015 Jones made the Chancellor’s list for all A’s after taking 15 credits of engineering, mathematics and technical writing courses.

“Back in 2015 I wrote this letter recommending her for our department tuition waiver, which is basically we chose on the basis for successes,” Debbie Narang said. “Usually a student at this level, I wouldn’t know them that well and they haven’t proven themselves. I would pick someone more senior, but she was obviously such a fine student that I had to recommend her.”

Debbie Narang said Jones has a rare confidence and fire, as well as a great work ethic.

Kamal Narang said to be a good student like Jones one should “do homework” and be confident in your abilities. Jones advises other potential female engineering and mathematics students to pursue those degrees if that’s their passion, regardless of the initial atmosphere.

“Sometimes in classes the atmosphere can make you feel a little uncomfortable when you are in a room of mainly men, and that’s not really anyone’s fault it’s just you kind of get singled out in a way if you are the only woman in the room,” Jones said. “No one does it on purpose if just kind of happens, I think if–it’s hard– but if you can just ignore that feeling and keep trying succeed anyway, and you know you are good at these things then just do them.”

& AE

| 07

What’s the hullabaloo at the Hugh McPeck art gallery?

“Transatlantic Hullabaloo,” currently showing at the Hugh McPeck art gallery, is a blast of creativity

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUGH MCPECK ART GALLERY

Selections from “Transatlantic Hullabaloo.”

By Ammon Swenson arts@thenorthernlight.org

The current show at UAA’s Hugh McPeck art gallery is a shotgun blast of expression. Aptly titled “Transatlantic Hullaballoo,” the exhibit features three distinct artists showcasing their diverse backgrounds and skillsets. The pieces range from mixed media to ceramics to manga.

The brainchild of Jessica Saiki, Shuzo Zidalis and Cashel Linnane, “Hullaballoo” was a creative exercise of sorts. The friends found a common thread for their exhibition by combining adjectives and nouns and using the resulting phrase as a prompt and title.

Linnane is a recent art school graduate from England.

His pieces are primarily acrylic with a dash of mixed media. His bright colors and heavy lines are reminiscent of classic cartoons with a touch playful fiendishness. The spontaneity of his work is what he likes most about it.

“I never rudimentarily plan something before I do it. I

just kind of see where the road takes me,” Linnane said.

Conversely, Saiki, who was born and raised in Anchorage, takes more of an intentional approach with her wide variety of pieces on exhibit. Her work ranges from water colors or acrylics to ceramics and even a baleen etching.

“It’s always been like, ‘I feel this way and this is the situation that I want to draw to express that,” Saiki said.

Zidalis, who has been dating Saiki since high school, was born in Japan and lived there until he was 8. His work is heavily inspired by old school manga, effectively using negative space and limited color. His standalone pieces look like they could be torn from a complete graphic novel. He’s never had his work shown publicly before, but hopes the exhibit will help him turn his hobby into something more.

“I think this is kind of the first stepping stone,” Zidalis said.

Linnane became friends with Zidalis years ago through an artist forum online. Eventually, the group decided they wanted to not only meet in person, but to put on a show together.

Record Review: Hazia’s ‘Watch it Burn’ It’s easy to forget that the synth-heavy indie rock album “Watch it Burn” is a local release

By Ammon Swenson arts@thenorthernlight.org

Hazia’s recently released debut album is ten tracks of indie rock that spans gothic moodiness to sugary sweet pop.

While “Watch it Burn” doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it does a very fine job of recreating it.

The album begins with an ominous keyboard intro that would be right at home on the opening credits of “Twin Peaks.” Strings swell into a slow bombastic march of as the full band joins and eventually fades.

The first full track, “Social Disclosure” hits like a brick of dark ‘80s goodness. Lead singer Andy Tholberg somberly croons over a danceable rhythm before kicking it up a notch with a huge singalong chorus.

Not letting things lag, “Sounds and Silences” comes out with a driving finger picking guitar lead straight into a song that can be at times seem like synthheavy funeral dirge to a Gothic sermon as Tholberg sings about the taste of blood.

Based off of the first few tracks of “Watch it Burn” you might expect more of the same, but as the album progresses, you quickly realize that they have more than one trick up their sleeve. While they never fully abandon the dark tinged indie rock completely, there are moments of pleasant surprise throughout the album.

“Ordinary Life” comes out swinging with a poppy synth line that kills the

assumption that these boys are all dark clouds and doom. In fact, whenever the synths took the lead in any song, it was hard not to give them all the attention.

The acoustic guitar driven track Home softens things up a bit and showcases Tholberg’s vocals that seem drip like molasses over a softly plucked guitar.

It’s hard not to be reminded of other artists while listening to “Watch it Burn,” but what it lacks in originality, it makes up for in execution. It’s musically dense without ever being self-aggrandizing.

Tonally and production wise it was easy to forget that it was a local release and not a big name band. “Watch it Burn” isn’t going to be for everyone, but when a local release comes along that’s this well executed, it’s worth paying attention to.

“Watch it Burn” can be found at akhazia.bandcamp.com

The idea of combining two words as a prompt not only gave them a theme, but working within those limitations helped them to flex their creative muscles.

“I feel like we’re all really high-energy, creative people, so even just two words is enough,” Saiki said.

The randomness of the titles they came up with together seems to go hand in hand with Linnane and Saiki’s methods, despite their differences: Linnane’s preference for spontaneity and Saiki’s constant desire for expression, regardless of the medium or subject.

For Zidalis, the prompts forced him to expand his techniques and skills to work outside the box while staying inside the boxes. He was not only working within the constraints of the prompts, but also the limitations of the comic book medium. The resulting work ended up being an exercise in maximizing his creativity while keeping things free of extravagance.

About a year or so after being approved by the gallery, it was finally show time. Linnane packed up his pieces and headed to Alaska for the first time.

“I’m glad it’s brought me here,” Linnane said. “Alaska’s a really lovely place, like nothing I’ve ever seen at home.”

Last Wednesday was the opening reception for “Hullaballoo.” People filled the small gallery as the artists made the rounds, seemingly pleased about the turnout and finally getting to see each other’s work in one place.

“It’s surreal in the best way,” Saiki said.

“Transatlantic Hullaballoo” runs until July 19 with a First Friday reception on July 7 from 5 - 7 p.m.

For more of their work, check the artists out on Instagram: Jessica Saiki: @half.ramen.studio Shuzo Zidalis: @osamu_hd Cashel Linnane: @ohinkhooray

| 08

A&E ‘Hounds of Love’ should have had a tighter leash

By Jacob Holley-Kline Contributor

For all its earnest intensity, “Hounds of Love” has remarkably boring stretches. I was puzzled by those moments because everything on-screen was important and often ruthless, but a lot of it felt superficial. First time director Ben Young struggles to find a balance between being stylish and having style. There’s a fine line between those two things. Having style implies depth, an emotional layer beneath the cinematography that elevates the whole movie. Being stylish is looking pretty. “Hounds of Love” has moments of style, but doesn’t move beyond just being stylish.

Stephen Curry as the vitriolic John and Emma Booth, the strongest of the cast, as his wife Evelyn will have you convinced you’re watching a better movie.

Including Ashleigh Cummings Vicki, they certainly deserve some weightier material. That’s not to say “Hounds of Love” isn’t worth digging into. Young

just struggles to find meaning in its story or characters, opting instead to surround them with slow-motion montages scored with 80’s pop. Young packs a lot of striking images into this little tale, but a lot of it isn’t necessary and bogs down the tenser scenes.

The effect is inconsistent.

In more capable hands, each of those sequences would say something new or interesting rather than passing by. Young’s sequences just pass by, feeling dreamlike while their on-screen but offering little else after they go. At points, enduring the movie’s frequent brutality, the self-conscious long pans feel like they belong in a different movie altogether. Free of those moments, “Hounds of Love” could easily fall under 90 minutes and be a more lean thriller.

The plot calls for a more raw and intimate style. Vicki is a rebellious teen, daughter of recently divorced parents, and sneaks out one night against her mother Maggie’s (Susie Porter) wishes. On her way, she’s

stopped by Evelyn and John, offering her a ride. Vicki reluctantly accepts, stopping by their house on the way only to be drugged and chained to a bed.

Desperate to escape, Vicki figures out her captors’ dynamic in all its darkness and abuse. She decides to take advantage of the rift between them if it means her freedom.

“Hounds of Love” closest relative has got to be “The Snowtown Murders,” a much more effective horror movie about family dynamics and abuse. It has the same ponderous tone with more guts and depth.

“Hounds of Love” has that same creepy, slow-to-unravel imagery without the emotional underpinnings to make it feel important.

It’s anchored with an exceptional cast, Porter and Booth especially, but struggles to float on its own. If anything, Young should pull back, less transition shots, more action. For as fast as the story itself moves, the movie lags behind, comfortable with catching up when the important stuff has passed.

TITLE “Hounds of Love”

DIRECTOR Ben Young

RELEASE DATE May 12, 2017

COUNTRY Australia

GENRE Thriller

Route 33 open for business in Spenard

PHOTO BY AMMON SWENSON

Route 33 opened it’s doors on June 9 in Spenard, replacing TapRoot for Southern comfort food and a neighborhood restaurant vibe.

By Ammon Swenson arts@thenorthernlight.org

Hans Nowka, part owner of TapRoot, is ready to move on. The Spenard venue is closed and in its place is his newest venture, Route 33.

Rather than focus on music six days a week, Nowka wants his place to cater to a more diverse crowd. Food and drinks are the focus and they have a brand new menu of comfort food with a southern vibe.

“Our main thing is that we just didn’t want to be just burgers and pizza or whatever everybody else gets,” Nowka said.

Despite some blowback for shutting down TapRoot, Nowka said the venue driven model just wasn’t cutting it. He still wants to keep having live music, but he’s looking to do something different.

“TapRoot was TapRoot,” Nowka said.

General manager Audrey Williams hopes that by limiting live music to the weekends, they can provide a better all around experience.

“We still hope to draw that music community in as much as we can,” Williams said.

PHOTO BY JAY GUZMAN

With the closure of Taproot and the birth of Route 33, the new owners look to cater to a more diverse crowd and keep live music limited to just the weekends.

Nowka’s former partner, Martin Severin, told True North Magazine in 2016 that his goal for TapRoot was “To be the coolest music venue in the state.” While cool didn’t translate to cash, Nowka still has high hopes for Route 33 as a venue, albeit in a reduced sense.

With fresh paint and a remodel that helped open up the space, Nowka wants Route 33 to have more of a neighborhood restaurant feel. He hopes it’ll be the kind of place where anyone would stop in for lunch or dinner or grab a cold one and watch the game.

“I want to be a place that you could come and hang out,” Nowka said.

Long before the location was TapRoot, it was the Fly

By Night Club, and for a few years, Player’s House of Rock. Nowka’s relationship with the building goes back well beyond TapRoot when it used to be an arcade.

“Literally, when I was 5 years old, I used to play arcade games in this building,” Nowka said.

The restaurant prominently features a few arcade games as a functional, and entertaining, homage to the building’s history.

Despite living on the south side of Anchorage as a kid, Nowka said he grew up in Spenard. His dad had a cabinet shop across the street from the building for 40

years.

Following in his father’s foot steps as a wood worker, Nowka acknowledges that he’s more of a businessman than restaurateur. That’s where general manager Williams comes in, who brings 20 years of restaurant experience — everything from tightly run ships to the sinking variety. Williams and Nowka hope to carve out their own niche in the Anchorage food and drink scene with Route 33.

“We don’t want to compete with the other people that have already established themselves,” Williams said. “I think what we want to do is we want this place to be fun.”

Like any new restaurant, there’s still plenty of work to be done even now that they’re open — things like final decorations, refining operations and dialing in the food and drink menu.

Nowka said he welcomes feedback. He wants Route 33 to feel like a mom and pop business which means maintaining a dialogue with customers.

“It’s all a work in progress,” Nowka said.

Route 33 is located at 3300 Spenard Road and is open Tuesday through Sunday.

SPORTS

| 09

What ever happened to The Dome?

Five months after The Dome deflated, little is still known about when it will be reopened

PHOTO BY YOUNG KIM

The Dome remains un-repaired nearly six months after collapsing. Visit www.thedome.us for more information about repairs or refunds.

By Lauren Cuddihy

sports2@thenorthernlight.org

Lauren Cuddihy is a member of the UAA track and field team.

On Jan. 20, Anchorage and the surrounding areas were overtaken by a foot or more of snow in just 24 hours. During the duration of the storm, The Dome users and employees started to see a growing depression in the ceiling of the inflatable sports complex. In an attempt to restore normal balance to the building, the employees and management initiated a normal snowfall response: Turn up the heat to melt it off the top.

In a counterproductive outcome, management began to realize that instead of the snow melting and falling off, the water and ice began to pool in the ever-increasing depression until it was too late.

General Manager Dino Sutherland has been working excessively since the collapse and was the first one aware of

the situation that took place that night.

“The weight accumulation outpaced the pressure; there was only so much pressure that I could put into the building,” Sutherland said.

Over the past five months, the loss of The Dome remained significant to many aspects of the community.

The Anchorage School District lost their primary spring location for outdoor sports.

Men’s and women’s soccer lost weeks of valuable playing time and were forced to utilize other methods to make game time possible. In addition, high school track and field was limited without a proper track to run on.

Originally, ASD had a policy that no snow was to be manually removed. But, after several requests, ASD Superintendent Deena Bishop encouraged the schools and ASD’s activities director for secondary education, Derek Hagler, to be creative with the process.

“I, and our maintenance staff, took that as permission to

do what we’ve never done before and to try to clear off some of those fields,” Hagler said.

Over the next several weeks, in a extensive process, the snow was cleared off of Chugiak High School, East High School and Service High School’s fields in order to make up for the loss of their regular facility.

Another huge setback was given to UAA’s track and field team.

The team went from training on the full-size track everyday, to running on treadmills and on the 180-meter track in the Alaska Airlines Center.

In an unfortunate occurrence all-around, a large amount of disappointment came from athletes who traveled much farther to Alaska with the assumption that they will have a guaranteed indoor running track to train on.

UAA sprinter, Vanessa Aniteye gave up ideal training facilities in Hamburg, Germany to come to Anchorage.

“I had to adjust my training to the facilities that were available.

Jumping on treadmills [going

upwards of 16 mph] was something I never did before UAA. I had never even trained on treadmills before. As naive as I was, I underestimated the treadmill and fell off the first time trying to train on it,” Aniteye said.

Aniteye and the other athletes, including ones from other UAA sports who run as crosstraining, are ready and anticipating The Dome for next season.

“The treadmills have shown us that there are other options, but having The Dome is definitely going to benefit everyone’s training even more,” Aniteye said.

The loss of The Dome affected more than just college and high school athletes, the general public lost an important asset.

Public users of the facility were appalled by the lack of communication and resilience offered after the collapse, even to this day, many users still have unanswered questions.

Anchorage resident and Dome user Axel Croy is still upset by the way management is handling the situation. After using the facility an average of two times per week playing for coed and men’s soccer leagues, Croy immediately reached out to management after the collapse.

“I think [they] handled the situation abysmally. They have since gone into complete hiding and there seems to be no accountability within their organization. Their lack of communication with the community is also very worrying. This policy of keeping the public in the complete dark has had the adverse affect of creating rumors and uncertainties,” Croy.

Six months later, Croy and other users still haven’t received anymore information or refunds that were initially guaranteed.

“I asked for a refund, did

not receive one as cash. They claimed to offer credit towards another season, but also have not seen that,” Croy said.

For the first time since January, the board of directors of The Dome spoke out in May with an update.

With a concise and ambiguous message to the public, the directors announced that all efforts are being made to have The Dome up and running soon, as well as refunds. “[The Dome owner] is in a precarious position and will remain so as negotiations continue, including discussions amongst The Dome’s insurance company and creditors, The Municipality’s Building Department, and the corporation that runs The Dome, Anchorage Sportsplex Inc. We see light at the end of the tunnel for this phase of the process and are cautiously optimistic that our next communication will provide additional clarity on a reopening date,” the Board of Directors said in a message on their website.

The directors gave hope that another announcement will come in the following weeks, but after another month and a half, it has been radio silence.

With regards to refunds, the directors announced that with the lack of cash reserve they have available, immediate refunds were not possible. They have made several attempts to request money for make refunds possible, but if not, then any reimbursements or credit to future memberships will be postponed until The Dome has been repaired.

For up-to-date progress on the repairs and refunds, visit either www.thedome.us or their Facebook page at The Alaska Dome.

10 | SPORTS

TOUCHÉ: Alaska State Champion in foil fencing, Joseph Longuevan works towards double major

PHOTO COURTESY OF KATIE LONGUEVAN

Joseph Longuevan fencing his coach Nathan Anderson in 2015 at a tournament titled The Hangover.

Continued from cover Fencing Club located at Pacific Northern Academy. He has been assisting students for the past three years and this will be the first summer teaching his own beginners class.

“In regards to what I look forward to

with fencing, I cannot wait to start coaching more. My coaches had such an impact on my life, and I want to continue teaching young people the wonders of fencing,” Longuevan said.

Meeting other fencers from around the world and bonding over their unique passion and discussing previous tournaments is one of Longuevan’s favorite

things about the sport.

“One of my favorite parts about fencing is the community, fencing clubs are like a big family, it is a sport that brings a diverse group of people together,” Longuevan said. “There is something about stabbing one another that brings people together in a way that other sports cannot.”

Longuevan’s mother, Sandra Longuevan appreciates how fencing has helped her son develop throughout the years.

“When he steps on the strip, he is a different person,” Sandra Longuevan said. “It has defined him for who he is and that is a literal statement.”

Because Longuevan’s talent for fencing came so naturally, his father, Dwight Longuevan, is convinced it is what he was meant to do.

“The rules, traditions and sportsmanship of fencing are in his blood,” Dwight Longuevan said.

Aside from Longuevan’s determination for fencing, he is also passionate about his classes and wants to eventually become a professor himself.

“I chose economics because I love learning about public policy, and how to

get the efficient outcomes with a given set of information. I also have a passion for cultural history, which turned into a second major,” Longuevan said. “I plan on going into a PhD program for economics and being a professor, I love teaching people and helping them grow as individuals.”

Longuevan still desires to learn more in the sport and to grow as a teacher.

“I am reminded of a fencing quote that is along the lines of, ‘Fencing takes a life time to master, and when one finally understands the mental game, their body is too old and worn to fence,’” Longuevan said. “I plan on fencing until I can no longer hold a sword.”

In the future, Longuevan is looking forward to creating his own economics labs similar to UAA’s experimental economics lab. Research is another passion of his and he hopes to find a way to experiment with fencing. Longuevan is part of a community that trains for many years testing their mental and physical capabilities and now he is able to pass his knowledge on through his teachings this summer.

Keith Hackett to leave position as UAA Athletics director

After four years of athletic and academic leadership, Keith Hackett will transfer to an identical position at Cornell College

By Lauren Cuddihy

sports2@thenorthernlight.org

Lauren Cuddihy is a member of UAA’s track and field team.

After four years of holding the position, Athletic Director Keith Hackett announced that he was stepping down from the position in order to take the same position at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

During Hackett’s short time as director of the 13-sport NCAA program, UAA has qualified 94 athletes for AllAmerican status, secured 21 Great Northwest Athletic Conference team titles and accomplished national top-3 finishes in women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and men’s cross country.

The achievements made in Hackett’s four years weren’t just athletic; the department made significant academic progress as well. Just this past spring, the student-athletes produced a semester record overall gradepoint-average of 3.32. During Hackett’s impressive academic leadership over the program, the Seawolves were able to accumulate a 3.15 overall GPA for every year. In addition, of the nearly 180 athletes in the the program, 116 student athletes had over a 3.0 GPA. “It’s one of the things we are most proud of; the successes that our student athletes are having, and not just in their areas of competition but in the class room as well,” Hackett said.

Hackett always had the student athletes’ best interest in mind; his 39 years of higher education experience led him to invest in many opportunities and agreements that helped produce the best facilities and experiences

for the students.

Many other University officials, such as Chancellor Tom Case, recognized the successes that Hackett encountered during his time. “[Hackett] came to the University during turbulent and challenging times in UAA Athletics; Keith not only met those challenges, but he helped shepherd the Seawolves to the most successful seasons in program history. The student-athletes, coaches, university community and fans will miss him.” Case said.

Through partnerships with Spectra and Learfield Sports, Hackett was able to equip the Alaska Airlines Center with the best management personnel as well as assist in media rights, sponsorships and development for the GCI Great Alaska Shootout.

In addition, Hackett has helped promote a positive experience for both the athletes as well as the staff and community involved. For example, athletes were often encouraged to gain volunteer experience throughout the community.

“I’m extremely proud of the community engagement by our student-athletes, coaches and staff, who have given more than 2,000 hours in the past year to volunteer projects,” Hackett said.

To gain even more local and national recognition, Hackett partnered with GCI, Alaska Airlines and national TV partner CBS Sports Network to publicize the GCI Great Alaska Shootout, as well as other home events. He also designated a significant amount of attention to the ‘Seawolf Fan Experience’ by helping raise $4 million for facility projects and support to UAA sports teams.

With the tremendous amount of success and experience Hackett has had at UAA, Cornell College’s athletic

PHOTO COURTESY OF UAA ATHLETICS

department will be in good hands.

“I am excited about the opportunity to continue my career in college athletics at a distinguished institution like Cornell College and to be much closer to our families,” Hackett said. “It has been a great privilege to work with and serve so many excellent student athletes, coaches and staff.”

Cornell College boasts a successful NCAA Division III program that sponsors 19 sports, including football.

Hackett will began his leadership at the college this fall and oversee the Midwest Conference program.

Hackett’s official departure from UAA will be on July 7.

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About Last Night

By Cash Linnane

Transatlantic Hullaballoo June 21 - July 19 Student Union

First Friday Reception 5-7 PM Friday, July 7

On the Lovers Plane

By Jessi Saiki

Hertfordshire, England

Anchorage, Alaska

Sasebo, Japan

The themes of our show are spontaneity and togetherness. Together we combined random nouns and adjectives to create the prompts.

Generating the prompts in this fashion has allowed us to leave our comfort zones and tackle new themes we might have otherwise never explored. An inux of wild prompts alongside of friends was a lovely challenge and wonderful opportunity for growth, an opportunity to foster a loving world wide art community and an opportunity to make connections with individuals who inspire us.

GALLERY HOURS Monday - Thursday 11AM - 5:30PM Friday 11AM - 4PM Free parking

Hugh McPeck Gallery

2017

Check out our 2016 No Big Heads winner’s show!

Opening Wednesday July 26 at 4-6pm

Helmet Head

By Shuzo Zidalis