SPORTS PAGE 5
UAA hosting GNAC cross country championship for the first time in 22 years
Kitchen tips: Thermoses are a great lunch hack
Campus Kickoff canceled, Indoor After Party still took place
One of the university’s most popular yearly events was canceled early Saturday afternoon, right before the event was scheduled to start.
By Kyle Ivacic, Taylor Heckart
Executive Director of Student Life and Leadership Kim Morton – in collaboration with UAA Risk Management – made the call to cancel the outdoor portion of UAA’s 20th Campus Kickoff as weather conditions worsened throughout the morning.
Morton said in an interview with The Northern Light that “The tents and the wind made the decision [to cancel Campus Kickoff] when they decided to fly away.”
Campus Kickoff is UAA’s annual event to welcome students, staff and faculty to the beginning of the school year.
Campus Kickoff was originally scheduled to have two portions: the outdoor “CKO ‘23 Festival’’ in the Student Union parking lot from 1 to 4 p.m. and the “CKO ‘23 After Party’’ from 4 to 10 p.m. in various locations around UAA.
Campus organizations, vendors and student-run clubs received the news that the festival was canceled as they prepared to welcome UAA students to a new school year. A few
minutes before Campus Kickoff’s scheduled start time, UAA sent out an alert saying that outdoor events were canceled due to bad weather.
Southcentral Alaska is currently under a flood watch through Saturday evening. According to the National Weather Service alert, Anchorage is expected to receive 0.7 - 1.5 inches of rain.
While some organizations were able to move inside, most packed up against the backdrop of wind and rain.
Associate Director of Student Life and Leadership Zac Clark said that, because of the cancellation, student organizations will be able to table in the Student Union, Monday through Thursday from 10 to 2 p.m. during the first week of school.
An email from Student Organization Coordinator Shelby Kriegh has been sent out to organizations that signed up for Campus Kickoff with more information.
Clark said that they want to offer an opportunity for organizations to make the connections that they missed today.
Northern Light staff – originally preparing a
booth of their own – documented the festival’s cancellation.
Sara Caldwell-Kan, director of Multicultural Student Services, said in an interview that the Multicultural Student Services booth was originally supposed to be outside, but – like others – had to relocate into the Student Union. Keeping in good spirits, she stood at a table passing out tote bags and flyers containing information about upcoming Multicultural Student Services events.
“We’ll make the best of it – there’s nothing else to do about it,” Caldwell-Kan said.
Student experience coordinator for Enrollment Services, Eileen Moring, said that the Enrollment Center was originally intended to be a sensory room with dim lighting and a calm atmosphere for students in need of a reprieve from the outdoor festivities.
However, the Enrollment Services Center –housed in the same building as the Student Union – became a place for remaining students to get out of the rain. Puzzles and other activities were available, and staff stood
by to hand out tote bags and give students information about Enrollment Services.
Gerricka Cowan, a student orientation leader with First Year Experience, handed out t-shirts with her team at the Student Union entrance. Cowan said, “We’ve been doing two weeks of focusing on Campus Kickoff, but we’ve been going to the meetings [since June].
“We were stationed outside in the back of the parking lot … These are all of the shirts that we were going to pass out next to the food. With this happening we had to roll it
back in.”
Cowan said that taking down the outdoor booth was a hassle due to wind and rain.
“We had to rip [the canopy] off in … rain with the wind blowing.”
She said that about eight people were needed to take down the canopy over the First Year Experience Booth.
In a video shared to social media, Chancellor Sean Parnell confirmed that though the outdoor portion of Campus Kickoff was canceled, indoor portions of campus kickoff were still scheduled to continue.
According to UAA’s Campus Kickoff page, the “CKO ‘23 After Party” will be from 4 to 10 p.m., with events happening in the Student Union, Rasmuson Hall, the Avis Alaska Sports Complex and the Alaska Airlines Center.
At 7 p.m. the Alaska Airlines Center will be hosting a free concert for UAA students, staff and faculty featuring H3 and Wasabi Black. A Wolfcard is required for entry. More information about the after party events can be found online.
New ‘Seawolf Marketplace’ brings fresh salads to campus
The new dining option opened at the beginning of the semester, and brings made to order meals with plastic-free packaging.
By Taylor Heckart new3@thenorthernlight.org
The Seawolf Marketplace currently offers five salad options which range from $7 to $12. There is also the option to add grilled chicken or grilled salmon to salads for an additional $5 charge.
The daily soup – which changes – is $5. Seawolf Marketplace soups are
A new dining option has arrived on campus this semester – the brightly colored Seawolf Marketplace, directly adjacent to Subway on the bottom floor of the Student Union. Seawolf Marketplace took over the space that was once occupied by the long closed Taqueria. The space received a refresh, now boasting bright green walls and veggie-themed wallpaper.
also sold at Kaladi Brothers, Bear Necessities and Cafe Delgga.
The salad ingredients are diverse, with options such as feta cheese, fennel, endive, tomatoes, goat cheese, roasted red bell peppers, avocado, grapefruit and sweet peppers.
According to the Seawolf Marketplace menu, all salad dressings are vegan.
After choosing a salad, students can watch it be made in front of them.
Hannah Boron, a junior studying biological sciences, said that the food options provided on campus after Covid were “desolate.”
“It basically used to be the [Gorsuch] Commons. And there was a time we didn’t have Subway… and then Subway would close
intermittently,” said Boron, “that’s not necessarily the fault of anybody, we were just coming out of Covid and [had] staffing issues, I just remember it being like, sometimes you didn’t eat.”
Boron said she appreciates seeing a “clear effort” from the university to respond to student needs, and appreciated that the Seawolf Marketplace was providing fresh food to students.
“I think it’s a really good addition to campus. It’s not like anything else that’s there.”
Alix Lacy works at the UAA registrar’s office, but used to be a student at UAA back when the space was still the Taqueria.
Lacy said she used to get her meals from the information desk, but has tried Subway and the Sea-
wolf Marketplace this semester.
She said that the new meal options this semester were exciting.
“Let me give a shout out to the Asian Chicken Salad!” said Lacy, “It’s $12, it’s very filling, it’s very flavorful and the price is very similar to if you got a meal at Subway.”
Students may notice the lack of plastic packaging at the Seawolf Marketplace – a choice that Seawolf Dining and Catering general manager Chris Tarsitano said was intentional.
The salad packaging is compostable and the cutlery is made out of bamboo. The drinks that are offered at the Seawolf Marketplace come in glass bottles or aluminum cans. Boxed water is
offered instead of plastic water bottles.
Tarsitano said that the compostable packaging comes from Green Alaska Solutions.
According to their website, they work to find “earth friendly substitutes” and that all of their products are made from “natural materials” that “break down naturally and can be turned back into soil.”
Tarsitano said that the menu is built to change seasonally, but this current menu will likely be in effect through Thanksgiving. He said that they are excited for any student feedback.
Seawolf Marketplace is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
PHOTO BY TAYLOR HECKART Students work on a puzzle at Enrollment Services after Campus Kickoff was canceled.
PHOTO BY TAYLOR HECKART
The outside of UAA’s new Seawolf Marketplace located on the bottom floor of the Student Union.
Book Review: “Bob Atwood’s Alaska: The Memoirs of a Legendary Newspaper Man.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same: issues that Atwood fought and championed are still relevant today.
By Kaycee Davis features2@thenorthernlight.org
“Bob Atwood’s Alaska: The Memoirs of a Legendary Newspaper Man,” Bob Atwood. 2003, Marilaine Publishing, Anchorage, Alaska. Third edition. 290 pages. Pictures of Alaska preand-post statehood, newspaper clippings, WWII, Trans-Alaska Pipeline. $30 ISBN 0-97400362-X
Bob Atwood arrived in Anchorage at the age of 28 with his wife Evangeline. They planned to stay for five years, which quickly turned into a lifetime. He and Evangeline saw a lot of changes and they affected some of them. In “Bob Atwood’s Alaska,” Bob Atwood shares stories and details from his tenure at the helm of The Anchorage Times.
Atwood, born in Chicago, studied journalism at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He worked at the school’s printshop and was a night reporter for the Worcester Telegram to pay for his schooling. He graduated in 1929. While living in Illinois, he met Evangeline Rasmuson, a social worker who was born in Sitka. The two of them married in 1932 and went back to work at the Worcester Telegram.
He owed his father-in-law Edward A. Rasmuson – a banker – $10,000 for having purchased an eight page newspaper known as “The Anchorage Daily Times.” Alaska was a territory and Anchorage, still a tent city, had 2,000 residents – by the time he sold “The Times” to Bill Allen 55 years later, Anchorage had 250,000 residents.
Perhaps someone else would have filled the role Atwood played in Alaska if he had not come up, but it would have had to have been a very particular, formidable someone because many of the people he had to persuade to change their perspectives were set and determined in how they wanted to do things. Atwood arrived in Alaska ready to practice journalism and helped grow a state along the way.
After purchasing the paper, he found that his staff was not well trained in journalism. He had to hire from outside of Alaska, with talent paying their own way to be interviewed.
Atwood also found that the city that was not used to journalists. He wrote, “Having trained the staff, I found that I also had to train the big wheels in town how to deal with a newspaper. Public officials in Anchorage were not used to having their activities reported nor did they feel
obliged to answer questions.”
Atwood and other young people saw Alaska’s potential. When he came to Alaska, the federal government owned 99.9 percent of all the land, and the railroad had a monopoly on transportation. Atwood wrote that since the government owned so much that it had a duty to open Alaska up to business.
He also wrote about Alaska during World War II. Atwood was once in on a discussion between military commanders who were deciding how to defend Alaska. Because it was wartime and Alaska played an important role in the Pacific theater, he had to cope with something that all editors hate – censorship.
He wrote of the shortages faced during the war and in the years after it. He also reported on the treatment of the Japanese – notably the Kimuras, a well known Anchorage family whose son had joined the Army before his parents and siblings were interned.
Atwood wrote of times in which he locked horns with powerful people who wanted to stop development or do things that were not in the best interests of Anchorage residents. He detailed his encounters with senators, congressmen and celebrities who loved Alaska as much as he did, and how he responded to those opposed to it. Atwood never failed to mention people involved in leading development projects.
It is surprising to read that –according to Atwood – the opponents of statehood were “absentee owners and they influenced Alaskans by threatening economic reprisals.”
Atwood wrote that at that time, Alaskans were paying federal taxes but did not get the benefits. He published his statehood opinions in The Times and wrote in his book that “Alaskans read them and took them on as their own views.”
Many of the topics in “Bob Atwood’s Alaska” are relevant today. Policy makers who don’t like to talk to the press. Monopolies in Alaska that resented lawmakers who opposed them. Moving the state capitol. Outside interests funding lawmakers and fueling political fires. Feds telling Alaskans what to do when Alaska is different from the rest of the United States. What was unique about the time that Bob Atwood was at the helm of what would become the Anchorage Times is that he was a central figure in all of it. Although he was a controversial force, he was always one with a clear vision.
Atwood wrote about the
newspaper wars between the Anchorage Times and the Anchorage Daily News. The details were messy and Atwood ultimately sold The Anchorage Times to oil tycoon Bill Allen.
Atwood finishes strong, detailing politics and life in Alaska – particularly Anchorage – over the years. He reminds readers of the earlier days in Alaska when people were dependent upon each other. Atwood wrote,“When Alaskans needed a shoulder put to the wheel, everybody put his shoulder to the wheel and all pushed in the same direction. We trusted one another.”
Atwood acknowledged ac-
cusations that he was a powerful newspaper tycoon whose civic involvement got him rich with what his paper supported. He wrote that they were correct about his wealth – “I got richer as the people of Anchorage got richer as the town grew and prospered.”
I enjoyed the book as it is a solid piece of history written by a notable character who shaped Alaska – but I have a problem. It would not be fair to expect anyone to write an autobiography without bias. I quoted in a book review, “Black Lives in Alaska: A History of African Americans in the Far Northwest” that “Robert Atwood, publisher of the in-
fluential paper, The Anchorage Times and conservative proponent of aggressive policing, frequently circulated rumors about the Black population as his paper covered sensational instances of crime that bolstered racist stereotypes.”
Robert Atwood is a complicated and important player in Alaska history. The history of Alaska would not be complete without him, but he was also not a saint. Though Atwood’s memoir is a fascinating and insightful picture into Alaska’s past, it is also a reminder that accurate research on anyone or anything needs to come from a variety of reputable sources.
PHOTO BY KAYCEE DAVIS
The back cover of “Bob Atwood’s Alaska: The Memoirs of a Legendary Newsman.”
Book Review: “Other Words for Home”
The book is fiction, but the story is true for many: a Syrian girl who leaves home when home is no longer safe. Beware of spoilers!
By Kaycee Davis features2@thenorthernlight.org
Warga, Jasmine., “Other Words for Home.” Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2019. 342 pages. 0062747800 $15.99 9780062747808
“Other Words for Home” is a 2020 Newbery Honor book written by Jasmine Warga. It presents the story of a girl named Jude who has no choice but to get out of Syria with her pregnant mother. Jude is a fictional character, but the civil
war, which began in 2011, and the lives of the upended people it has displaced, are real. Warga wrote in her author’s note that she started writing “Other Words for Home” in earnest as the war in Syria started getting publicity in 2016. “More of the world was aware of what was happening, yet the silence in response to the suffering of an entire population felt deafening. Why didn’t more people care? Why didn’t more people want to help?” wrote Warga. Warga wrote that “Other Words for Home” is a way to help readers understand that they “don’t need to be afraid of
these children who are fleeing from a war zone.”
In the story, Jude leaves her father – who stays behind with his shop – and her brother –who is involved with rebel forces. She also leaves her best friend and countless extended family members.
“Other Words for Home” is written in verse for a middle grade audience. As the descriptions go deeper into how politics influence social interactions, the reader can feel a net tightening on the family.
crimination from American strangers and from her own ethnic group on what she can and cannot do. With her mother, she navigates what it means to be a young Syrian woman while also exploring what it means to be a young American woman. She leaves her comfort zone and meets new friends, experiences a major rite of passage and chooses which traditions she wants to practice.
Food is used to show feelings and is crucial in transitions around the narrative of Jude, her mother and her uncle’s family.
“Our town used to be a place for people to laugh and enjoy all the things that unite them like family and sunshine and the sea and good food.
Not the things that divide them like opinions and political loyalties.”
BY KAYCEE DAVIS
Jude and her mother go to Clifton, a neighborhood in Cincinnati to live with her mother’s brother, Mazin, who grew up in Syria and has become an affluent, Americanized doctor, and his family. Jude learns that America is different from the movies she watched in Syria. Cousin Sarah takes time to warm up to Jude, but the two become friends eventually.
As Jude eases into her new American world, she faces dis-
There is a particularly emotional scene where Jude gets up the nerve to go exploring in her neighborhood and discovers “a Middle Eastern Restaurant, which back home would just be called simply a restaurant.” Past and present meet when Jude enters and is met with familiar Syrian objects and scents. Here, she sees someone from school – Layla, the only girl who covers her hair. Jude finds out that Layla’s parents own the restaurant. A friendship begins when her new friend brings out a tray filled with foods from Syria, and a metal tea pot that reminds her of how her aunt served asroneyeh – afternoon snacks.
Her mother’s pregnancy gives way to a growing baby whose development serves as a marker of time within the story. Time seems to fly, but references to her little sister’s age remind the reader that a lot is happening in a short time span.
The book uses Arabic terms and has a handy glossary in the back. It also uses translated Arabic terms and well-turned English phrases. Linguists will love this. Readers learn that habibti means sweetheart, nunu means baby and that skety means, ‘be quiet, don’t talk.
I liked “Other Words for Home” because of the character development displayed by the people in Jude’s immediate world. I appreciate the use of language because it feels graceful – I read books out loud to myself and this felt good to my body while doing so. The use of food to show interactions between characters was brilliant, and the situations that Jude ends up in are similar to what refugees go through every day.
“Other Words for Home” is written at a middle grade level, but it is for everyone. It tells readers what can be like to be a refugee as Jude maintains a balance between fitting in with her peers and keeping herself connected to her roots.
A scarier, darker side appears when Jude – who is 12 years old – learns about Islamophobia in America. A bomb goes off in an American city, and girls like Jude who are visibly Muslim receive verbal abuse and blame from strangers.
Movie review: Intense, outrageous and funny –Indiana Jones pulls off one last adventure
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” takes the key elements of Indiana Jones movies and runs with it – even when its lead actor is 80 years old. Beware of spoilers for the ending!
By Taylor Heckart new3@thenorthernlight.org
Indiana Jones is back in the fifth and final movie in the franchise – fifteen years after the fourth movie came out.
The movie is set in 1969, decades after Indiana Jones’ heyday as a young archaeologist. A much older Indiana Jones finds himself struggling with his role in an ever-modernizing world that seems to have left him behind.
His goddaughter Helena Shaw appears looking for a device called the Antikythera, which was rumored to help travel through time. Jones had stolen it from the Nazis during World War II, but quickly learns that Nazis are still around and seeking the dial – sending him on a wide-ranging adventure to keep the dial away from their hands.
With Harrison Ford reprising his role as Indiana Jones, Phoebe Waller-Bridge playing his young, enthusiastic goddaughter, and Mads Mikkelsen playing the Nazi scientist Jürgen Voller, it’s a cast packed with notoriety and talent.
Even though this is the first Indiana Jones movie without Stephen Spielberg as the director, it’s an action-packed adventure that plays to the franchise’s strengths and adds new life to the characters.
One of the first things movieviewers will notice is that Harrison Ford has been digitally deaged in the opening sequence of the film. The story begins in the past, following Indiana Jones’ heist of the Antikythera from a Nazi train.
“They have used all of the footage that Lucas Film has acquired from since I started working with them many many years ago,” said Ford in an interview with Fandango.
Ford said that animators are able to use this backlog of footage to find images of him 35 years ago to animate over his current-day acting to make him look younger.
“So it’s not like a kind of … Photoshop kind of thing, it’s really my face. It’s spooky.”
Going into the movie knowing he’s digitally de-aged is a bit of a distraction. When you know it’s CGI, it’s easy to find yourself intently peering at the screen to see if you’re fooled or not. At some points, the CGI is pretty impressive and legitimately looks like it’s Harrison Ford in his forties. At others, he looks a little too smooth and plastic, and the words and mouth don’t always fit together perfectly.
Luckily, Ford doesn’t spend all of the movie as his newly youthful self. Most of it follows an older Indiana Jones – no animation required.
Basing an action movie
around an 80-year-old star is an interesting challenge. After all, an action movie’s bread and butter is based on running and jumping through various dangerous situations, generally with explosions in the background. “Dial of Destiny” works around this by putting Indiana Jones in horses, cars, carts, anything that helps him move without legpower.
Unsurprisingly though, this film only loosely rooted in reality. “Dial of Destiny” doesn’t break the conventional Indiana Jones format, though it does take those elements and pushes them even further than they’ve been pushed before. There are far-out stunts that definitely would kill a regular person. There are mystic artifacts that make the movie turn from realism-adjacent to fantastical.
While watching the movie, it’s hard not to think about the current trend in Hollywood these days of taking a longstanding popular character and killing them at the end of their character arc — just take a look at James Bond, Tony Stark, Wolverine and Han Solo.
Sometimes a dramatic death is well executed and furthers the plot of the story, but with character deaths like these becoming so common, it’s begun to feel like a crutch. After all, why confront the idea of what a future beyond the narrative looks
like for a character when it’s so easy to point a gun at them and shoot?
In the “Dial of Destiny,” Indiana Jones seems to have a much closer relationship to death than he did in the previous movies. When people die onscreen, it impacts him in a way it didn’t when he was far younger. He’s devastated, shaking, and often looking for help. Maybe it’s because he’s older, maybe it’s because of the life he’s led, but the Indiana Jones in this movie is a bit more mature – though still just as cranky and headstrong as he’s always been.
When Indiana Jones himself comes close to death – as all action heroes must at some point
in their movie – the film directly points to the main character death trope and subverts it. It’s refreshing to watch.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director James Mangold said, “there really is no attraction to just getting thousands of people in a theater and hitting them in a head with a hammer ... Death is not an ending.”
“For Indiana Jones,” said Mangold, “it isn’t about him dying. It had to be about him coming to terms with this period of his life and this period of the world. And in a way, coming to terms with whether Indiana Jones has relevance to ours.”
PHOTO
“Other Words for Home” depicts moments that refugees would understand. When Jude meets a girl from her school at the girl’s parents’ restaurant, she is presented with foods from home that remind her of “asroneyeh”-- afternoon snacks. TNL writer Kaycee Davis was inspired to make something similar.
PHOTO COURTESYMOF LUCASFILM LTD Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Phoebe Waller-Bridge as his goddaughter Helena Shaw in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”
FEATURES
Kitchen tips: Thermoses are a great lunch hack
If you can make only one step toward sustainability, buy a thermos.
By Kaycee Davis features2@thenorthernlight.org
UAA is getting some new dining options this fall, but is it very rare that a person can afford to eat out every day of the week. If you spend $15 for one hot meal four days a week, you are out $60 every week. That is $240 for 16 meals if you do it for the month. If you need to cut back, bring lunch from home.
There is nothing wrong with bringing a sandwich and a few snacks to work or school every day, but if you want to expand beyond that, a thermos is very helpful. I decided to experiment with some online thermos hacks and recipes.
Deciding what you will take as a meal to work or school depends on what you can afford, what you like, how you can make it and how to transport it. I like to use as few ingredients as possible and take as little time as I can. The fewer the dishes, the better.
Technology is always changing, so every year I buy new containers for my family. I like to buy local whenever I am able, so this year I bought a stainless steel food jar and a stainless steel mug from
Fred Meyer to test out.
At its base, the mug is almost 3.5 inches across which is just a bit too wide for the cup holders in my cars. The mug is perfect for my husband’s work where it isn’t likely to get knocked over, and it retains the temperature of whatever he is drinking. My daughter also likes it for the same reason while she is doing schoolwork.
The food jar has a leakproof lid and a collapsible stainless steel spoon that nestles inside the twistcap. The cap comes apart and becomes more parts, so unless you live alone, you will want to wash, dry and reassemble all at once. The labels say that the jar can keep food warm for 12 hours and cold for 24, while the mug can keep food warm for 6 hours and cold for 12.
I have experimented with the food jar and the mug. My experience is that the heat and cold retention depend on several factors. If you have your heart set on bringing hot or cold food with you on some excursion, do a trial run.
My first experiment was making a grilled cheese sandwich from “the kitchn.” Their recipe page advises to cut a grilled cheese sandwich “into sticks and pack in a
thermos, so when lunchtime rolls around the cheese is still warm and gooey.”
I enlisted my husband’s help and warmed up my food jar and my mug with hot water for five minutes, then as soon as he flipped the sandwiches over, I poured out the water and dried each hot jar. By then, my husband had cut the sandwiches into sticks and I put them into the jar and the mug, fastening the cap on each as soon as I put them in. I placed both inside an insulated lunch bag.
After two hours, I opened the mug and found that the sandwich was soggy and the cheese was congealed and stuck to the sides and bottom. I opened the jar and the sandwich was warmer, but like the mug, it was soggy and the cheese was also congealed. Clean-up was tedious in both and required soaking. I will think twice before putting cheesy food in a thermos again.
Many lunch hack websites swear that keeping a grilled cheese sandwich crispy and just-off-thefrying-pan-fresh in a thermos is possible, so I tried to make it work. Shelfcooking.com suggested stuffing paper towels into the bottom of the thermos to soak up moisture, but I
ended up with a damp paper towel and another soggy sandwich. Carbs tend to get soggy, period. If you want a hot sandwich, you are better off eating it right after you make it.
I found greater success with only putting liquid inside the mug, but it would have been nice if it had worked for food.
The foods that retained heat longer were variations of soup. I tried one pasta dish, but it got mushy during its time in the thermos. If you’re cooking pasta, pack the sauce in a food jar or thermos, but store the pasta in a separate container.
I found that for food to stay the desired temperature, the thermos needed to be either preheated or pre-cooled, and the food needed to be put in the containers steaming hot and filled to within two inches of the rim, the cap being securely and quickly locked on.
I prefer food jars and thermoses to basic containers for sauces and soups as they are easier to pour and they don’t leak as easily.
My family’s favorite recipe for thermoses is what I have been doing for years. The recipe is chicken with a creambased soup that is easy to make in a slow cooker.
You get to wake up to it being done and put it in your thermos, or you can put it in a slow cooker before you go to classes and come home to it. You can find the recipe at the Crazy for Crust website. I prefer to bring cooked rice, pasta or mashed potatoes in a separate container because they go great with the chicken.
Some people are used
to rinsing their lunch accessories and planning and preparing meals every night, while for others it takes some getting used to. I go through this every fall. Take small steps and keep going. Preparing sustainably packaged, nutritious and tasty meals can turn into a habit after a few weeks and it will become second nature.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KOMPASS72 ON PIXABAY
A great way to enjoy a meal or your favorite beverage away from home is to pack it in a thermos.
UAA hosting GNAC cross country championship for the first time in 22 years
UAA hosted the GNAC cross country championship back in 2001, the same year that the conference formed.
By Matthew Schmitz editor@thenorthernlight.org
This year, cross country fans will be able to cheer on the Seawolves here in Anchorage on Oct. 21 at Kincaid Park. The hills of Kincaid will be a challenge, but UAA athletes will have the advantage of training on them before the race.
UAA’s cross country team normally travels out of state to compete in races against colleges other than UAF.
The Greater Northwest Athletics Conference cross country championship will bring nine other colleges to Anchorage to compete.
At the GNAC championship last year in Monmouth, Oregon, the men’s team placed third overall and the women’s seventh, according to goseawolves. com.
UAA’s Cole Nash came in first and received the title of GNAC’s Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
Alfin Nyamasyo was the fastest UAA female, coming in 20th place.
In an interview with The Northern Light, Chas Davis, associate head cross country coach, seemed confident in the team’s ability to perform this year.
Davis said that the men’s team had a deep bench and that, after Nash, everyone else was consistent and interchangeable.
Cross country is a team sport, so the winning team is determined by the performance
of each team’s top five athletes. Athletes get points that correspond with their standing: first gets one, second gets two, etc.
The team with the lowest score wins the race overall.
So, even with someone in first place, a runner coming in 80th can drag down the place of the entire team.
Teams can run additional athletes, but their standings won’t factor into the score. Their contribution can be strategic, though; they can take up places and push other runners down in standings.
Davis said that’s why having the depth of additional runners on the team who can perform is important.
In a follow up email, Davis wrote that the goal for the women’s team is to improve on where they were last year.
“It’s too early to say exactly how we compare to [last year’s] GNAC competition, but it’s possible that we could all run out of our minds and still place 6th, and that would be a very good day for us.”
He wrote that the women’s conference has more depth this year, but so does UAA. He pointed to transfer Nell Barker as someone who could help make a difference.
“She has the potential to compete with the best in the conference.”
Davis said that the Kincaid route is the hardest collegiate course he’s ever seen.
And he’s seen a few of them.
According to his bio on goseawolves.com, Davis was the
cross country team captain at Creighton University where he started his coaching career in 2005. He most recently served as head coach at Holy Names before coming to UAA.
Davis gave credit to head coach Ryan McWilliams for helping bring the race to Anchorage.
“Ryan was a big driver.”
The men’s race will be an 8K and the women’s a 6K. The courses are a double loop and follow similar paths. They start in the stadium below the Kincaid Chalet and loop up and around to the north.
The route has plenty of ups and downs, and — at the extreme — athletes will run up a 90-foot elevation change over just one mile.
Having the course on home turf has some advantages, said Davis. UAA will get to train on the course prior to the race, and UAA cross country runners already know what to expect from the hilly Kincaid Park trails.
Michael Zapherson was UAA’s number two runner last year. In an interview with The Northern Light he said that the fact that they are not traveling will make a difference.
To prepare for the race, he said that the best thing was to just train well. Though he did mention his own pregame ritual of eating a whole bag of banana chips the night before a race.
Zapherson said another thing he does is meditate before a race and visualizes running alongside the other runners. He said
that it helps him prepare emotionally to be on the course.
Whatever the preparation, running in Alaska can come with some unique challenges, like snow, moose or bears.
Ian Marks, UAA’s assistant director for athletics, said in an interview that they are starting to plan early for these kinds of situations, they Want to be prepared so they don’t have to scramble during the race.
He said he helped design the course and pointed out that runners have raced in extreme weather, such as snow and rain, in the past.
For anyone who wants to watch the Seawolves run, admission is free and there is parking available at the stadium and Kincaid Chalet. The women’s race is slated to start at 11 a.m. and the men’s at noon.
For future announcements about the race, visit goseawolves.com.
Get involved in intramural sports at UAA You don’t have to compete in the NCAA to be an athlete at UAA. Check out the intramural sports the university offers.
By Avery Williamson sports2@thenorthernlight.org
Many of us played sports in high school, but very few of us are able to play competitive
sports in college. That doesn’t mean you have to give up on athletics completely. Instead, head to the Avis Alaska Sports Complex and join an intramural sports team.
The Avis Alaska Sports Complex – formerly known as the Seawolf Sports Complex – is attached to the Student Union. It contains UAA’s pool, ice rink and other public gym facilities.
In an interview with Director of Recreation and Intramural Sports Julie Weber, she said that UAA’s intramural sports exist “primarily to enhance the educational experience outside the classroom through participation in recreational activities, as well as support mental health through exercise.”
Intramural sports “promote health, wellbeing and competition through the use of the fitness center, olympic weight room, ice hockey rink, pool and gymnasium,” said Weber.
Additionally, you don’t have to have previous experience in sports to participate. Weber said in the interview that intramural sports are open to “any skill level.”
The program has a lot to offer, including team sports, fitness facilities and games.
As a student at UAA, you have free access to the sports complex. To use the complex’s facilities, show your wolfcard to the front desk located on the lower level. They’ll give you a wristband that proves you’re a student, and then you’re welcome to use the equipment!
You can view the hours that the Avis Alaska Sports Complex is open on UAA’s website.
In order to participate in the intramural program, you have to be taking at least one credit at UAA.
If you’re competing in a one night event – such as pac-man or archery tag – it’s free. Just show up and have fun. However, if you’re interested in joining a league – such as volleyball or basketball – there’s a $10 fee per league you compete in.
6-on-6 and 3-on-3 volleyball compete on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. 5-on-5 basketball competes Mondays and Tuesdays and 3-on-3 basketball competes on Thursdays. Both leagues run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
You can sign up with your friends if you already have a specific team in mind. If you’re not sure who you want on your team, that’s fine too! They’ll assign you a team when you get there.
You can learn more about upcoming events by searching “Avis Alaska Sports Complex” on Instagram or Facebook. You can also head straight to the sports complex and sign up by scanning the QR code on the flyers posted throughout the facility.
Join today and relive your high school glory days!
The currently active leagues are 6-on-6 volleyball, 5-on5 basketball, 4-on-4 volleyball and 3-on-3 basketball. The leagues all take place at the Avis Alaska Sports Complex.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UAA ATHLETICS
Cole Nash is UAA’s fastest cross country runner. He won first place in the GNAC competition last year.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MATTHEW SCHMITZ
The gymnasium at the Avis Alaska Sports Complex is a great place to practice your basketball and volleyball skills.
Sports Series: The evolution of cross country running
This story is part of a series about how popular sports began. In this story, the history of cross country running is explained.
By Avery Williamson sports2@thenorthernlight.org
There’s a common debate about if cross country running is considered an actual sport. People who don’t believe it’s a sport will tell you, “All you do is run,” and people who do believe it’s a sport will ask you, “Have you ever run for fun?”
The reality is, cross country is a sport. In fact, it’s a grueling one. According to sevenlakesabc.com, “runners compete to complete a course over open or rough terrain.”
According to sevenlakesabc. com, cross country began in 1838 when Rugby College hosted the first ever Crick Run – an event still popular in England to this day.
According to runnerspace. com, cross country was invent-
ed as a means to practice horse steeplechase in the off-season, a very popular sport at the time.
This was accomplished by including barrels of hay and ditches in the course that the competitors would have to jump over.
A few years later, in 1851, Exeter College, Oxford expanded on this idea of cross country, and they decided to host a “foot grind.” This event took athletes over hedges, fences and ditches throughout a two-mile course.
When William C. Vosburgh – an American water polo athlete – saw this new competition emerge, he decided to introduce it to the United States.
Originally, the sport was simply a means of summer training for track and field athletes.
However, in 1887 – nine years after Vosburgh introduced the sport to the U.S. – cross country evolved into a formal sport.
Cross country quickly be -
came popular worldwide and was added to the Summer Olympic Games in 1912. However, only ten years later it was removed because runners were dropping out of racing due to the heat. Nowadays, the closest thing the Olympics has to cross country is track and field.
There isn’t really a standard distance for a cross country running group. According to sevenlakesabc.com, “distances vary for age groups, and are decided by the race directors.”
With that being said, it is common to see high school runners compete in a 5-kilometer race (about 3.1 miles), college women compete in a 6-kilometer race (about 3.72 miles) and college men compete in an 8- or 10-kilometer race (about 4.97 miles or 6.2 miles, respectively).
As the sport has evolved, the course has shifted from terrain with frequent turns, hills and
mud to relatively straight, flat and grassy terrain. While many people don’t consider cross country to be a serious sport, it proves otherwise. Unlike basketball, volleyball and hockey, there are no
breaks in this competition. Once the gun goes off, you run until you cross the finish lines.
Finally, because cross country is a fairly simple concept, it’s easy for anyone to do. So head outside, jump on a trail, and run until you can’t anymore. I’m sure you’ll understand why cross country running is a serious sport after that.
Tragedy and triumph: Saints help rebuild
New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
This story is part of a series about how, historically, sports teams are triumphant after a tragedy in their town. This story explores the New Orleans Saints and Hurricane Katrina.
By Avery Williamson sports2@thenorthernlight.org
On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina found its way to New Orleans. This city happened to be one of the worst places for a storm to hit since roughly 50% of it lies below sea level.
By the time it had passed, 80% of the city was flooded.
Today, parts of New Orleans are still left uninhabited. In fact, workers are still trying to drain water from the city.
The mass destruction of Hur-
ricane Katrina wasn’t just physical, though; it also took a toll on the city’s morale. Thousands of people lost their homes, their loved ones and their overall stability.
New Orleans’ maintenance workers worked long hours repairing the city, but the damage ran deeper than superficial wounds.
For the city, the healing truly began on Sept. 25, 2006 when the New Orleans Saints – the city’s National Football League team – defeated the Atlanta Falcons 23-3. Even before the Saints be -
gan winning, though, the team held a special place in the city’s heart. In fact, the team became New Orleans’ safe-place during the storm.
On Aug. 30, one day after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the National Guard turned the Superdome – the Saints’ NFL stadium – into a shelter for residents that had not evacuated the city.
Thus, the Superdome – and the Saints – became the heroes of Hurricane Katrina. And the Saints expanded this legacy with their successful NFL season.
At the start of the season, it didn’t look like the Saints would have a strong – or even decent – season. Finishing the 2005 season 3-13, the nation expected another low win-percentage for New Orleans.
The residents didn’t let this discourage them, though. As bleacherreport.com puts it, “[the city was] going to root for these guys no matter what because they were literally all that [they] had to cling to.”
And New Orleans was right to cheer on the Saints, because the team did not disappoint. The Saints made this clear in their
opening game against the Falcons.
Fans piled into the Superdome to watch the Saints. Jonathan Babineaux, a defensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons at the time, told sbnation.com, “the atmosphere was like none other.”
“It felt like the whole city brought their energy into the building that night, and it was just something, as a player, I’d never felt before and I still remember to this day.”
And the energy only increased as the game went on. Only 90 seconds into the game, the Saints blocked a punt by the Falcons, recovered the fumbled ball and ran the field for a touchdown.
The Saints continued to dominate the game, with their defense forcing two fumbles and sacking the Falcons’ quarterback five times. Their strong offensive and unstoppable defense helped the team secure a 20-point win.
When the Saints blew out the Falcons on Sept. 25, it was more than just a win, though. For New Orleans, it signified a rebirth of the city.
This was the first event in the
Superdome since it was damaged by Hurricane Katrina over a year ago. As the Superdome was repaired, the spirit of New Orleans was too.
The hope and momentum the Saints gave New Orleans on Sept. 25 was carried on throughout the season.
The Saints ended up finishing the season with a 10-6. In the first round of the playoffs, the team defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-24 to win their first National Football Conference Championship title.
The Chicago Bears then defeated the Saints 39-14 in the final game before the Super Bowl. The Bears advanced to the Super Bowl and lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17.
While the Saints fell short of a Super Bowl title, their 2006 season is nothing less than successful. Not only did they improve from a 3-13 to a 10-6 in the span of a year, they also helped rebuild the broken city of New Orleans.
After Hurricane Katrina took everything from New Orleans, the Saints reminded the city that a rebirth is possible.
The 2006 New Orleans Saints embody the concept that adversity only makes you stronger, and they helped their damaged city realize it too.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Cross country began in 1838 when Rugby College introduced the Crick Run to the world.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The city of New Orleans is flooded after being hit by Hurricane Katrina.
Keep an eye out for bears and moose
We all want to spend time outside before the campus is covered in snow, but before you go running down trails, here’s a few things you should know about staying safe.
By Avery Williamson sports2@thenorthernlight.org
On the trails of Anchorage, most of the time you won’t encounter a moose, let alone a bear. If you do, it’s unlikely they’ll attack you. However, wildlife is unpredictable, so there’s always the possibility a bear or moose will act aggressively toward you. Therefore, it’s important to be prepared.
According to The Alaska Frontier, “Alaska makes up over 29% of bear attacks in the United States. This makes Alaska
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the most likely state to be attacked by a bear.”
Whenever you spend time outside in Alaska, there’s a chance you’ll encounter a bear or moose. This means you should have a plan whenever you head out the door.
“There is no single strategy that will work in all situations,” the National Park Service states on their website. However, “following some basic guidelines may help to lessen the threat of danger.”
There are different guidelines depending on what animal you encounter. First, let’s talk about bears.
Bear Safety
The first step to avoiding a bear encounter is being aware of your surroundings. Before going somewhere, you should check if the area has known bear activity.
If the area does have known bear activity, bring bear spray with you. According to the National Park Service, bear spray can be “used defensively to stop an aggressive, charging, or attacking bear.”
You can also travel with a bell, which will let bears know you’re in their space.
Stay alert when you get to the area. You should regularly scan your environment and keep your
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eyes peeled for bears and other wildlife.
If you do see a bear, don’t do anything that will startle it. This includes screaming or running.
You should gently make the bear aware of your presence. The National Park Service recommends that you “identify yourself by talking calmly so the bear knows you are a human and not a prey animal.”
Once the bear is looking at you, try to make yourself look big. Slowly wave your arms around. If you were biking, pick up your bike and hold it in the air. If the bear stands up on its hind legs, don’t be alarmed. This typically means the bear is curious, not threatening.
Continue to talk to the bear and make yourself big as you move slowly sideways. According to the National Park Service, “most bears do not want to attack you; they usually just want to be left alone.”
If the bear starts to follow you, don’t run. Stop where you are and continue to talk to it until it loses interest in you.
Lastly, if you see a female with cubs, be extra cautious. Stay far away from the cubs and don’t put yourself between the mother and her cubs. “The chances of an attack escalate greatly if she perceives you as a
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danger to her cubs,” the National Park Service states.
Just the thought of running into a bear is scary, so it’s important to do the necessary things to keep yourself safe. Remember, never run from a bear or do anything to make it feel threatened. This includes yelling at it, approaching it or throwing things at it.
Handling moose is a whole other story, though.
Moose Safety
While a bear encounter is scary, moose injuries are more likely. “When people don’t see moose as potentially dangerous,” writes the National Park Service, “they may approach too closely and put themselves at risk.”
Moose are a common sight in and around Anchorage. In fact, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, there’s “approximately 200-300 in the [Anchorage] area year-round, and about 700-1,000 moose in the winter.”
If you see a moose, but it doesn’t see you, don’t bring attention to yourself. Give them plenty of room and head the other direction.
If the moose has spotted you, talk softly to it and back away slowly. “Don’t be aggressive –you want to convince the moose
that you aren’t a threat,” says the National Park Service.
If you notice the moose’s ears are laid back and its hair is standing up, it’s probably about to charge you. In this case, you should run and get behind something solid.
According to the National Park Service, moose “usually won’t chase you and if they do, it’s unlikely that they’ll chase you very far.” Run until you’re a safe distance away from the moose.
Like bears, females with calves are especially dangerous. Be extra careful if calves are in the area and don’t get between them and the mother.
If the moose happens to knock you over, don’t fight back. You should curl up into a ball, cover your head with your arms and stay still. Don’t move until the moose is a safe distance away from you.
For both bears and moose, it’s less likely you’ll encounter them if you’re traveling in a group. Try to avoid going into areas alone with known wildlife activity.
If you are alone, remember to bring your bear spray and a bell. And keep a lookout for wildlife while you’re in the area.
Hopefully, everyone can head out into the wilderness and feel confident about their safety with these tips.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Always carry bear spray when you’re in areas with known wildlife activity.
