SEPTEMBER 18 SEPTEMBER 24, 2018
FEATURES
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
OPINION
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Remembering Dale Tran
THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG
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New chancellor is exactly what UAA needs
Red Zone: Mandatory Title IX training explained
By Cheyenne Mathews cmathews@thenorthernlight.org
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT MESHER
Dalee Sambo Dorough speaking before the Inuit Circumpolar Council General Assembly in Utqiagvik. In July, Dorough was elected as the international chair for the ICC.
Former professor elected international chair of Inuit Circumpolar Council By Robin O’Donoghue features2@thenorthernlight.org
In July, the Inuit Circumpolar Council General Assembly converged in Utqiaġvik to approve a new declaration and elect a new international chair to oversee the implementation of the organization’s priorities. At the assembly, Dalee Sambo Dorough, former associate professor of political science, was unanimously elected by the body to serve as the international chair of the ICC, a position with a term limit of four years that rotates between Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia. “In the next four years, I will do everything that I can to make you happy. Not only for you, here in this room, but more important to all those Inuit across the entire stretch of Inuit Nunaat. Quyanaq. Nakurmik. Quyaanasuaq. I’m honored,” Dorough said before the assembly. The ICC is a non-governmental multilateral organization that formed in 1980 with the goal of securing the rights, interests and development of Inuit cultures and languages. As international chair, Dorough will preside over four vice chairs from each of the member states and two executive council members from each country. Dorough first got involved with the organization in its early stages of development in 1977
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as a volunteer and has been involved with the ICC’s work since the very beginning. In her closing remarks given before the general assembly, Dorough explained that she had disliked high school so intensely that she gave the principal an ultimatum: to allow her to develop her own independent study classes or drop out. “It was one of the ways I got out of high school,” Dorough said. “I developed some independent studies classes in political science to satisfy the credits in needed to graduate.” After high school, from 198289, Dorough was the executive director for the ICC’s Alaska office and additionally served as the special assistant to the first president of the ICC, Hans-Pavia Rosing. Dorough first learned that she was under serious consideration for the position about a month prior to the ICC’s general assembly in Utqiaġvik. While the position was open to any Alaskan, as this term is Alaska’s turn to chair the ICC, other candidates withdrew themselves for consideration upon learning of Dorough’s candidacy. While Dorough is enthusiastic about being the new chair, the full-time position with the ICC means resigning from the UAA Political Science Department, where she has taught since 2008. “I’m going to miss teaching,”
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she said. Dorough specialized in teaching classes relating to Arctic policy and indigenous issues, such as Comparative Northern Politics. “All of the courses I’ve taught have been in political science or cross-listed with Alaska Native Studies indigenous issues, and you can see how those two intersect when the rest of the world catches up and realizes that the United States is an Arctic nation with indigenous people,” Dorough said. For many students and colleagues at UAA, Dorough’s departure from the university is bittersweet. Delaney Thiele, a junior majoring in political science and minoring in Alaska Native Studies, first met Dorough taking her Tribes, Nations, and People’s class in the fall semester of 2017. “Professor Dorough has a wealth of knowledge,” Thiele said. “As an Alaskan Native person, I have been inspired to focus on indigenous rights and advocacy work because of Professor Dorough.” The faculty of the Political Science department also feel Dorough’s absence. “Professor Dorough will be missed by her students, myself and the Department of Political Science, as well as the
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Two years ago, degree-seeking students entering the University of Alaska were not required to complete training on sexual assault prevention. At the same time, a 2016 study by the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center estimated that one in nine UA students had experienced sexual misconduct, sexual assault or both. In 2014, the Office for Civil Rights began a compliance review of the university that found that the UA System had “violated Title IX with respect [to] its response to sexual harassment complaints.” In the fall of 2017, the University of Alaska underwent a hasty implementation of mandatory Title IX: Sex and Gender Based Discrimination Prevention training in an effort to meet an OCR deadline. UA was required to send OCR documentation that showed how the university was training students on sexual assault prevention by Dec. 30 of that same year. The university is required to be proactive about preventing sexual misconduct under Title IX which states, “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” The OCR review into the university and the implementation of the mandatory Title IX training are directly related. In 2017, the university signed the Voluntary Resolution Agreement with the OCR. This contract requires the university to do everything from creating a chief Title IX officer position and revising sex discrimination policies to implementing mandatory sexual assault prevention training for all students, staff and faculty. One of the problems UA Title IX officials first encountered was that the VRA assumes the complying college has a traditional student population where things like annual in-person orientations occur. Students are supposed to attend “information sessions” that bring awareness to the prohibition of sex discrimination and teach students youtube.com/tnlnews
how to recognize and prevent sexual misconduct under the requirements of the VRA. Chief Title IX Officer, Mary Gower, said the university chose to use a system-wide online training to be more accessible to the average UA student. Inperson training is also available at all of the main UA campuses. Last year UAA faced mixed responses to the training from faculty and students. Some students stated that the training was retraumatizing for survivors of sexual misconduct, and so the College of Health released a letter that included an option for students to “opt-out” of the training. That “opt-out” is still available for students this year and can found on the webpage of the Office of Equity and Compliance. Opt-out forms submitted last year are carried over to this year, according to UAA Prevention and Education Coordinator in the Office of Equity and Compliance Bridget Coffou. Last year, UAA struggled to juggle conflicting priorities in maintaining enrollment and reaching 100 percent completion for student training. Last year’s trainings had unclear consequences for not taking the training, that were later amended to prevent students from withdrawing from the university. The initial consequence for failing to complete it by the fall deadline was to have a hold placed on a student’s account. This meant that students would be unable to register for spring classes, continue to live in student housing or withdraw from fall courses. The administration later amended the consequence so that the holds were only active until after priority registration periods had passed. This year, UAA has stated that the consequence for failing to take an in-person training, complete online training or fill out the opt-out form by the Nov. 2 deadline would be a priority registration hold. The hold will be lifted after priority registration ends at 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 25. Last year, UAA students had the highest rate of training completion out of all the main administrative units at 86 percent. 69 percent of UAF student completed the training by Nov. 9 and 62 percent of UAS students completed the training. Coffou is responsible for leading the in-person sexual assault prevention training. Inperson training will be held Monday from Sept. 24 - Oct. 29, 5-6 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 16 - 23, 2-3 p.m. in the Student Union Leadership Lab, according to an email sent from the Office of Equity and Compliance to the UAA student population. soundcloud.com/tnlnews
NEWS
THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
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1 in 2 Alaska students tests below proficient in performance evaluation By Marie Ries
news@thenorthernlight.org
More than half of Alaska students fail to meet standard proficiency criteria in English and math, assessments by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development show. The comprehensive results of the 2018 Performance Evaluation for Schools, or PEAKS, were released on Sept. 5. PEAKS is a statewide standardized assessment for students in grades 3 to 9. It tests their understanding of English language arts as well as their math skills at the end of each school year. The assessment results show an improvement compared to the 2017 findings. “This year’s PEAKS results show the kind of incremental sustainable growth that will change the trajectory of our system of public schools and the lives of individual students,” Alaska Education Commissioner Michael Johnson said. “Though the growth is marginal, it represents a collective commitment to improve the success of our students.” About 78,600 students par-
ticipated in the assessment tests. The PEAKS scale ranges from 400 to 600 and is divided into four levels of achievements: advanced, proficient, below proficient and far below proficient. 42 percent of all students scored in the proficient category in English compared to 39 percent in 2017. About 37 percent scored at a proficient level in math, representing a 3 percent improvement from last year. The EED is hoping for the positive trend to continue, Deborah Riddle, Alaska deputy director of Student Learning, explained. “We have ways to go, but we went up, and that was good,” Riddle said. The EED administered the PEAKS for the second time this year. The scores do not impact the students’ grades or their placement in certain classes. Riddle says that the high number of students scoring below the proficiency line is connected to the standards of the test,. “The standards that we’ve adopted… were more rigorous, far more rigorous than standards that we’ve had in the past,” Riddle said. “So, [this year’s results] gives us a baseline from which
GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA
to work from.” The goal is to improve the test scores by aligning the curricula of Alaska schools and providing additional resources to students, she explained. “The PEAKS results are a piece of information that schools and districts can use to make programming decisions, [telling us] where to go to improve the score of students,” Riddle said. UAA professor for elementary education, Kevin Spink, sees some issues with standardized testing. He thinks that the improvement shown by the 2018 PEAKS is not necessarily indicative of an improvement in student skills. “The improvement… was predictable. Whenever there’s a new type of test that’s imple-
mented, there’s always a couple of years of getting used to it,” Spink said. “So, it may not be the students that are performing at a higher level; it may just be that they’re more familiar with it.” Spink taught at public schools in Alaska for 25 years prior to his work at UAA. He emphasizes that the actual problem is not with the test itself; rather, the main issue is the way standardized tests are interpreted and used. “A big issue with this test for teachers is that… we’re continually told to use the data to plan our instruction. Well, with these types of tests, the data is of very low quality in terms of diagnosing individual students and then planning instruction,” Spink
said. Aligning the curricula with the intention of getting better PEAKS results could result in lower quality education, Spink pointed out. “There’s so much political pressure [on teachers] to raise the test scores,” he said. “If you’re going to spend more and more time trying to raise test scores, what happens is you spend less time with deeper level and thoughtful engagement.” Spink is convinced that filling the curriculum with social studies, instruction in the sciences, arts and real-life math problems will help students be more successful in the long term. More information on the test procedures and results can be found on education.alaska.gov.
Facebook adds Inupiaq as new language option
GRAPHIC BY LEVI BROWN
By Marie Ries
news@thenorthernlight.org
Facebook recently announced the addition of Inupiaq as one of their official language options. Several Inupiaq speakers worked on the translations in a crowdsourcing process. Yosty Storms, regional director for the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, sees this new feature as a positive. “I think it’s a really good
thing... to help bring back a language or just to get more people in general to use it,” Storms said. She was raised in Unalakleet, a community on the West Coast of Alaska with roughly 700 inhabitants. Inupiaq played an important role in Storms’ childhood and youth. “I was brought up with those Inupiaq values,” Storms said. “I grew up with my grandmother living right next door and she spoke Inupiaq.” Whenever her grandmother’s friends came over, Storms and her siblings would listen to the conversations in Inupiaq. “We never really became fluent, but we were able to pick up on many words and slang terms,” Storms said. In her elementary and middle schools, many students took bicultural and bilingual classes for Inupiaq and English. Now, with
Facebook having Inupiaq as a translation option, she thinks that more people will be able to use the language on a regular basis. “I know that there’s a lot of folks who use social media pretty much every day, so they’ll actually be able to apply it to everyday life. It’s a great tool for getting the younger folks, the younger generation interested in wanting to bring back a language,” Storms said. Facebook allows users to request the translation of its diverse functions into their native languages. The social media network is meant to be a “community that transcends regions, cultures, and languages,” according to Facebook’s community statement. Once a translation request is accepted, a language portal is opened in which speakers can
collaborate on the translation project. The crowdsourcing process for Inupiaq started in early 2017. About 13,500 Inupiaq people live in Alaska, of which 3,000 speak the language. At ANSEP, Storms works with middle school students from different Native Alaskan groups all over the state. She hopes that more Native languages will be added to Facebook in the future. “It’s their culture, it’s their identity and it’s who they are. It’s really important to recognize that,” Storms said. To Amber Sims, transition advisor for UAA Native Student Services, Facebook’s addition of Inupiaq came as a surprise. “It is amazing for one of our languages to be added onto Facebook,” Sims said. “It’s one thing to speak it, but it’s anoth-
er thing to read it and write it. That’s going to be interesting.” Sims, who is Alaska Athabascan, said she would be happy to see this “language revitalization” continue, helping people to be “reconnected with this part of their history.” “This opens the door for so much more to happen,” Sims said. “It’s also great for folks that are non-native but value and honor our customs and traditions. It gives them another way to communicate and learn about the language.” UAA is offering a course in elementary Inupiaq this fall semester. For now, Inupiaq will only be available for the browser version, not for the Facebook app. Users can submit language requests in Facebook’s help center.
NEWS
THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
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FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
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The legacy of Francis Xavier “Dale” Tran
PHOTO BY CHASE BURNETT
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOY MAPAYE
By Chase Burnett
features@thenorthernlight.org
PHOTO BY CHASE BURNETT
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOY MAPAYE
Father. Husband. Community activist. Dale Tran’s profound legacy lives on through his family and through his lasting impact on the Anchorage community. He passed away in January of 2017. A refugee from Saigon, Tran came to the United States with his family in 1975, settling first in Florida and then in Seattle. He enlisted in the Washington Army National Guard, citing an obligation to serve a country that provided for freedom. He eventually moved to Anchorage in 1996 and carried with him the sense of community and faith shown to him during his early years in the U.S. Working with Kaladi Brothers, Tran helped to fully develop their “Catalyst for Community” brand, an ideology that Tran demonstrated throughout his life. The most decisive example of his giving spirit came in the form of the Kaladi Brothers annual New Year’s Day giving event. On Jan. 1 of this year, the initiative was renamed “Dale Tran’s New Year’s Day Giving,” to honor him. The result of his focused and determined effort was over $1 million raised for non-profit organizations in Anchorage. While working as Chief Financial Officer for Kaladi Brothers, Tran voluntarily served in several community positions, including the 49th State Angel Fund Board, Tanaina Child Development Task Force and the UAA Chancellor’s Advisory Board. Dale Street, located between Tudor Road and 40th Avenue, was recognized in his memory
by the Anchorage Assembly on Jan. 23. Numerous signs bearing his name line the road and culminate at a memorial. Various pathways connecting parts of the community, including the University, meet at the memorial. The connection of the pathways symbolizes his belief in the power to come together and the idea that everyone has the ability to be part of something bigger than themselves. “He always believed you can do great things as an individual, but as a community you can do amazing things. This is who he was. He was self-giving,” Tran’s wife, Joy Mapaye, journalism professor at UAA, said. Kaladi Brothers President Tim Gravel joined the American Marketing Association in creating a college scholarship. In the spirit of Tran’s selfless service, donations to the AMA and F.X. Dale Tran Memorial Scholarship are matched at a ratio of 3-to-1. The Bean’s Cafe, creator of the “Children’s Lunchbox” initiative, named their new kitchen in honor of Tran. The program provides more than 300,000 meals to children in Anchorage throughout the year. “We should always remember to be giving, to consider others,” Mapaye said. What can we do for our community? How can we be a catalyst for change? Tran consistently and relentlessly asked these questions and took steps to answer them. His passing represents a tremendous loss for the Anchorage area. A true believer in the power of connection: the change, action and sense of community that he inspired will live on for future generations to witness.
FEATURES
THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
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DOROUGH: ‘I’m going to miss teaching’ Continued from cover University as a whole,” Kimberly Pace, professor of political science, said. Pace explained that while Dorough will no longer be at UAA, the two hope to maintain a relationship to coordinate guest speakers, lecturers and additional opportunities for students. “I will miss her but wish her all the
best,” Pace said. For Dorough, the next four years will be spent focusing on the priorities established under the 13th Utqiagvik Declaration. The marine environment and increasing loss of sea life, food security and family and youth issues are just a few of the many areas of concern Dorough will be working on, as well as seeking to increase the ICC’s participation with other agencies, such as the United Nations and
other international organizations. “It’s extremely unfortunate that the current [presidential] administration is pulling away from areas of direct concern to us… Climate change and the Paris Agreement are key issues,” Dorough said. Dorough believes that the ICC has the ability to calibrate and adapt to changing conditions, but that the organization needs to become more assertive about
both the individual and collective rights on indigenous people not only in Alaska but also across the Arctic. “If we’re not more firm about these messages, we could be easily overwhelmed by the non-Arctic states,” she said. “We should be dealing in areas that affirm our right to participate directly in the actions that affect us, our lives, our homelands, territories and our resources.”
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THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
Experience traditional Chinese culture with the Confucius Institute
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Celebrate UAA’s Democracy & Civic Action Week
GRAPHIC BY LEVI BROWN
By Caleigh Jensen arts2@thenorthernlight.org
PHOTOS COURTESY OF UAA CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE
Participants of the Confucius Institute’s 2017 workshop focus on Chinese painting styles. The organization has put on workshops for students for the last eight years.
Mingyang Li, or Lee, focuses on Chen style Tai Chi in his lessons. which students can take on Sept. 22.
By Caleigh Jensen arts2@thenorthernlight.org
The Confucius Institute, UAA’s center for Chinese culture, will host Chinese Cultural Workshops throughout the fall and spring semesters. The four workshops, Chinese Martial Arts, Chinese Painting, Chinese Instrument - Erhu and Chinese Calligraphy provide an opportunity for students to learn and experience parts of traditional Chinese culture. The Confucius Institute has offered various combinations of workshops every semester for eight years. Jing Ren, whose English name is Jane, is the Institute’s cultural event coordinator, and she arranged the workshops for this semester. “We volunteer at the [Confucius Institute] to give Americans who are interested in Chinese culture the access that they are wanting,” Jane said. One of the newer workshops offered is the Chinese Instrument - Erhu. The erhu is a traditional instrument in China, consisting of two strings and played with a bow. Erhuss will be provided during the workshop, and participants will get a chance to listen to how it’s played and learn a few techniques. “The erhu is similar to a vio-
lin, and its sound is very moving,” Jane said. This semester, the Confucius Institute is putting a lot of emphasis on the Martial Arts workshop due to the prestige of the teacher, a skilled martial arts master named Mingyang Li, or Lee. Lee focuses on Chen style Tai Chi in the lessons, aiming to help expand students’ understanding of martial arts beyond what they’ve seen on TV. “When I ask my students what they think of martial arts, they say fighting, but it isn’t about striking. Stopping the use of weapons and seeking reconciliation is the true spirit of martial arts,” Lee said. Lee has been practicing Chinese martial arts for 18 years, beginning when he was 6-yearsold. At 10, he enrolled in a professional school of martial arts, and at 16, he won his first championship. Lee went on to win five more championships while earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Martial Arts. Lee has been a martial arts teacher for three years and continues to practice eight hours a day. “My students often ask me what the meaning of practicing so much is,” Lee said. “It’s about challenging, overcoming and exploring your body’s energy.” Lee says his classes not only
teach martial arts but also wisdom and strategy, which can be used as a way of thinking when the student is in a hard environment. His workshops also expose students to the many health benefits of Tai Chi, including healthy breathing techniques and coordination of inner organs. According to Lee, it is believed to help those in the practice live a long life. “Practicing Tai Chi for 10 minutes gives you the same physical and internal benefits as an hour of running,” Lee said. “It uses eight parts of your body at once.” All of the Chinese Cultural Workshops are free and open to all students and community members. Supplies will be provided by the Confucius Institute. “The main purpose of these workshops is not money. We want them to be affordable and accessible to students,” Annie Ping Zeng, director of the Confucius Institute, said. The next martial arts, painting and instrument classes will take place on Sept. 22, and calligraphy will begin on Oct. 20. For more information about the dates and times of the Chinese Cultural Workshops, visit the Confucius Institute’s page on the UAA website.
Democracy & Civic Action Week is an eight-day event filled with activities aimed to engage participants in learning about their rights and responsibilities as U.S. citizens. The week begins on Sep. 17, Constitution Day, and ends on Sep. 25, National Voter Registration Day. The week of events is open to all students, staff and community members. The various events will cover topics about the roles of democracy and civic engagement in the United States. Campus departments, clubs and professors of all kinds will take part in hosting the week’s events, each sharing their perspectives through the lens of their expertise. This is UAA’s first year hosting the event. Donna Aguiniga, associate director of the Center for Community Engagement & Learning, and Marsha Olson, faculty member in the Department of Communication, originally planned to organize an event about voting stories. At a conference over the summer, they found inspiration from Miami University in Ohio about dedicating a whole week to democracy. When they presented the idea to various departments at UAA, Aguiniga and Olson found a lot of support. “The thing that stood out to me about planning this week was there is a lot of desire for activities like this,” Olson said. “All you have to do is take initiative and ask. The interactions I’ve had with people have been overwhelmingly positive.” Olson and Aguiniga partnered with over 20 on-campus and community organizations, including the Seawolf Debate Program, UAA Theatre and Dance and The Northern Light to bring Democracy & Civic Action week to life. With such a wide variety of participants, they hope to attract a wide variety of students and community members to the events. “Democracy should be action oriented, and each person should see a role for themselves in strengthening their community,” Aguiniga said. Ian Hartman, associate professor of history, is part of multiple events within the week, including Read a Line, Get a Vine, Thwarting Democracy: The Ebb and Flow of Voting Rights in America and Movie &
Panel Discussion: This Changes Everything. Hartman sees the events as a unique opportunity to share the importance of voting rights and what has been done to achieve them. “My hope is that students will do more than just memorize the Constitution, but actually think about what it has meant for certain people at certain times and understand that only through social movements and struggles have the words of the Constitution come alive through civic action,” Hartman said. Herminia Din, professor of art education, is giving a lecture titled How to Start the Plastic Free Challenge: A Civic Action. The event is structured as an interactive workshop, encouraging students to brainstorm ways that individuals can make a difference in terms of reducing single-use plastic pollution. Din encourages students to participate in the events in order to be aware of the issues that we’re facing as a nation. “By participating in this event and the others in the week, you have the opportunity to be informed and take action. That’s the key,” Din said. “As a college student, being informed is really important, but to be informed, you have to come out and participate. This week is really to get things started.” In addition to engaging and informing students on relevant issues, one of the main goals of Democracy & Civic Action Week is connecting the university with the community, Aguiniga said. The events over the weekend work together with community organizations, including Welcoming Anchorage, a nationwide initiative to foster a sense of togetherness in various cities across the U.S. “We grow as a society when we talk and hear and learn from each other, and the university should be a place where people are exposed to new ideas and events like this,” Aguiniga said. Democracy & Civic Action Week will span from Monday, Sep. 17 to Tuesday, Sep. 25. The Northern Light will is partnering with the Center for Community Engagement & Learning to host Pizza and the Press: A Conversation with Local Journalists. The event will feature local reporters Kyle Hopkins, Danielle Rivera, Nathaniel Herz and Mariah DeJesus-Remaklus and will take place Tuesday, Sept. 18 from 3 - 4 p.m. in the Student Union Cafeteria.
A&E
THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
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A sneak peek at Theatre and Dance’s upcoming year
PHOTOS COURTESY OF UAA DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE
UAA Theatre and Dance students perform the play “Rain and Zoe Save the World” on the main stage of UAA’s Fine Arts Building.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF UAA DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE
UAA Theatre students rehearse “Earthquake ‘64,” an entirely student-created performance that carefully weaves together the personal stories, local experiences and science behind the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake. The show debuted in February of 2018.
By Malia Barto
arts@thenorthernlight.org
Lights, camera, action and a lot of hard work. The UAA Department of Theatre and Dance has plenty of new shows to perform this upcoming year. The theater students will be performing five new plays, including two which will be directed by senior students. “Playhouse Creatures,” written by playwright April de Angelis, is the first to be performed
this semester. Brian Cook is directing the English play, which is set in 1660, with opening day being Oct. 26. It will run each Friday, Saturday and Sunday until Nov. 4. “Playhouse Creatures” is notable for being the first play of women acting on stage. Nova Cunningham will direct a new play this year and has the opportunity to take it to local schools in Anchorage. The play, “New Kid,” written by playwright Denis Foon, covers the topic of bullying. “New Kid” is
a part of a class at UAA, giving the cast and crew opportunity to gain some credits for their production and the unique experience to gear it towards students younger than they. “A great opportunity for [UAA] students that’s very different than our usual season is that they get to be a part of this rehearsal process, but instead of the product, for example, being just a weekend or two, they’re really making last throughout the semester,” Cunningham said.
“New Kid” will be at UAA for two performances, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Before spring break in 2019, Ty Hewitt will be directing another spring play, “Lysistrata.” The Greek comedy was first staged in 411 BCE, written by Aristophanes, though the translation used is from around 1984. In “Lysistrata,” a woman goes out to extreme measures to end the Peloponnesian War and comes to the conclusion for women to withhold sex from their husbands so the men can negotiate. Adult humor and themes are prevalent and is not recommended for children. Spring 2019 will hold one play directed by Paitton Reid and Taran Haynes each, both senior students directing as a part of their honor thesis. Reid will be directing “Be-
trayal,” a three-sided story about an affair, told in reverse order. Haynes will be directing “Frozen,” a story about three characters dealing with trauma, loss and murder. With the exception of Cunningham’s class, these plays are put on for fun and experience, getting students involved in acting and learning the aspects of putting together a show. Rehearsals start early in the semester and take dedication from the actors. Each Thursday before opening day for all plays is studentpreview day, allowing UAA students to view the play for free. “Maybe there will be something that touches on the truth that resonates with you,” Hewitt said. Tickets will be available for purchase at artsuaa.com.
OPINION
THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
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Cathy Sandeen is exactly what UAA needs
PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHY SANDEEN
Cathy Sandeen formerly served as the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and the University of Wisconsin-Extension. She started this month.
By Ben Edwards
opinion2@thenorthernlight.org
UAA is a unique institution in many ways. It is the largest in the University of Alaska system but not the flagship. It boasts a significant population of nontraditional and international students, as well as an active faculty that engages executives in sometimes dramatic ways. UAA also remains largely dependent on a fickle state legislature for its funding, where next year’s appropriation could be radically different from this year’s. Given all of these realities, finding a
suitable chancellor is a daunting task. But when UA President Jim Johnsen announced Cathy Sandeen as the new chancellor, this university obtained exactly what it needed. Sandeen brings the experience, prudence and communicative skills that UAA needs in its executive functions. Sandeen will begin working at UAA on Sept. 15, and she will bring with her a wealth of experience. According to her Curriculum Vitae, Sandeen has worked in a variety of directorial roles since the 90s, including assistant dean, dean, vice president and chancellor. The fact that all of these roles are
executive is extremely important. Sandeen is not just an operator in higher education; she is a leader. Her most recent position as chancellor for the University of Wisconsin Colleges had her managing an institution with nearly twice as many faculty as UAA. Her transition here will include a smaller purview, but no less challenging in its own right. This university’s administrative structure can be rigid at times, functioning sort of like a multi-layered command system rather than a fluid educational environment. Unlike UAA’s previous chancellor and UA’s previous president, Sandeen’s predominant experience was fostered in higher education rather than the military. She has helped manage an administrative restructuring process before. She can do the same with UAA. Having previously worked through a restructuring process, Sandeen publicly demonstrated an appreciation for fiscal prudence that will be essential for her role at UAA. The University of Wisconsin endured its own array of legislative budget cuts starting in 2015. Sandeen will witness similar events in Alaska, where the legislature suffers from chronic inaction on long-term budgeting. In fact, being a chancellor in Alaska means doing something that no other university considers to be relevant: checking the price of oil. That speaks volumes to what kind of fiscal waves Sandeen will have to endure during her time here. Thankfully, she recognizes fiscal realities. The faculty and students who are affected by her decisions will resist budgetary cuts and reforms. But a good lead-
er sometimes has to pull up her sleeves and work the numbers until the balance sheet is consistent with demands set by the regents. Anything less is just kicking the can down the road. Finally, Sandeen has the communicative skills that will make her UAA chancellorship all the more successful. She has a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology and a doctorate in communication, among her other educational achievements. She is well-spoken during public broadcasts, and she makes a special effort to produce custom videos where she shares her thoughts on an issue or welcomes her new Alaskan coworkers and students. Communicative skills are important for a chancellor because it helps them collect feedback, set expectations, maintain morale and explain unpleasant but necessary decisions. This is uniquely pertinent to Alaska’s volatile fiscal environment, where all four of those categories are adversely affected. Sandeen will also be well suited for attending certain student events, such as USUAA’s Chat with the Chancellor or Little Black Dress Doesn’t Mean Yes. She can speak and engage with students, demonstrating that UAA’s executives are approachable and cognizant about non-administrative issues. Sandeen has all of the right ingredients for UAA’s new chancellor. She is knowledgeable, frugal and proficient. Best of all, she can bring fresh ideas to an Alaskan university that often struggles with adaptability. Cathy Sandeen is exactly what UAA needs.
OPINION
THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
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Beware the commodification of Colin Kaepernick By Robert Hockema opinion@thenorthernlight.org
Something that’s been missing from the debate about Nike’s decision to make Colin Kaepernick the face of their 30th anniversary ad campaign is a simple question: what motivated Nike to choose Kaepernick? Was it because Nike believed in his message of accountability and racial equality? Perhaps it was because they wanted to give a platform to someone whose protest has been drowned out by hysterical, bad-faith engagement? To answer, it’s worth looking at how corporations have historically used activism as a way to tie their company image to political symbolism. As early as 1992, Nike was promoting “girl empowerment” ads via a campaign called “If You Let Me Play.” More recently, companies like Dove have used women’s empowerment to create the perception that supporting their brand is equal to supporting a political cause. The same goes for Starbucks’ “fair trade” campaign, which claims to purchase “ethically sourced” coffee from farmers. Critically, these campaigns have two things in common: they’re both uncontroversial and cleverly deceptive. It was hardly brave for Nike to choose Kaepernick. They knew they’d get a boost from their young, left-leaning consumer base who are already more likely than not to support kneeling for the national anthem. Nike’s bet paid off — the ad has created over $100 million dollars in free media exposure and a 31 percent bump in online sales.
Even as conservatives attempt to spark a boycott movement by burning their shoes and attacking Colin Kaepernick, Nike’s hardly worried; their business decision depended on this type of outrage occurring. It plays into the hands of their narrative: Nike is making a sacrifice by standing up for justice and equality, which is literally the message of the Kaepernick ad. The reality is that Nike sacrificed nothing. They are not standing up to any behemoth of injustice. Rather, they are a multibillion-dollar juggernaut with an affinity for commodifying activism. Perhaps this would be good if Nike was lending activists a platform to speak out against injustice or donating resources towards important issues deserving of attention. Instead, Nike tricked rich, urban consumerists into thinking that a commercial that failed to utter a single word about racial inequality was a form of protest in and of itself. Just like the “If You Let Me Play” campaign, Nike has created the illusion of activism. Worst of all, they did so by profiting off the image of someone who made real, honest sacrifices while stripping them of their revolutionary content. More than the deceitfulness of using activism as a stock for their profit, Nike’s efforts are grossly hypocritical. Nike uses its power to fight lawsuits alleging gender discrimination and labor rights violations all the time. The company is well-known for fostering a company culture that marginalizes women and pays the people they employ in overseas sweatshops poverty wages.
It’s easy to say that giving a silenced activist exposure is net beneficial, regardless of Nike’s intentions. That’s precisely the attitude Nike is intending to create: indifference to subjugation and abuse. Corporations do not fuel rebellion and revolution; they water it down and resist it. For that reason, Colin Kaepernick won’t be given an ad to rail against the injustices of police brutality or systematic racism.
The danger of Nike’s pernicious strategy more broadly is that we become more tolerant of corporate immortality, lending excuses to them when they harm the environment, abuse their workers and perpetuate the very injustices they claim to be fighting against. Rather than heaping praise on corporations like Nike for their campaigns, we should approach them with great caution.
10 | OPINION
THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
The case to impeach Repeal the 17th Amendment of the United Donald Trump
By Robert Hockema
opinion@thenorthernlight.org
Let’s be clear from the start: the case for impeachment isn’t about Russian collusion. It isn’t even about a particular illegal act that the Trump administration is guilty of. In fact, our focus on impeachment as a criminal proceeding is divorced from its original purpose. The founders viewed the presidency as an office of honor and dignity. Alexander Hamilton’s defense of the impeachment clause in Article II in Federalist 6566 reflects this clearly when he refers to impeachment as a means of rectifying “the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust”. Moreover, James Madison saw impeachment as “indispensable... for defending the Community [against] the incapacity, negligence or perfidy of the chief Magistrate.” As for the phrase “high crimes and misdemeanors,” Neil J. Kinkopf, a professor of law at Georgia State University, argues that the terms of impeachment were kept vague for the intended purpose of a flexible interpretation by the House of Representatives and the Senate. If the purpose of impeachment is to account for violations of public trust and an unfit president unable to carry out honest governance, I can think of no public official more worthy of its exercise than President Donald J. Trump. First, President Trump’s impulsive tendencies have put into question his ability to effectively govern. Deranged tweets and improvised statements threatening North Korea have put the country’s national security at risk. Late-night tweets have thrown Congress into disarray and undermined Trump’s own agenda. His seduction towards constant drama and controversy prevent him from focusing on the job. Advisers and cabinet members try to restrain Trump’s worst instincts. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and former national security adviser HR McMaster had to reel Trump back from his suggestion that the U.S. assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Officials within the administration are going so far as to internally thwart government operations, which has been corroborated both
in an anonymous op-ed published in the New York Times by a senior official, as well as respected journalist Bob Woodward’s recent book. But when officials aren’t around, Trump has proven to be brazen and irresponsible. In a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Trump gave Russia highly sensitive Israeli intelligence on ISIS, compromising critical intelligence-sharing relationships around the globe. When Trump announces policies on-the-fly, officials are forced to walk them back. In other words, the internal workings of government are stymied by Trump’s sporadic and uninformed approach to governing. This catastrophic dysfunction is, as far as we can tell, completely unprecedented. Second, President Trump compulsively lies. When I say “lies,” I mean something far more damning than when politicians fudge figures and dodge tough questions. Instead, Trump shamelessly denies the existence of physical evidence presented against him, like the size of his inauguration crowd and whether or not he knows who David Duke is. Trump invents stories, facts and figures to convince the public of his point of view, like falsifying GDP data and claiming that Muslims cheered on rooftops after the Twin Towers fell. Don’t take my word for it. Trump himself has admitted to his habitual tendency to misrepresent the truth in depositions, his own books and public speeches. It is impossible to hold accountable a president who disagrees with reality. Not only does Trump lie, but he has also incited distrust towards mechanisms that hold him accountable for it. He calls the press the “enemy of the people,” and represents his account of events as a form of “alternative facts.” A sitting president viciously attacking a key pillar of democracy is not just irresponsible — it is a democratic crisis. Lastly, Trump is mired in irredeemable scandal. As of this piece, Trump’s own lawyer, Campaign Chairman, Deputy Campaign Chairman, National Security Adviser and Foreign Policy Adviser have all been charged with felonies. In one of those instances, Trump himself was directly implicated in campaign finance crimes. The importance of this is not that Trump himself is necessarily a criminal. That remains to be seen. But a president surrounded by corruption and cronyism cannot command the trust of a nation. To recap: we have a sitting president who lacks the trust of his own government, lies to the public relentlessly and without remorse and is unable to reliably carry out the spirit of the presidency. In short, President Donald Trump has become an illegitimate leader. It is the duty of the American people to set aside their ideological preferences and demand a mechanism to remove him from office. For the sake of a healthy and functioning democracy, we must demand impeachment.
States Constitution By Ben Edwards
opinion2@thenorthernlight.org
“The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures.” On Sept. 20, the U.S. Senate will vote on the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a potential swing voter on the issue, is receiving immense pressure from her constituents, including UAA students. Some encourage her to confirm Kavanaugh and others urge her to vote him down. But there seems to be one assumption that both sides take for granted: that Murkowski’s vote ought to obey the desires of her constituency. I fundamentally challenge this assumption. Senators were not always subject to populist opinion. In fact, Americans did not even vote for senators prior to 1913. The election to the senate was governed by Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution which read, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.” The original framers of the Constitution intended for eligible voters to only elect delegates to the U.S. House of Representatives, and that state legislatures would elect delegates to the U.S. Senate. In 1913, the aforementioned system was superseded by the passage of the 17th Amendment, which established a popular vote for senators in the same manner as representatives. Repealing the 17th Amendment would remove that popular vote and return the power to elect to state legislatures. There are three reasons why this amendment should be repealed. First, the difference between senators and representatives has become nearly indistinguishable to voters, despite the constitutional separation of powers remaining in effect. This produces a variety of erroneous situations, like senate candidates talking about introducing the articles of impeachment (a power of the House) or representatives trying to legislate on international treaties (a power of the Senate). Since representatives and senators have to appeal to the same voting population, their campaign messages become extremely similar. Senators are more likely to spend time talking about local issues near and dear to voters’ lives, as opposed to distant issues like foreign policy. This leaves some major senatorial duties unaddressed and others vulnerable to misinformation. Second, the interests of state govern-
ments may be different than the interests of ordinary people. This is why removing the popular vote for senators is not an undemocratic move. Instead, it increases state influence over federal legislation and orients voters squarely on their representative(s). For example, the State of Alaska is more interested in federal oil lease permitting for Foggy Island Bay than most ordinary Alaskans are. If the Alaska State Legislature is given the right to decide on Sen. Dan Sullivan’s reelection in 2020, then his job security will depend on how effective he helps with that permitting via federal legislation. Additionally, the State of Alaska’s ability to influence the federal government will be equal to all other states, since every state can elect no more than two senators to Congress. The only factor that would change that is the effectiveness of each senator in writing solid legislation with strong support. State legislatures will be more likely to elect intelligent professionals than ideological firebrands, because it’s only the former that prioritizes results over rhetoric. Third, repealing the 17th Amendment would help insulate the Senate from populism. While the House can be as wildly ideological as it’s voters may wish for, their power in Congress could still be balanced by the calm, technocratic makeup of the Senate. Article I of the Constitution supports this argument. Representatives are elected every two years, which is consistent with how frequently people’s fears and desires about politics can change. Senators are elected every six years, which makes more sense for state governments who rely on consistency and predictability in federal government. The intention is that the House would have a high rate of turnover, and it would be populated by representatives who embody their constituents as accurately as possible. Meanwhile, the Senate will remain consistent, professional and level-headed. Instead, we have Rep. Don Young serving since 1973 and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-O.K.) disproving climate change by flaunting a snowball on the senate floor. Thanks to the 17th Amendment, ideologues are just as likely to infiltrate the Senate as they can in the House. Voters tend to be skeptical of calm, intelligent professionals, since they’re often perceived as being callous aristocrats without any flair. Every opportunity must be taken to increase state influence over federal legislation. This makes the federal government less like a 51st behemoth overlord and more like a voluntary consortium of 50 states. Repealing the 17th Amendment is a good start. If nothing else, it will free up our senators to make truly independent and rational decisions. When Murkowski casts her vote on Kavanaugh, I want her to do so with her state and country in mind — not on whether or not it will anger voters and cost her a reelection.
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THENORTHERNLIGHT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
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