July 12th, 2022 by The Northern Light

JULY 12 - AUGUST 2, 2022

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UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

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After 2 years and nearly a million dollars, UAA Women’s Gymnastics has earned reinstatement

A botanical garden on my campus? UAA’s tree tour boasts over 80 unique specimens

Supreme Court decision overrules Roe v. Wade, ignites protests in Anchorage By Matthew Schmitz news2@thenorthernlight.org

In a historical ruling on June 24, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the decision of Roe v. Wade, which had established a woman’s right to an abortion in the United States for the past 50 years. The impact of the 5-4 decision means that states can now determine all laws and regulations concerning abortion procedures – up to and including a total ban – without having to follow the guidelines set out by Roe and the follow up decision of Casey v. Planned Parenthood – overturned alongside Roe. The ruling makes policy around abortion at a state and national level a live issue in the in the upcoming midterm elections. In the opinion for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito wrote Roe was “egregiously wrong and on a collision course with the Constitution from the day it was decided.” And addressing Casey, Alito wrote that it “perpetuated” the errors of Roe. Alito relied heavily on the precedent set in Glucksberg v. Washington, where the court denied the right to physician-assisted suicide. In that case, the court weighed the states’ right to protect life, against an individual’s right to physician-assisted suicide. Not mentioned specifically in the constitution,

this right would have been among the unenumerated rights protected by the 9th Amendment and the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment. Though privacy is nowhere explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has recognized several rights – the right to contraception, homosexual acts, gay marriage, and interracial marriage – as protected under a general right to privacy inferred from the overlap of several amendments. The court conducted a historical analysis to determine if this right was “deeply rooted in the nation’s history,” and they concluded it was not. Protection of the disabled was

also cited as a reason for their decision. In a similar fashion, Alito argued that states have a right to protect unborn life and because of the unique nature of abortion – the destruction of unborn life – this called for a similar historical analysis of abortion. According to Alito’s study of history, the right to an abortion was not “deeply rooted in the nation’s history.” He criticizes the court’s original decision on Roe, which according to his opinion failed to clearly identify under which amendment the right to an abortion was located. He also criticized the decision of Casey for reaffirming Roe on the basis

Passing in front of the Robert B. Atwood Building, a girl shows her support for the protest and joins in demonstration.

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of “stare decisis” without reexamining the historical analysis of Roe, which Alito found to be faulty. Stare decisis is a legal principle that says prior decisions should not be overturned for the sake of stability, and to protect the court’s real and apparent integrity. In the dissent – authored by Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan – the Justices accuse Alito of cherry-picking history to suit the outcome he wanted. According to their opinion, Alito improperly dismissed the past 50 years of development on the issue of abortion in the United States. He also, they wrote, was wrong in claiming that the court had improperly applied the principle of stare decisis in Casey. In addition to that, they wrote that he overlooked the massive impact overruling Roe will have on women’s lives, and that women have come to rely on access to abortion to make decisions and plan for their future. Regarding his legal reasoning, they write that the same logic can be applied to the other court decisions that protect unenumerated rights. Alito addresses this concern in his opinion, writing that abortion is a unique case and that the other decisions would not be in jeopardy of being @tnl_updates

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ

Protesters march down F street.

overruled. In the dissent, the Justices write that this an empty promise and cite the concurring opinion of Justice Clarence Thomas, who clearly writes that the other cases protecting unenumerated rights should also be reexamined. Thomas writes, “For that reason, in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.” Griswold established the right to use contraceptives, Lawrence the right for indivuals to engage in homosexual acts, and Obergefell the right to same-sex marriage. Many commentators have pointed out that Thomas leaves out the case that protects interracial marriage – Loving v. Virginia – in his list of decisions that should be reexamined. The dissenting Justices write that the cause for the new ruling is entirely due to the change in composition of the court. From the dissenting opinion: “The majority has overruled Roe and Casey for one and only one reason: because it has always despised them, and now it has the votes to discard them.” The ramifications from youtube.com/tnlnews

the decision have been swift with 27 states either outright banning abortion or severely restricting access. In Anchorage, there have been protests occurring regularly in response to the decision. On June 25, a protest was organized downtown, by Stand Up Alaska and the Party for Socialism and Liberation Anchorage. Several hundred people gathered on the Delaney Park Strip at G and 9th Street, before marching down F Street to the Town Square in front of the Performing Arts Center. Carrying signs and banners, the protesters chanted “we won’t go back” and “people power” as they made their way through the streets. In the Town Square, people gave speeches to the gathered crowd declaring opposition to the decision by the court. In Alaska, the right to an abortion is still protected under an explicit privacy clause in Alaska’s state constitution. This November the question of whether to hold a constitutional convention will be on the ballot. Every ten years Alaskans get to vote on holding a convention to modify the state’s constitution. Anti-abortion activists have identified this as the most likely path to banning abortion in the state. Jim Minnery is the executive director of Alaska Family Council and an anti-abortion advocate. He was quoted in the Anchorage Daily News as saying “We’re very excited to advance a ‘yes’ vote on the Constitutional Convention.” At the rally on the 25th, ADN reported that 15-year-old activist Cynthia Gachupin spoke and implored the gathered crowd to vote against the convention in the upcoming election, quoting her as saying “The youth activist and the youth need you to vote for us because we can’t.” According to the article, the crowd responded back, chanting “We will vote.”

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NEWS

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2022

Wildfire sparks up at Red Shirt Lake over Fourth of July weekend

A 10-person hotshot By Matthew Schmitz crew with Pioneer Hotnews2@thenorthernlight.org shots was called in to help On July 1, a forest fire mop up the fire 100%. started at the north-end of They arrived at the campRed Shirt Lake. It was lo- ground via the hiking cated in a campground on trail around 6:45 p.m. and the lake near the trailhead worked through the eveof a hiking trail that starts ning to cut in around the at the Rolly Twin Lakes edges and put out all remaining hot spots. parking lot. A boy, who was stayRed Shirt Lake, which ing in a public use cabin does not have road access, is in the Nancy Lake Rec- on an island across from reation Area. Going north the campground, said his along the Parks Highway, mom had called in the fire. The fire appeared to the recreation area is about 25 miles outside of Wasil- have come from one of the metal fire rings in the la. A fire-response heli- campground, said Kemp. copter team – called a heli- He also said that there was tack – based out of Palmer no one on scene when they with the Alaska Division arrived, and they did not of Forestry, received a call know who had started it. to respond to the fire from their dispatch at 3:24 p.m., said Jered Kemp, the incident commander at the scene of the Red Shirt fire. He said they were airborne by 3:30 p.m. and arrived on scene around 3:50 p.m. Initially, they surveyed the fire, reporting details back to their dispatch, before landing to attach a bucket to the helicopter to scoop water out of the lake. The fire, which was one-quarter of an acre in size, was knocked down with water drops from the helicopter, said Kemp. The fire was reduced to smoldering hot spots, and the helitack crew worked on the ground to contain it by extinguishing any embers along the perimeter. Using water hoses, they were spraying down the area and using axes and breaking up logs and stumps to find any hidden hot areas. Kemp said Darrell Koontz, a cabin owner on the lake, had shown up with water pumps and hoses, and helped to assist with containing the fire.

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ

The fire was mostly put out by the water dumps from the helicopter but there were still plenty of smoldering hot spots left.

The helitack helicopter landed at the north end of Red Shirt Lake by the campground.

NEWS

USUAA hears from LGBTQIA2S+ Advisory Committee, gets campus updates, and announces dates for road cleanup at meeting and is available for viewBy Matthew Schmitz ing. news2@thenorthernlight.org Giving a report on the UAA’s student govern- LGBTQIA2S+ Advisoment body, USUAA, held ry Committee were Kim a meeting on June 22 in Morton, executive directhe Lyla Richards confer- tor of student engagement ence room in the Student and inclusion, and Sara Caldwell-Kahn with mulUnion. In person were Presi- ticultural students servicdent Katie Scoggin, Vice- es. Morton said the comPresident Shanone Tejada, Senator Chuol Mut and mittee was behind the Student Liaison Brian “Is it okay to say queer?” Cuevas Fuentes. Other signs around campus. members of the USUAA Morton said the goal of the signage was to eduattended via zoom. The meeting was cate people and help them livestreamed on Facebook get comfortable using the

broader term “queer” to identify the entire LGBTQ community. Caldwell-Kahn talked about pronoun buttons that will be made available to members of the UAA community at campus kickoff. The buttons spell out several common pronouns that people use, and there is a blank button that people can write their own pronouns on too. Morton also said that the committee was working on a proposal for making all-gender restrooms more accessible on cam-

pus. There are currently a number of all-gender restrooms on campus, but they are often out of the way and getting permission, or a key to use them can be stressful. A map of the current restrooms can be found on UAA’s website. USUAA advisor Zac Clark, who was present at the meeting, said that USUAA took action to support all-gender bathrooms in 2019. Clark also gave an update on some activities and changes on campus. He said that the 50th An-

niversary Garden got new concrete flower beds poured and looked beautiful. The Sunshine and Sandwich Walk – an event hosted on June 15 by UAA to support Pride – had about 40-50 people and was informative, he said. Also, he said that UAA had a table Downtown at Citywide’s Juneteenth celebration, and they received many questions from people about coming back to UAA. Regarding USUAA business, Tejada said that

they had attended the Sunshine and Sandwich Walk. Also, Tejada said they were looking at improving student belonging, engagement and participation. Scoggin said they were trying to more effectively use their diversity engagement and inclusion fund, and the next dates for USUAA to clean up their Adopt-a-Road section of 36th Avenue would be on June 29 and July 27.

Clearing the road, USUAA doing their duty By Matthew Schmitz news2@thenorthernlight.org

On a hot day in late June, made worse by heattrapping wildfire smoke, two members of USUAA – President Katie Scoggin and Vice-President Shanone Tejada – were joined by USUAA advisor Zac Clark and took to the streets to cleaning up trash along USUAA’s Adopt-aRoad section of 36th Avenue, from Lake Otis to the New Seward Highway. Clark said that it is their responsibility to pick up trash along the section at least three times a year. The three-person crew met at 4pm on Wednesday the 29th by greenhouse to the east of the Gordon Hartlieb Hall. Donning orange safety vests and armed with trash bags and trash-pickers – provided by UAA – they walked to Lake Otis and 36th. Working from the Lake Otis end of 36th, they headed toward the New Seward Highway, picking up trash as they went. With cars whizzing past and oppressive heat, the team endured the stressful working condi-

tions and fulfilled one of their three required cleanups of the road section. The next planned date

for a clean up is on July 27, for anyone wanting to join in.

Braving the heat, from left to right, Clark, Tejada and Scoggin pick up trash on the road.

NEWS

UAA Celebrates Pride: Sunshine and Sandwiches Walk By Matthew Schmitz news2@thenorthernlight.org

The Sunshine and Sandwiches walk was held on June 15 by UAA Student Activities. More than 30 people showed up to walk around campus and celebrate Pride month. UAA provided sandwiches and ice-cream sandwiches from Wild Scoops. In addition to the walk, a goal was to also educate participants “about the history, people and celebrations of queerness,” according to an event description. Carrying rainbow flags, the group was led by Student Activities Civic Engagement & Diversity Coordinator Cuckoo Gupta in a loop around the middle of campus. Starting by the entrance to Enrollment Services and the Student Union, they headed toward Rasmuson Hall. The walkers – and at least one roller – took a right turn under the bridge that connects Rasmuson to the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. Taking another right, the group made their way on the bike trail that cuts through the woods behind the Student Union and crossed over Chester Creek. Following along UAA Drive and then Providence Drive, they made their way back to the Student Union Plaza. There they got to enjoy the music of DJ K4-e-yuh and guitarist Pepper Kit. In addition to sandwiches, attendees were also able to get free purple shirts with a rainbow UAA Seawolf logo in the center. In an email response to questions about the event, Gupta said that this is UAA’s second annual

Sunshine and Sandwiches Walk. She wrote that she was the lead coordinator, and the event was partly funded by UAA Student Activities. Other organizations that helped with the walk included The Family, who provided signage with facts on Pride and information about queer policy. Also, The Concert Board was responsible for funds related to the musicians at the event. Fiscal Technician Sarah Holland, attending for the first time this year, said the event was “a complete success.”

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ

Walking and rolling around campus to celebrate Pride month, participants make their way toward the bike trail behind the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

Walking across the bridge that spans Chester Creek, Cuckoo Gupta leads the group.

Everyone gathered in the Student Union Plaza, and Zac Clark inspects the sandwiches and ice cream.

DJ K4-e-yuh gets ready to play music for participants at the walk.

FEATURES

Retiring Vice Chancellor Bruce Schultz reflects on 30 years at UAA and journey to Alaska By Matthew Schmitz plans to pursue a career in student affairs. news2@thenorthernlight.org He went on to Ball This year, UAA’s vice State to earn a Master of chancellor of student af- Education in student affairs, Bruce Schultz, will fairs administration in be retiring. Although he higher education. moved into his position in While finishing his 2010, his time with UAA master’s degree, Schulstretches back to 1991. tz took an opportunity To recognize his 30 to come to Alaska in the years of service to UAA, summer of 1991 to intern the University of Alaska at UAA. board of regents voted to Living on campus, he approve a resolution of was initially struck by the appreciation for Schultz at beauty of the state. their meeting on June 3. “The beauty got me At the meeting, Regent right away,” he said, and Mary Hughes said that his the twilight at 11:30 p.m. career has been “exem- in the summer stood out to plary.” him as “surreal.” In an interview with Also, he was able to The Northern Light, experience a variety of Schultz talked about his outdoor activities such as background, coming to ATV riding and salmon Alaska and his time at fishing. UAA. He returned to the He also shared some same internship in 1992 of his own challenges at and while performing a UAA and advice for suc- national job search, a pocess. sition opened at UAA. Schultz was born and Becoming the admingrew up in a small farm- istrative coordinator for ing town of roughly 2,700 UAA’s residence life, he people in Wisconsin. At expected to stay on for the age of 11, he moved a year or two though he with his family to Ari- would come to realize that zona. there were opportunities In Arizona, he devel- to build something from oped an interest in Na- the ground up here. tive American culture and In the 90s, UAA’s stushowed an independent dent affairs was a far cry side by taking flying les- from the well-developed, sons at the age of 15 with- best-in-the-world proout his parents knowing grams that Schultz had and paying for his own seen in the Midwest. He trip to Germany by selling also found an eagerness candy to friends. and energy around him to Schultz said growing improve the university. up, he wanted to join the He said it was easy to Air Force. His father, on be innovative and crethe other hand, saw edu- ative, and people were alcation as the path to suc- ways looking for ways to cess and wanted him to make things happen rathgo to college. A point of er than saying “no.” tension between them, This energy, which Schultz ultimately ended has persisted through the up going to Arizona State years, and Alaskan’s infor his first semester of dependent streak is someschool. thing that separates AlasHis parents, who had ka from the Lower 48, moved back to Wiscon- Schultz said. sin, convinced Schultz Though coming to to come back by offering Alaska on his own was a him a paid vacation to Eu- challenge, the state fit his rope, which he jokingly adventurous, problemdescribed as a bribe to solving personality, wrote move home. Schultz in a follow up Transferring to the email, adding that he’s University of Wisconsin found the most important Oshkosh, he majored in life lessons happen in the international business and face of such challenges. German. He said he also develHis first years of col- oped an appreciation for lege got off to a rocky the state’s history and start. Schultz said that this Alaska Native culture. was in large part because While working at he was not, for the first UAA, he went on to get few years at least, a very his Ph.D. in educational serious student. and organizational leaderWhile an undergradu- ship from the University ate, he took on various of La Verne, writing his student-leadership roles, dissertation on how freshwhich included being a men adjusted to their first residential advisor. year of school at the UniHe came to realize that versity of Alaska. helping his peers become Student affairs is a successful was more en- broad field that seeks to joyable and meaningful help students in a number to him than what he ex- of different ways Schultz perienced in the business said. world – working as a manIt ranges from enrollager at Target – so during ment, financial aid and his senior year, he made

health services to crafting university policy on campus safety and codes of conduct. In addition to that, it seeks to offer students ways to connect and participate in the university and learn real-world skills in leadership and employee positions. Schultz said that student affairs complement the work done by faculty, and he emphasized the way they seek to intentionally craft programs and create experiences that move students forward in their development. Also, when a student is in crisis, student affairs steps in to help. Early on in his career, Schultz had two moments that gave him firsthand experience of how important this work is. While an RA at Oshkosh, his first time dealing with a student crisis was when a resident had been sexually assaulted. He was a part of the investigation and supported her through her trial. Also, his roommate on campus during his internship, who was also his friend and introduced him to the state, died by suicide. This had a deep impact on him personally. These experiences inform his understanding of how a crisis impacts students and staff. Schulz said, “It also serves as reminders of how important the work is that we do, and why campus safety is critically important, and why suicide prevention is critically important, and why sexual assault education is critically important.” He said that the policy of how the institution demonstrates care is a part of that. “When I deal with those situations, first and foremost I want the staff and the students who are affected to feel a deep level of care,” he said. Schultz said that UAA’s Crisis Team manages between 500-600 students in crises of varying degrees of severity each year. Being himself a firstgeneration college student has helped him to appreciate the unique challenges those students face. Schultz said: “So many of UAA students are also first generation, and what that means is you come to college without having the support network that understands what you need to do, when you need to do it, and why you need to do it. You’ve gotta figure those things out on your own. That’s UAA students. So I’ve always had this understanding and appreciation for how challenging it is for our students.”

PHOTO COURTESY UAA

Schultz would end up working his way up through the university. From his position as administrative coordinator, he went on to the associate dean of students and then later the dean of students and associate vice chancellor of student development. He said that being dean of students was his favorite position, having the perfect balance of leadership and opportunity for working with students directly. Schultz said he values the personal one-on-one conversation with students, but there is less opportunity for those types of interactions the higher up you go in the university. Schultz said the past five years have been a particularly challenging time at UAA. He said that the budget cuts, potential consolidation of the university system and cuts to various programs have put strain on everyone in the UAA community. He said the disruptions left people with no extra mental capacity. And then COVID-19 hit and brought even more problems. Schultz shared some tips on how he has managed to be successful, even in the face of such challenges. He said it’s important to build relationships before a crisis happens. It’s easier to do than when things are falling apart, and people’s instincts are to turn inward and be defensive. Such relationships are more open and collaborative, and can make a difficult time better, he said. Also, he said when faced with a wide variety of opinions, putting students’ success back in the center of the conversation has helped refocus people on a shared priority. It’s something that everyone agrees with even if they have different ideas of what it means Schultz said.

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Bruce Schultz.

He also said that working with integrity and pursuing excellence can help mentally guard against personal attacks and improve self-confidence. For students, Schultz said it’s important for them to think long-term and be intentional in their college plans. He said that students tend to get bogged down in the minutia of short-term problems such as late fees, and overlook the bigger things like how to pay for school overall or a specific graduation date. And if students are having problems, it can be helpful to reframe the issue as a learning opportunity rather than a weakness. He said seeing it from a perspective of “I’m just curious; help me to understand” can be a great way to get at problems while saving face. In fact, he’s found that approaching any discussions – especially difficult ones – from the “I’m just curious” angle often moves talks in a productive direction. For a brief period in 2020-2021, Schultz served as interim chancellor of UAA. With all that was going on, he said the university needed stability above all else while there was a change in leadership, and he saw an opportunity to bring that to the position. He said that he was surprised when UA President Pat Pitney picked him. Schultz said that an important mentor for him during his time at UAA was Linda Lazzell, the previous dean of students and vice chancellor of student affairs. Regarding what a mentor does, he said: “They’re helping you think through challenges, and think through situations, and are asking you hard questions. They don’t give you the answers, but it’s helpful to have a confidant … to point out when you might be seeing something in-

correctly.” “No one’s perfect, and it’s just nice you can have someone you can trust who can point out where there might be some opportunities for you to think differently.” On his motivation for retirement, Schultz simply said that “it’s time for a break.” At 54 years old, he said that he is not completely ready to leave the workforce but intends to take the next year off at least. Top of the list for what his future holds is a nine-week trip to Europe though he did express some apprehension at finding ways to keep himself occupied beyond that. He said there is nothing to quite prepare you for the sudden loss of obligations and goals – normally supplied by work – that go along with retirement. He said he has an excellent staff and, along with the students, they will be what he misses most leaving the university. For his service, Schultz also received a citation honoring him from the Alaska State Legislature. UAA Chancellor Sean Parnell wrote in a letter to the UAA community: “Bruce has always believed in empowering and supporting students, investing in staff development and building operational capacity. Over the last 25 years, he has attended every student government meeting his schedule would allow. He regularly attends student events on campus and personally takes time to meet with students. It is impossible to measure the impact of his many contributions at UAA.”

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A botanical garden on my campus? UAA’s tree tour boasts over 80 unique specimens By Matthew Schmitz news2@thenorthernlight.org

If you’ve spent time outside on campus, you might have noticed white tags attached to some trees with a number on one side and a QR Code on the other. If you happen to scan one, it will bring up a guide to UAA’s tree tour. The Chris Turletes Memorial Tree Tour, named after the late associate vice chancellor for facilities and campus services, has over 100 trees to see. Eighty-four of these are unique specimens. According to the tree tour’s webpage, nowhere in Alaska has more tree varieties on public lands than UAA. With a few species not normally seen in Alaska, like maples and oaks, the tour is a great excuse to walk UAA during the summer, one of the most beautiful times on campus. Many of the trees were planted decades ago so the tour is also an opportunity to see the size, shape and features of a mature specimen for anyone looking to plant decorative trees. And side-by-side comparisons can help make clear the differences between trees that commonly get grouped together like fir, spruce and pine. The trees and tour are maintained by the UAA grounds and landscaping department. In an interview, the department’s supervisor, Kara Monroe, said that walking the entire tour takes one to two hours, depending on how long you stay at each stop. She recommends walking the tour in the spring, around May, when the trees are flowering, and in the fall, around September and October, when the leaves are changing and the fruit-bearing trees are putting out fruit. In a follow-up email, she wrote that visitors can pick the fruit as long as it’s ripe. She asks for people to be careful not to break branches and leave some fruit behind for others and animals. The use of ladders is not allowed. In the fall you can also pick leaves up from the ground to collect samples. Monroe said the tour is set up to be self-guided though they offer guided tours to larger groups like the Anchorage school district and landscaping professionals. The tree-list guide can be found on UAA’s website, and a campus map may be helpful for those not familiar with UAA. The tour is broken into two parts: east and west. The west part starts

by the greenhouse to the east of the Gordon Hartlieb Hall and works its way clockwise around the Cuddy Quad following the buildings – Rasmuson Hall, the Allied Health Sciences Building, the Wendy Williams Auditorium, the Beatrice McDonald Hall, the Lucy Cuddy Hall, and the Auto Diesel Technology Building – and ends in the parking lot to the north of Gordon Hartlieb. The east-campus portion starts west of the Natural Science Building and makes its way past the Consortium Library to the Integrated Science Building and then onto the Fine Arts Building. It loops back around and ends north of the Integrated Science Building. Anyone wanting a small sample of the tour should look to the west and south walls of Rasmuson Hall, which alone has 15 trees from the tour. Particularly striking is the bright-yellow variegated Norway maple on the south side of the building with unmistakable maple star-shaped leaves – think Canadian flag. The tall Siberian larch to the north of the Allied Health Sciences Building is also an impressive specimen. The species shows up in two other locations on the tour as well: the northeast corner of the Natural Science Building, and near the entrance to the Fine Arts Building. Its needles are remarkably soft. Monroe said it is a deciduous conifer, which means it loses its needles

in the fall, and every year they get contacted by people concerned that the larches are dying though they are perfectly okay. On the west side of the Beatrice McDonald Hall are well-defined Swedish columnar aspens, shaped similar to the tall, narrow Italian Cypress trees often seen lining the roads in movies and tv shows set in ancient Rome. Included on the tour, on the other side of Beatrice McDonald, is a piece of 60-million-year-old petrified wood on display in a circular concrete flower bed. The tour also offers an opportunity to get a look at species native to Alaska like the quaking aspen on the east side of the Integrated Science Building or the massive female cottonwood – also called a balsam poplar – to the north of the Sally Monserud Hall. It’s the female trees, Monroe said, that put out the prolific, wispy-white cotton each summer. The origins of the tour date back to the 90s though some of the trees were planted in the 70s when UAA was then the Anchorage Community College. Monroe said that two women, Lori Able and Pat Leary, were responsible for putting the tour together. It was both a way to monitor the trees, and share them with the community, she said. The trees on the tour do not get any special treatment to help keep them alive. “We put them in the

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ

The west and south corner of Rasmuson Hall has 15 trees from the tour along it.

60-million-year-old petrified wood east of Beatrice McDonald Hall.

ground and see how they do,” said Monroe. Sometimes trees die and are removed from the tour while others get added. Monroe said that they try to keep the tree numbers consistent. The tour’s namesake, Chris Turletes, was interested in conservation and played an important role in developing the tree tour. During his time at UAA, he advocated for UAA to enact a no-net tree loss policy to ensure that any trees removed during construction would be replaced. He also was responsible for getting UAA its designation as a Higher Education Tree Campus through the Arbor Day Foundation. The designation shows that UAA has made a commitment to tree stewardship on its

campus, and works to educate the community on tree conservation. “We take pride in the fact we can qualify and participate,” Monroe said of the designation. She said it also allows the university to prioritize maintaining the tour. Monroe had worked with Turletes and said that he continued to help with the tour even after retiring in 2017. Every year the university must apply for the Tree Campus designation, which requires setting up an advisory committee. Turletes would serve on the committee, filling a required position of a community member. She said that he would zoom in to meetings even while receiving cancer treatment in Seattle. Turletes passed away in 2021. Anyone interested in

setting up a tour for a group can contact Monroe via email at kmonroe7@ alaska.edu.

A&E

Lords, ladies and pirates out and about: history comes alive at Three Barons Renaissance Fair By Matthew Schmitz online were able to jump ahead. news2@thenorthernlight.org With warm weather This summer, the an- and clear skies, a mernual Three Barons Re- chant selling parasols was naissance Fair once again doing good business helptransformed the Tozier ing fairgoers stay cool and dog-sled track on Tudor shaded. Road into the fictional meAt The Crooked Toad, dieval village of Hillshire adults could enjoy a beer for the first two weekends and cool off under some of June. tents while a cast of piThere, guests could rates took the center stage wander through the vil- in song and dance. lage and see ornately Members of the Society dressed actors playing the for Creative Anachronism parts of nobility vying for were set up in a tent showpower, singing pirates, casing some of their handwarriors battling and iwork. At one point, they craftsmen hard at work. took up arms and donned In addition to the im- armor to demonstrate their pressive costumes, there more physical pursuits in were nearly 20 food ven- violent clashes. dors frying up halibut, The three eponymous doughnuts, and turkey barons – Red, Green and legs and almost 40 mer- Blue – were present with chants selling an assort- their baronesses and enment of handmade crafts. tourages too. In a contest There were activities for the favor of fairgofor guests to participate in ers, the barons compete too: dancing, spear throw- for popularity to win the ing and face painting just fabled “Spear of Hillthto name a few. Fairgoers elstan.” The Blue Baron could show off their own took evident delight in historical costumes as tossing out “gold” coins to well. the people amassed. In an interview with the In the “Historical VilAnchorage Daily News, lage” section of Hillshire, Shane Mitchell, who has reenactors demonstrated played the Blue Baron various trades and crafts since the fair’s inception of the Middle Ages. in 1993, spoke about the Several dozen guests fair’s background. In what joined in on the Peasant’s started as a spinoff from Dance where they were inanother renaissance fair in structed in the basic steps Anchorage, Three Barons of a medieval dance. Gathhas become the only one ered in a large circle, parin town and has developed ticipants spun around and traditions spanning the cycled through dancing decades he said. partners to the music of The first weekend’s troubadours. theme was pirates. On The fair is put on by the Sunday, the parking lot nonprofit Three Barons was packed though you Renaissance fair Inc. Accould get free parking and cording to their website, a shuttle to the fair at the the goal of the fair is to Wendy Williams Audito- provide Alaskans with inrium. teractive, educational, and Kevin Hall, the fair’s family oriented entertainpublic relations director, ment. They also seek to said to the Anchorage help develop the creative Press that they expected talents of Alaskans by givaround 10,000 guests at ing them an opportunity this year’s fair. to exercise their abilities. There was a slight The second weekend’s breeze that carried the theme was fantasy and smell of BBQ to outside the last day for this year’s the fairgrounds. To get in, fair was on June 12. Three there was about a 15-min- Barons normally runs for ute wait though people the first two weekends of who purchased tickets June each year.

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW SCHMITZ

A fighter takes a swipe at his opponent on the Field of Honor.

A reenactor in the historical village working.

The Green Baroness gets in on the fighting action and kisses her fallen adversary goodbye. Pirates wait their turn to take stage.

A&E

Entertainment Headlines for July 2022: Something for everyone; minions, gods of thunder, a rom-com and a horror film By Jake Dye editor@thenorthernlight.org

July is a great month for families, with quality animated family films dropping at both ends of the month in “Minions” and “DC League of SuperPets.” There’s plenty else to be excited about such as the God of Thunder’s fourth outing in “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Jordan Peele’s latest: “Nope,” and plenty of streaming series and movies to fill these sunny summer afternoons. Film Headlines “Minions: The Rise of Gru” is somehow the fifth film to feature the allto-familiar loud yellow beans. Since “Despicable Me” was released in 2010, the Minions have regularly returned to theaters, to the delight of children, perhaps less so their parents. That said, as far as family fare goes, Illumination —The animation studio behind “Despicable Me,” “Sing” and “The Secret Life of Pets” — has proven able to put out quality films consistently across this franchise and others. “Rise of Gru” has been reviewed relatively well compared to the original “Minions” and the most recent “Despicable Me.” The film has also been picked up as a significant joke on social media platforms like TikTok, where users are hyping up the film and attending in suits. Families and social media jokesters in suits will hopefully find everything they’re looking for in the theater when the film releases on July 1. “Thor: Love and Thunder” is the fourth film to star Chris Hemsworth as the titular god of thunder and the first film to star Natalie Portman as the titular god of thunder. The film is directed by Taika Waititi, who also helmed the last film, “Thor: Ragnarok.” Set in the aftermath of “Avengers: Endgame,” Thor is still trying to find himself. Travel-

ing with the Guardians of the Galaxy, he is quickly wrapped in a new adventure alongside one-time girlfriend and full-time astrophysicist Jane Foster. Foster has somehow obtained the power of Thor and becomes a superhero in her own right, as the character did in the comics. I’m wholly bought into the MCU at this point and would probably see anything they put out, but a new Waititi-led Thor film will almost certainly be a special delight when the film releases on July 9. “Nope” is the third film by director Jordan Peele. Peele’s horror films have been among the best in the genre since he released “Get Out” in 2017. Between “Get Out” and “Us,” Peele’s name is all I need to get out to theaters, and I would have loved to see this without knowing anything about it. The main characters — played by film stars Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya — are siblings who own a ranch. When strange things begin to happen, they try to collect video evidence. Spooky things occur. The film will be released on July 22. “DC League of SuperPets” is another familyfriendly animated film. Dwayne Johnson stars as Krypto the Superdog, who has to assemble a team of superpowered pets to save the Justice League. A starstudded cast and a team of cute pets check a lot of the boxes for success. Warner Animation Group doesn’t have quite the spotless record of some of its peers but has put out some stellar films in the past. The film releases on July 29 in theaters. Gaming Headlines As Dusk Falls is a narrative adventure game described as an interactive drama. It depicts the lives of two families across three decades, beginning with a robbery gone wrong in Arizona. It has a unique art style, depicted with moving art rather

PHOTO COURTESY ILLUMINATION

The first major film this month is “Minions: Rise of Gru,” which features the return of Steve Carell as a younger Gru.

PHOTO COURTESY MARVEL STUDIOS

“Thor: Love and Thunder” features the return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster for the first time since 2013. While she is still an astrophysicist, she’s also now the hammer-slinging Mighty Thor.

than with 3D models. The game is played like many contemporary narrative games, with players making decisions that affect outcomes. The game has been designed with group play in mind, allowing up to 8 players to connect using controllers or smartphones and vote on these decisions. As Dusk Falls will be available as part of the Xbox Game Pass when it releases on July 19. Stray has been making waves since it was first announced around a

PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSAL

There’s something strange in the sky in Jordan Peele’s latest horror film: “Nope.”

year ago. Players explore a cyberpunk city inhabited by robots as a small orange cat. It’s not entirely clear what the story of the game will be, though trailers have shown the cat exploring the city, interacting with friendly robots, and hiding from hostile sentries. The vibes of the darkened city lit with neon lights are immediately appealing, and I’m tremendously excited to explore this beautiful world when the game releases on July 19. Stray will also be included as part of the PlayStation Plus Extra tier. Streaming Headlines Netflix is staying busy this month, with several movies and series coming out. The first major release is “Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In-Between,” a rom-com starring Talia Ryder and Jordan Fisher as a high-school couple who made a pact to break up before going to college. They send off their relationship with a final date reliving the highs and lows of their relationship. The film comes to the service on July 6. “The Sea Beast” is an

animated adventure film coming to Netflix on July 8. The film is directed by Chris Williams, known for directing “Big Hero 6” and “Moana.” It follows a young girl who stows away on a ship of monster hunters, hoping to become a hero like them. Karl Urban voices a legendary monster hunter, and newcomer Zaris-Angel Hator portrays the young girl who follows in his footsteps. Reviews have been very positive, and this may windup an underrated standout of the summer. “The Gray Man” is Netflix’s biggest summer film. It is directed by the Russo Brothers and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the combined writing and directing team behind “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” It stars Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana De Armas. Gosling plays a mercenary who discovers CIA secrets and is forced to go on the run. Netflix is putting a lot of money into

this one, and it’s set up to be a blockbuster when it releases on July 22. Disney+ continues its “Ms. Marvel” series and debuts the third season of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” Season 2 didn’t hit as hard as season 1 did when Disney+ first came out, but season 3 is poised to bring the series back to its original success; set in a summer camp, featuring “Frozen” as the traditional musical finale. Disney already confirmed a fourth season, months ahead of the premiere of season 3, which shows that they’re much more confident than they were last time around. The season premieres July 27. Hulu features the Rrated “The Princess” this month, premiering July 1. It’s a bloody action film starring Joey King as a princess who fights her way out of the tower and takes revenge against the man she was arranged to marry. Reviews are very mixed, but there sounds to be some fun to be had watching the princess get some overdue payback.

A&E

Hitbox Review: Citizen Sleeper - An engrossing examination of humanity and capitalism in a dystopian cyberpunk future By Jake Dye editor@thenorthernlight.org

Release Date: May 5, 2022 Developer: Jump Over The Age Platform: Xbox Series S [Played], Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC Citizen Sleeper wasn’t on my radar at all until well after it was released. Even when I first heard it described and praised I was skeptical; wake up in the morning with limited energy, plan your day, then roll dice to perform actions. Being limited in that way, and rolling dice to see how well I would complete tasks didn’t strike me as appealing at all. Ultimately, I tried it because it was part of Xbox Game Pass, and I was completely blown away. This game engrossed me; I couldn’t stop playing it until I had seen a variation of each of the game’s multiple endings and exhausted everything there was to do. Citizen Sleeper takes place in a dystopian cyberpunk future. To get around anti-slavery laws, giant corporations have devised a system where desperate individuals can become indentured workers, themselves going into a cryo-stasis while a simulation of their mind is put into a machine, turning them into property able to work without any pesky labor laws. The machines are only able to survive if given regular chemical supplements by the corporation that owns them. Once their contract as an indentured worker is complete, the human will be awoken and paid. The artificially intelligent machine lifeforms who are but fuel for the engines of industry in this world are largely referred to as sleepers. One of these sleepers stows away in a shipping container, eventually arriving in a state of disrepair on Erlin’s Eye, a large space station abandoned by the corporation that once ran it. Now it’s a haven for outcasts, run by smaller companies, gangs, and even a commune on the mostly abandoned outskirts of the station. Playing as the sleeper, players need to build relationships with people on the station and take on work to fulfill various needs: chemical supplements to continue functioning, food to fuel their body, shelter, and a way to avoid the bounty hunters sent by the corporation. Ultimately, they also need to and need to find a new

PHOTOS COURTESY JUMP OVER THE AGE

life and purpose for themselves. This means working jobs to get money to buy food, maintaining a small stock of supplements to keep running, and making decisions on where to spend time and build relationships with characters. The dice mechanic and energy systems all determine how much the sleeper can do. The state of the body deteriorates each day, and the number of actions that can be taken is based on this. If the sleeper is hungry, the body deteriorates faster. Eating food and taking supplements regularly keeps the body healthy and allows for the most actions to be taken each day. Everything in the game is based on “clocks.” Going to a specific location displays its clocks. If I take on an engineering job, every time I complete a task at that location I fill in part of the clock, once it’s full, the job is done. There are also negative clocks. With bounty hunters on your tail, a clock fills in slowly each day until someone arrives to bring you back to the corporation. Each morning when the sleeper wakes up, a dice is rolled for each available action. For example, I could wake up with a six, two fives, a three, and a one. Higher rolls allow for a better chance of success. Lower rolls allow for a greater chance of failure. Low rolls aren’t useless though, some tasks provide less penalty for failure, and the sleeper can also hack things, using specific dice numbers to clear security systems. I would generally use all my good dice to get work done and then see if there were any hacking tasks that required a one or a two.

There is no voice acting in Citizen Sleeper, and its characters are realized through detailed artwork and paragraphs of text.

Clocks, pictured towards the bottom of the frame here, manage progression through tasks and the passage of time. Each action taken fills at least one segment of a clock, though successes can hasten the process.

For every challenge, there are multiple solutions. Supplements can be bought from a local gang, or they can be synthesized from local materials. There are a surprising number of friends to make for a fugitive corporate construct; from street food vendors to bar owners, mercenaries to engineers, massive artificial intelligence platforms and even a sweet little girl. There are multiple ways to answer the bigger questions in the sleeper’s life, multiple lives the sleeper can choose to live and multiple ways to stop bounty hunters from coming after them. Where I think Citizen Sleeper succeeds the most is in presenting this bleak future, driving home the struggles of these people and your own sleeper avatar, but maintaining a general feel of kindness. Though I was constantly on the verge of disaster, al-

ways almost out of money and constantly cognizant of the fact that I needed to get some more supplements in the next couple of days, everything always seemed to work out. A perfect balance is struck between struggle and success. This perceived kindness is best felt in the characters. The game has its villains, but almost everyone the player meets is an ally. Everything sucks in this world, but everyone is in it together. If I need money, the bar owner will let me pick up a few shifts to earn some. There are kindred spirits to be found in a tired man struggling to find a better life for himself and his daughter. There are people willing to help other people, and in that way, Citizen Sleeper comes across as almost radically optimistic. The game has several endings, based on relationships and decisions

made. I appreciated that each of these is largely attainable on a single run. Though I could have gotten on a spaceship and left with two of my favorite characters, I chose to stay behind, watching them leave. Though I could have abandoned the constructed body, I chose to remain in it. There are several ending scenarios where a choice to go could end the game, but each of these storylines can be completed while deciding to remain and take care of more unfinished business. I would later get on a second spaceship with two of my other favorite characters and see a true ending to the game. Citizen Sleeper is a mostly quiet, profound experience. The sleeper plugs away and perseveres each day, building a life, struggling to stay alive. The space station is vast and thrumming with ac-

tivity, but I often found myself feeling somewhat lonely, completing tasks to the subdued synth-heavy soundtrack. Perhaps that’s why I chose an ending where the sleeper left with friends. Citizen Sleeper is a reading-heavy game, but I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys storytelling in games. It’s relatively short, and its complex systems are surprisingly unrestrictive. The characters are memorable, each brought to life with stunningly detailed artwork. Also, there’s nothing better than a brutal metaphorical takedown of capitalism.

SPORTS

After 2 years and nearly a million dollars, UAA Women’s Gymnastics has earned permanent reinstatement By Jake Dye editor@thenorthernlight.org

The University of Alaska Anchorage Gymnastics program achieved its fundraising goal of $880,000 and earned permanent reinstatement this month. The program was placed on the chopping block in August 2020 when gymnastics, alpine skiing and hockey were all cut from UAA Athletics in a move to reduce spending. Each of the programs was given a path to be reinstated: raise funds on their own to pay for two full years of their operating costs. Alpine skiing was reinstated in January 2021, only 5 months after being cut. Hockey was reinstated in June 2021. The gymnastics program was still ferociously taking to social media, cold calling businesses and advocating at university events to raise money into June 2022, the final month of their allotted time, with a deadline on June 30. On June 22nd, the team announced via Twitter that they had earned permanent reinstatement, successfully raising the $800,000 in cash required by the UA Board of Regents. Head Coach MarieSophie Boggasch spoke to me about the reinstatement, describing the final days of fundraising. Boggasch posted on social media that they had fifteen days left before the deadline, and $6000 dollars left to raise. Boggasch said: “We just had such outpouring support. It probably was the most amazing day

PHOTO COURTESY UAA ATHLETICS/SKIP HICKEY

of the entire fundraising campaign. We had people call, text, Facebook message, DM, all willing to get us over that final hump… everybody wanted to rally together to finally be finished.” Unfortunately, the gymnastics team wasn’t able to celebrate the good news together, owing to the summer break. Boggasch said some members of the team were getting the good news while soaking in the sun on the beach. Though Boggasch said she and the team were always confident in their ability to hit their goal, she is excited at the prospect of having some of that weight off their shoulders.

Sophomore Alyssa Manley was one of the gymnasts who competed and fundraised this year. She will return to competition for next years season.

That weight didn’t stop the UAA gymnastics team from success on campus, and Boggasch didn’t miss the opportunity to point out her team’s recordbreaking academic performance — ten 4.0 GPAs and a cumulative of 3.84 — achieved while training for competitions and fundraising. During the last year, UAA gymnasts have been a common sight at town halls and meetings of the UA Board of Regents, never missing an opportunity to be as visible as possible. Boggasch said that this was planned by the team and that this would continue going forward.

Boggasch said that these public appearances are important: “We never want to be back in the position of being on the chopping block… there is a lot to be said about visibility on campus. We’re making sure that Chancellor Parnell and President Pitney know our faces, know our names… we make ourselves undeniable.” This approach even extends beyond the campus, as Boggasch described some of her athletes — who had never liked public speaking — getting on a Zoom call with a senator. Now that the team has been reinstated, it’s finally

time for the team to rebuild. Boggasch said that despite being able to compete last year, she couldn’t view it as a rebuilding year because there was a real possibility that it was the last. Boggasch said, “I didn’t know if I was allowed to build.” Next year’s roster is the largest Boggasch has seen in her 10-year career with the team. She’s excited to see freshmen come into the team, and she’s also excited to see people actually able to see people graduate from UAA and move on from the team. Now fully reinstated, UAA Gymnastics will return to competition in

the Alaska Airlines Center on Jan. 13, 2023. In an interview with TNL last year, Boggasch said that their competitions in 2022 weren’t yet a huge homecoming for the team because the reinstatement fundraiser still loomed over their head. Though it was too early for the head coach to discuss details, it sounds as though next year’s competition will be a more dramatic return for the Seawolf gymnasts. More details and dates for other events and outings for the team will be published in the fall. The team will, no doubt, have some presence at Campus Kickoff on August 27.

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