February 11, 2020 by The Northern Light

FEBRUARY 11 - FEBRUARY 17, 2020

FEATURES

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

SPORTS

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UAA Student Activities and Commuter Programs host a dance to celebrate the singles side of Valentine’s Day.

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG

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Coming to Alaska may be a long trek for the Lower 48, but the distance traveled by Alaska athletes is the greatest trek of all.

UA Update: UA Board of Regents approves 5% tuition increase SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF THE UA BOARD OF REGENTS YOUTUBE ACCOUNT

By Gabby Vance arts1@thenorthernlight.org

Undergraduate in-state tuition for the entire University of Alaska, or UA, system will increase by 5% for the fall semester of 2020. ‌ The universities of Anchorage, Fairbanks and Southeast will be affected by the change. Non-resident and graduate tuition will not be increased. The Board of Regents met on Jan. 16 and 17 on the UAA campus to discuss and confirm the increase.‌ The 5% tuition raise could increase revenue by an additional $7 million, assuming that current enrollment remains the same next year, UA President Jim Johnsen told the board. The current UA enrollment is 30,000 students across the three campuses. ‌ USUAA proposed a resolution to the board that suggested cutting the tuition raise in half to 2.5% rather than 5%, according to Chancellor Cathy Sandeen’s

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During the Jan. 16–17 meeting, the UA Board of Regents discusses and approves a 5% increase to resident undergraduate in-state tuition for the fall 2020 semester.

Feb. 5 Just the Facts video. ‌ However, the Board of Regents made the decision to move forward with the 5% increase.‌ Along with voting to increase tuition, the board will also require UA administration to invest $1.5 million of tuition revenue to financial aid. The rev-

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enue will be distributed across the three UA universities to help students who are affected by the increase.‌ “Our goal is to ensure that we have a sound university and have considered how the tuition increase will affect our students and that goal,” chair of the board

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Sheri Buretta said in a Jan. 17 UA press release. “We care deeply about our students and want to make sure those in need have access to adequate financial aid.” ‌ Originally, the board was scheduled to meet to discuss the 2021 fiscal year budget and

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vote on the tuition increase in November of 2019, but delayed the meeting to allow more time for student feedback. The meeting was also extended from one to two days. Jan. 17 served as a budget work session, where the board went into further detail about budgets for the university system, investments, expenditures and revenue, according to the UA press release. ‌ Previously, the UA Board of Regents approved tuition increases for two consecutive years, Chancellor Sandeen said in the video. This time, however, the board only approved an increase for the following academic year. The administration plans to study the possibility of altering the tuition for the future as well, according to Chancellor Sandeen’s video. ‌ The UA Board of Regents will hear statewide public testimonies on Feb. 10 and 20. They will also hold committee and subcommittee meetings on Feb. 6 and 13-14.‌

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NEWS

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020

Simple preventative measures can help combat novel coronavirus By Christina Swayney features2@thenorthernlight.org

Novel coronavirus, or nCoV, is an upper-respiratory infection that originated in Wuhan, China, with victims of the virus primarily located in China.‌‌ Coronavirus itself is not a new type of illness, but rather a part of a large family of illnesses found in both humans and animals. Diseases under this category also include Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS. The virus currently affecting China and other countries is a new strain or “novel” strain, with the full name 2019-nCoV, as it was first reported in December of 2019, according to the Center for Disease Control, or CDC.‌ NCoV has over 28,060 confirmed cases and 564 deaths, the director of WHO, Tedros Adhanom, said in a press conference on Feb. 6. Outside of China, there are 225 reported cases in 24 countries and one confirmed death in the Philippines. ‌ There are currently 11 cases confirmed in the U.S. and 76 pending. States with confirmed cases are Arizona, California,

Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington and Wisconsin. Alaska has no confirmed or pending cases as of Feb. 7, per the CDC. ‌ Mary Woodring is a family nurse practitioner at the UAA Student Health and Counseling Center. She reassures students concerned about nCoV that Alaska is not among the U.S. states with confirmed cases of the virus.‌ “The most important thing to know right now is that the virus is not in Alaska currently. We have been in touch with Public Health recently and there are no cases or even suspected cases of coronavirus,” Woodring said.‌ Brooke Hansen is a political science major at UAA. Despite others’ worries about nCoV, she says she is not overly concerned about coronavirus, as living in Alaska eases her worries.‌ “I’m not too concerned about [getting nCoV], especially living in a state that has no known cases of the virus,” Hansen said.‌ Symptoms for novel coronavirus are believed to appear as soon as two days or as long as 14 after exposure, according to the Center for Disease Control. Patients affected with the virus have reported mild to severe respirato-

ry symptoms including a cough, fever and shortness of breath. Travelers that have been to China in the last two weeks are advised to contact a doctor for possible exposure, as advised by the CDC. ‌ There are ways to prevent the further spread of the disease in everyday life, according to Woodring. She stresses that the most basic forms of personal hygiene are the most important ways of preventing nCoV.‌ “The biggest thing that can protect against this virus, like any infection, is hand washing. Wash with soap and water and try not to rely on hand sanitizer alone. Hand washing will help protect from all viruses and sanitizer will only kill some viruses,” Woodring said.‌ Because nCoV is a new strain of coronavirus, there is not extensive information on it, according to the CDC. ‌ How the virus is spread from person to person is unknown for certain, but it is believed to be through respiratory droplets, according to Woodring. Microorganisms are formed in droplets when a person coughs, sneezes or talks and others can be exposed to these droplets through close contact. Droplets can

There are precautions that the public can take to prevent and contain the novel coronavirus, such as covering coughs and sneezes with one’s elbow.

GRAPHICS AND IMAGES COURTESY OF THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

Corona is Latin for ‘crown’ and describes the appearance of the virus when seen at a microscopic level.

The novel coronavirus outbreak has made its way to 25 countries since December of 2019, but is not present in Alaska at this time.

also end up on the nose or mouth of another person or inhaled into the lungs. ‌ However, this does not mean that the virus is spread by airborne transmission, or simply breathing the same air as an infected person, Woodring said. She suggests that students take preventative measures when coughing or sneezing to protect themselves from person to person infection.‌ “If you are coughing and sneezing, make sure that you are using good etiquette to protect others [from droplets]. Make sure you cough and sneeze into your elbow and throw tissues away properly,” Woodring said.‌ Micheal Murphy is a psychology major at UAA and echoes Hansen’s thoughts on the virus.

His concerns are minimal about nCoV and he is confident in Alaska’s ability to handle the disease if it were to surface in the state. ‌ “I do find it mildly concerning, especially since it’s the season for sickness, [but] I’m not too concerned since [Alaskans] are so far from the rest of the U.S.,” Murphy said. “I think that the state would also be on top of it and alert us if a case were to happen.”‌ The State of Alaska is closely monitoring nCoV and residents can subscribe to Alaska Public Health Notices via email or text through the State of Alaska site.‌ “We stay in close contact with Public Health and we would let students know as soon as we are

made aware of [tje virus] in the state,” Woodring said.‌ For more information about nCoV, visit the CDC and WHO through cdc. gov. WHO also releases daily press releases with up to date information on Facebook. In-state information can be found at the State of Alaska site at dhss.alaska.gov.‌ For concerns at UAA about the novel coronavirus, the Student Health and Counseling Center in Rasmussen Hall, room 116/120, can answer questions by email at uaa_studenthealth@uaa.alaska. ed, phone at (907) 7864040 or during business hours of Monday-Wednesday, 8-6 p.m., Thursday 8 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-6 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.‌

FEATURES 03 Students dance to break up songs at Anti-Valentine’s Day Singles Night THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020

By Christina Swayney features2@thenorthernlight.org

Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” belted out of the speakers in the Student Union Den as students enjoyed UAA’s Anti-Valentine’s Day Dance. The dance was a Singles Night style, but singles and couples alike were welcome to attend and enjoy dancing, socializing and free refreshments.‌ Maria Castaneda, a computer networking tech major, attended the event on Feb. 6 for the complementary Anti-Valentine’s Day fare.‌ “The chocolate fountain for sure brought me out tonight,” Castaneda said.‌ There was indeed a large chocolate fountain and many other complimentary goodies to eat at the dance. Moose’s Tooth pizza was featured as the main dish, along with other snacks like mini rice Krispie treats, pretzels and chips.‌ Student Health and Counseling Center representatives were

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA SWAYNEY

Super Jenga was very popular at the Anti-Valentine’s Day Single Night dance on Feb. 6 and was rarely without players.

in attendance next to the entrance of the dance, providing students with free condoms and

information about sexual health and consent. ‌ At the beginning of the night,

students gathered around tables to observe a giant Jenga game and anticipate the tower’s inevi-

table collapse. Soon after, the “Electric Slide” caused students to gather on the dance floor. ‌ The event was hosted by UAA Student Activities and Commuter Programs, who host Singles Night dances every semester with varying themes. During the fall semester of 2019, the dance featured a Cosplay theme and costume night.‌ Erica Yi, a social work major, attended the Anti-Valentine’s Day Dance to get the most out of her student fees.‌ “As a student, I am paying for all this with my tuition and fees. Why not take advantage of it and enjoy it?” Yi said.‌ For more information about future events, visit the UAA Student Activities and Commuter Programs Facebook page. For other ways to get involved on campus, the UAA Students Engage webpage has numerous resources to enrich the on-campus experience for students.‌

UPD report: Jan. 27– Feb. 3

Total calls for service: 286

Jan. 27: • Disorderly conduct in the Social Sciences Building. • Theft in the North Hall. Jan. 28: • Information report in the ANSEP Building. • Public intoxication UAA/

•

APU Consortium Library. Trespass in Eugene Short Hall.

Jan. 30: • Traffic accident: non-injury on Providence Drive. All information is provided by the University of Alaska Anchorage Police Department.

& AE

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020

UAA | University Art Analysis — Husband and wife duo support art at UAA with mural

GRAPHIC BY MICHAELINE COLLINS

By Gabby Vance arts1@thenorthernlight.org

UAA students and faculty don’t have to stray far from campus to catch a glimpse of Alaska’s magical northern lights. The Engineering and Computation building stairwell houses a multi-paneled mural that depicts the aurora. Jon and Jona Van Zyle, an Alaskan artist couple, are responsible for painting and donating the artwork. ‌ In 2004, the Van Zyle’s donated “The Sky’s the

Limit’’ mural. The mural is constructed from multiple different panels of different sizes placed next to each other at varying heights. ‌ “I like [the mural],” freshman nursing student Emily Dulski said. “It looks very realistic.” ‌ Jon Van Zyle’s threedecade-long artistic career centered around Alaska. His paintings and prints portray the Alaskan wilderness, landscapes and the Iditarod trail race. Van Zyle ran the Iditarod in 1976 and 1979, according to Iditarod.com. In 1970,

he was named the official Iditarod artist and in 2004 he was inducted into the Iditarod Hall of Fame.‌ As the official artist of the Iditarod, Van Zyle supports the race every year by creating the official poster. ‌ “His acrylic paintings go beyond the race though, and encompass so much of the Alaskan beauty,” according to jonzyle.com.‌ Jon Van Zyle has created art in various forms throughout his artistic career, including prints, posters, stone lithographs and illustrated children’s books. Van Zyle was also featured in multiple oneman exhibits across the U.S. and Europe, according to jonzyle.com.‌ “We don’t have children, but we can leave a legacy for creative young people, the future artists,” Jon Van Zyle said in a fall 2004 UAA accolade. “We want to encourage the university to continue to support the arts and we want to support the university in its work to maintain

PHOTO BY GABBY VANCE

“The Sky’s the Limit’’ mural is located in the stairwell of UAA’s Engineering and Computation Building.

programs and opportunities in the arts.”‌ The Van Zyle’s are known for their generosity and support of the arts, such as their commitment to the Iditarod, according to the accolade. By donating the mural, they hoped to inspire young artists to keep art alive at UAA. ‌ “Art is one of the first things cut out of school budgets,” Jona Van Zyle

said in the accolade, “yet art is such an integral part of our lives. It’s more than painting. Artists design your car, your clothes, your furniture. If you stifle young people’s creative instincts in school, what will happen in the long run for the larger community?”‌ Thanks to the Van Zyle’s donation, UAA students and faculty have a

permanent reminder of both the northern lights and art at the university. “The Sky’s the Limit’’ lightens up the stairs of the ECB and supports UAA’s ‌art programs. Have you seen art at UAA you want to know more about? Contact Gabby Vance at arts1@ thenorthernlight.org.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JONVANZYLE.COM

Jon Van Zyle was named the official Iditarod artist in 1970, and also raises Siberian huskies with his wife Jona.

PHOTO BY GABBY VANCE

The aurora borealis is captured on a series of panels that winds along the wall of the stairwell in the Engineering and Computation Building.

SPORTS

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020

Frequent Flyers: How much does UAA athletics travel in a season? By Ronan Klancher sports2@thenorthernlight.org

Head women’s basketball coach Ryan McCarthy sent out a tweet on Jan. 21 that read “If the hardest road trip of the season in GNAC basketball is to Alaska, then does [UAA Basketball] make the hardest road trip every other week when traveling to the lower 48?”‌ UAA athletes have an intense schedule of juggling going to class fulltime, practicing every day and arguably the hardest part of being an athlete in Alaska — the travel. ‌ For the NCAA Division II sports (volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball and the track and field, ski and cross-country teams) and even the Division 1 sport of gymnastics, the

teams travel primarily to the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountain area.‌ College athletes from Alaska often take red-eye flights, getting back into Anchorage at 3 a.m. and attend class the next day, then do it all over again in a week. ‌ “Being gone Wednesday-Sunday every other week leaves me physically and mentally tired,” Anchorage local and men’s basketball sophomore guard, Tobin Karlberg, said.‌ Karlberg was the 201718 Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year for basketball, an award given to the best basketball player in the state of Alaska, while at Grace Christan High School. ‌ “Traveling that much usually leaves me behind in homework and school-

work, Karlberg, who hasn’t missed playing in a game since joining the Seawolves basketball program in 2018-19, said.‌ UAA student-athletes don’t have much time, if any, to get schoolwork done while traveling, so they have to get creative on the plane ride. To help student-athletes stay on top of their coursework, the athletic programs have mandatory homework time while they’re out of state for games and events.‌ “You just have to manage your time and your work, whether it’s doing it on the plane or on the bus,” senior UAA hockey forward Corey Renwick said.‌ Renwick, who’s double majoring in finance and business management, is a two-time all-conference academic team recipient

SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF RYAN MCCARTHY’S TWITTER

UAA women’s basketball coach Ryan McCarthy muses on the distance traveled by the Seawolf athletics team in a Jan. 21 tweet.

for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, along with being a WCHA scholar-athlete during his junior year. As a four-year hockey player, he is no stranger to traveling every other week. ‌ If one person was going to ride with every UAA athletic team throughout the school year, they would be on an airplane for a total of 645 hours and 300,824 miles.‌ Putting those numbers in perspective, 645 hours is 26.875 days, which is about as long as the month of February, with no leap year of course. The mileage of 300,824 is enough to circle the Earth just over 12 times, along with getting all the way to the moon with 60,000 miles to spare.‌ The team that will travel the most in the 2019-20

school year is the track and field team, with 60,364 miles and 134.5 hours on an airplane from the beginning of January to the end of May. The track and field teams do not host any events at UAA, so they are forced to travel to every meet and competition. ‌ The team that travels the farthest on average per trip, however, belongs to the hockey team. ‌ With the eight of the nine teams in the WCHA located in Minnesota, Michigan and Alabama, every trip is a long one. For example, in the winter of 2017-18, Seawolf hockey traveled to Ferris State in Michigan and took a bus to Alabama-Huntsville, causing them to be away from home for two and a half weeks.‌ In contrast, the crosscountry teams travel the

least throughout a season, as they compete in the least number of events, totaling 38 hours and 17,668 miles.‌ The full ranking, in order of least travel to the most travel overall, is cross-country, men’s basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, women’s basketball, hockey and skiing, with track and field traveling the most. ‌ It’s tough being a college athlete in general, and even more difficult when you spend half of the season away from home. Alaska is not the New England area, where you can drive to every school in the conference in the time it takes to drive from Anchorage to Fairbanks. ‌

PHOTO COURTESY OF GOSEAWOLVES.COM

UAA women’s basketball coach Ryan McCarthy’s tweet suggests that if the hardest trek on the GNAC schedule is to Alaska, then the trips required of Seawolf athletic teams must be even more difficult, as athletes travel out of Alaska every other week.

OPINION

THENORTHERNLIGHT.ORG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Shipment 24/7 playlist is chaos in its purest form

GRAPHIC BY MICHAELINE COLLINS

By John Novotny arts@thenorthernlight.org

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the latest video game in the popular firstperson shooter series from developer Infinity Ward. It launched in October of 2019 with an unfavorable fan reaction. Many players complained about how many campers there were.‌

The term “camper” is used to describe a player who stays in one spot and wait for enemies to come to them. A stereotypical first-person shooter camper will often crouch in a dark corner of a room and aim at a doorway, waiting for a victim to enter. ‌ Many of the maps in Modern Warfare encourage this type of behavior. Long sightlines, open areas with little cover and

A simplified overhead view of Shipment shows that there are very few places to hide.

the prevalence of Claymore mines protecting entry points to buildings led to agonizingly-prolonged 10-15 minute matches ending by the timer expiring rather than by reaching the score limit. ‌ I recently picked Call of Duty: Modern Warfare back up after a month’s absence and discovered the cure to those boring, lengthy multiplayer matches: the Shipment 24/7 playlist. Instead of randomly choosing from a pool of over 10 maps, the only map available is a remake of the 2007 original of the same name. Although Shipment is the only map, there are several different game modes to choose from, such as Team Deathmatch and Domination. ‌ Shipment is a small, square map located on a cargo dock. It’s so small that it’s extremely easy to throw a grenade from one side of the map to the opposite side. The four open cargo containers along the outside of the square, and one on the inside group of containers, provide the only relatively-safe spaces. Besides the containers and a few barrels and dumpsters to duck behind, it’s otherwise impossible to avoid a direct gunfight. ‌ After the initial spawn when the match starts, players will likely be looking at an enemy every time they die and come back to life. Firing at an enemy and then two or three others spawning in the player’s crosshairs is a fairly common occurrence in this game mode. I’ve also been on the other end of that situation. It’s not fun when it happens

KRUA Top 30: Week of Feb. 3 Provided by Tyler Pinnell Contributor

SCREENSHOTS BY JOHN NOVOTNEY

One of the better strategies on Shipment is to use a 100-round light machine gun and keep the “fire” button held down.

The most upvoted post in the Modern Warfare subreddit is a meme likening campers to Tom from the children’s cartoon “Tom and Jerry” barricading themselves in a corner with motion-activated mines.

to you, but it makes the moments where you get four or five kills without reloading feel even better. ‌ There’s so much action when playing on Shipment that I’m routinely doubling my average kills per match. I usually get at least 30 kills and sometimes as many as 50-60 depending on the game mode. Of course, how many kills you get is reliant on what weapon you’re using. Using a gun that’s primarily used for long-range combat is asking for trouble.

I haven’t let that common sense stop me from trying to use the slow-firing AX50 sniper rifle, though. ‌ There was also a limited-time event in the game from Feb. 4-11 that provided double experience in all modes before the beginning of the next battle pass season. Because of the close quarters and constant action, the Shipment 24/7 playlist is the most efficient way to level up weapons and unlock camouflages. I managed to reach the maximum level

on a handful of guns and unlocked gold camouflage for one of them. ‌ The constant action put me in “the zone.” Every time I spawned, I was constantly searching the screen for movement and checking behind me for any enemies who thought they were sneaky. This is why minutes fly by like seconds when playing on Shipment. There’s a constant stream of unlocks every match, which always leads to me playing just one more. ‌

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A S S O C I AT E D CO L L E G I AT E P R ES S

3211 Providence Drive Student Union 113 Anchorage, AK 99508‌

Sports Reporter Ronan Klancher sports2@thenorthernlight.org‌

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Multimedia Editor Jennifer Lincoln multimedia@thenorthernlight.org

Managing Editor Mary Ryan content@thenorthernlight.org‌ Layout Editor Jason Herr layout@thenorthernlight.org Arts & Entertainment Editor John Novotny arts@thenorthernlight.org‌ Arts & Entertainment Reporter Gabby Vance arts1@thenorthernlight.org‌ Features Reporter Christina Swayney features2@thenorthernlight.org‌

PR & Events Coordinator Joey Carreon events@thenorthernlight.org Graphic Designer Michaeline Collins media@thenorthernlight.org‌ Advertising Manager Krizelle Solidum admanager@thenorthernlight.org Media Adviser Paola Banchero‌ Administrative Adviser Zac Clark‌

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