spring 2016 commencement edition: section a

GRAPHIC BY JIAN BAUTISTA

Understanding UAA’s budget crisis and Statewide Transformation

THENORTHERNLIGHTTUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016 | 02

By Victoria [email protected]

Statewide Transformation, which was released on April 14 by UA President Jim Johnsen, outlines decisions regarding cuts and changes that have been imple-mented, or will be in the next 30, 60 and 90 days, at each university. Decisions regarding UAA more specifically were outlined in a PowerPoint presentation under the chancellor, which can be found on UAA’s website. Both documents dis-cuss cuts and changes coming to the uni-versity as soon as within 30 days.

Over the years, lawmakers, legisla-tion, the national economy and oil pro-duction have dug the State of Alaska into a deep hole, fiscally. The state has been an integral contributor to the University of Alaska and its ability to function. In the current state fiscal climate the uni-versity is forced to consider anything that can save them money.

For the past two years, UAA has reduced its budget by $19.5 million. Now UAA is looking to reduce costs further, from centralizing IT services to freezing a single librarian position. According to the budget update released on April 14 by Chancellor Tom Case, UAA is hoping to reduce costs by over $15 million and eliminate 213 positions.

Statewide Transformation is John-sen’s plan to increase efficiency and save the university money. The decisions and Statewide Transformation framework began to take shape before Strategic Pathways was introduced back in Febru-ary, but both tactics are similar: decrease money spent through strategically coor-dinated cuts.

One of the many decisions outlined in the document is to transform the IT department. The University of Alas-ka will be centralizing all IT services, across all campuses, to the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. Services that will be moved to Fairbanks include Help Desk, desktop support and staff train-ing. In addition, IT is expected to create a single email and calendar service for all campuses, streamlining communica-tion and schedule. All of these functions are required to transition within a 30-day time period.

“I’m most concerned with the changes to IT. Centralizing our institution’s email in Fairbanks and switching to Google Apps is not advisable. Switching will be costly for staff and fac-ulty

who aren’t used to google and who’ve worked with MS Exchange. They’ll spend hours having to be retrained,” Mat-thieu Ostrander, Vice President of the Union of Students and economics student at UAA, said.

The streamlining of IT at the Univer-sity of Alaska level may save money, but Ostrander is worried about the affects that the centralization will have on the services the university promises to pro-vide.

“Centralizing IT in Fairbanks will likely mean higher response times, which is unfortunate since UAA’s aver-age hold time is 14 seconds, which well beats the industry average. Similarly, we can’t afford to lose services to students, particularly at peak times. Being a non-traditional campus, it’s essential that we recognize that many of our students lack the skills needed to fill out complicated online forms,” Ostrander said. “It will be a complete disaster. Think mass staff retraining, huge drain on productivity.”

After Statewide Transformation details were released April 14, each deci-sion in the framework was sent to the appropriate department where they will implement their own plan for achieving

Johnsen’s plans by deadline.In addition to the decisions regarding cuts and job loss, State-

wide Transformation also lists strong programs and func-

tions at the university that have potential for investment. Such programs include health sciences, geology, engineer-ing, public policy, community outreach through University Advancement, sup-port for students with disabilities, and Center for Research and Alaska Native Education.

All information pertaining to the bud-get can be found on the University of Alaska’s website. Students are encour-aged to be a part of the Statewide Trans-formation and Strategic Pathways pro-cess, in which the Board of Regents and President Jim Johnsen will evaluate pro-grams considered for both elimination, restructure, and investment.

“Though none of us want programs, staff, or faculty to be cut, the unprec-edented fiscal situation presents unique challenges to be faced. Student input is crucial in this process. If students do want to be involved, there is a multitude of different ways to raise concerns or provide meaningful input,” Arina Filip-penko, a business administration student at UAA, said.

Future tuition increases, final cuts, cuts through Strategic Pathways and the impacts of Statewide Transformation are all unknown at this time. Cuts and oth-er budget related decisions will be made final in June after the Board of Regents’ and Governor’s budget approval.

The home of UAA Athletics, the Alaska Airlines Center. UAA Athletics may face cuts under the Alaska Legislators’ current budget plans.The University of Alaska’s budget will not be finalized until June.

PHOTOS BY KELLY IRELAND

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NEWS 03THENORTHERNLIGHTTUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016

UAA values student speakers at commencementBy Victoria [email protected]

Schools across the nation are paying more and more to hire public figures to give com-mencement speeches. From Katie Couric to Matthew McCo-naughey, schools are paying thousands of dollars to bring famous people to their school to give a speech for commence-ment while UAA is putting an emphasis on student speakers.

Schools use the public fig-ure’s presence as an invest-ment into the school’s reputa-tion. Many of the speakers will receive honorary degrees as well as a large paycheck, sometimes over $200,000

Jerry Seinfield charges over $200,000 per commencement address, according to Forbes.com. Schools are paying speak-ers more than a years worth of tuition to make a less-than 20 minutes appearance.

Some students may see the investment as a status symbol while others couldn’t care less about who speaks at their gradu-ation.

“I don’t really care. It would depend if it was someone I liked, but it would be a waste of mon-ey,” Nicholas Jackson, a biology student graduating this spring at UAA, said.

UAA has never brought up a famous speaker and has relied on a chosen student commence-ment speaker for decades. How-

ever, the exact time this tradi-tion began is unknown.

“To the best of my knowl-edge it has always been a stu-dent. I can say with confidence that it’s more than 20 years that we’ve had a student commence-ment speaker,” Bruce Schultz, vice chancellor for UAA Stu-dent Affairs, said.

With fees starting in the thousands and included travel costs for big speakers, money is a huge factor in why UAA has never hosted a commencement speaker.

“I’d say quite frankly with budget issues that would less likely be something that UAA will do anytime soon,” Paula Fish, assistant director of Stu-dent Life Leadership, said.

Another reason UAA has stayed away from hiring com-mencement speakers is the added time to the overall com-mencement ceremony. The stu-dent speakers are limited to a six minute speech, while a national speaker can go on for over 25 minutes. Schultz adds that hir-ing a speaker would add a con-siderable amount of time to the ceremony.

Despite the fiscal situation and the time constraint the uni-versity, students and staff, see the student speaker as a better representation to their time at UAA than a national speaker.

“We’ve had those discussions before and the overall feedback from the student body is that at commencement it’s really about

the students and having one of them represent the graduating class. The response of this has been very positive with that experience,” Schultz said.

The chance to speak at your college commencement is something not offered at many schools. To be chosen to speak at UAA’s commencement graduat-ing seniors must fill out an appli-cation. After the application pro-cess, the Student Commence-ment Speaker Advisory Com-mittee, who is appointed by the Dean of Students, is composed of two faculty and three gradu-ating students that aren’t apply-ing to be speakers. The commit-tee evaluates each applicant on their involvement and academic success. After applicants have passed this evaluation they will be interviewed, and asked to deliver the intended commence-ment speech. After the commit-tee conducts their interview and makes a decision the choice stu-dent is passed along to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs where they are officially chosen to have the honor of delivering the commencement speech.

“To be able to speak to the graduating class, in such a stage is a great opportunity and honor for our students,” Fish said.

UAA administrators see little change coming to this long held tradition.

“My perspective and what I’ve been told, there has not been a need or want for a gen-eral speaker,” Fish said.

For the spring 2016 commencement, graduating senior Jonathon Michael Taylor will be delivering the commencement speech.


Candy graduation lei

1. Lay a long piece of cellophane out, about 65 inches long.

2. Place 12 fun size candy bars in the middle of the laid out cellophane, with about 1 inch in between each candy bar. Leave 4 inches or more at each tall end of the cellophane.

3. Place the double stick tape parallel to the candy bars. Fold the cellophane over the candy bars, tucking them into the cellophane. Roll until it’s completely enveloped much like you would roll a burrito.

4. In each gap between the candy bars take 2-3 inches of ribbon and tie in a bow.

5. Tie each of the cellophane ends into a knot, and bestow upon your graduate.

Directions

• Cellophane

• 12 fun size candy bars

• 24-30 inches of ribbon

• Double stick tape

Ingredients

By Victoria [email protected]

Commonly adorned by graduates, leis are traditionally given to people who are coming and going. It only seems appro-priate to bestow a graduate with a lei as they leave college on to their next adven-ture.

The popular garland is most known in Hawaiian culture. Flower leis are most common, but other varieties have been popping up since it became a popular graduation accessory. Money leis, flower leis, origami leis, and candy leis are all common varieties of leis found at gradu-ation. Candy leis make great cheap alter-natives to the more expensive floral vari-ety. Here’s how to make your own.

College CookBook

PHOTO BY YOUNG KIM


FEATURES 05THENORTHERNLIGHTTUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016

In the year 2013, an alien brain slug from one of the galaxy’s most feared empires crash-landed on Earth and assumed control of a lowly reporter at this newspaper.

These are his stories.

September 24, 2013.That’s the timestamp on my very

first column. My very first public state-ment to the human race was a calm and collected “ATTENTION EARTHLING WORMS. WE SHALL OVERCOME AND ENSLAVE HUMANITY.”

Man, that brings me back. It’s been almost three years since then. My host George was just a sophomore, and his career at The Northern Light had started a mere eight months before that.

I first met him shortly after his review of “R.I.P.D.” If that sentence isn’t indica-tive of the times back then, I don’t know what is. Before my arrival, he had stuck mostly with game reviews and the like. Now look at how far we’ve come. Mul-timedia, YouTube posts, full-fledged stories about things like trigger warn-ings and sexual assault awareness… He’s come a long way since that first review of Telltale’s “The Walking Dead.” My little

boy’s all grown up.By contrast, I’m still the same snarky

alien slug I was three years ago, but I’ve still come pretty far. Adapting to life on Earth, and Anchorage in particular, has been an absolute treat. Your politics fas-cinate me – inferior to the Slug Empire as they are – and the anecdotes I’ve seen and heard over the years at UAA have been stupidly memorable.

The Northern Light has been a fan-tastic place to work. When my host proposed the idea for this column, they took it surprisingly well, considering the whole “alien brain slug” thing.

Look at how far we’ve come since then! We’ve gone from yelling at politi-cians for not doing the right thing to… continuing to yell at politicians for not doing the right thing. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the perfect example. Our gram-mar’s improved since then, though!

This begs the question: what happens now? George is going to graduate in the next week and both of us are going to be out of a job. You can’t write columns for the student newspaper if you’re not a stu-

dent, after all.To be honest, neither of us are sure

what’s next. I know I want to keep writ-ing this kind of thing, but it’s the busi-ness model of it that I’m not sure about. As much as I’d love to keep dictating the Empire’s message for money, I’m not sure if any of the other papers or blogs here in town would be willing to pick us up.

Of course, George plans on continuing his work in multimedia. He loves doing that kind of thing. I’m a little scared, though. What’s going to happen to me? Half of my whole “Seawolf Slug” brand is just going to disappear! If I can’t be the “Seawolf Slug,” what else am I supposed to be? “Anchorage Slug?” That doesn’t roll off the tongue nearly as well.

Eh. I’ll figure it out later. If I can’t write for someone else’s paper or blog, I’ll do my own. No matter what happens, I’ll keep dictating, and whenever I do fig-ure out how, I’ll make sure The Northern Light lets you know.

For right now, however, I want to recall a piece my host did earlier in his career at The Northern Light. It was an opinion piece he wrote for the 2014 Spring Commencement edition, which was entirely “Star Wars” based because commencement day happened to fall on May 4th that year. The piece can be found here (http://bit.ly/26gWymQ), but there’s one bit in particular that I’d like to point out. I quote:

“This journey is not over, and it never will be. This is only the calm before the storm, the short break before the real-life equivalent of the Battle of Endor. But focus. Do. Or do not. There is no try. And if you believe your future to be impos-sible, so it will be. That is why you will fail.”

This article still holds up. I wish we could put it in our paper again as a message to new graduates, because even though “Star Wars” has changed

immensely since George wrote that piece, it still stands true. All of it.

My host and I are entering a risky job market, with a fair bit of student debt on our shoulders, in a state that’s on the verge of an economic apocalypse. After the congratulations and merriment of graduation, there’s nothing but storm nebulae ahead, but we’re going to venture forth anyway. Why?

Because if we don’t learn from our mistakes and try – nay, do – there’s no way we can win. The Emperor has already won.

Is Luke going to wallow in sadness for the entirety of Episode VIII just because one of his students turned out to be a bad apple? No! He’s going to make sure Rey continues to carry the torch.

So we will venture forth, confident in our ability to change the world even as the world struggles against it.

We’ve been through a lot. We’ve made mistakes. George and I still cringe a little bit at a few of his older articles. I’m sure a lot of the other graduates and family members reading this at commencement regret some of their collegiate choices, too.

That’s how you learn. That’s how you get stronger. Every failure and success only serves to make you more powerful. Why do you think video games call them experience points?

So we march. It doesn’t matter what obstacles we’re going to face, because if the Empire still has thousands of years to get here, we’re still going to make it the best damn thousands of years we can.

But keep one thing in mind for when they do get here, and listen well, because this may be the last time I’ll ever get to say it.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. EMBRACE THE SEAWOLF SLUG.

By Klax ZlubzeconTranslated by George Hyde

The undiscovered country

A well-meaning column rife with clunky metaphors and horrible advice, Orange Rhymes With is the go-to place to break the monotony of classes and laugh at someone else’s misfortune.

By Evan DoddContributor

I don’t want to go. With this being my final column with TNL, each word on this page is more precious than the last. With that in mind, it is regrettable that I’m going to squander this precious word space with nostalgia and run-on meta-phors, but after four and a half years, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When I started here, way back in the wild days of 2011, campus was near-ly unrecognizable. A mighty forest obscured the space where the Alaska Air-lines money pit now stands, the exterior of the MACs had not yet been painted to disguise the interior decay, and parking passes came at a cost that we found to be quite unreasonable at the time. Ah, to be young and naive.

I’ve written countless farewell col-

umns, thanking everyone from profes-sors who inspired me, to friends who for-gave me for destroying their dorms; each time I’ve seen them go to print, only to return the following semester.

No more. I mean that quite honestly. I don’t think I can afford to continue to take enough courses to keep this column another semester. So, here we are at a long overdue goodbye.

Short of death or dismemberment, there are very few mistakes you can make in your twenties that can’t later be solved. I don’t regret a single outdoor class, not one First Tap concert and certainly not the fortune I blew on Sasquatch music festival. I have time to make money down the road. What I won’t have is plentiful free time and an unfettered curiosity driving me to explore with every second that I wasn’t explicitly required to be in class.

As children, we’re lead to believe that

there is a clear-cut path through life, as if all of this is a scripted choose you own adventure with well-defined career tracks and outcomes. This is not the case. For-tune favors those who blaze their own paths; college is no different. What you walk away with is entirely dependent on what you were willing to try and how open you were to trying something new on a whim.

For me, it was halfheartedly apply-ing at The Northern Light and mistak-enly getting hired, or stumbling in to an outdoor rec meeting and winning a gift basket by chance. For others, it may have been adding an unexpected minor, or simply chancing it with three random roommates. Hell, a friend of mine went so far as to create her own degree upon learning that UAA didn’t offer a film program, and it lead her right where she wanted to be.

In the end, college taught me that there are no preplanned routes in life. What I learned was to find a point on the horizon I’d like to reach, and wander towards it. What I mean by that is to aim for a life that incorporates as many of your talents and passions as possible, and be open to changing course a thousand times along the way.

If I had any advice to give based on what’s worked for me, it’d be the follow-ing rapid-fire tirade.

Live in campus housing for at least a year, trust me, it will only make you stronger. Join a club every now and then. Pay attention to the classes that matter, and visit Alyeska during the ones that don’t. Make friends with at least one professor. Learn to recognize bullshit early, and question everything. Never

take yourself seriously. Never eat pears. Travel in the summer, and at least once a month end up in a place that you had no intention of driving to. Do things for no other reason than that you were bored and curious.

I’ll always remember my time at UAA. Sea kayaking on the university’s dime, running the university trails and ratio-nalizing my tendency to make a mess of things as simply something new to write about. Seriously, troll the archives some-time. The fact that I never had a column rejected astounds me.

And so, after four and half years, here we are. My time documenting these weekly misadventures has come to a close, and I can only hope that whoever takes my position relishes the opportu-nity as much as I have.

As a final gift to you, let me just say that parking services color codes parking tickets. Theoretically, were one to collect enough colored envelopes, it would sure be easy to circle the lot until you found the day’s color, and then place that enve-lope on your windshield, thus ensuring a cost free parking experience… In theory, of course.

I’ve loved this column, week after week, and I sincerely hope that you’ve occasionally found yourself reading it intentionally. What does the future hold for me? Who knows, but I intend to keep bumbling through life and writing for anyone willing to read it.

So, after much rambling, so long and farewell, fellow Seawolves. I’ve never felt comfortable with goodbyes. So for now, let’s just say I’m slipping out to buy a pack of smokes and will be back next fall.

Orange out.

SeawolfSlug

ORANGERHYMES WITH

A few parting words: My last goodbye

THENORTHERNLIGHTTUESDAY, APRIL 26, 201606 FEATURES


The Alumni Association will provide refreshments for graduates in the auxiliary gym prior to Commencement.

Arrive early and decorate your mortarboard with us!

Office Of Alumni RelAtiOns907-786-1942 | uaa.alaska.edu/alumni

congratulat ions class of 2016 !

Grad cords explained


The Only International Business Program in the University of Alaska System


Graduate programs at UAABy Jake [email protected]

The average time it takes a student to graduate from UAA is around 5.5 years versus typi-cal four year degrees. Some stu-dents decide that they want to continue their education even after receiving their respective four year degrees and pursue graduate school. All schools offer similar graduate programs with a mix of different special-ties so why continue at UAA when you could see the world?

The average resident cost to finish grad school at UAA without textbooks and other expenses is roughly $12,000 - $15,000. Attending schools out-side of UAA could cost you up to $30,000 at some colleges or $40,000 to complete grad pro-grams at certain private colleg-es. The going rate of an MBA at Columbia University currently is $168,307. For nonresidents at UAA, graduate school will cost you a total of $31,057, which is still very competitive in the market of schools with accredi-tations similar to UAA’s.

“We are staying very com-petitive in the cost value of our grad programs,” UAA director of graduate programs, Bogdan Hoanca said.

After 4-5 years of attending UAA you have become accus-

tomed to the way the campus works and the availability of resources UAA offers. Starting at a new school it could be more difficult to access these resourc-es in short time frames. Staying at UAA allows you to use the relationships built with profes-sionals to enable grad school research to be easily accessible as well.

However, there are reasons to leave UAA. You may just want a new start in life or UAA doesn’t have the graduate program or specialty in a program that you are looking for.

Making the decision to leave UAA may be difficult, and the decision to stay may seem easy. It is important to weigh all the options. UAA offers graduate schools that could apply to a multitude of different job oppor-tunities. In order to make sure that you are choosing the right option for yourself, be sure to ask a few different influential people who can help you make that decision. Each graduate program has an advisor that would be more than willing to help you come to a final deci-sion without bias. These advi-sors can be reached by viewing the graduate school programs on the UAA website.

“Our goal is to see the stu-dents succeed, whether that is here (UAA), or somewhere else,” Hoanca said.

Graduate programsMaster of Applied Environmental Scienceand Technology

Master of Applied Environmental Science and Technology

Master of ArtsAnthropologyEnglishInterdisciplinary Studies

Master of Arts in TeachingMaster of Arts in Teaching

Master of Business AdministrationGeneral Management

Master of Civil EngineeringMaster of Civil Engineering

Master of EducationCounselor EducationEarly Childhood Special EducationEducational LeadershipSpecial EducationTeaching and Learning

Master of Fine ArtsCreative Writing and Literary Arts

Master of Public AdministrationMaster of Public Administration

Master of Public HealthPublic Health Practice

Master of ScienceApplied Environmental Science and TechnologyArctic EngineeringBiological SciencesCareer and Technical Education (suspended)Civil EngineeringClinical PsychologyComputer Science

Engineering ManagementGlobal Supply Chain ManagementInterdisciplinary StudiesMechanical EngineeringNursing ScienceProject ManagementScience Management

Master of Social WorkMaster of Social Work

Dual Degree, Master of Public Health/Master of Social WorkMaster of Public Health/Master of Social WorkGraduate CertificatesAdvanced Human Service SystemsChildren’s Mental HealthClinical Social Work PracticeCoastal, Ocean and Port EngineeringCounselor EducationDietetic InternshipEarthquake EngineeringEducational Leadership: PrincipalEnvironmental Regulation and PermittingFamily Nurse PractitionerLanguage EducationNursing EducationPsychiatric and Mental Health Nurse PractitionerSocial Work ManagementSpecial Education

Doctoral ProgramsBiological SciencesClinical-Community PsychologyNursing ScienceOccupational TherapyPharmacyWWAMI School of Medical Education

In ancient Hawai‘i, “ali’i,” or royalty, wore feather lei as a sign of “mana,” or spirit and grandeur.

In contemporary society, there are endless varieties of lei and meanings. The sentiment of mana, however, still echoes during times like graduation — even in ice-ridden Alaska.

The word “lei,” or garland, is specific to the Hawaiian lan-guage, called ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i. The plural form of lei is simply “lei.” Attaching an “s” is similar to saying “mooses.”

Hawai‘i falls under the umbrella of the Polynesian islands, which includes among others, Tahiti, Samoa and Ton-ga. Each island has a rendition of the lei with its own name, his-tory and meanings. For example, in Samoa the lei is called “ula.”

For this article, local Hawai-ian leaders have introduced some cultural aspects of the lei.

Kawehi Mahi, president of Alaska’s Na Keiki O Hawai‘i Hawaiian Civic Club, touched on historical context of the lei in Hawai‘i.

Mahi said in ancient Hawai‘i, lei were made of flowers, leaves, shells, seeds, nuts, feathers and even bone and teeth of various animals. Lei were worn both aesthetically and for social dis-

tinction. Sacred lei were also offered to royalty and gods.

“The maile lei was perhaps the most significant. Among other sacred uses, it was used to signify a peace agreement between opposing chiefs,” Mahi said.

She said in a “heiau,” or tem-ple, chiefs would symbolically intertwine a green vine lei of maile leaves, and its completion officially established peace.

This maile lei is seen today during graduation time. Its bold green color and double-twisted vine is distinct, like its richly rooted history.

Lei were so integral to Hawai‘i history that there are royal lei made of special materi-als on display in museums.

Thais Rector is among sev-

eral lei vendors spotted around Anchorage during graduation time. Her lei are not made of teeth, bone or feathers. Rather, they are made of materials like candies and flowers — fitting for contemporary occasions like graduation.

“The lei represents honor, achievement, our culture and our love for the one receiving the lei,” Rector said.

Rector said that with the high demand of lei in Anchorage today, she often refers custom-ers to fellow vendors after run-ning out — and those demands are climbing rapidly.

According to the U.S. Census bureau, the Asian and Pacific Islander population is the fast-est-growing demographic in Alaska. Polynesians fall under

that category with sub-pop-ulations such as Samoan and Hawaiian soaring through the charts. With this, the culture of lei-giving has crossed into mainstream celebrations.

“It’s about friendship and welcoming people to our island culture,” Rector said of non-Polynesians participating in the cultural tradition. She said she understands the common thread is celebration of mana during graduations.

Sammi Pedro, instructor of Hula Hui Na Haumana ‘O Ala-ka, touched on how the impor-tance of lei extends beyond lei-giving and is still a major aspect of Hawai‘i’s culture today.

“One of the main events held in Hawai‘i is May Day, or Lei Day. On May 1, we celebrate in schools across the island chain,” Pedro said.

Pedro said each of the eight Hawaiian islands are represent-ed by a specific lei and color of flower. For example, Maui is represented by the pink roselani lei, while the yellow ilima lei represents O’ahu. She said there are songs, dances and regalia that coincide with this.

Mahi said Lei Day was con-ceived in 1927 by poet Don Blanding, an employee at the Honolulu Star Bulletin newspa-per. She recalled a Lei Day in 2008 when the city of Honolulu set the record for the world’s lon-gest lei, measuring in at a whop-

ping 5,336 feet long.This importance and value of

the lei beckons the understand-ing of a few unspoken rules of lei etiquette Mahi shared.

Mahi said a lei should be a welcomed celebration of one person’s affection to another, therefore never refuse one. If a person cannot wear a lei due to allergies or other reasons, it is displayed in a place of honor. The proper way to wear a lei is draped over the shoulders, hanging down both in front and in back. In modern times, a lei is usually given with a kiss — a custom which began in World War II. Traditionalists, however, give a lei by bowing slightly and raising it above the heart, allow-ing the recipient to take it. Rais-ing the hands above another’s head, or touching the face or head, is considered disrespect-ful. Simply knowing can insure that all who embrace the culture of lei-giving can enjoy the expe-rience.

“Mana is a divine energy given to us. It’s the divine right and access for people to use this synergy to do good. Mana is in us all,” Mahi said.

Hawaiian ali’i of old are gone from the earth. Still the value of mana and greatness linger, even through forms like mountains of lei at a UAA graduation in Alaska.

Lei: Symbolism of ManaBy Nita MauigoaContributor

PHOTO BY KELLY IRELAND


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Image: Jeroen Toirkens

Come to know the true Northanchoragemuseum.orgMembers enjoy free admission. Join today.

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This exhibition is supported by


Adulting 101: Things adults should knowBy Casey [email protected]

Graduating college is a huge life step, and one that, if you had any doubt before this point, surely makes you an adult. So, what is it that adults do that make them

different from the kids that you may have just finished being? Here are a few ideas that might help you answer that question:

Becoming an adult is not as glamor-ous as it once seemed to us when we were children. It is filled with lots of responsi-

bility, but these are coupled with lots of opportunity to be exactly what we want to be.

Sounds kind of funny, but it is important that you are able to talk to people in any situation. This is an important tool for the workplace, as well as the day to day navigation of life. Many people you meet will be strangers, future landlords or employers, bank tellers, bus drivers, etc. You spent your youth being told not to talk to strangers, but now it is an important life skill to do so.

As hard as our educational path has been, for most of us it has been pretty well laid out before us, and all we had to do was walk the line to get to graduation. The world outside of school does not have this structure, and will require us to decide our own paths. This will involve risky choices, and knowing that sometimes those choices will be wrong. The silver lining is there are so many possibilities and so many ways to find your path. Writing down plans and goals can make things more manageable.

You may not always be the cause to the problems that arise in your adult life, however we need to be sure that you are the solution. Having a support system defi-nitely helps, but adults are expected to be able to solve their own problems. Having money set aside for financial difficulties, or being emotionally prepared for some of the hardships of adult life will go along way to help you tackle your problems.

Where does your money come from? Where does it go? Keeping track of your spending to make sure there is always enough to meet your bills and provide you with some left over for your own enjoyment takes effort, but is well worth it. Find ways to buy only those things that you truly feel like you need, and save the rest. Having a savings account that you never touch in case of an emergency will be something that will be there to help you during some of the down times of adult life.

College students are always on a time crunch, it is something that we all go through. School occupies so much of our lives that few of us find time to earn a decent amount of money. Most college students resort to cheap and quick ways to feed themselves. Proper nutrition is important, and as an adult, money won’t be so scarce, you’ll be able to afford more than Ramen. Buy a cookbook, or use Pinterest (it’s not just for women), and find some recipes that you will enjoy making. Many people find cooking a great way to relax, and there is little more satisfying than eat-ing a meal that you took a little time out of your day to prepare.

Car, house, or health. We all need to have insurance. Finding and choosing the insurance that fits you is your choice entirely. Compare different insurances before making your choice to find the option that best fits your needs.

Most college students got a fair amount of practice with this during school. This is a good habit to be in as you enter the workforce. You will continue to have dead-lines placed upon you and meeting those deadlines is an important way to keep a job and rise higher in your new career.

Good credit is what is used to help secure loans from a bank to help make a down-payment on a house or to buy a car. Establishing good credit can be a tricky thing, as it often requires the use of a credit card, and many cards are hard to get without good credit already established (many banks offer college cards to students without a credit history). The key to establishing good credit is to make large purchases on credit and then be sure to pay it off each month. The sooner the better. To make sure that you’re creating good credit, save up money for those big purchases you want to make. Make the purchase using a card, then pay it off with your saved up money.

There are many other ways to establish good credit, and paying off your student loans promptly is one of them.

Talk to strangers

Successfully navigate life using risk management

Solve your own problems

Understand money

Branch out from Ramen

Purchase your own insurance

Manage assignments and meet deadlines

Establishing good credit


Jonathon Taylor: USUAA president, spring 2016 commencement speaker and much, much more

Jonathon Taylor is the 2016 spring commencement speaker.

PHOTO BY YOUNG KIM

Each semester, the Student Com-mencement Speaker Advisory Commit-tee is tasked with selecting an exemplary graduating UAA student for the student commencement speaker. The spring 2016 commencement speaker is Jonathon Tay-lor, president of USUAA and political science major, with minors in economics, communications and journalism.

Taylor has been a deeply involved stu-dent at UAA. His hard work and achieve-ments even got him the attention of UAA advancement. Taylor was part of advancement’s Amazing Stories series, a segment where students from UAA that have inspiring stories are featured. Tay-lor’s Amazing Stories video reached over 29,000 views. In the video, Taylor talks about getting involved at UAA.

Taylor was elected last spring as the USUAA President, alongside Matthieu Ostrander as the Vice President. Taylor

said that one of their goals was to have students become more engaged at UAA. Taylor believes that the surge in active student voices came from social media, changing their internal structure of how USUAA engages with students or a com-bination of both. He believes that the voices of students is critical, especially going into next year and the concerning budget and financial issues at UAA.

Taylor is happy to have been the voice for students at UAA and is honored to be selected to speak at commencement to continue representing students.

“For the last year, I’ve been able to speak on behalf of the student body, and this is the last time I’ll get to do that. It’s a little bittersweet, but I’m also really proud. This year, not just as student gov-ernment, but also students in general have become a lot more engaged in the process. Whether that’s because of the state budget, or whether that’s because these things started impacting people on a much more personal level,” Taylor said. “I feel like we have been able to make and continue some really major strides for us,

and I’m proud of that. We need to hear from everybody. We want to hear from everybody.”

Taylor and Ostrander have worked hard this year to represent the voices of students at UAA.

“Under Jonathon’s leadership this past year, USUAA expanded its legislative structure to incorporate delegates from each college in order to better represent students, has become the definitive voice of UAA students in print and television media, and had generated over 1,300 hours of documented effort in service of students,” Ostrander said. “Working with Jonathon has been an outstanding experi-ence. His high energy and curiosity made him a vibrant presence in the office, in meetings, and at events.”

In addition to Taylor’s time repre-senting UAA students on USUAA, Tay-lor was a member of the UAA debate team and represented UAA across the world competing in debate competitions. Johanna Richter, major in Math and Eco-nomics debated alongside Taylor for three years. Earlier this year, Richter and Tay-

lor went and competed in the World Uni-versities Debating Championship, where they placed 33rd as a team out of 400. This is also Richter’s last year being on the debate team, which they both say is bittersweet. Richter was recently elected as the upcoming USUAA vice president, alongside Sam Erickson as president. Richter says that she and Taylor have excelled in public speaking since they were first paired together in 2013.

“JT is naturally a really gifted speak-er, but I think in the last year he really out did himself with how dynamic and engaging his speeches were, he got com-plimented on it by judges all the time,” Richter said. “He is definitely the type of person who sets an excellent example for everyone to look up to.”

Taylor will be speaking at the May 1 spring commencement at the Alaska Airlines Center. This will be Taylor’s final time representing UAA students as the outgoing USUAA president and as a graduating senior.

By Sam [email protected]


By Jake [email protected]

It should come as no shock that the current job mar-ket in Alaska has taken a few substantial cutbacks. Oil had dropped below $30 a barrel a few times this past year and big employers like Shell, B.P. and ConocoPhil-lips have had to layoff employees continually.

The scarcity of jobs will effect a wide variety of stu-dents moving forward after college. For one group of graduates, it might be more nerve-racking than others. Engineers are always in high demand, at least that’s the attitude that has been drilled into the graduating engi-neering students of UAA for the last 4-6 years, but the times they are a changing. With the state facing big bud-get problems, some engineering students are going to be faced with more challenges than they had expected in finding jobs.

“There are definitely less internships this year,” Don-ovan Parker, a Civil Engineering student graduating in December, said. “I’ve called around, looked online, spoke with other students, and it seems the consensus is companies are just not in a position to bring on interns right now.”

While UAA engineering graduates are worried, UAF petroleum engineering students may have it the worst. According to Parker, those are the graduates who may face the most difficulty with finding jobs. The state of Alaska is always in constant need for many types of engineers. Even with the current economic challeng-es that face the state, it is still a very extreme weather climate. This means that there is constantly a need a repairs on roadways, water and waste transfer, as well as developing new ways to keep rural Alaskans safe from the extreme weather.

“Engineering opportunities in Alaska will most likely always be necessary,” Fred Barlow, Dean of the College of Engineering said in an interview earlier this year. “Even with the price of oil low right now it rela-tively cyclical.”

It seems as though jobs are scarce in Alaska and that any jobs related to the oil market are somewhat unpre-dictable. UAA offers many different types of engineer-ing programs though that are also just as high in demand in our state. Those programs include: civil engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, computer systems engineering, electrical engineering, geomatics, Arctic engineering, project management, and engineer-ing & science management. All of which can be utilized for jobs that aren’t necessarily related to the unpredict-able oil market.

Students graduating this year remain optimistic about searching for jobs. Even with the current job mar-ket slightly slowed down engineering grads like Bren-den Welsh, a geomatics major, are just happy to be at the point of graduation and for a few other changes coming in the next weeks.

“It’s another: milestone in life; a large amount of effort to get behind me; and a pathway to open doors ahead of me,” Welsh said. “My first child is due on May 1, same day as commencement. Nothing in life could be more exciting.”

The College of Engineering is also not worried about their future. While the state’s fiscal situation looks grim, enrollment into the UAA College of Engineering is high with over 1,200 students currently enrolled in Engineer-ing programs. Dean Barlow only expects that number to continue to rise.

“Each year we have a slight increase in our program numbers, we have not lost students due to the economy,” Barlow said.

While many students may not be as motivated this time of year as Welsh and Parker they advice engineer-ing students to “keep on truckin.”


PHOTO BY KELLY IRELAND

Engineering a path to graduation

With current oil prices, many engineering students are worried about their abilities to get jobs.


MUSIC REVIEW

By Felipe Godoy DiazContributor

10 tracks to get you ready for graduation

Bob Dylan “Forever Young”

Dylan wrote and recorded the song as an ode to his newborn son Jakob. Released on his 1974 album “Planet Waves” it fea-tures the song twice in a fast and slow version, both equally great. Even though you’ll be gradu-ating at least you’ll always be young inside.

Beach Boys “Graduation Day”

The band, The Four Freshmen, initially recorded “Graduation Day” in 1956 but years later it became a hit for the Beach Boys. It was covered live by the Beach Boys in 1968 and eventually thrown in as the B-side to the rerelease of The Beach Boys’ “Be True To Your School” in 1976

Alphaville “Forever Young”

This 80s German power ballad was initially not successful in the United States but its legacy has spawned numerous covers including being sampled by Jay-Z in 2009. The song’s nostal-gic synthesizers will always be associated with the 80s but the message can be carried on for-ever.

Kanye West “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”

Kanye completed his third installment of his education-themed studio albums in 2007 with the classic record “Gradu-ation.” The track “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” is the epitome of Kanye West’s attitude. From now on no one can doubt you because you’re finally graduat-ing. Sometimes you have to live with that Kanye mantra.

Kool and the Gang “Celebration”

Nothing makes you want to party more than this song and knowing that you’ll never have to procrastinate writing an essay ever again (at least if you don’t continue on in another pro-gram). “Celebration” is the per-fect soundtrack to kickoff your graduating festivities especially if you’re hosting a groovy disco dance party.

Vitamin C “Graduation

(Friends Forever)”This is not only the ultimate graduation song but also a great 90’s throwback. Played at nearly every graduation, this track will forever be associated with grad-uates everywhere.

Green Day “Good Riddance

(Time of Your Life)”Goodbyes can be hard. “Good Riddance” is another great 90s throwback that touches upon the memories and reflections of our past. The song reminds you to always remember the experi-ences you had in life including the ones in college.

LCD Soundsystem “All My Friends”

Earlier this year LCD Sound-system reunited for a series of shows that saw the band bring back their 2007 hit “All My Friends.” It details the highs and lows of friendships because what’s graduating college if you’re not doing it with your friends.

The Who “My Generation”

This track became one of The Who’s most successful songs ever recorded. It encapsulated the entirety of youth culture and put a time stamp on an era. Years from now you’ll probably brag to your children about how back when you graduated, your gen-eration was better then theirs.

Queen “We Are the Champions”

This Queen track has become a staple at sporting events as the go to victory anthem. Graduat-ing is definitely a personal vic-tory that should be celebrated. Congratulations graduates, you are all champs.

“I am proud to celebrate with you as your hard work and dedication are recognized, and I look forward to the mark you will make with the

education you’ve received at UAA.”

Spring Class of 2016

Congratulations on

Your Achievement!

Tom Case, Chancellor

The last four years have been emotionally exhausting. Maybe you got and regretted getting food surprises from the Cuddy. You were definitely late to your class due to UAA parking. Maybe you saw that guy you were kinda friends with your sophomore year. Should you say hi? Should you even make eye contact? He was your partner on that assign-ment but didn’t you end up doing all the work? Anyway, now that you’re graduating, here are ten songs to play at your graduation party. Turn up Grandma!

‘A Wolf at the Door’ is a gut punch

TITLE“A Wolf at the Door”

RELEASE DATE June 5, 2014

DIRECTOR Fernando Coimbra

COUNTRYBrazil

GENRECrime thriller

uaa congratulatesjonathon taylorstudent speaker for the spring 2016 commencement ceremony

uaa is an eeo/aa employer and educational institution.

Jonathon Taylor is a fitting selection for commencement speaker. After all, he’s been speaking on behalf of his 16,000 classmates as student body president.

Jonathon took the reins of USUAA in May 2015. In times of significant change, his role often took the focus of a full-time job. Despite the demanding schedule, Jonathon has excelled academically while dedicating himself to the diverse concerns of UAA students.

He is a three-time recipient of the UAA Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award and was named to the Chancellor’s List each year. His research on media portrayals of the trans community was a top paper of the 2015 Student Showcase.

He has also made a name for himself on Seawolf Debate. His persuasive skills earned him the top novice debater prize at regional tournaments. As a senior, he and his debate partner ranked 33rd in the world at the Worlds Universities Debating Championship in Greece.

Jonathon clearly likes to stay busy, and graduation will provide only a brief rest. Tomorrow, he returns to his job. Yes, in addition to his immense campus involvement, he has also worked full time throughout his senior year.

B.A. Political ScienceMinors in Communication, Economics and JournalismPresident, USUAA Student Government

It’s tough to know who has it worse in “A Wolf at the Door.” The Brazilian crime thriller leaves none of its charac-ters unscathed. Viewers’ sympathies are tested in nearly every scene, no small achievement, but first time director Fer-nando Coimbra makes it look easy.

Downtrodden couple Bernardo (Mil-hem Cortaz, “Mundo Cão”) and Sylvia’s (Fabiula Nascimento, “Operações Espe-ciais”) daughter is kidnapped. During the investigation, Bernardo reveals he has been sleeping with Rosa (Leandra Leal, “Chatô”). When Rosa is brought in for questioning, the story becomes far more complicated.

In equal measure, “A Wolf at the Door” is filled with moments of hilarity and appalling cruelty. Bernardo, Sylvia, and Rosa are so well sketched that their actions, despite how awful they may be, make sense. There’s a rigid logic running through the movie: what goes around comes around.

Seeds are planted, they grow, and they’re uprooted. Coimbra contrasts each one-on-one conversation, sometimes back to back, to emphasize the conse-quences of each relationship. In an unset-

tling, but telling, framing choice, charac-ters are often introduced with their heads out of frame. By repeating these contrasts and images, Coimbra plays on viewers’ intuition. As such, something, in every scene, feels off-balance. Rosa’s introduc-tion exemplifies this technique.

Leandra Leal’s performance as her is riveting. Where Bernardo acts like a child, and Sylvia acts like an adult, Rosa falls squarely in the middle. She meets Bernardo at a transitional time in her life. Without truly knowing herself, she starts an affair with a man who she knows even less. As the relationship picks at her psyche, you may wonder if she’ll break. Leal’s performance is ambiguous enough that, truly, viewers may never be sure.

From beginning to end, “A Wolf at the Door” is unpredictable. Each scene is unsettling on a deep level, and while viewers may not be able to pinpoint exactly why, Coimbra intentionally uses alienating formal techniques to evoke that feeling. An excellent cast, Leal best of them all, excels under that direction. It’s a dark and emotional roller coaster, but one viewers will want to endure.

By Jacob Holley-KlineContributor

A&E 15THENORTHERNLIGHTTUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016

spring 2016 commencement edition: section a

Documents