By Jeremia Schrock

Sun Star Reporter

It had been painfully warm and sunny for most of the day.  As 5:30 P.M. rolled around, most people inside had taken their seats.  Outside, it began to drizzle. “If this speech really sucks, at least I’ll know that you’ve got shelter,” began guest speaker Eric Schlosser, investigative journalist and writer of the popular tome Fast Food Nation, setting the tone for his lecture as one both humorous and pragmatic.

Schlosser, a historian trained at Princeton and Oxford, began his lecture with a story. He took his audience back 40 years to the very first Earth Day. Schlosser spoke of the similarities between then and now, how the America of 1970 and the America of 2010 shared not only embroilment in an unpopular foreign war, but also a new-found interest in both the environment and sustainability. He then jumped straight into the meat, as it were, of his lecture: the despicable state of the modern American meal.

According to Schlosser, we live in “a mass culture that celebrates thinness…yet we’re marketed food that is fattening.” Not only fattening, but also potentially dangerous. If not dangerous, then at least poorly researched by the corporate food peddlers of the West. “I would rather eat the pages of this speech, than the meat and milk of cloned animals,” he said.

Schlosser also spoke at length about issues of sustainability in Alaska.

“Rarely do we hear the voices of rural poor in Alaska,” Schlosser said. The road to sustainability is through practical social policies. Policies that will have both a positive economic and a beneficial health impact. For example, every year more than 75 million Americans suffer from food poisoning due to food contamination. Contamination occurs easily primarily because of the poor conditions animals are not only raised in, but are also slaughtered, packaged, and shipped in. 75 million Americans, “that’s basically one in every four of us. So, look around the room.”

“[But] you in Alaska, you gotta grow your own [food]!” he said. He complimented Alaskans on their heartiness and individuality, but was shocked at how dependent Alaskans are on outside food. However, not everyone was in agreement with that statement. A gentleman in the fourth row mumbled under his breath “bulls**t.” Schlosser spoke of Alaska’s low percentage of currently cultivated land, comparing the Last Frontier to Rhode Island, a state that has twice as many farmers and makes twice as much produce as Alaska. “Now, come on,” Schlosser said.

During the Q & A, one individual approached an audience microphone and asked Schlosser if he would care to try a stick of rhubarb grown on South Cushman. The audience, catching the humor inherent to the words “vegetable” and “Cushman street” laughed. However, Schlosser said, “Well, it’s not my favorite,” and broke off a piece of rhubarb for himself. Schlosser was also invited to the Ester-based Calypso Farm to plant celery. He declined though.

By Sarah Richards
Sun Star Reporter

Dodgeball fundraiser for American Heart Association

In effort to raise money for the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk fundraiser, Facilities Services and the Athletic department will be putting on a dodgeball tournament on Saturday, April 17 in the Patty Center gym.

The entry fee for participating teams is $100, and prizes of $1000, $750 and $500 will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. AHA will give T-shirts to the winning teams. Teams also have the chance of winning prizes from local businesses by competing for best team uniform, best team name and most valuable player. There will be a DJ at the game to add to the excitement.

Play It Again Sports is donating dodgeballs, and Subway and Odom Corp. are providing food and drinks to be sold at the concession stand. There is a donation fee for adults of $2 that goes directly to the Heart Walk fundraiser. Kids under 12 get in for free.

Scholarships for Women

The University Women’s Association has extended the deadline of its undergraduate women’s scholarships to April 16.

Scholarships are available for female students enrolled in both associate and bachelor’s degree programs. Applicants must show financial need, have a 3.0 or better, maintain full-time status for bachelor’s students or be enrolled in at least nine credits for associate students, and have strong recommendations.

Specific guidelines and applications are available at: http://uafwomen.blogspot.com/2010/02/uwa-undergraduate-scholarships.html

The following is satire and not intended to be taken seriously.

UAF’s journalism department announced a competition for journalism students to win a trip to the movies this spring. Three students will attend “The Green Zone” and blog about concessions, memorable lines and other noteworthy moments. Each will also write a story for the university’s “Aurora” magazine about his or her experience at the film and what it means for their journalism career. A spokesperson for the department said they would use a rigorous selection process – including an essay, video statement and interview – to choose participants.

By Jeremia Schrock and Sarah Richards
Sun Star Reporters

CDE gets a name change

The Center for Distance Education, part of the Center for Rural and Community Development, is considering a name change. CDE may soon be called the Center for Rural and Community Development Online Learning. One reason for the possible change: because “learning” sounds more student friendly then “education.”

Heaton gets on TV

Professor John Heaton recently finished filming an interview for the History Channel’s documentary-style reality program Ice Road Truckers. Those involved with the program felt that providing viewers with historical facts and information about Alaska would help give the program more substance. Heaton is a former truck driver himself.

Conversation Seminar

A two-day workshop presented by former Alaska Commissioner of Education, Jerry Covey, will provide some insight on the power of conversations.

The seminar, scheduled for April 6-7 at the Westmark Hotel, will be based on Susan Scott’s “Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, one Conversation at a Time.” The cost of registration is $199 per person, or $225 after March 31.

For more information, contact the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce Office at (907) 452-1105.

Read & Lead

This semester, the LIVE program is organizing a book club to promote leadership development through reading and discussion. “Read & Lead” will provide up to eight participants with a book to study and times to meet for discussion. Readers will meet twice at a coffeehouse to discuss the book.

Two books, “Exploring Leadership: For College Students who Want to Make a Difference” and “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” are being offered this semester. Participants can choose to read one or both.

To sign up, contact the Leadership Program at (907) 474-1170.

By Reba Lean
Sun Star Reporter

In the farthest east game played since 1993, the no. 4 regional-seeded Nanooks took on the no. 1-seeded Boston College for their NCAA championships’ semi-final debut. On Friday, the Nooks lost the historic game in Worcester, Massachusetts, 3-1, but most were more proud to have made it there than anything. This was the UAF Nanooks’ first appearance at an NCAA Division I tournament.

During a power play in the second period, the Nanooks made their only goal in the tournament. Freshman Andy Taranto, who didn’t make it to the CCHA playoffs, scored the goal, tying the score at one.

By Reba Lean
Sun Star Reporter

Rifle: Don’t mess with Texas

A shot at the Alaska Rifle Team’s 11th NCAA Championship title was lost on the last day after an air rifle competition. Just the day before when the Nanooks won the Team Smallbore Competition, it looked like they’d be taking home another title. But on Saturday, the championship hosts, the all-female Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, surprised every one, especially the West Virginia Mountaineers, when they showed all the boys how to shoot, and took the championship.

By Sarah Richards
Sun Star Reporter

Phone changes

UAF has teamed up with UAA to install a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) system that makes it possible for the two campuses to talk for free. Long distance charges for calls between the two campuses amount to about $16,000 a year.

VoIP service is limited at this time, but it’s expected to expand over the coming six months. OIT is working to offer additional features through the VoIP service, including advanced messaging, call center capacity, converged messaging, fax to inbox, and emergency notification.

Athletes help kids play

UAF athletes will be involved in an academic day-camp this summer at UAF. Student-athletes will help organize the recreation portion of the month-long Sports, Mathmatics, Academics, Reading, and Team Play (S.M.A.R.T.) Academy, a free day-camp for 54 middle school students.

The new program will bring students to campus weekdays June 1-25 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mornings will focus on academics, offering the students reading and math help from certified teachers, and afternoons will be spent with UAF athletes doing recreational activities.

By Reba Lean
Sun Star Reporter

Men’s Basketball

The men’s team went up hard against their Anchorage rivals on Wednesday night. In a game where the Nanooks and Seawolves traded baskets and runs all night long, the Seawolves came out on top, 81-78, after a missed three-pointer from senior Emmanuel Jenkins in the final seconds.

Juniors Joe Powell and Kyle Smith were two of the top scorers for the Nooks on Wednesday, a change of pace for the 2-12 in-conference record team. Facing UAA’s 7-7 record, Powell put up 19 points, while Smith contributed 11. Jenkins added 18 points for his team, really coming alive in the second half.

By Sarah Richards
Sun Star Reporter

Underage drinking

The Alaska State Senate passed a bill on Feb. 22 to increase penalties for underage drinking offenses from $1,000 to $1,500.

Senate Bill 194, “Civil Damages for Alcohol Violations,” penalizes both minors who purposefully enter businesses licensed to sell alcohol and legal adults who purchase alcohol for minors or for adults restricted from buying alcohol.

The bill was sponsored by Senator Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, and is now under consideration by the House of Representatives.