Year: 2016

Opinion

Resting B**** Face and the Real Bee-otches: Knowing the Difference (A Satire)

adelle-labrecqueBY ADELLE LaBRECQUE
Staff Writer, UAS Whalesong

I’ll be honest, at first, she totally caught me off guard. Then, she started to sort of weird me out. Finally, I was blown away by the fact that she was indeed working super hard to be a complete and utter Bee-otch. Yep, I said it—it couldn’t be argued. Her outwardly irritated behavior, the quick, sharp tone of her voice, and her corresponding death stare, made the message crystal-clear—she was being awful on purpose. Her body language was readable and her communication unsubtle: I was the only other female in the bar and she did not appreciate it. Continue reading “Resting B**** Face and the Real Bee-otches: Knowing the Difference (A Satire)”

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Features

Study Abroad: Stirling, Scotland

BY BROOKE SCHLIPF
For the UAS Whalesong
Photo courtesy of the same

Studying abroad was the best decisions I have ever made.

Originally, I had no idea where I wanted to go. I just knew that I had a deep desire to live abroad and explore all the differences that another country has to offer. Even though I ended up choosing a place that wasn’t too drastically different, it was still a big change. The way I lived, the way I went about school work and classes, and even the way everyone socialized was a bit different from what I was accustomed to. But, I was also able to participate in some familiar activities that I loved, like being a part of a sports team Continue reading “Study Abroad: Stirling, Scotland”

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Features, Movie Review

A Time to Remember: Hacksaw Ridge

holly-fisher-1BY HOLLY FISHER
Staff  Writer, UAS Whalesong

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers from the film Hacksaw Ridge, starring Andrew Garfield as Desmond Doss.

Up to now, these articles have been focused on World War I, and on wide-reaching elements rather than personal stories. For a change of pace, this article is about the World War II-based film Hacksaw Ridge, which opened in theaters in Juneau Nov. 5. Continue reading “A Time to Remember: Hacksaw Ridge”

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Opinion

Mindfulness and the Power of Meditation

adelle-labrecqueBY ADELLE LaBRECQUE
Staff Writer, UAS Whalesong

mind·ful·ness

noun: mindfulness
1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.
“their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition”
2. a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

Aloha, readers. If by chance, you just quickly skimmed the above definition, (as we tend to do when writing appears to lack creativity—no offense, Google Dictionary!), I strongly encourage you to read it through once more, with added emphasis on the second definition. Continue reading “Mindfulness and the Power of Meditation”

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Features, Movie Review

Hunting in Wartime

holly-fisher-1BY HOLLY FISHER
Staff  Writer, UAS Whalesong

November is Alaska Native History month, an important time to explore and learn about the culture and history of Alaska’s own people. A part of this month on the UAS campus has been an ongoing film series documenting different elements of Native lives. Though members of the Whalesong staff have not been able to attend all of them, I was able to attend the screening for the new documentary Hunting in Wartime. Continue reading “Hunting in Wartime”

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Features

Mixed

kasey-chen-1BY KASEY CHEN
Staff Writer, UAS Whalesong

For five years in a row, University of Alaska Southeast has chosen a book for the One Campus, One Book (OCOB) program. This year is no exception, and the selected title for 2016-17 is Mixed: Multiracial College Students Tell Their Life Stories. The book features twelve essays from Dartmouth college students who identify as multiracial, and delves into their life experiences, exploring the concept of identity. Attendees of New-Student orientation were provided a copy of the book with the goal of creating a common reading experience among incoming students. If students were not able to pick up one of the complementary copies of the book, the entirety of it is available online.  Professors were encouraged to incorporate the book into their learning plans, helping students to further investigate the theme: Negotiating Identity in America. Continue reading “Mixed”

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News

University of Alaska Copes with Another Year of Cuts

kasey-chen-1BY KASEY CHEN
Staff Writer, UAS Whalesong

At their November 10 meeting, The University of Alaska Board of Regents (BOR) approved a tuition hike of 5 percent and solidified their budget request for the 2018 fiscal year. Their plan accounts for a decrease in state funding over the next 10 years and relies on a surge of enrollment based on projections saying 65 percent of jobs in Alaska will require some postsecondary education by 2025, a 28 percent increase from today’s 37 percent. They are currently in the second phase of a 3-phase plan for restructuring entitled “Strategic Pathways,” which seeks to review and consolidate programs within the university system. Continue reading “University of Alaska Copes with Another Year of Cuts”

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Features

Tidal Echoes: Remember, Remember the First of December

BY KAYLYN HASLUNDtidal-echoes-2016-proof-1-front-only
Fall Intern, Tidal Echoes
For the UAS Whalesong

Are you an artist, photographer, or writer that lives in Southeast Alaska or currently a student enrolled at the University of Southeast Alaska? Well, you should consider submitting your creative work to Tidal Echoes. This is the regional literary and arts journal, published through the University annually. It is edited and published by a team here in Juneau made of UAS students and faculty. Continue reading “Tidal Echoes: Remember, Remember the First of December”

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Campus Life

An Afternoon with Hieu

dylyn-petersonBY DYLYN PETERSON
Staff Writer, UAS Whalesong

Hieu Minh Nguyen began his poetry reading at the Symposium with a request for every member of the audience to make their favorite animal noise. I missed out on what sound he made, but I went with “borf borf,” as is logical. He related to us the anxiety he felt flying into Alaska on election night as a queer Vietnamese man, saying he was happy to learn that Juneau is “an island of blue in a sea of red.” His performance was awesome. I made sure to buy a copy of his book after. In so doing, I heard that Kolene James was going to be showing him around town the following day, and asked if Serena and I could tag along.

The answer was yes. Continue reading “An Afternoon with Hieu”

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Campus Life, Opinion

Notes from the Symposium

dylyn-petersonBY DYLYN PETERSON
Staff Writer, UAS Whalesong

I first arrived at the University at the beginning of the third session of the first annual Power and Privilege Symposium. Upon seeing the program, I was disappointed to see that every talk I wanted to attend conflicted with something more-or-less compulsory. During the fourth session, when my partner, Serena, was set to present, there were three I wanted to go to. Sigh. Suffice to say I am very pleased by the prospect of the Symposium being a two-day event next year. Continue reading “Notes from the Symposium”

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