BY DANIEL PISCOYA
Managing Editor, UAS Whalesong
In my very first Letter from the Editor, I praised this university’s close-knit community and sense of participation. In my last letter, I will say that if this tradition is not bolstered in the coming years, there will be a time with no more letters – no more Whalesong. Continue reading “A Letter from the Editor: On The Future of the Whalesong”
BY DANIEL PISCOYA
Managing Editor, UAS Whalesong
Being the Editor of our university’s student newspaper is a position which has offered me deep involvement in campus life, university politics, and the greater Juneau community.
Looking back, though, I’ve been the Editor of the Whalesong for two years – that’s half my college career and two-thirds the amount of time I’ve been involved with the Whalesong in the first place. I was offered this position only a year after I started work as a Staff Writer.
I am a man of no exceptional talent and no previous journalism experience – I just said I was interested.
After that statement has sunken in, students at this university ought to realize that there may be opportunities for deep involvement with university organizations, student clubs, and community programs that outstrip not only the other UA campuses, but most other universities in the nation. Continue reading “Students: Get Some Skin in the Game”
BY DANIEL PISCOYA
Managing Editor, UAS Whalesong
Staff Writer Erin Laughlin’s article about the 2017 Innovation Summit includes a quote from a short interview of Chancellor Caulfield. Caulfield states that UAS’s commitment to innovation can be seen “in terms of new, cutting-edge online degree programs, and high impact learning opportunities through internships, job shadowing, and field research opportunities.”
These innovations play to UAS’s strengths: our proximity to the capitol through internships, our proximity to the sea through field research opportunities, and our proximity to far-away students via online degree programs.
However, the interview itself is also a play towards UAS’s strengths. Erin’s conversation with the Chancellor was unscheduled – she simply walked over to the Hendrickson building and knocked on the door. Continue reading “The University’s Forgotten Virtue”
BY DANIEL PISCOYA
Managing Editor, UAS Whalesong
According to the FY2017 Approved Operating and Capital Budgets, I have seen the University raise tuition by over 12% (Appendix B) since I arrived in Fall 2013, and then request an additional 5% increase in the FY2018 Operating and Capital Budget Requests.
As made clear in the titles of the documents above, the University’s Operating Budget (programs, staff salaries, tuition) and its Capital Budget (renovations and campus signs) are two very separate things. An increase in one does not necessarily offset the other. Continue reading “The University’s Real Image Problem”
BY DANIEL PISCOYA
Managing Editor, UAS Whalesong
UAS made it into the Juneau Empire on Jan. 11 for our new campus welcome sign. In an article titled “New UAS welcome sign gives nod to cultural significance of campus location,” Capitol City Weekly Reporter Clara Miller elaborated on Vice Chancellor Joe Nelson and Professor Lance Twitchell’s push to include Tlingit at the entrance to UAS’s Juneau Campus.
While Nelson and Twitchell’s victory is well-earned and it’s high time – all of UAS student housing’s signs have Tlingit on them already – I’d like to draw attention more to the sign itself than what language is on it. Continue reading “Is the University Forgetting its Purpose?”
BY DANIEL PISCOYA
Managing Editor, UAS Whalesong
As many of you already know, University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen announced recently that the university is considering a number of cuts to college sports teams at UAF and UAA. These teams include UAF and UAA’s cross country (or nordic) ski teams. Continue reading “A Letter from the Editor”
