From Zebras to Bacon & Everything in Between: 40 Below Club

As you may already know, UAF is located in the coldest city in the Nation... Fairbanks Alaska.

Let's just say, the cold can get a little miserable at times... But at UAF, we like to make a little game out of it to lift our spirits... It's called the 40 Below Club.

You must be wondering, how you can join this very fun sounding club. Here's the deal.

1. You must wait until the temprature drops below -40 degrees celsius. (It has to be -40 on the UAF sign!)

2. Come to Campus and strip your clothes off! (Leave your underwear on, so you don't get arrested & leave your shoes on so you don't get frostbites)

3. Strike a pose and have a friend snap a picture!

4. Now post it on Facebook so everyone can see it, and Non-Alasakns can call you crazy.

Finally, Welcome to the 40 Below Club! (Hope you decide to join us in this wonderful tradition!)

Rasmuson Library: Floors 5 and 6

Remember waayyyyy back when, when I posted about the 4th floor of the Rasmuson Library?

Well, let's move onto another section of the library.  The 5th and 6th floors are quiet floors.  This means that patrons should be respectful of everyone on the floor and not talk above a whisper to someone near them.  It's also really, really courteous if your phone rings to answer it, like in the stairwell.  Just not talking in a normal voice in the middle of the floor, please!

The majority of the collection of the library exists on these two floors.  (For now; there are some areas of the library that may move in the near-ish future.)  Books with Call Numbers A-Pt, as well as any book that has Oversize or Ovsz in the call number are located on Level 6. 

The 6th floor also has carrels for graduate students.  They have to be requested through the circulation counter and are frequently all full. 

The rest of the collection, Call Numbers Q-Z, are located on the 5th floor.  Also located on the 5th floor is the Government Documents.  One of the really neat things about the Gov Docs (this is how it's frequently referred to in library lingo), is that much of this collection is available online.  There are lots and lots of old research projects that have been published throughout our country's history. 

There are also study rooms located on the 5th floor.  These have to be booked at the Circulation Counter on 4th floor.  In order to use the rooms, you have to be studying/working on something in a group setting.  They can be booked in four (or less) hour blocks.

My favorite parts of these two floors are the amazing windows and all of the plants! Lori is the keeper of the plants and she does and amazing job.  We like to hope that all of the plants help increase the oxygen level, and that helps us study better. 


There are many more resources that are available online through the library.  We have access to SO many books available electronically.  These range from materials that you may need for a research paper, to periodicals, and to even books just for fun. 

We also are a member of Listen Alaska which is an electronic access to lots and lots of audiobooks that can be downloaded and listened to on a variety of devices, including your iPod or mp3 player. 

Most of these online resources are also located in Goldmine - the library's online catalog system. That link will take you to a search that include a whole bunch of electronic materials involving umbrellas... It was the first thing I could think of.  Most of the electronic materials will require you to log in with your university information, so make sure you keep that handy.

Back to it all

The semester has begun once again!

It's been officially one week and one day since classes have started and from the students and friends I've talked to, since it's going to be a busy one.

If you are at all interested in going to UAF, be sure to visit our website (www.uaf.edu) and apply online soon!

Today, it's a bitter 38 degrees below zero and one of the other student ambassadors is giving a tour of the campus OUTSIDE right now. Yeah. We go all out at UAF.

A few years ago, our engineering department built a huge ice arch that was completely supported on its own and they are building one AGAIN! It's a pretty awesome thing to see. They are building it right in middle of the plaza so it'll be hard to miss.

Signing off.

Tune in next time!

-Dion T.

Look! It's a bird! No, it's plane!!! NO, IT'S...

...finals week here at UAF!!

Oh, no! The horror! :O


Actually, finals week isn't too bad. Well, actually, it is. It IS that bad.

We are constantly running around borrowing notes, drinking coffee by the pot, checking out textbooks, taking caffeine pills, and whatever else us crazy, college students do to keep going.

However, there are somethings that we do to "study" that, in reality, isn't really doing too much. And these are common things that everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) does. Including myself. If you catch yourself doing any of these things: stop, take a minute, breathe, and refocus on your task at hand.

#7 Photocopies, notes, and textbooks.

This happens to everyone. Thinking that by hoarding textbooks, notes, handouts, and whatever else we can get our hands on related to the topic is going to help. WRONG. You are wasting precious study time by trying to get all of this excess material together and then when it actually comes to sitting down and opening a book, you feel overwhelmed. There is too much to handle right in front of you that you feel discouraged. So, STOP, take a deep breath, and a step at a time.

#6 Highlighters

Highlighters are NOT magic, people. When we highlight, we tend to quickly skim through the reading thinking everything we see is important. So we highlight and highlight and highlight to realize that it looks like a unicorn threw up all of the colors of the rainbow on your textbook. Instead, try writing the stuff out. You'll know if you have too much information because your hand will get tired.

# 5 Homes and nests made from books.

No. This isn't going to help either. Look back at #7. You will spend more time making the perfect nest to study than actually studying.

#4 Re-reading notes.

Wrong. I'm notorious for this. We think, "Oh, man. I can study by re-reading notes and text and be on Facebook all at the same time!" Nope. Doesn't work. When you find yourself doing this, stop. And actually DO what you are studying. For me, that would be acting out scenes, working on my monologue or drawing out a potential set. If you are actually absorbing the material, do problems that are going to reinforce your knowledge.

#3 Best way to prepare for exams?

By DOING an exam. Seriously. Make sure to get a final review or maybe a final from the class before.

#2 Skip the pity-party.

Saying "I'm SO screwed" is NOT going to help your situation. So you missed class, the class is really hard, the professor hates you, your dog ate your homework, whatever. It's in the past. You can't do anything about it now. Just focus on what you are doing RIGHT NOW.

#1 Do not blame anybody else, but you!

The bottom line is is that YOU are the one who has to take the exam. Again, by trying to blame somebody isn't going to grant you a miracle from God. What you need to do is bite the bullet and crack open the textbook. College isn't pretty.

All of these tips I got from cracked.com. Take a look at their page. (Their page is HILARIOUS).

Good luck with finals, folks!

Cheers!
-Dion T.

Fine Arts Warms Students!

Temperatures have dropped after a lot of fresh snow this past week. Currently we're seeing about -7 F (-21 C), which is still short-pants and skirt weather for some individuals. But for most, the body is dressed in many layers to accommodate the contrast of temperature change in going from the frigid outdoors to a toasty building and vice versa. Below zero temperatures aren't too bad in dry arctic desert areas but as soon as the wind is anything more than calm the cold atmosphere can nibble at your skin and comfortably rest in your hands and toes.

On cold days it's nice to warm up a little by checking out some of the latest displays at the University Art Gallery located in the Fine Arts Complex just left of the Great Hall in the Art Department. The University Art Gallery is an exhibition space for UAF Art students, faculty, staff and visiting artists. The gallery hosts MFA and BFA thesis exhibitions, a required component of graduating students, and constantly hosts exceptional art.

Photo from The Native Art Center at UAF Facebook page.

Currently, The Native Art Center proudly presents Monoprints and fashion STATEMENT, an exhibition in collaboration and partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Native Arts Center and Printmaking Program, the International Gallery of Contemporary Art, artist and professor Melanie Yazzie from the University of Colorado, Boulder, as well as Alaska Native Artists and students, Kathleen Carlo, Erin Gingrich, Eric Hamar, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Erica Lord, Da-ka-xeen Mehner, Junko Yanagda, Marjorie Tabone, and Denis Keogh. The show is on display until 18 November in honor of National American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month.

Another great way to keep busy and relieve stress during cold winter months is to not only view art, but make art! Art classes in

Ceramics

Computer Art

Drawing

Metalsmithing

Native Arts

Painting

Photography

Printmaking

Sculpture

are not restricted to students in an Art degree program but are actually available to all UAF students. The same goes for Music and Theater classes.

I encourage you all to come in from the cold once in a while and see what's new at the University Fine Art's Gallery, and also to consider signing up for art classes next semester. Art is a fun and engaging way to experience others' ideas and creations, and to express one's own opinions and worldview. Fine Arts can keep you warm, and sometimes might just get your blood boiling. Stay warm, be inspired, and express yourself!

The University Fine Art's Gallery is open Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and is closed on weekends and University holidays.

For more information about spring 2012 classes, search under ART to see what will be available next semester, and speak to your academic adviser about registering for class!

On My Birthday . . .

By now, people in my life know I like food. {Alas, I'm still learning how to use the kitchen in my apartment.}So what I mean to say is that I enjoy eating. For my birthday this summer, I was fortunate enough to be gifted TWO homemade cakes. I have included pictures of them. The first is a chocolate, vegan wonder, made by my sister, who I obviously didn't need to go to UAF to meet :p  But the second is made by my neighbor, who is from Kazakhstan!!! And it's a chocolate cheesecake.

Time at the university is all about making life awesome in little ways like this.                                --------->

I've gotten to know people from seriously everywhere you could imagine {that's on Earth and not Antarctica, but I do know someone who used to live in Iceland}. And I still am learning the names of all these cool villages scattered about Alaska. Oh, all the places you will go, all the lovely people to meet~!~!

Halloween isn't for candy this year.

Yesterday was Halloween.  One of the most exciting days of the Fall 2011 semester. But I wasn't excited about dressing up and handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters who stopped by my apartment.
The Spring 2012 Course Guide became available on UAonline!! This means I am finally able to plan out my last semester as an undergraduate student at UAF.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't plan out my second major very carefully and I have to take a slightly harder path for my biology degree (in my opinion). 

Courses for Spring 2012:
Organic Chemistry II
Fundamentals of Biology II
Fish and Fisheries of Alaska
Jazz @ 6
First Aid and CPR

I'm definitely looking forward to finishing up this degree and seeing what else the world has in store for me.