University of Alaska Fairbanks leaders and community partners outlined funding priorities, budget challenges and advocacy strategies during the Chancellor’s Legislative Kickoff on Thursday, Jan. 15, as the Alaska Legislature prepares for the 2026 session.
On Tuesday, January 13, University of Alaska Fairbanks undergraduate student Graham Granger was detained after he had been found “ripping artwork off the walls and eating it in a reported protest,” according to the UAF police department. Granger was chewing and spitting out images pinned to the wall; this artwork was made by Masters of Fine Arts student Nick Dwyer in collaboration with artificial intelligence. Granger claimed that he destroyed the artwork because it was AI generated, according to the report by university police. Police estimated that at least 57 of the 160 images up on the wall were ruined. Granger was arrested for criminal mischief in the 5th degree and booked at the Fairbanks Correctional Center.
Fire alarms in the Ernest Gruening Building, which houses the School of Education and College of Liberal Arts, wailed on December 9 because of a broken sprinkler head. Students and faculty had to exit the building into the minus 21 degrees Fahrenheit weather.
Maintenance worker Austin Beasley stood outside a main entrance where the ground was covered in ice. Water flooded out from the third floor of the building—the ground floor—onto the pavement outside.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks’ approximately 200 international students and faculty face a maelstrom of new federal pressures under President Trump regarding visas, increased policing, and squashed political expression that have left many concerned about their future in the United States.
“The simple fact that you might be thrown out of the country because you were partisan online, it’s kind of insane,” said Victor Devaux-Chupin, a French glaciological Ph.D. student with the Geophysical Institute at UAF. “Like, which other country that we consider, as you know, democratic, does that.”
On a night shaped by winter’s darkness, the Schaible Auditorium became a place of shared attention as 28 poets took part in the annual Solstice Poetry Cycle. Local poets flooded the auditorium with a stream of their work reflecting love, grief, humor, memory and everyday life, presented by the Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy of civil rights activism and coalition building, the University of Alaska Fairbanks hosted a celebratory event Saturday led by the MLK Jr. Foundation of Fairbanks. The event reflected on King’s life and the continuing process of realizing his hopes and ideals for the nation.
Easing into the spring semester, our student government relaunched their dedicated work to our community, moving their weekly meetings to Tuesday evenings. The senate started off strong with the readings of bills, considerations of potential candidates, and other business that was for the good of the senate.
The dark, cold days of Alaskan winters often make everyone want to crawl back in bed and sleep until summer comes again. Unfortunately for us humans, that is not possible. However, for some critters, it’s normal. Winter hits and they get to go into their caves or underground systems and fall asleep. When spring brings longer, warmer days, these animals wake up and return to life above ground.
The Alaska Nanooks competed at home for the last time this season, hosting Westmont College on Friday and Saturday, January 16 and 17, for a two day heated rivalry. The Nanooks secured a 100-86 victory over the Westmont Warriors on Friday, but fell short 91-95 in a close battle on Saturday.
The Nanooks women’s volleyball team dominated the Seattle Pacific Falcons 3–0 Thursday night at the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium during Military Appreciation Night.
The team will face off against the University of Alaska Anchorage Volleyball team during the NCAA Division II women’s volleyball championships December 11-13 in South Dakota.
On Halloween, the University of Alaska Fairbanks women’s swim team had their third meet of the season, this time against Simon Fraser University. They competed against Simon Fraser again on Saturday, but lost both days, despite a great effort. The score on Halloween was 108 to 59, and the next day was 100 to 48.
A letter from the Alaska Press Club Board: We should not accept these actions by Carpenter Media as normal. They threaten the ability of journalists to serve as watchdogs for our communities.
We will always defend editorial independence, transparency and the right of Alaska’s journalists to do their work free from intimidation.
Over the past few years, Russian and Chinese incursions into U.S. territory have become more frequent and more brazen. On September 24, 2025, multiple Russian aircraft, including Tu-95 “Bear” long-range bombers and Su-35 fourth-generation fighters, breached the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
Lil Jit: December 12, 2024 to September 18, 2025
On a cold winter night, with a sliver of moon high above, peeking through wisps of cloud, a small bundle of joy came into our lives. White as the snow beneath our feet, with eyes red like glowing embers, we gave him a name worthy of his spirit: Lil Jit.
Fireweed Collective Fairbanks released their voter guide for the 2025 Fairbanks North Star Borough Municipal Election.
I stepped onto the bridge beside the tall patch of fireweed blossoms, careful not to step in the reindeer scat lying in the brush, as the swirling river shimmered ahead beneath the hot July sun.
