The bear trap is a condensed version of the daily crime log released by the UAF police department.

The University of Alaska Museum of the North offered a chance on Saturday for family and friends to come and get a chance to look at what happens behind the curtains.

Starting at noon, visitors had the opportunity to visit the usual museum exhibits and from there take a tour to the lab spaces where all the magic happens. The behind the scenes tours usually run for 10 dollars a person on Tuesdays and Fridays, but for this special occasion, the tour was free for all.

The Associated Students of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, ASUAF, discussed finances, AI art, the use of American Sign Language and appointed six new senators at their recent meeting.

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 Greater Fairbanks Division of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, held their 73rd anniversary banquet in the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Wood Center ballroom on December 6.

Closing out the semester and sending us off into the holidays, ASUAF held their last meeting and went over the final guest speakers and travel fund requests of the fall semester.

The bear trap is a condensed version of the daily crime log released by the UAF police department.

ASUAF had their hands full this week covering their usual agenda, but also with discussions over lack of proper communication from UAF leader’s decisions regarding recent job cuts, and drawn out discourse and tension over the election of one of their newest senators.

The first guest speakers were Provost and Vice Chancellor Charlene Stern, who was joined by Interim Chancellor Mike Sfraga, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Owen Guthrie, and Director of Signers Hall Bradley Lobland, to discuss the rumors and concerns from staff about the reorganization of the Center for Teaching and Learning, or CTL.

For those who cannot go home for the holidays this year, the Associated Students at University of Alaska Fairbanks, or ASUAF, and the Honors College, came together to make sure that students could still celebrate with their friends.

ASUAF and the Honors College hosted a Friendsgiving event on November 20th in the Great Hall, which was open to any UAF student.

Residents in Alaska’s Kuskokwim Delta were forced to leave their homes last month as ex-Typhoon Halong brought historic flooding and damaging winds to the region, webinar presenters said. Rick Thoman, climate specialist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness, and Ed Plumb, weather and flood hazards specialist at Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness, shared details about the storm’s impact and forecasts.

Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins visited the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus to speak on his experiences with issues such as housing, coalition building, and population retention and how he handles all of those responsibilities now as the elected mayor.

With the arrival of winter, Alaska will see a significant decrease in daylight and temperatures. This increase in darkness can take a toll on the mental health of Alaskan residents. While life-long Alaskans may be accustomed to the lack of daylight, many still struggle with mental health during the long, dark days of winter. 

The Alaska Behavioral Health Clinic has locations in Fairbanks and Anchorage, but it is their Fairbanks clinic that is helping to combat the seasonal mental health crisis.

The ASUAF meeting began with Owen Guthrie, vice chancellor of student affairs and enrollment management, coming in to talk and answer questions regarding the new student enrollment deposit. 

Starting with the class of fall 2026, students will be asked to pay a deposit on their enrollment for the coming fall. Already enrolled students will not be affected by this deposit.

In “the Sick,” artist Kevin M. Carroll turns the private weight of addiction into something seen, heard and shared. His 45 luminous pastel and oil paintings fill UAF’s Art Gallery with images that shimmer between beauty and grief, each work a reflection of Alaska’s 45% rise in drug-related overdoses, and of the artist’s own reckoning with what he calls “the Sick.”

Music, laughter and the beat of Zumba filled North Pole’s local gym, The Fitness Studio, as the local community gathered to celebrate the gym and its fresh new look.

The University of Alaska Fairbank’s Wood Center had a busy weekend, overrun by friends and families attending all the fun events at Pop-Con. Pop-Con is a celebration of all things pop culture hosted here at UAF and features a wide variety of vendors, tournaments, workshops, and more.