Alden Lee

Alden Lee Assistant Features Editor
Email: features2@thenorthernlight.org
Work Phone: (907) 982-6359
Major: Journalism

About Alden:

Armed with a quick wit and a little aftershave, Alden Lee is out to take the world by storm. Humbly. And with a touch of Orange.

Stories By Alden Lee

Kent Spiers: Q&A with the Commencement Speaker

May 1st, 2012

On the night of Commencement, a lone individual will stand in front of 2,323 of his fellow graduates and give a speech. This speech has been prepared well in advance, and the young man — a sociology major, Leadership Honors award-winner and Canadian citizen — will commemorate the class of 2012 on a night of celebration as they accept their diplomas and walk across a stage to the next chapter of their lives.

Kent Spiers has spent the last four years at UAA, and in that time he has plumbed the school to its fullest potential.

Orange Rhymes With: A Fondish Farewell

May 1st, 2012

This is going to be a goodbye column. But not really.

It’s Commencement. The end of the 2011-2012 school year has finally rolled around, and for a certain group of upcoming graduates, it’s time to jump ship and run like hell. The culmination of — what, let’s be honest — five or six years has now led up to this one definitive moment of leaving college life behind and moving back in with your parents. I’m leaving too. It’s an extremely hard thing to do, but I’m off for orange-er pastures — not graduating, sadly (there’s realistically another three or four years before that), but onto a new college, a new institute of higher learning, a new phase of life.

When Overtime Met Orange

April 24th, 2012

The Difference Between Sports Announcer Commentary for the Ages and Straight Up Irritation – By Alden Lee and Taylor Hall The world of sports, as unpredictable and endlessly captivating as it is, never seems to run out of great moments for the sports fan. And no matter what degree of sports fandom you boast, certain […]

ORW: Go ahead, shove ink into my skin!

April 17th, 2012

I used to draw on myself with marker when I was a kid. I think my mom was happy with this new transition, because it meant I wasn’t drawing on the walls anymore — even if they were imitation Picassos in bright rainbow color.

New sports arena necessitates mass tree removal

April 17th, 2012

UAA campus is an ever-changing entity. The past four years have seen the construction of the ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building in 2009 and the Health Sciences Building last year. Now the university is gearing up for a new addition: the 2014 arrival of the Seawolf Sports Arena.

Fourteen acres have been set aside and subsequently deforested, leaving the smell of pine hanging over the entire campus housing area.

Orange: ¡Corazón de Fuego! Pt. 2

April 3rd, 2012

“G’morning ladies and gents, this is your favorite buddy Stu speaking—letting ya know at this fine, balmy hour of seven o’clock in the morning it’s time for ya to pick your heads up off your pillows and mosey on up to the main deck, for we’ve just arrived in lovely Cabo San Lucas!”

Kappa Sigma looking to gain official Greek status at UAA

March 27th, 2012

Headed by ex-USUAA member, Kappa Sigma may soon even out the balance of fraternities and sororities on campus.

Greek life has an ever fluctuating presence on campus. Stagnation is not the name of the game. The past semester has seen the term suspension of the Tri-Sigma sorority, an income of pledges during Rush Week in January, and now, the potential rise of a new official fraternity, Kappa Sigma.
Kappa Sigma has been at the university for the past five years, but due to membership troubles, leadership conflicts and probationary sentences, it has never been given official UAA fraternity status.

Orange Rhymes With: ¡Corazón de Fuego! Pt 1

March 16th, 2012

Spring break is a wonderful heaven send. Strategically placed right before most students collapse into fits of mass-study-induced hysteria, it’s the university’s way of saying, “Listen, we do care about you students’ well being—take some time off and go get massively drunk for a week.”

Meet the seawolf: Romal Safi

February 28th, 2012

Romal Safi would like to bring awareness to Alaska. More applicably, he would like to bring awareness to the nation. A 20-year-old citizen of Afghanistan, Safi is UAA’s one and only Afghan student. As a cultural ambassador for his country, Safi hopes to communicate there is more to the Middle Eastern land and its peoples than the war and strife broadcasted across news and media stations.

“Everybody thinks it’s just a warzone,” Safi said of his homeland. “Thanks to the media, it’s just blood and killing all the time. I’d like people to know that there’s much more to my country, the culture and the people and the way of life. We’re more than what’s shown on TV.”

Aggressive moose blasted by UPD shotgun

February 21st, 2012

Taylor Hicks came around the corner of Cuddy Hall to see a bull moose blown away in front of her.

19-year-old Hicks, an undeclared UAA freshman, admitted she didn’t first notice the moose to the side of the flashing cop car in the growing dusk of last Monday evening. She was made immediately aware, though, as a UPD officer shouted, “Get behind me! Move! Move!” and brought his shotgun to bear on the approaching animal.

ORW Mini: Work it buddy, work it

February 21st, 2012

As set down in the Undisputable Woman Code, in order to be found attractive, a man must be as swift as a coursing river, have all the force of a great typhoon, all the strength of a raging fire, and be mysterious as the dark side of the moon.

ORW: HA! Understanding Women

February 14th, 2012

Men don’t understand women. There are a lot more differences between men and women than just breasts, buttocks, childbearing hips, monthly tantrums (women blame it on “periods,” but I have a theory it’s just an excuse to throw regular fits over food messes and the toilet seat being left up), attire and giant footwear collections. […]

Long lasting marriages of UAA

February 14th, 2012

Love, in all of its unbridled passion, bonding and lovey-dovey mushiness, is a commitment. Several of UAA’s faculty can attest to how deep a commitment it truly is.
“Our marriage is a challenge,” said Andre Thorn, Director of the UAA Multicultural Center. “It’s a daily challenge that we both strive to make work.”
Thorn’s situation is different than most: He and his wife of 17 years live in separate states. Five months ago, the couple made the difficult decision for Thorn to move up to Alaska and assume his director position, while his wife Stephanie remained in Columbia, Mo. to complete her Bar tests. She will be there for the next six months.

Free tax assistance program helps those in need

February 7th, 2012

It’s that time of year again. Lady Liberty, dressed in her customary gloves and heavy winter boots, can be found dancing and waving signs out on the street corner, probably bumping to some iPod tunes to fight back against the winter chill. W-2 forms are being scrounged up, 1099 forms are being collected, banking receipts are being rifled through. Tax season will soon once again be in full swing.

Assistant Features Editor

About Alden:

Stories By Alden Lee