Ski Season

The Dec. 1 snowfall that brought hope of a decent ski season to skiers and snowboarders alike was followed by disappointment, as it melted into 40- and even 50-degree weather. Last winter, ski resorts were faced with the worst season in two decades, and recent weather has many winter athletes worried for a similar outcome this year.


“Two years ago when I first started getting into snowboarding, the season was perfect,” said UNH senior and Loon Mountain frequenter Justin Lupone. “My friends and I went to the mountain around 80 times that season. That winter was absolutely beautiful. But since then, it has been going downhill.”

Although one would expect resort deals and a drop in lift-ticket prices, last year’s warm winter climate is subsequently boosting business for ski resorts this upcoming season.


“A lot of people are really anxious to hit the slopes since last year wasn’t great, and a lot of people might’ve postponed their plans,” Loon Mountain Communications Manager Greg Kwansik said. “I think we’re going to do just fine thisseason.”

Many resorts this year have already reported higher season-pass sales than last season, when they were forced to combat “the backyard effect,” which occurs when people don’t see snow in the areas where they reside.


If people didn’t see snow around their homes, they were deterred from making the drive up north. But after an unfortunate season, many winter sport enthusiasts are turning to long-term forecasts when deciding whether or not to purchase a season’s pass.


The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a colder winter this year, with more storms and heavier snowfall in the later part of the season. For UNH senior and Killington ski coach Pete Bauer, this is enough of a reason to get excited for this year’s ski season.


“There’s no delay for me,” Bauer said. “I’ll have skied for the sixth time this season after this weekend. The warm weather in early December is common, especially in the Durham area. What counts is that the temperature up north is below freezing throughout the nights.”

According to various studies, however, warm December temperatures in New England may in fact be a detrimental result of climate change.


An article in The Boston Globe discussed a study being published next year by Daniel Scott, director of the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. In the study, Scott discusses the negative impacts of heavy fossil fuel usage on environmental change.


Even though the warming temperatures have not yet had negative impacts on ski resorts, Scott said that within the next 30 years, the impacts will be devastating. His findings suggest that within that timeframe, more than half of the New Hampshire resorts, and all of the Massachusetts resorts will be forced to shut down.


In order to maintain future business, ski resorts will have to increase their snowmaking capacity, reassuring that their terrain will remain open in skiable conditions. For Loon Mountain, which allegedly has the most powerful snowmaking system in New Hampshire, this is already a common practice.


“We have such an expensive snowmaking system that when others had to close early because of warm weather, we stayed open all season,” Kwansik said. “Our snowmaking system covers 97 percent of our terrain.”

If the winter trends of the last few years continue, it is predicted that resorts that don’t already have the same snowmaking capacity as Loon Mountain will have to spend millions of dollars on machines to remain competitive; a difficult endeavor if lift-ticket profits begin to drop. But, at the very least, the warm weather in the recent weeks is not an indicator that this season will be unfavorable.


“High temperatures earlier this week are above normal,” said UNH environmental research professor Paul Kirshen,Ph.D. “But this does not mean all winter will be like this.”

It remains to be seen what potential climate change will bring to the future of winter sports in New England. For now, skiers and snowboarders look forward to what hopefully will turn out to be a better season than last.


“I think this season will be a good one,” Lupone said. “And I expect snow will pick up and we will get hit hard with a storm over winter break. I am a little worried, considering it was 50 degrees out the other day. I truly hope that the last few weeks do not mark another bad season.”

Uncovering the truth

I recently wrote an article for The New Hampshire about the Student Environmental Action Coalition, and their efforts to get UNH to divest from oil and other fossil fuel companies. What I discovered turned out to be rather disconcerting. 

Fiona Gettinger lead SEAC into President Huddleston’s office with a petitioned that over 1,000 UNH students signed, in support of the organizations efforts. I followed them in, recording and taking notes for my article. After speaking with Fiona after the presentation, I learned that the UNH foundation is not only refusing to divest from these companies that are harming the environment, but they refuse to even do an investigation regarding whether or not divestment in such companies, and investment in alternative, eco and socially friendly companies, would be beneficial or detrimental.

The UNH Foundation either won’t, or can’t, share their investment records, stating that the hire an outside company (Portsmouth Buchholz) to deal with their investments. The fact that they wont share, or even worse, don’t even know this information is just irresponsible.

I approached members of the UNH Foundation at the alumni center for further information, only to be turned away and told to contact one of the media relations contacts.

So I did. I sent her all my questions to relay to one particular member of the foundation. All I was met with in response was the same public statement the foundation had released to SEAC earlier that month.

Finally, shortly after I had already submitted my article to my editor, I got another response with answers to each of my questions, which happened to just be different parts of the earlier statement re-worded. Not real answers.

So, after my article was sent in, the editorial staff wrote an opinion piece titled “Investing in the Truth” which was published in the same issue. The piece was very good, and brings up an excellent point.

UNH paints itself as a sustainable campus, as one of the most green college campuses. UNH does in fact do a lot of good in regards to the environment, and without going into a list of what all of those things are, I suppose that it’s a good thing regardless of the reasons why. 

But now, I really feel like it’s one giant publicity move. They want a good name. They want the reputation. So they start all these green, sustainable projects, yet it all sits on top of this big dirty secret, that no one can seem to find the true answers too...

I’m not a hippie. I understand that UNH is a business, and needs to make a profit. I get that. But as a public university, isn’t it the responsibility of the administration to tell the truth about what companies they are investing in? Isn’t it corrupted for them to try so desperately hard to cover up that information? 

SEAC’s efforts have not only been published in The New Hampshire, but Seacoast Online, Fosters, and now the AP and Boston Globe. The movement they are involved in is a growing one.

This issue is something I plan to continue to pursue. I plan to stay in contact with Fiona throughout the rest of the year, and report on her meeting with Huddleston (if he agrees) in January. People are entitled to know what companies UNH is investing in.

“What the UNH Foundation needs to do is have an honest conversation with members of SEAC and the UNH community at large about its investments. Its representatives need to explain how much the university is invested in fossil fuel companies. And after doing extensive research of its own, and not relying on an outside investing company, the foundation should explain why it isn’t practical for the company to divest from fossil fuel companies. If it does not, it risks labeling UNH with the ironic tag of a sustainable university that helps to fund global warming. “

-TNH, Investing in the Truth

UNH PD gives campus safety talk

In the last 17 years, Lt. Steven P. Lee has encountered everything from student riots to meth labs, but his most frequent work has been at the University of New Hampshire, his alma mater, where he has come and gone throughout his career in law enforcement. 

As the current divisions commander for the UNH Police Department, Lee spoke to students in the Granite State Room Monday night about campus safety. The event was hosted by Alpha Delta Phi (ADP) society, UNH’s only coed literary society.

“I think it’s beneficial for all students to learn their rights and responsibilities,” said ADP member Sean Moreau, who organized the event.

Lee discussed issues regarding alcohol and safety, as well as provided an interactive forum in which students asked him questions pertaining to the law. Many of the audience’s questions centered around topics pertaining to underage drinking.

“What exactly is the UNH amnesty program?” one audience member asked. Lee explained that if a student is intoxicated and feels that he or she or someone with them is in distress due to overconsumption of alcohol, if they seek help, they may receive medical amnesty and not face disciplinary action from the UNH Office of Conduct and Mediation.

When students asked Lee about internal possession laws, he said that his top priority isn’t arresting people, but keeping people safe.

“I get fired up when an officer gives a minor on foot a field sobriety test,” he said. “Intoxication should be obvious.”

Lee also gave safety recommendations to students who asked what precautions they could take while walking through campus alone at night. In addition to UNH Safe Rides, students can also call for a police escort to bring them home if they feel vulnerable.

Lee vouched for the blue emergency lights on campus, and said he has seen how they are effective firsthand. 

“They work very well, and they get tested every weekend,” he said.

When one of the emergency buttons is pressed, all of the lights go off and the intercom systems are automatically turned on, so even if the button isn’t being held down, the dispatcher can still hear what is going on.

Lee said that there are currently talks of having another campus walk-through in the spring to determine more areas where the blue emergency lights can be installed on campus.

“I didn’t even know those lights worked,” said Courtney Wolf, a senior in attendance. “People think that cops are just out to get them in trouble, but they care about safety. A lot of what I learned tonight makes me feel more secure.”

Lee said that in the years he has worked at UNH, the most out-of-control situation he has had to deal with were the student riots in 2007 after the Red Sox won the World Series. Even though he has witnessed the mob-mentality come and go, he said there are trade-offs. 

“With that, you find less of people looking out for each other,” he said. “People don’t want someone else getting them in trouble.”

Lee encouraged students to ask police officers questions and to not feel uncomfortable doing so, regardless of the issue. With all of the misinformation, he said that police-talks are essential to a safer campus environment.

Students who attended the campus safety talk Monday night received valuable information as Lee explained how to have fun without getting in trouble. 

“Don’t draw attention to yourself,” Lee said. “Just maintain and look out for one another; that’s the biggest thing.”

Underemployment

UNH seniors began registering for their spring classes on Monday, creating what for most of these students will be the final schedule of their college careers. As Thanksgiving break plunges us into winter, the new year is only weeks away. And with graduation rearing around the corner, members of the class of 2013 are beginning to ask, “What now?”

For Katie Sousa, a senior English major, life after graduation means returning to a part-time cashier position at Market Basket. 

“I’ve been there for five years and I plan to go back there until I find something better,” she said.

According to a report by Justin Young, a UNH doctoral student in sociology, many graduates will find themselves in the same position as Sousa come springtime. 

Young’s report, Underemployment in Urban and Rural America, 2005-2012, was published this fall by UNH’s CarseyInstitute. Young’s research suggests that underemployment is exceptionally high among people under age 30.

Underemployment is defined in the study as involuntary part-time work, which hits 18- to 22-year-olds the hardest. Young’s findings show that 29 percent of this age group is either underemployed (10 percent) or unemployed (19 percent). Given his research, Young believes that a college education is a surefire way to break out of the demographic.

“In the past, there were many more jobs that offered good pay, benefits and security that did not require a four-year degree,” Young said. “Today, if you want one of those jobs, you are more likely to need a four-year degree, at the very least. Young people today are facing very different job markets than their parents.”

Many recent graduates feel that in today’s job market, employers are hiring the applicants who have college degrees, even if one is not necessarily required for the job. 

“A lot of businesses are using more and more college graduates to fulfill jobs that most people could do without a four year degree,” said Zach Smith, a 2012 graduate of the Whittemore School of Business and Economics. “If I could give one piece of advice to UNH seniors, it would be to develop connections. I really feel it’s who you know a lot more than it used to be. If you know someone, anyone, connect with them and get your foot in the door.”

Smith works as a bartender in Newington to support himself and to pay off student loans. Although he is currently searching for a full-time position within his field, he said that he would rather not give up a job where he makes good money for a position where he could make substantially less.

“Right now I know I am lucky to have a job that allows me to support myself when many don’t,” Smith said. “It’s scary to think about giving that up knowing college students who have already been fired and are unemployed.”

Although recent graduates are among those struggling most to find professional work, Young’s research shows that these challenges begin to fade once they enter their late 20s; a pattern that is accounted for by many factors of a changing job market. Young said that this is something young adults can prepare for before graduation.

“Today’s job markets are bustling with folks who have college degrees,” Young said. “So, UNH students should ask themselves what they can do while in college to set themselves apart from the rest.”

A changing economic climate makes graduating a nerve-wracking prospect for many seniors, opening the door to a future of doubt and uncertainty.

“When I was in high school, I knew I had college to look forward to,” Sousa said. “But now that I’m almost done college, my future is much broader and more unsure.”

Even though the word “graduate” carries much different connotations than it did four years ago, students like Smith and Sousa know they have many opportunities to come thanks to a four-year college education; an insurance statistically proven in Young’s report.

“Be patient and confident,” Smith said. “A restaurant or part-time job right out of school does not make you a failure. In this job market, you have to be patient and when the opportunity comes, be ready!”

tweet

Hundreds of Amity swimmers trample each other to get out of the water after spotting another shark. Was the attacker shark really caught? Is Chief Brody telling the truth? #amityshark

James Parks killed in shark attack at 1:30 pm EST. 

press release

Police Chief Martin Brody hosted a town hall meeting with Mayor Larry Vaughn on Tuesday, offering a $3,000 reward for capture of the shark that allegedly attacked and killed Alex Kitner and Chrissie Watson.

World War II veteran Ben Quint was in attendance, and offered to take on the task for a substantially higher reward of $10,000.

“For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing,” he said.

By wednesday morning, Village Beach was inundated with people from all over the Northeast, loading up their boats and hunting equipment. Approximately a dozen crews set out in search of the shark, and for the monetary reward.

By late afternoon, fishermen returned with a great white shark which was hung and displayed on the main dock. Brody assured Amity citizens that it was in fact the same shark that attacked Kitner and Watson.

“I am delighted to report,” Brody said in a lengthy press release to the public, “that the giant killer shark that has been blamed for two gruesome deaths this week, disrupting our normally tranquil island life on the eve of our great celebration of this country’s birth(...) has been caught and killed.”

The press release goes on in great length to discuss various details about the fourth of july, in ways that don’t pertain to the shark attack incidents. Statements also reassure townspeople that it is safe, and to return to swimming in the ocean.

Marine Biologist Matt Hooper of the Oceanographic Institute was called into Amity to inspect autopsy reports, and on Wednesday the shark that was captured.

Although Brody is reassuring citizens the water is now safe, Hooper asked for an autopsy of the shark to determine 100 percent that it is in fact the same shark that heinously attacked two of Amity’s minors.

Both Brody and Vaughn refused Hooper’s requested, claiming that “an amateur  autopsy of a fish” in front of so many people would be inappropriate. 

It is remain to be seen whether or not the search will continue, and if Quint will be called in to hunt for the shark.

Alex

10-year-old Alex Kitner of Mayfair Court in Amity was viciously killed this afternoon while playing in the water off Village Beach. The incident appeared to beach goers as a shark attack.

Kitner was floating approximately 10 yards out to sea on an inflatable yellow raft at around 2 p.m. Witnesses say they saw the raft get pulled under the surface while Kitner struggled and cried for help.

“The water started turning red and everyone started screaming,” said a friend of Kitner’s who was near him in the water. 

Moments after the incident occurred, a panic ensued on the beach as children fought their way onto shore and parents pulled them out of the water. Shortly after, Kitner’s raft washed up onto the beach, deflated, and appeared to be bitten.

Kitner’s mother, Marion Kitner, has been taken to Amity General Hospital where she is being treated for shock. Her condition has been reported as stable. No other injuries have occurred. 

Chief of Police Martin Brody has announced a Town Hall meeting tonight at 6 p.m. Although he has not yet confirmed a shark attack as cause of death, he plans to shut down the beaches on July 4.

Kitner’s family suspects homicide, and is offering a $3,000 dollar reward for capture of the perpetrators. Subsequently, a World War II veteran and current fisherman named Bob Quint is now offering to hunt down the shark that may or may not have attacked Kitner. Quint is one of the 317 survivors of the USS Indianapolis in 1945. 

Citizens of Amity are now questioning the cause of Chrissie Watson’s death, who’s body was found mangled and washed up on shore early this morning. City officials are now heavily suspecting shark attacks near Village Beach, and both cases are being investigated as such.

Two grizzly deaths today have deprived Amity of two young lives, and has left citizens not only in mourning, but questioning their own safety as well. More information will be reported as it is released by Mayor Larry Vaughn, and Chief Brody, who can be reached at brodyman@beachcop.com

Chrissie

An Amity beach party that ran from Saturday night into this morning has left a 17 year old dead, and a town in shock. Police say an attacker was involved, and are still investigating whether or not it may have been a shark.

Amity High School Senior Chrissie Watson was last seen by Trinity College Sophomore Christopher Hoggenbottam at roughly 11 pm Saturday night. Hoggenbottam said that he followed Watson to a remote section of the beach, where she entered the water. 

“I was laying on the beach and she went swimming,” Hoggenbottam said. “She kept calling me to come in the water, but I fell asleep.”

Hoggenbottom reported Watson missing to the police at approximately 6 am this morning. Shortly after, her mangled body was recovered from a sand dune after being washed up onto shore.

Although police have reason to believe that both Hoggenbottam and Watson were both under the influence of alcohol, and possibly marijuana, they have no reason to believe any foul play between the two was involved.

Amity Chief of Police Martin Brody said in a press conference this afternoon that at this point there are currently no suspects.

According to Erica Dupervil, an attendant at the beach party Saturday night, the interaction between Hoggenbottam and Watson did not seem troubling. She also said she has reason to believe that the two may have been dating. 

“She didn’t seem intoxicated, and he had a couple beers,” Dupervil said. “They had a thing going on so I thought that’s why they may have left together.”

Although there are no suspects, foul play is not being ruled out. Watson was a member of the varsity swim team at Amity High, and her family says the likely hood of an accidental drowning is small.

“Her body is on its way to the medical examiner,” Brody said. “We will get a full autopsy as to cause of death and then we will move forward.”

Given that Amity hasn’t had a shark attack in years, Brody says he doesn’t believe a shark may have played a role in Watson’s death, although the possibility has not yet been ruled out.

Student veteran reflects on time in Afghanistan

Americans across the nation celebrated Veterans Day on Sunday, honoring the men and women who have served in the United States Armed Services.

A handful of UNH students fall among these heroes, including Carter Gentilhomme, who spent eight months as a sergeant in Afghanistan.

Currently a junior, Gentilhomme is a non-traditional full-time student from Concord. Upon graduating high school in 2002, he enlisted in the military.

After going through two years of training and being on active duty for seven, he was deployed to a small village in southern Afghanistan in July of 2009.

“I was excited,” he said. “I thought, ‘Finally I get to be deployed before it’s all over.’ Now it’s real.”

Gentilhomme served in support of Army Special Forces, a unit whose tasks can include unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, hostage rescue and counter-terrorism. Much of their operational techniques are classified.

In Afghanistan, Gentilhomme would go out on convoys with a small number of U.S. soldiers. Vehicles were loaded to sustain them for up to a week, and each soldier carried his own supplies.

“Everybody had their own weapons, ammunition and gear for whatever their specific job was,” Gentilhomme said. “And enough to carry them through a firefight or two.”

Gentilhomme worked surveillance at overwatch positions. He would be stationed on high grounds or lookout points, watching for enemy activity using scopes or binoculars.

“There was no way for us to know who we were fighting against,” he said. “We were in areas we knew were full of Taliban or insurgent fighters, but it’s not like people walked around in name tags. We had to wait, and if they attacked us, that’s how we knew.”

Gentilhomme said the danger was in not knowing whom to trust. Without any way to differentiate between the Afghani civilians and anti-coalition fighters, his guard was constantly up. There were, however, locals who were trusted and Afghani soldiers trained by the U.S. military.

“There were certain Afghanis that we went out on missions with that we would’ve taken a bullet for,” he said.

Gentilhomme remembers a young Afghani local who had been fighting against the Taliban for a long time.

“I liked him because he had a level of confidence that was much higher than some of the soldiers twice his age,” he said.

The locals who fought with the U.S. soldiers would go home at the end of the day, putting themselves in dangerous and vulnerable positions.

“If we were ever to completely pull out, they’d be left to defend for themselves,” Gentilhomme said. “We slept soundly when they manned our guard towers, but when they went home, they had to be constantly on the alert for anyone trying to hurt them.”

On a regular basis, Gentilhomme experienced violence and thus grew accustomed to IEDs, rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. On rare occasions, he encountered suicide bombs.

Gentilhomme said that toward the end of his deployment, there were at least four suicide bombers that terrorized the local “shura,” a twice-weekly town meeting where children played as the men and women convened. U.S. soldiers would attend one of the two meetings each week, but it was the meetings that they didn’t attend that were unsafe.

When the meetings were attacked, injured locals were brought to Gentilhomme’s small outpost, as it was the only medical facility nearby. Gentilhomme wasn’t a medic, but helped out whenever he could. He vividly remembers trying to save the life of an eight-year-old boy who was severely injured by a suicide bomb.

“He had a gash in his skull, shrapnel went through him in a number of places, and his left arm was broken,”Gentilhomme said. “We didn’t have any sort of fancy respirators, so I had to manually pump oxygen into his lungs. He didn’t make it.”

Knowing he would witness things that were hard to stomach, Gentilhomme was nervous upon his deployment. He was unsure of how he would handle such intense situations, but once he faced them he said he simply dealt with it because he had to.

“People sit at home and watch this stuff on TV,” he said. “But once you’re actually there, you know it’s real. People are fighting for what they believe in, or just to stay alive, and people are constantly dying.”    

Despite the amount of violence Gentilhomme faced daily, it never discouraged him. Even when a fellow soldier was killed in action, it didn’t break his spirit.

“I got really choked up,” he said. “It was the first person I had ever met who was killed in combat. It affected everybody, but you have to wake up the next day and keep doing whatever it is you’re there to do.”

Gentilhomme returned to the states in February of 2010. Even though he appreciates constant access to plumbing and not being covered in filth all day, he gained a new perspective that most people never will.

“It made me more aware of what goes on in the world,” he said. “Just because you aren’t hearing about it doesn’t mean these horrible things aren’t going on in other countries.”

Gentilhomme plans to finish his undergraduate degree at UNH. Afterwards, he plans on attending Officer Candidate School and commissioning to be an officer. Although he looks forward to his future in the military, he said that being deployed in Afghanistan has been a life-changing experience.

“If I could pause time here at home to be deployed, I would stay there for a couple years,” Gentilhomme said. “Everything seemed more real there. Everything you do over there matters, whether it was good or bad, whether you’re saving someone’s life or fighting someone else, successes and failures, everything matters.”