The Arbiter Vol. 35 Issue 12 3.9.23

Editor-In-Chief

Andrea Teres - Martinez editor@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Online Editor

Kelby Andrew onlineeditor@stumedia.boisestate.edu

News Editor

Brydon Black news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

News Reporter

Kate Jacobson

News Reporter

Kiryn Willett

Culture Editor

Hanalei Potempa culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Culture Reporter

Emily Gordon

Sports & Rec Editor

Adam Bridges sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Sports & Rec Reporter

Marlei Soderquist

Opinion Editor

Kiyah Henson opinion@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Copy Editor

Kelly Ann Asker copy@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Social Media Coordinator

Amy Brennan

Digital Content Manager

Taya Thornton digitalcontent@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Digital Content Producer

Elise Ledesma

Graphic Design Manager

Sasha White design@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Graphic Designer

Dorothy Martin

Illustrator

Sydney Smith

Distributed every few weeks during the academic school year and online daily, The Arbiter is the official independent student newspaper of Boise State University, where student editors make all content decisions and bear responsibility for those decisions. The Arbiter’s budget consists of fees paid by the student body and advertising sales. The first copy is free. Additional copies can be purchased for $1 a piece at The Arbiter offices.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

ON THE COVER:

This feature explores the mysterious new religious movement and leader behind the Shen Yun dance performance, which recently made an appearance at the Morrison Center in February.

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The Boise State men's basketball team beat No. 18 San Diego State University 66-60 on Feb. 28 during Senior Night.

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GUNS ON CAMPUS: WHAT IF THERE WAS NO REGULATION?

An overview of Senate Bill 1008

Kaylie Hilliker | Staff Writer | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

On Feb. 23 at 8 a.m., multiple gun violence prevention organizations gathered for an advocacy day and lobbied at the Idaho Capitol in response to Senate Bill 1008.

Participants waited in West Wing Room 17 in anticipation for the interim Chief of Boise Police Department, Ron Winegar, to provide statements on S.B. 1008. The logo t-shirts of volunteers from gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action painted the room red, a somber reminder of the consequences of gun violence.

Sen. Foreman, the sponsor of the bill, seeks to repeal Idaho Code Section 183309 with S.B. 1008. Section 18-3309 outlines the rules and regulations around gun possession in public colleges and universities.

Foreman believes these public university gun policies infringe on Second Amendment rights for students, and that S.B. 1008 will restore these rights.

“18-3309 is the section code that gives the governing boards of state colleges and universities the authority to create this matrix of gun laws,” Foreman told The Arbiter in an interview. “They can decide who carries and who doesn’t. And I don’t like that, I think that violates the Second Amendment.”

If the bill passes and is signed into law, it will change Boise State’s current gun regulations.

As of today, it is unlawful to carry firearms on campus in dorms, or public entertainment facilities with seating capacities of at least 1,000 (like ExtraMile Arena or the Student Union Building) according to Boise State policy.

The only circumstance in which a student can possess a firearm on campus

grounds is if they have an enhanced license to carry a concealed weapon. There are cases in which members of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps with permission from the associate vice president for Public Safety can carry, or if a person has written authorization the associate vice president for Public Safety. Regardless, firearms are not allowed in dormitories or large-scale public facilities.

If S.B. 1008 passes, any person who is 18 and does not possess a felony charge can carry without a license or prior training in ExtraMile Arena, the SUB, Albertsons Stadium or the Morrison Center, including dormitories and residence halls.

The law would allow anyone (student or the public) to carry anywhere on campus without university regulation unless the carrier was breaking the law or putting others at risk

The Arbiter asked Sen. Foreman for his opinion on training for gun owners.

“You don’t need me as a legislator saying, ‘Hey, tie your shoes before you walk, lock your door, wear your seat belt, go get gun training before you pick up a gun.’ Those things are common sense,” Foreman said. “Some people may say, ‘Well some people don’t have common sense.’ That’s true. Some people don’t. But it’s not the government’s job to do their thinking for them.”

The language of upholding “common sense” is a theme surrounding the policies for gun laws in Idaho in this legislative session. For Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, common sense is the backbone of their advocacy efforts.

Jacqui Hamilton, the Idaho State Chapter lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, told The Arbiter the purpose of their organization’s presence

in the Capitol that day.

“We come together to show that you can have common sense legislation and not give into extremism,” Hamilton said. “We are not anti-gun. We are gun owners, we are veterans, we are law enforcement, we are moms, dads, uncles, aunts, and all come together to make sure we keep our community safe. That’s our goal.”

Those gun owners welcomed Chief Winegar as he took the front to address the room.

“Some of these bills that are under consideration put in jeopardy public safety,” Winegar said. “And so I feel it’s incumbent upon us to speak up and speak out that we have to be careful with that legislation because it can have tremendous unintended consequences.”

The Arbiter asked Chief Winegar about

what impacts S.B. 1008 would have on Boise State’s campus in the future.

“That can be a very dangerous situation,” Winegar said. “Again, I am not anti-gun … I am a strong proponent of the Second Amendment and a strong proponent of firearms for a number of reasons. But, there have to be common sense measures in place.”

The bottom line is if S.B. 1008 is signed into law, gun regulation and policy on campus will change.

“Boise State University is keeping an eye on legislation making its way through the legislature and is in regular contact with the State Board of Education and legislators about bills that would affect campus and students,” Mike Sharp, deputy communications director at Boise State University, wrote in an email to The Arbiter.

Senate Bill 1008 would remove Boise State’s existing gun regulations on campus.

Photo courtesy of Kaylie Hilliker

BOISEANS PROTEST HOUSE BILL

TARGETING

TRANS YOUTH

Protestors gather outside Boise City Hall in opposition to H.B. 71

Kiryn Willett | News Reporter | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Protestors gathered outside Boise City Hall on Saturday, March 4, to rally against H.B. 71, which would ban minors from getting gender-affirming health care.

H.B. 71, titled as the Child Mutilation Bill, bans all forms of gender-affirming care for minors, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers in Idaho.

H.B. 71 is just one bill in the recent wave of anti-trans legislation sweeping Idaho and the nation. In the last two months, two other Idaho bills have targeted gender non-conforming individuals.

The Party For Socialism and Liberation (PSL) held a protest against H.B. 71 to show support for trans youth. Morrighan Nyx, an organizer for the PSL, has been expecting a bill like H.B. 71 ever since a similar bill, H.B. 675, failed last year.

“We’re seeing a campaign like this nationwide passing bills just like this,” Nyx said. “So we had to keep a very close eye on it.”

According to Nyx, the far right is branding the bill as “child mutilation” in order to manufacture fear and outrage as

an excuse to target trans people.

“It’s the initiation of conversation about which groups deserve rights, which we’ve seen very similar with the attacks on abortion rights,” Nyx said. “The right wing uses fear mongering and scare tactics to pass more and more restrictive bans until these rights are stripped away completely.”

Nyx believes that this is just one of the first steps to strip away rights of those in the LGBTQ community. Nyx said the key to protecting LGBTQ rights is interconnected with protecting all other minority rights.

“The rights of women and trans people and LGBTQ people are being attacked all by the same group,” Nyx said. “It’s all by not just the right wing, but the capitalist class.”

For Nyx, a trans woman, the struggle of being targeted by policy makers is something she can empathize with. In her experience, being targeted by such legislation is difficult and emotionally intense.

“These attacks happening all at once are meant to exhaust people, meant to make people feel hopeless,” Nyx said, “But when

we fight, we win. If we dare to struggle, we dare to win.”

Nyx encouraged trans youth to get involved in local organizations, such as the PSL, and to get out and protest. The Party for Socialism and Liberation will continue monitoring legislation across the country and organizing protests like the one that took place on March 4.

One protestor, Matthew Bridgeman, a Boise State freshman majoring in Games Interactive Media and Mobile Technology, fears that this bill is only the beginning.

“It’s a slippery slope towards criminalizing anything they don’t like,” Bridgeman said.

H.B. 231, also known as the Sexual Explication bill, propagates the trend of criminalizing gender non-conformance by defining drag as sexually explicit, which makes it possible for citizens to sue organizers of events that hire drag performers if the event has children present.

Gray Kinsley, a local drag performer, joined the drag community after their own failed suicide attempt.

“They accepted me as their own,” Kinsley said. “I have never felt so welcomed and so supported in a community of people as I had been in the drag community.”

Suicide rates are disproportionately high in trans children comapred to their cisgendered counter parts. According to the Journal of American Medical Association, suicide rates drop 73% when young trans people receive gender-affirming medical care.

This bill would prevent children from receiving gender-affirming care, under the guise of child mutilation. The bill doesn’t just target gender-affirming surgeries, which are already banned for minors, but also all other forms of gender-affirming care. This includes safe and reversible treatments, such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers.

Kanan Kadin Tuttle, a local 16-year-old activist and trans man, was one of the over

100 protestors who showed up to make their voices heard.

“It’s not just for me, not just because it would affect my transition and prevent me from living my life how I deserve to live it,” Tuttle said. “I deserve to live it as me. But it would affect all of the trans kids.”

Tuttle and other activists worry this legislation could cause suicide rates to rise among Idaho’s trans youth. According to Tuttle, this legislation could be a devastating blow to those who are already struggling with their gender identity.

“I was forced to live a life of someone who I’m not. I couldn’t do it, honestly because it’s not a matter of a choice … It’s who I am,” said Tuttle, “(This bill) would hurt children more than it would ever, ever help them.”

Tuttle described how the recent wave of anti-trans sentiment has made him feel unsafe in his own community. According to Tuttle, the knowledge that he has neighbors in support of this bill who hold transphobic beliefs is enough to cause immense anxiety and panic attacks. Tuttle now takes his dog with him when going on walks and tries to stay close to home.

“When the people in power are against you, and you fear for your life,” Tuttle said. “We should be able to walk around our own neighborhood without having to fear for our lives.”

Despite this, Tuttle said seeing pride flags in downtown Boise and seeing the support of others at the protest gives him hope.

“For any trans kid out there, you’re not alone. We’re gonna get through this,” Tuttle said. “This isn’t the end. And even if you can’t actively fight if you can’t be out here at the rallies, that’s okay. Because you’re fighting for yourself, just by existing and I’m proud of you.”

The introduction of H.B. 71 has raised concerns about the mental health of gender non-conforming individuals in the state of Idaho. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS INFILTRATING CLASSROOMS

How ChatGPT could change the landscape of education

assignments and even write examples and then grade them. ChatGPT can write papers, music scores, poetry, computer code and so much more.

While the capabilities of ChatGPT can be intimidating, workshop instructors emphasized that the software still requires a lot of human intervention and should be viewed as a tool to enhance and help educators, rather than being seen as competition.

Another common concern was that ChatGPT may be used by students to cheat on assignments. Some public school districts across the country have already banned the use of ChatGPT on district networks and devices, as is the case in New York City’s public schools.

Disruptive innovation has arrived in the world of education, and the latest challenger to traditional teaching methods is artificial intelligence in the form of ChatGPT, which is poised to revolutionize the way educators and students approach learning.

The paragraph above was generated by ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot capable of producing human-like responses to most prompts and questions. In this case, ChatGPT was given a draft of this article and asked to “write an attention-grabbing, introductory sentence,” which it did in just a few seconds.

The term “disruptive innovation” refers to inventions and innovations within society that create a new market that ultimately disrupts an already existing market. Modern examples include Wikipedia disrupting the encyclopedia market, Airbnb disrupting the hotel industry and Netflix disrupting the movie rental market. Education is a constantly evolving envi-

ronment — the curriculum, the technology, the resources are all everchanging. With each disruptive innovation, educators and students have to adapt to the change and evolve with the times.

Artificial intelligence has been creeping its way into classrooms for years, but the recent release of ChatGPT may be enough to truly disrupt educational environments.

On March 3, Boise State University hosted the “Teaching and Learning with Artificial Intelligence” workshop via Zoom for educators across Idaho.

The workshop was facilitated by faculty and staff from Boise State’s Center for Teaching and Learning, eCampus Center and Learning Technology Solutions. It was intended to demonstrate how educators and students may incorporate artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, into the classroom.

Instructors at the workshop explained the history of disruptive innovations within education, such as the invention of the pocket calculator, typewriters, computers

and the internet. All of these technologies massively shifted curriculums and ways in which students were taught, and now ChatGPT is starting the next major shift.

Upon its release in November 2022, ChatGPT quickly grew a large base of users to the point where there is often a wait time to access the program. In February, Reuters reported that ChatGPT reached 100 million active users just two months after its release, making it the fastest growing consumer application in history.

Boise State’s workshop on ChatGPT was attended by over 160 individuals including instructors from all of Idaho’s public universities, as well as K-12 teachers, social workers and many others.

One of the top concerns expressed by workshop attendees was the fear that ChatGPT and its future evolutions will take the jobs of teachers, writers, journalists and other more creative jobs.

During the workshop, attendees used ChatGPT to create assignments for college-level courses, create rubrics for said

Additionally, OpenAI implemented a new feature in February to combat plagiarism using their software. The feature, called the “AI text classifier,” allows users to submit a body of text and the program will tell them how likely it is that the text was generated using AI.

Boise State has yet to make any changes or implement any new policies relating to ChatGPT, but it’s entirely possible as more people become familiar with the AI.

Boise State GIMM major Noah Harris said that he personally would not use ChatGPT to cheat in his academics, but said it could still be useful to students or faculty for other purposes.

“It’s remarkable how far AI technology has come to be able to generate text from so many different prompts,” Harris said. “I think one of the best things about ChatGPT is that it’s good for writing huge blocks of code that are normally just a lot of busy work.”

As ChatGPT and other AI become more mainstream, colleges and universities will have to continually fight the growing technology with bans and regulations, or they will eventually be forced to adapt to and benefit from AI in educational spaces.

Artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT brings both optimism and concern about how the technology may be used in educational environments. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

ARE IDAHO STUDENTS’ VOTING RIGHTS BEING RESTRICTED?

House bill pushes for the removal of personal student IDs as a form of identification for voting

Olivia Campbell | Staff Writer | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

In the spring of 2022, a bill was brought to the Idaho House floor proposing the removal of student identification cards as a valid form of identification for voting. The bill died in committee meetings and did not pass to the Senate.

A year later, shortly after the 67th legislative session’s start, House Bill 124 was brought to the House State Affairs Committee by State Rep. and bill sponsor Tina Lambert.

However, unlike the former bill, it did not die in the committee. The bill passed Feb. 20, 2023, in the House with 59 yays, 11 nays and zero absent, prohibiting the use of a student identification card in

Idaho elections. The bill is set to move to the Senate.

“There is a lack of uniformity in the sophistication of student ID cards,” Rep. Tina Lambert writes in the bill’s statement of purpose. “Statewide, only 104 voters who voted at the 2022 General Election used a student ID card to vote, which was the second least-utilized form of personal identification.”

“My constituents are concerned that students, maybe from a state like Washington or Oregon where they vote by mail, may come over here with their student ID and vote in-person and then fill out their ballot in another state, thereby voting twice,” said Rep. Lambert at the House State Affairs

Committee meeting Jan. 31, 2023.

ASBSU responded to last year’s similar bill with a resolution saying that the student government of Boise State did not agree or support the bill, according to ASBSU Government Relations Officer and political science major Jackson Berg.

“It is a tough bill to get around, because it does in fact restrict student voting,” Berg said.

Current valid forms of identification at the polls include an Idaho driver’s license, passport, tribal identification card or license to carry concealed weapons, according to Idaho’s constitution.

As of today, valid forms of student identification include an Idaho university-is-

sued ID, or even a high school ID card.

The bill’s passing raises the question at the Capitol and on Boise State’s campus: Do out-of-state students understand where and how they can vote as a student in Idaho?

“I think it is partly student government and partly the university’s responsibility to educate students on getting out and voting,“ Berg said. “If people aren’t educated on where they can vote or if they are registered to vote, then they won’t get out to do it.”

At Boise State’s “register to vote day” this past fall, 21 students registered to vote, all using a driver’s license as their form of identification, according to Berg.

With the passing of this bill, students wanting to exercise their right to vote in Idaho must now bring a state-issued ID to identify themselves at the polls.

“Some students I have talked with find it weird that they cannot vote in a state they do not live in full-time (where they are registered). So, this will allow students to understand what voting is and how important it is,” said ASBSU Out-Of-State Representative and freshman political science major Max Harris in an interview with The Arbiter.

If it passes the Senate, House Bill 124 would prohibit the use of student IDs as a form of voter identification in the state of Idaho. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

“Statewide, only 104 voters who voted at the 2022 general Election used a student ID card to vote, which was the second least utilized form of personal identification.”

-

Idaho Rep. Tina Lambert, sponsor of H.B. 124

OPINION

A GUIDE TO TREEFORT 2023

How to get the most out of Treefort

Kiyah Henson | Opinion Editor | opinion@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Spring break is just around the corner, and that means Treefort is too.

Treefort is a five-day indie rock festival held annually in downtown Boise. March 2023 will kick off Treefort’s 11th year of musical performances and events like comedy shows and film screenings.

This year, Treefort will take place March 22-26, and there are more than enough events to fill the week. However, with so much happening all at once, it can be difficult to figure out the best schedule to get the most out of the Treefort experience. Just like any other music festival, there are a lot of ways to prepare beforehand.

A mistake I made last year is not taking the time to listen to artists I was unfamiliar with before the festival. I enjoyed almost every performance I saw, which makes me think about how many performances I would’ve enjoyed had I added them to my schedule.

There are over 480+ bands playing at Treefort this year, and sadly there just isn’t enough time to see them all. By taking the time to go through the lineup and see what these artists are about, it will help to prioritize scheduling and almost guarantee you’ll enjoy every performance you see.

Thankfully, Treefort makes it easy by having individual profiles for every artist and group playing under the “lineup” section on their website. These profiles include a short bio written by the artist and links to their music and social media.

Treefort also created an app called the “Treefort app” that can be downloaded in the Apple Store or Google Play. This app allows users to view news, get notifications, listen to artists and favorite them. It also includes real-time line information for each venue and a link to the festival maps

for easily accessible directions.

The app has a built-in schedule that is customizable based on what events and musical performances each user chooses to add. After schedules are made, there’s even the option to share schedules with friends and compare what events the other has added, right on the app.

A standard tip for attending the festival is to be sure to get downtown and find the venues early on. Parking can be a hassle in Boise on a regular day and is especially bad when there are events going on. Another way to minimize this issue is by coordinating rides with friends.

Along with this, only bring along necessities. Keeping track of extra items when trying to enjoy a show or walking all day can be annoying. My checklist goes

something like: keys, phone, ID, cash. The exception is making sure to have water on hand.

A few of the incredibly talented bands playing at this year’s Treefort were kind enough to share some tips with The Arbiter on how to best enjoy the festival and what they’re most excited to experience themselves.

Utah’s toughest team, Backhand, an energetic punk rock group from Salt Lake City, say the best way for people to experience festivals like Treefort is to go to as many shows as physically possible.

They are most excited to see and hang out with their friends and said that “Treefort is a great place to make connections!”

Forty Feet Tall, a post-punk alternative

rock band from Portland, Oregon, said they’re preparing for Treefort by doing lots of pushups, sit ups, crunches and stretching. They stress the importance of stretching.

To best experience Treefort, the band says to make sure you have a schedule planned out.

“It’s super easy to miss acts you’d have loved to see if you’re not prepared before the weekend starts,” they said.

It’s difficult to have a bad experience at Treefort, and it’s completely possible to attend without any preparation. However, for those looking to maximize their time and get the most out of the festival, these tips should guide you in the right direction.

Research the bands that are playing at Treefort prior to the festival can help you make the most out of your time at the five-day event. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

BOISE STATE’S LIBRARY SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE TO STUDENTS 24 HOURS A DAY

Extending the library’s hours is an inexpensive way to benefit the student body

Kate Jacobson | News Reporter | opinion@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Boise State University offers a lot of useful and versatile study spaces to its students, from the library to the Student Union Building to the Interactive Learning Center. These spaces are great, but only when we have access to them.

The largest and most accessible study space on campus is the Albertsons Library, which is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday with shorter hours the rest of the week. The hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

The limited hours of operation leave nearly 80 hours each week where students are unable to use the library as a resource. When added up, Boise State’s library is closed for a total of three full days per week, and while it may predominantly be during the night, this is often when students have the time to study.

I spent my first year of college at the University of Idaho (U of I), and while I am grateful for my transfer experience and the opportunities I have since received, I was also wildly disappointed to discover upon transfering that unlike U of I, Boise State does not offer a 24-hour library.

When I was attending U of I, I spent countless hours at the library late at night because that was when I had the most time to focus. The same can be said for many college students.

Ten percent of all full-time college students in the U.S. are also employed full-time, working at least 35 hours a week, according to 2020 data from the National Center for Education Statistics. An additional 30% of college students also work part-time.

Beyond work and school, many students have other obligations during the day such as university clubs and sports, familial obligations and internships. This leaves only evenings, nights and weekends to spend on homework and studying.

Unfortunately, these are also the times when the Albertsons Library is most often closed.

At U of I, the official library hours are almost identical to Boise State’s, but students are able to use their student IDs to unlock the library after hours.

During the pandemic, Boise State students had to use their IDs to get into the library, showing that the technology is already in place to keep the doors locked at night while still allowing students to get in.

The library at U of I was always very quiet at night — some students were studying, some typing away at computers, some reading and some even dozed off on the couches.

Students use the library at night for countless reasons; sometimes the resident halls are too loud, sometimes students may not have Wi-Fi at home and sometimes

they may just need a safe place to go. A study conducted at Kent State University found that when the school offered overnight library hours, roughly 21% of the student population regularly visited the library during this time. The study also found that the retention rate for undergraduates who utilized the overnight library hours was roughly 5% higher than the school’s average.

Opening the library for 24 hours, even for only a few days of the week, would tremendously benefit the student body and is a feasible, inexpensive investment for Boise State.

U of I’s library is not staffed overnight, but this has never created any major problems for the school. The university is able to track which students come and go during the nights, and rooms such as offices, classrooms and labs are locked while the library is “closed,” so the security risks

are minimal.

Boise State would not be required to hire additional staff to extend the library’s hours. In fact, the only real expense that would be added is an increased electricity bill due to powering more of the building overnight.

College students are often juggling countless responsibilities in their daily lives, and it is the university’s job to support their students in any way possible. Students need a quiet, reliable place to study at whatever time they are available, and Boise State has the ability to provide that.

There’s no reason Albertsons Library should be dark and empty during the night when there are many students, such as myself, who would love having access to this space.

Boise State students need flexible library hours that can accommodate their busy and unpredictable schedules throughout the school year. Elise Ledesma | The Arbiter

IS THE MORRISON CENTER UNKNOWINGLY HOSTING A FRONT FOR A CULT ?

Brydon Black | News Editor | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Graphics by Sasha White

You’ve likely seen pamphlets or billboards around the Treasure Valley titled “SHEN YUN.” This year, the show’s motto is “China Before Communism,” with advertised images of a woman leaping through the air in a bright pink traditional Chinese dress and long baby blue water sleeves.

But what the billboards don’t show is the new religious movement behind Shen Yun’s founding, cult accusations, controversial statements made by the group’s leader and a money trail that leads back to Cuddebackville, New York.

The Morrison Center in Boise hosted Shen Yun on Feb. 18 and 19. The Morrison Center told The Arbiter that since 2016, they’ve hosted the performance six times, the one exception being in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

According to the Morrison Center, Shen Yun’s rental expenses over the two days amounted to around $51,000.

Shen Yun is a non-profit started in 2006 by practitioners of the new religious movement, Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa). They host dance performances in major cities from America, to Europe and Asia.

Falun Gong founder Hongzhi Li lives at the 400-acre Dragon Springs compound in New York, where Shen Yun is based.

Li has sparked controversy over his public remarks, once saying in a speech that heaven is segregated by race and disputed the theory of evolution. The Falun Dafa Info website claims that the Falun Gong practice has “showed marked

OF

or complete recovery,” of illnesses such as cancer.

Cult expert Rick Alan Ross has raised concerns over the Falun Dafa group promoted by the show, the leader behind Falun Dafa and how much the dancers are being paid. Ross, the executive director of the Cult Education Institute, spoke with The Arbiter about why he believes Falun Gong meets the criteria of being a cult.

Ross has testified as an expert in court on authoritarian groups in 11 states, including United States Federal Court. Of his 40 years of work in the field, Ross spent more than a decade working with over 50 former Falun Gong members and their families.

Ross is the author of the book “Cults Inside Out: How People Get in and Can Get Out” which includes a chapter dedicated to Falun Gong. He called the Shen Yun dance performance a “cash cow,” with Li generating an enormous amount of money. Ross said he has received repeated complaints from families that say Li pays the dance performers “very little.”

“They are essentially devoted to him, devoted to believing in him, believing in his claims about his spiritual unique superiority, so they give their lives to who they call Master Li,” Ross said.

According to ProPublica’s nonprofit explorer, Shen Yun Performing Arts Inc. posted a revenue of $33,236,932 in 2019, which was the latest year available. The documents show the group is based in Cuddebackville, New York, with total assets in 2019 listed at $144,328,349.

The Arbiter attended one of Shen Yun’s three performances at the Morrison

Center. Before resell prices, tickets ranged from $80 to $150 on Shen Yun’s website. After passing through security and admission, directly to the left of the entrance sat a table with books, videos and a streaming service for sale. One book read “Falun Gong,” written by Falun Gong’s founder, Hongzhi Li.

On the table, pink and yellow ornaments attached to a lotus flower read “FALUN DAFA IS GOOD,” with small pamphlets on the edge of the table offering free online lessons that read “FALUN DAFA (Falun Gong) A Traditional Self-Cultivation Practice to improve Mind and Body.”

So what is Falun Gong? Who is Hongzhi Li? What does Falun Gong have to do with Shen Yun? Is the Morrison Center unknowingly hosting a show that works as a front for a cult?

What is Falun Gong/Falun Dafa?

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, started in 1992 by the proclaimed “Master” Hongzhi Li.

The group holds a mixture of beliefs and practices pertaining to Buddhism, Taoism, qigong breathing practices, anti-communism and a variety of stories from the founder regarding aliens.

In a series of answers, Li told Time in 1999 that aliens from “other planets” introduced modern machinery and science with the “ultimate purpose to replace humans,” with clones, while introducing legislation to stop human reproduction.

When Time Magazine asked Li if he was human, he said, “You can think of me as a human being,” after being asked if he was from earth, Li said that he didn’t wish

A LOOK INTO THE MYSTERIOUS ROOTS

“SHEN YUN”

to talk about himself at a “higher level,” since people wouldnt understand.

Li would later tell The Washington Post that his quotes regarding aliens using cloning technologies to take over earth were meant as metaphors to ancient Buddhist thought.

In a 1996 speech, Li talked about how homosexuality was not permitted by “the principles of heaven,” dismissed evolutionary theory and said that “The races in the world are not allowed to be mixed up.”

Falun Gong initially had a cordial relationship with the Chinese Government. According to the Falun Dafa Info Center, in 1993, the official newspaper of China’s Ministry of Public Security praised Li for his contributions “in promoting the traditional crime-fighting virtues of the Chinese people, in safeguarding social order and security, and in promoting rectitude in society.”

The New York Times and Washington Post referred to Li’s followers at the time as a “cult.”

In 1999, Li would be labeled a criminal by the Chinese government and the group itself would be outlawed under an anti-cult law. By this time, Li had already immigrated to the United States.

A volunteer at the show told The Arbiter that “most” of the dancers and volunteers are Falun Dafa practitioners. Despite hosting Shen Yun performances six times, the Morrison Center told The Arbiter that they were not familiar with Falun Gong or Hongzhi Li. Shen Yun did not respond to The Arbiter’s multiple requests for comment by email.

Cult Allegations

Family members of Falun Gong members, cult counselors and cult experts have called Falun Gong a cult. The Falun Gong denies this characterization, saying it stems from the Communist Party of China. Local and national contacts for Falun Gong did not respond to The Arbiter’s multiple requests for comment by phone call and email.

Ross said that in his opinion, he considered Falun Gong to be a cult because it fits three core characteristics of a destructive cult.

The three core characteristics Ross referenced are based on the published work of Harvard psychologist Robert J. Lifton, who studied cults. The first core characteristic is an authoritarian leader with no meaningful accountability who becomes an object of worship, Ross said Li fits this description.

The second core characteristic is that the group uses identifiable coercive persuasion, thought reform and influence techniques to gain undue influence over the people in the group. The third is the group does harm and is destructive, using the undue influence to exploit and cause harm to people.

going to a doctor when they need care,.” Ross said.

In the last intervention Ross conducted, a young diabetic father almost died because he refused to take insulin due to thinking Falun Gong practices would cure his diabetes. The intervention worked and the man would eventually agree to regularly take his insulin, according to Ross.

Another aspect Ross finds disturbing about Falun Gong and Shen Yun specifically is the lack of financial transparency regarding how much the Li family profits and pays performers.

A New York Times report from April 1999 detailed how 10,000 followers of Li’s gathered in a silent protest outside of the Zhongnanhai government building in Beijing. During this time period, the Chinese government estimated some 70 million practitioners of Falun Gong, while Li placed his estimate at 100 million.

Ross said that families will call him who have loved ones living in the Dragon Springs compound who they don’t feel they can communicate with.

“The complaints that I receive about Falun Gong are consistent, which is family estrangement, social isolation, lack of communication and most disturbingly, people not taking medication and not

”The Day of Judgment Draws Nigh”

To a casual observer, the undertones of the group could be easily missed in the bright colors, orchestra music, impressive choreography and cheerful hosts. When one performer sang about end times, the day of judgment and evolution being the devil’s doctrine, audience members appeared unfazed.

What gets lost in the persistent advertising, colorful billboards and glossy pamphlets that appear in the Boise community year after year is the controversial story behind the performance.

See you next year, Shen Yun.

“They are essentially devoted to him, devoted to believing in him, believing in his claims about his spiritual unique superiority, so they give their lives to who they call master li.”

- CULT EXPERT RICK ALAN ROSS

“...family estrangement, social isolation, lack of communication and most disturbingly, people not taking medication and not going to a doctor when they need care.”

- RICK ALAN ROSS

CULTURE

March 9, 2023 | ARBITERONLINE.COM

DEDICATED SERVERS: DEDICATED TO SERVING BOISE WITH HIP-HOP

This trio’s passion for hip-hop bleeds into their energetic performances and fun, varied and creative albums

Connor Koster | Staff Writer | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Hip-hop, lo-fi, video games and friendship. These are the four tenets of this local trio’s music currently spreading throughout the Treasure Valley.

This is Dedicated Servers, consisting of the rappers David “Dave the Fave” Boutdy, Matt “MCMD” Dixon and their DJ producer, Xander “Spin Master Mugen” Rodriguez.

Formed in 2004, Boutdy and Dixon could not have imagined that their small hobby making diss tracks would have spiraled into a nearly 20-year endeavor.

“There’s no way we ever thought we would be doing it this long – we were just laughing, telling jokes, being like ‘Let’s do another one!’ It’s cool that we’re still able to keep it going,” Dixon said.

Boutdy and Dixon put out three albums under the Dedicated Servers name before joining forces with their now DJ, Spin Master Mugen, creating their fourth and most recent album “Freshman 15,” released in January 2020.

“Freshman 15” is a culmination of all of the band’s eras in one extremely well-produced album that you could listen to endlessly. From what they would begrudgingly call their nerdcore era to lofi chill-hop, this album covers it all.

“Freshman 15” contains both new songs and older songs that have been remixed, such as track nine “Leaf Tag.”

“Mugen came in and breathed life into some of these old songs and made them better. He really killed it on all the tracks,” Dixon said.

The group references the legendary hip-hop producer Jun “Nujabes” Seba as a large inspiration for a lot of their music on “Freshman 15,” whose seminal works essentially created the lo-fi genre.

However, the band expressed that being compared to Seba makes some of the members feel pressured.

“I don’t even want to be compared to him. It’s too big of a burden. To me our music is just us,” Boutdy said.

Rodriguez feels more positive about the comparisons.

“I don’t take it for granted at all. If it wasn’t for him (Seba) I wouldn’t be producing music today,” Rodriguez said. “It’s flattering being in the same conversation.”

Despite the comparisons, “Freshman 15” stands as an album that is wholly unique, tackling themes such as nostalgia, family, love and home, subjects often considered “too soft” for hip-hop.

“You know, there are some rappers from here talking about getting shot and we’re like, ‘Where?’ That kind of thing isn’t true to us,” Boutdy said. “We always try to think about how we can be authentic.”

This commitment to authenticity is consistent throughout all of Dedicated Servers’ albums and singles.

The trio seeks to spread positivity through their hip-hop music. Whether that be a cheeky video game reference or a chill beat to spirit you away, there’s always something to bring a smile to the listener.

“It’s important to me that we give people something that’s fun, that’s safe and energetic,” Dixon said.

Dedicated Servers’ producer also wished for a positive impact from their music.

“With our music I’d like to leave behind an escape, when they’re hurting or sad or anything and have them get lost in it,” Rodriguez said.

Now in 2023, the band is looking ahead on how to expand their horizons,

with three potential projects in the works.

The first project, “Hibernation,” is an album in collaboration with the host of radio show “The Wreck,” Jason “Djjason’’ Duncan, which Boudty described as having an “East Coast boom bap” type of feeling to it.

The other projects are Rodriguez produced albums titled “Colors” and “Hues.” “Colors” is aimed to be a future funk album, and “Hues” will return to the slower Nujabes-inspired beats like those on “Freshman 15.”

These albums are in addition to their own soon-to-be-released solo projects such as Boutdy’s “Rollercoaster” due out near the end of spring, along with numerous singles from Rodriguez.

There will surely be no shortage of content from Dedicated Servers. Fans

can even catch the group performing at Treefort Music Fest this year. Rodriguez and Boutdy will perform back-to-back solo sets on Friday, March 24, while a performance from the whole trio scheduled for the following Sunday, March 26.

With all these projects in the works, it’s safe to say that Dedicated Servers’ career is far from over, and that they’ll stay dedicated to propping up the Boise music community.

“Look into the Boise hip-hop scene. There’s a lot of cool rappers that are way better than us,” Dixon said. “Go support your local artist.”

If you would like to keep up with their future projects, you can support them on their Bandcamp, Twitch or with merch from their shop.

Members of local hip-hop band Dedicated Servers will be performing at this year’s Treefort Music Fest on March 24 and March 26.

Photo courtesy of Dedicated Servers

‘COCAINE BEAR’ IS A DRUG-FUELED COMEDIC MASTERPIECE

with its ridiculous plot, outstanding gore and hilarious screenplay

Kelly Ann Asker | Copy Editor | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Let’s travel back in time to 1985. You’re watching the news and hear that a 175-pound black bear has overdosed on 75 pounds — $2 million worth — of cocaine after an airborne drug smuggle over Tennessee and Georgia went awry.

Now, let’s flash forward to the present. You’re sitting in a movie theater, or maybe on your couch, watching a dark comedy/ action/thriller film inspired by the very same drug-fueled event that took place in 1985.

“Cocaine Bear” officially roared into theaters on Feb. 24. After reading its back story and watching the trailer, I just had to see it. Was it what I expected? Absolutely not.

It was 100 times better than anything my imagination could have cooked up. The film follows the same storyline

as its inspiration, but with its own set of unique characters and its gore factor turned on high.

“Cocaine Bear” features a plethora of characters as they encounter the coked-up bear, but the most notable include Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince), Henry (Christian Convery), Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich), Stache (Aaron Holliday) and Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.).

The story follows little groups of characters as they journey throughout Chattahoochee National Forest and eventually stumble upon each other — and the crazed bear.

The pace in “Cocaine Bear” is perfect and allows for excellent character development and time for the audience to connect with the cast, which becomes pretty vital when Cocaine Bear decides to

show no mercy.

Weaving together substories, humor, gore and mystery can be difficult to do well, but the writers seamlessly intertwined all of these elements which resulted in a highly entertaining and engaging film.

According to IMDB, “Cocaine Bear” is rated R for “bloody violence and gore, drug content and language throughout.”

The violence and gore in this movie is pretty brutal. However, the way the gore is inflicted is so outlandish and ridiculous, that you can’t help but laugh through the pain. A great example is when Cocaine Bear snorts a line of coke off a severed leg. It’s so gross, but also so dumb that the audience can’t help but crack up.

But viewers be warned: this movie is not for the weak stomached. You will see some horrific things, but if you’re able to

put on a brave face and find the humor, you’ll no doubt be entertained.

“Cocaine Bear” has a fair amount of jump scares too that get you while your guard is down, so you’ll never see it coming.

Every actor in this film does an outstanding job embodying the pure terror that comes with fighting a bear on a coke trip, but a few go above and beyond and manage to be absolutely hilarious in the process.

The winner for this in my eyes was 13-year-old Christian Convery. His portrayal of Henry was off the charts. Every joke hit and every line was delivered to perfection. To sum it up, Convery is a little comedic powerhouse.

However, Convery doesn’t overshadow everyone else. Rather, his humor is perfectly complemented by the rest of the cast. Specifically, his sarcastic wise-cracks at Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) made the audience erupt in a fit of laughter.

“Cocaine Bear” was directed by Elizabeth Banks, who you may know as Effie Trinket from the Hunger Games franchise. The film was written by Jimmy Warden, who also worked on the screenplay for “The Babysitter” and its sequel, “The Babysitter: Killer Queen.”

“Cocaine Bear” is a movie that you have to let yourself enjoy. If you go in planning to be overly critical and uptight, all you’re going to see is a stupid CGI bear alongside some demented, dark humor. But if you sit back and enjoy the high, “Cocaine Bear” might just become your new favorite movie.

Seeing “Cocaine Bear” on the big screen is the best way to experience this film. Laughing, cringing and almost gagging with your fellow viewers makes your “Cocaine Bear” experience whole.

“Cocaine Bear” is now in theaters, and it’s an absolute must see.

“Cocaine Bear” is a dramatized retelling of a 1985 event where a 175-pound black bear overdosed on cocaine dropped by a drug smuggling plane. Photo courtesy of Universal Studios

‘Cocaine Bear’ thrives

CULTURE

SUREL’S PLACE IN BOISE HOSTS CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE PAINTER

Roxanne Everett illustrates the striking details of the ecosystems in southern Idaho

Hanalei Potempa | Culture Editor | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

For the month of January, Boise art studio Surel’s Place hosted contemporary landscape artist Roxanne Everett.

Everett, an award winning artist, spent the month of January in Boise, applying her landscape painting skills to the beautiful scenes found in southern Idaho.

Everett graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in architecture, and also received a degree in forest ecology from the University of Washington, which ended up being a better fit for her professionally.

Everett spent most of her professional career working as a backpack ranger for the National Parks, which greatly inspired her art journey as an environmentally centric artist.

“Becoming a backcountry ranger for the national parks exposed me to some absolutely incredible landscapes and immense beauty that just kind of blew my mind,” Everett said. “And now I’m getting a little bit older, and I can’t hike as far and I’m more prone to injuries … being able to paint some of these landscapes has been really wonderful. It’s been a really nice period of my life.”

Some of her residencies have included South Dakota, Oregon and the Olympic National Park in Washington. Her artistic pursuits have also taken her across the globe, with residencies in Iceland, Australia and the Paros Island of Greece.

“[I’ve been] doing a lot of artist residencies all over the place, which exposes me to a ton of different ecosystems, you know, different kinds of woods, and prairies and just all different types of environments. And I like to explore that in my work,” Everett said. “And so I noticed that there was a residency here in Boise and it just felt right, to be in this kind of environment. Not only because it was an artist residency, but just another ecosystem for me to look at and explore a little bit through my works.”

Everett shared that her art has always focused on the environment and the land of a specific area, highlighting the details of what makes that ecosystem special and distinct.

“Sometimes I will play around with individual species, but mostly it’s landscapes,” Everett said. “And rarely do any of the landscapes have any people in them, or even any human artifacts. It’s really about the land, the environment and native species that are there.”

Everett predominantly works with acrylic paint, but often incorporates pencil, marker, charcoal, watercolor and oil painting.

Often starting with pencil sketches outside, Everett takes lots of photos of scenes she wants to paint and later works on multiple pieces at once.

“I like having like seven or eight paintings going at once, and they’ll be at various levels of completion,” Everett said. “And that way if I mix up a lot of brown and say, ‘Oh, this painting needs some brown,’ I can go over and work on that painting for a while, and then I might go back to another one. So I’m kind of working on several pieces at once.”

Everett shared that the landscapes of Boise and surrounding areas are pretty different compared to other places she’s traveled, but emphasized the comparability of scenes from Wyoming and eastern Washington.

Everett hopes her art will have a greater impact on viewers and incite appreciation for the environment we live in.

“I really hope that people will come away with just the beauty of land, and in some cases, maybe it will lead them towards better stewardship of protecting some special places that are around,” Everett said. “It’s also kind of personal to me, because I feel like I’m really in touch with the land and the plants, and I like to share my appreciation for those environments.”

Boise art studio Surel’s Place showcased the artwork of contemporary landscape painter Roxanne Everett for the month of January.

Photos courtesy of Christina Birkinbine

STEPPING DANCE COMPANY STEP AFRIKA!

MAKES ITS

WAY TO BOISE

Step Afrika! introduces a traditional form of dance to Boise with an energy-filled program

Aryanna Alvarado | Staff Writer | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

sections of the show, particularly the story of South African miners and the gumboot dance.

Gumboot dancing began in the South African mines with workers mining tirelessly for stretches of time, often unable to communicate with one another. This led to a creation of a shared code in which workers would slap their boots in determined patterns signaling to other workers in the distance – an example of a message shared was the arrival of their boss in the mines.

the dancers on stage and learn the basic stepping movements. This was similar to the workshops often held by the company.

Ftwo years, the “MC Presents” program at the Morrison Center has worked to bring nationally and internationally touring artists to Boise. Part of this year’s lineup was “Step Afrika!,” a stepping dance company that made their Boise debut on Feb. 21. Combining music, storytelling and dance, the energy in the room was at a constant high.

Step Afrika! is a company focused on the traditional dance form of stepping. Founded by C. Brian Williams in the summer of 1994, Williams describes stepping as a “highly energetic, polyrhythmic, percussive dance form” that uses the dancers’ bodies as an instrument with the movements. Stepping’s roots can be found within African American fraternities and sororities, including Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, which Williams is a member of.

Step Afrika! began in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a two-week festival.

“I was trying to find a way to connect the African American artform of stepping with, at that moment, South African dance forms and culture,” Williams said.

“The people, for the most part, had never seen this tradition of stepping. It was their first time, and I was really shocked [by] their immediate response to the form and the energy that’s created.”

Unknown to many, Williams saw something special within stepping that excited him. After touring over 60 countries, he shared there are still new people being introduced to stepping everyday.

“First and foremost, I hope that audiences enjoy their time in the theater with us. It’s important to me to have a good time,” Williams said. “But then I also want them to be introduced to a different part of American culture they may not have known that much about.”

Williams’ hopes for the show were perfectly reflected in their production at the Morrison Center.

Conversations overheard from before the show consisted of audience members asking one another what exactly they knew about the show beyond the program’s description.

The show effortlessly combined entertainment and education. This was especially apparent in the storytelling

Over time, this communication method formed into a dance as a means of entertainment. By slapping their boots in a rhythmic pattern and adding movements, the gumboot dance was born. Within the show, dancers portrayed miners wearing gumboots and bandanas, providing an entertaining retelling of what these experiences in the mines might look like.

During the show, the dancers combined miming out the actions of working in the mines and stepping movements. In the middle of her movements, one dancer fell over and shrieked in what was assumed to be pain. The other dancers halted their movements and quickly asked in unison, “What’s wrong?”

The woman who was on the ground pointed her finger up at them and exclaimed, “My nail!” and the audience sang in laughter.

The audience played a large part in the show’s energy as there wasn’t a moment of silence – other than in anticipation for the drums to be played as the traditional South African Zulu dance began. Performers from Step Afrika! periodically spoke with the audience in between dance sections and would encourage clapping, snapping, cheering, standing up and whatever else the audience felt they needed to do in response to what was occurring on stage.

At one point during the show, volunteers from the audience were asked to join

“Our mission is to preserve and promote the artform of stepping and to use [it] as an educational and motivational tool,” Williams said. “So as much as we do performances on stage, we do a lot of work in the community. Even at the show, if you aren’t able to make the masterclass, we’re still going to find a way to teach a little bit of stepping to audiences there.”

Williams shared one of his favorite things about the productions is the commonality recognized by audience members. While touring in other countries, audiences have been able to see a bit of the same percussive dance style within their culture reflected on the stage.

“Arts remind us of our shared humanity,” Williams said. “We have so much more in common and I like for audiences to recognize that too, to define a little bit of their own culture and their own experiences in our show.”

When it comes to the future of Step Afrika!, Williams is looking forward to performing new material and heading back to where everything began.

“Step Afrika! is getting ready to celebrate its 30th anniversary and a big part of that will be a huge return to South Africa,” Williams said. “A lot of stuff that we’ve experienced overseas, especially in South Africa, we’ve put into our performances and we like to share with our audiences back home. We carry our travels with us.”

While Step Afrika!’s next appearance in Boise is unknown, they’re currently on a national tour in the United States. If you’re looking for an evening full of entertainment, this show stands apart from other dance programs.

The traditional dance form of stepping uses the dancers’ bodies as an instrument to create a percussive performance. Photo courtesy of Step Afrika!

SPORTS & REC

March 9, 2023 | ARBITERONLINE.COM

BOISE STATE DEFEATS NO. 18 SAN DIEGO STATE 66-60

Lukas Milner, Marcus Shaver Jr., Max Rice and Naje Smith were commemorated at senior night game

Marlei Soderquist | Sports & Rec Reporter | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

The Boise State men’s basketball team knocked off No. 18 San Diego State 66-60 on Feb. 28 in one of the Broncos’ biggest games of the season.

“I don’t remember a better win in here (ExtraMile Arena),” head coach Leon Rice said. “We just beat a heck of a team. That team can beat anyone and they have … and they’re playing great.”

In a true story of redemption, the Broncos made another case as to why Boise State is a basketball school.

After the devastating 52-72 loss to the Aztecs at the beginning of February, the Broncos searched for redemption.

“If you could draw up a perfect situation, that was this game,” sophomore forward Tyson Degenhart said.

The game was a battle to the end, with both sides fighting vigorously for control.

In the first half, the Aztecs maintained control throughout. Despite both teams shooting 40% from the field, the Aztecs had a defensive power that dominated the floor.

With aggressive rebounds, numerous steals and clutch shot-making, the Aztecs forged a 30-27 lead over the Broncos entering half time.

“Our issues are our issues, until we fix them,” Leon Rice said. “We don’t have a chance against San Diego State if you can rebound with them.”

The Broncos’ starting lineup looked different beginning the half compared to the start of the game.

Senior forward Lukas Milner started in place of junior forward Chibuzo Agbo for the Senior Night game.

Many encouraged Milner’s starting spot after proving to be a crucial player for the Broncos throughout the last few games.

“He’s been doing good,” Leon Rice said. “It gave us some power on the bench too with Buzo … [Milner] earned that opportunity and the guys supported.”

The Broncos came out in the second half with more physicality than the first half.

“It felt like we all finally came together and said no more,” fifth-year forward Naje Smith said. “We all took it very personally that they weren’t going to score in the end. It was a credit to all of our guys. Their toughness showed through that they were battling and battling.”

However, taking down a ranked opponent is never easy, and it certainly isn’t any easier when that opponent has very few weaknesses.

The Aztecs are composed of well-rounded and well-developed veterans who not only defend astronomically well, but can also make tough shots when it matters most.

Despite the efforts on the Broncos’ behalf, the Aztecs held a nine-point advantage with just over six minutes remaining in the contest.

The Aztecs seemed to have an answer to every big shot the Broncos made late in the game.

“They’re ballers, no doubt, they’re a good team,” Leon Rice said. “Our guys just responded with mental toughness … It takes a lot not to get discouraged on those … when a team answers and quiets the crowd.”

Despite trailing 52-60 with under five minutes remaining, the Broncos were able to take the reins and didn’t look back.

The Broncos established a 14-0 scoring run to close out the 66-60 win over the 18th ranked team in the country.

The Broncos seem to be in reach of

a berth in the NCAA tournament after securing a win over a ranked opponent.

“A huge win,” senior guard Max Rice said. “That, in my opinion, secures us in the NCAA tournament. And if it doesn’t, then there’s a lot of things wrong with that tournament.”

With this win, the Broncos are now 23-7 overall and 13-4 in the Mountain West, retaining sole possession of second place in the conference standings.

Home court advantage has been a theme for the Broncos this season, as they have won 14 straight home games.

There was not one moment of silence in ExtraMile Arena thanks to the sold out crowd.

“I think the crowd was amazing tonight,” Max Rice said. “We really fed off that.”

The fans also stormed the court and celebrated with the players and fellow fans.

‘’It was just great to see all the fans and

all the students,” Degenhart said. “Just how happy we all were … those opportunities don’t always come around every day and so we took advantage of it and it was a lot of fun. A lot of pictures taken, a lot of happy fans, a happy team.”

As the Broncos celebrated the victory, they also bid farewell to their graduating seniors.

Four Broncos were commemorated prior to tip-off: Lukas Milner, Marcus Shaver Jr., Max Rice and Naje Smith.

“I didn’t want to get emotional when those guys were coming out,” Leon Rice said. “You have that moment where you’re like, ‘Oh, no more Naje. Are you kidding me?’ But there’s a lot ahead of us … they’re better than the sum of their parts. They’re good talent. They’re a great team. That’s the best way to put it.”

Despite having one year of eligibility remaining, Max Rice was honored in the celebration because “you never know,” Max Rice said.

Following Boise State’s victory over San Diego State, the team stands at No. 2 in conference standings for the Mountain West. Elise Ledesma | The Arbiter

OPINION: IT TAKES MORE THAN MONEY TO BECOME A POWER 5 SCHOOL

Alec Simeone | Staff Writer | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

SOLD: Expensive renovations to the campus athletic center to Boise State University for $300 million.

For those who haven’t heard, Boise State decided in April 2022 to spend over a quarter billion dollars to add and renovate athletic buildings on campus.

This update includes $129.4 million extensions to Albertsons Stadium, a $100.3 million Olympic Sports Arena, a $19.3 million indoor tennis complex and a myriad of other additions.

Boise State Athletics is also lusting to leave the Mountain West Conference and become a Power 5 school.

“We want to be elite, and we very much have a Power 5 mentality,” Bronco Athletic Director Jeremiah Dickey said in an interview with KTVB in July 2022.

Moving to the Pac-12 or Big 12 would be a definite change of pace for the Broncos.

The university would be playing higher level teams and have a more direct path to opportunities like the college football playoffs.

However, we’d likely struggle significantly more than we have in the Mountain West.

For starters, it would almost be unfair to both men’s and women’s basketball to be dragged into a conference with schools like Arizona, TCU and UCLA.

While the women’s basketball team did win four straight Mountain West Conference (MWC) championships between 2017 and 2020, and the men’s team won their first in university history last year, neither have ever won an NCAA Tournament game.

I don’t see the men’s or women’s basketball teams putting together a winning season in a Power 5 conference for a long time, and it would be a rough ride for a school that’s more football-oriented.

Football brings in the biggest and most consistent audience, and if any team

at Boise State would survive Power 5 schools, it would be the one that plays on the blue turf.

Boise State maintains a winning record in bowl games since 2013 at 4-3, and has a hopeful future with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator duo for the next few seasons.

With that said, we’ve only made one New Year’s Six bowl game appearance in the last 10+ years. We also haven’t finished a season in the AP Top 25 since 2019 and haven’t cracked the top 10 since 2011.

For reference, before TCU left the Mountain West, they won three championships in a row and went 6-1 in bowl games.

We can’t even claim the throne to our current conference that we’re supposedly dominating. Both Fresno State and Boise State are tied up at three MWC championships a piece.

In fact, Fresno’s recent track record is impressive and could even be more appealing to the Pac-12 or Big 12.

Not only did they beat Boise State 28-16 in the conference championship at Albertsons Stadium last season, they’ve won two of the last five championships.

The Bulldogs have also won four bowl games in a row since 2017 and finished last season No. 24 in the AP poll.

“We’re telling the Power 5 conferences we’re viable, and I think they’re starting to pay attention to it,” Fresno State’s athletic director Terry Tumey said in an interview with Stephen Hicks on ABC30 CA Central Action News.

Fresno State is also planning an expansion of their own. Tumey said, “Our stadium must look the part,” and that Fresno State transitioning to Power 5 is “a real possibility.”

They are also doing more with less. Boise State’s Playbook for Success cites Fresno as having the lowest athletics budget in the Mountain West.

Although Boise State Athletics has had some notable victories, are they enough to warrant a quarter billion dollar renovation for the university’s athletic facilities?

Meanwhile, Boise State is spending $129.4 million on Albertsons Stadium and a new varsity center.

Is winning not more important than building more empty seats in a stadium?

Part of being a Power 5 school is being able to host a large audience and win games, especially meaningful games.

Although the team seems to be seeking valuable wins, they still suffered an embarrassing 27-10 loss to UTEP early last season.

Since the loss, the Broncos swapped out offensive coordinators twice and made a change at quarterback. The season improved, but all that drama leaves a lot of uncertainty for the future.

So why are we spending all this money?

As a student, it would’ve been great to see some of this time and money put back into the student body. When was the last time there was a campus-wide playbook for success?

Once it’s all said and done, the relocated practice field and $100.3 million Olympic Center are going to eat up some of the stadium parking lot.

While individual students are spending hundreds every semester to get reasonable and safe parking, the university’s expansions are reducing the spots available.

I am a fan of Bronco sports. The blue turf is iconic, and when I first heard about the new remodel, I was excited.

However, as one of the university’s 20,000+ students, I have to wonder why $300 million is going toward facilities that only 456 student athletes use.

It would’ve been easier to make a case for investing a large sum of money to the 50-3 Broncos led by Kellen Moore and Chris Peterson, but that was 12 years ago.

“To an outsider, so much of what [Jeramiah] Dickey is doing is silly,” Idaho Press Sports reporter Jordan Kaye wrote in an article before the Frisco Bowl. “And it’s silly because most of it should have been done years — or decades ago.”

Spending this type of cash now seems either late to the party, or incredibly optimistic for the future.

Photo courtesy of Boise State Athletics

A $300 million athletics upgrade cost will not be enough for the Broncos to jump divisions

SPORTS & REC

FRESHMAN FRENZY

The freshmen on Boise State’s women’s basketball team are taking over the season

Macie Butchart | Staff Writer | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

It only took one season for the freshmen on the Boise State women’s basketball team to make a lasting impression on college basketball.

Freshman guards Mya Hansen, Tatum Thompson, Natalie Pasco and Dani Bayes all had dominant performances throughout this season by achieving unprecedented accomplishments and setting high expectations for the future.

“They’re a really competitive group,” said junior guard Mary Kay Naro when asked about the freshmen. “They care a lot about the team and playing hard. It’s nice to have people like that coming in, ready to go and ready to play. It’s easy to see that they make an impact when they come in.”

Boise State is the only team in the Mountain West to have three different freshmen receive Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors in the same season. On top of this, Bayes received the award two times this season, and Pasco received it four times.

Hansen, a former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year in high school, earned her weekly accolade after setting a career-high of 31 points against BYU on Dec. 5. Hansen has also earned a starting position multiple times throughout her debut season.

Bayes proved herself as an offensive threat and a consistent scorer for Boise State this season. The Brisbane, Australia, native holds a career-high 19 points and earned a Freshman of the Week title against San Jose State.

She shared her second Freshman of the Week title with San Jose State guard Sabrina Ma after matching her career-high 19 points against Fresno State on Jan. 19.

Pasco earned her fourth Freshman of the Week after scoring a career-high 29 points against Utah State on Feb. 20. She is one more award away from tying Wyoming’s Allyson Fertig for the most Freshman of the Week awards this season.

“I wasn’t really expecting it,” Pasco said when asked about these accomplishments. “It’s super awesome. But I want to just keep getting better from here.”

Although Thompson is the only freshman to not receive the award this season,

she said that she plans on earning these honors by the end of the season.

Thompson suffered an ankle break early in the season during a scrimmage against Idaho State University. Since being back on the court, Thompson has shown that

she is ready to win the award by setting a career-high of 19 points against UNLV on Feb. 11.

Women’s basketball freshman guards Mya Hansen, Natalie Pasco and Dani Bayes have all received Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors this season. Elise Ledesma | The Arbiter

CAPRICORN

DEC 22 - JAN 19

MAKE ROOM FOR A SURGE OF NEW IDEAS AND ENERGY– SOON YOU WILL GET OUT OF YOUR SLUMP

AQUARIUS

JAN 20 - FEB 18

MAKE TIME FOR A FRIEND WHO SHARES YOUR HOBBY THIS WEEK, IT WILL CLEAR YOUR MIND OF ALL FRUSTRATIONS

PISCES

FEB 19 - MAR 20

IF A NEW DOOR HAS BEEN OPENED FOR YOU, NOW’S THE TIME! SCARY, I KNOW, BUT WORTH IT

ARIES

MAR 21 - APR 19

YOU WILL STUMBLE UPON IMPORTANT INFORMATION SOON, KEEP A LOOKOUT FOR ANGEL NUMBERS

TAURUS

APR 20 - MAY 20

YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION WILL CHANGE POSITIVELY, BUT DON’T SPEND IT ALL IN ONE PLACE!

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUN 20

DON’T DENY AN URGE TO GO ON A JOURNEY SOON, WHETHER IT’S IN YOUR HEART OR TO PORTLAND FOR A CONCERT

OUR BEST GUESS

THE ARBITER ALIGNS YOUR STARS

CANCER

JUN 21 - JUL 22

YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF IN TUNE WITH THE EMOTIONS OF THOSE AROUND YOU, SHELL OUT YOUR SHOULDER FOR THE DAY!

LEO

JUL 23 - AUG 22

YOU’VE HAD SOME TRAVEL PLANS IN THE WORKS– THIS IS YOUR SIGN TO FINALLY BOOK THE AIRBNB

LIBRA

SEPT 23 - OCT 22

TAKE THE LEAD WHERE YOU’VE BEEN ITCHING TO JUMP AHEAD OF THE PACK!

PISCES

SCORPIO

OCT 23 - NOV 21

YOU HAVE A SPECIAL FEELING OF CONTROL IN YOUR LIFE TODAY, RUN WITH IT! GET A START ON A NEW GOAL

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FEB 19 - MAR 20 DESIGN@STUMEDIA.BOISESTATE.EDU

DOT MARTIN GRAPHIC DESIGNER

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SLOW DOWN YOUR THINKING AND FACE THE PATH FOR YOU, NO ONE ELSE CAN BE BLAMED FOR NOT FOLLOWING IT

NOV 22 - DEC 21

BE CAREFUL THIS WEEK OR THAT CLASSMATE BANTER COULD TURN INTO A ROMANTIC OBSESSION

ILLUSTRATION BY ALIEHA DRYDEN