October 6, 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 15
Independent
S tudent
VOIce
Of
BOIS e
S tate
S In c e
1 9 3 3
A GLOBAL AFFAIR
International students attend football games, p.10 ut o s she up, a c us ialing p m ca oid d v p. 4 to a
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will be going on through december 9th
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emily Pehrson
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MANAGING EDITOR Katie Meikle
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NEWS EDITOR
Alx Stickel news@ arbiteronline.com
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Eryn-Shay Johnson & Sean Bunce news@ arbiteronline.com
SPORTS EDITOR
Nate Lowery sports@ arbiteronline.com
7
ISSUE
learfield gives broncos an ad-vantage
9
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Brandon Walton sports@ arbiteronline.com
CULTURE EDITOR Justin Kirkham arts@ arbiteronline.com
ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR Patty Bowen arts@ arbiteronline.com
bronies bro out with my little pony
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official independent student newspaper of Boise State University and a designated public forum, 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 apiece at The Arbiter offices.
NEWS
Tenured professors under scrutiny PERCENTAGE OF ADJUNCT FACULTY
TEACHER TO STUDENT RATIO
FACULTY MAKE UP Graduate Assistants
Tenured faculty
in line for tenure adjunct proffesors
BSU
. U.S AVG
non-tenured faculty DESIGN BY: CHRISTIAN SPENCER
Assist. News Editor
At Boise State and other universities, faculty must meet three criteria to be considered for tenure: teaching, service and research. Even after fulfilling these requirements, however, the process to get tenure is still quite extensive. According to Professor Holden (whose name has been changed to protect his job), teachers are first evaluated by their department, on those three objectives. The evaluation is then passed to a committee from different departments, the dean of the college, the provost and finally the president of the university. In a recent ASBSU meeting, secretary of academic affairs Chris Bower ex-
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pressed a possible need for a further review system for tenure faculty based on student complaints. This, Holden believes, is because of friendships or networking, like any business in which people slip through the cracks. “What happens in a school, not just Boise State but other universities, (is that) some people will get up to tenure who maybe shouldn’t have,” Holden said. These teachers, he feels, probably weren’t teaching very well to begin with and continue on in the same fashion. “Then there is indeed what I would call ‘deadwood.’ They get tenure, (have a) job forever (and think), ‘I’ll just lay back and do my thing, no research, no changing of
teaching style.’” An email by provost Martin Schimpf explained that tenured faculty get a written evaluation every year. They also undergo a review process every five years. He feels that process could arguably be more robust. He also said that whenever consistent complaints come from students, a more stringent review process is implemented by the college dean in consultation with the department head. Tenure was originally established to protect faculty
“
members from getting fired for teaching against university ideals. Today, tenured faculty typically undergo a development process with written expectations for improvement. If the professor doesn’t improve, they are either terminated or resign. Students dealing with the hardships of an unmotivated tenured professor can either fill out a teacher evaluation at the end of the semester or file a written complaint. According to Holden, these evaluations really have no effect on the teacher’s re-
“
Sean Bunce
As far as I know, reading closely every single written word on every single student evaluation doesn’t happen. Given our limited personnel and current university structure, I expect it would be impossible. —Professor Holden
view at the end of the year. If a professor’s overall numbers are lower than the department average, the chair is likely to include this in the end of the year report. However, these evaluations are largely done to allow professors to reflect on their performance. “As far as I know, reading closely every single written word on every single student evaluation doesn’t happen,” Holden said. “Given our limited personnel and current university structure, I expect that would be impossible.” A chair of a larger department like English with around 40 tenured faculty and probably above 100 lecturers and adjuncts would require an inordinate amount of time for evaluating the performance of all
professors. The chair would need to read well over 5,000 written evaluations from students: improbable, if not impossible. “What happens is there’s a process of selection. Often we as professors are allowed to select (which student evaluations are used),” Holden said. “We send in a statement and usually choose the good evaluations.” Some teachers may even give a passing grade to save themselves from this scrutiny. “If you are outspoken, you could have gone up the ladder and made your complaints,” Holden said. “Giving you a passing grade means that you would probably sit back and be satisfied. It’s not inflating grades, it’s protecting the teacher from any complaints.”
10/06/2014
NEWS
Boise State attempts to encourage Latino enrollment Alx Stickel News Editor
In Idaho, 5 percent of Latinos 25 years or older have at least a bachelor’s degree. To combat perceptions that college is out of reach for Latino students, Project : Dream for Tomorrow was created at Boise State. Kelsey Contreras, senior social science major and Kimberly Luna, junior political science major had a goal of 100 Latino high school students applying for the weekend workshop; about 200 applied. Contreras and Luna were pleased to see the inter-
10/06/2014
est in the project but for the first time, they had to decline about 50 applications. The Project: Dream for Tomorrow has been opporating at Boise State for the past six years. Carlos Mejia, a Caldwell High School senior, would be the first in his immediate family to get a higher education degree. Mejia said he appreciated the connection he felt with the group and the opportunities he had to ask questions about pursuing higher education as a result, he is considering attending Boise State when he graduates.
Mejia said his “take away” was that there are opportunities and resources through Boise State for anyone needing assistance in pursing higher education. The door is always open for him. “I like how they’re doing this for Latinos. I’ve noticed there’s not a lot of support for not just Latinos, but students pursuing higher education in general,” Mejia said. Sixteen-year-old Hannah Limas also had a positive experience with Dream for Tomorrow but had a different take away. To Limas, the idea of attending college was
intimidating. This project dispelled that apprehension. “I met a lot of friends and I’ve taken a new mindset about college,” Limas said. “It’s not going to be as difficult or scary as I thought. It’s going to be warm and inviting and it’s going to be fun.” Limas would also be the first in her family to receive a bachelor’s or higher education degree. Limas said she is interested in the social science programs Boise State has to offer. Both Limas and Mejia received information about why higher education is important. Luna said that in Idaho, the
COURTESY/ DREAM FOR TOMORROW
Latino Students Gather. Latino population is underrepresented in the legislature. She said Latinos want to be heard in the community. Ecouraging Latino enrollment in higher education may help to achieve this goal. “It’s important because to
me, higher education puts you 1,000 steps in front of those who don’t have that education,” Mejia said. “You have the opportunity to keep learning. I think if you have that opportunity, you should take it.”
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NEWS
Campus Internet comes with a hefty price tag Eryn-Shay Johnson Asst. News Editor
Students are plugged in and Boise State is cashing out. For most students, personal Internet bills range from $19.99 to $50 a month, depending on the service provider. Now imagine paying for Internet to support the 10,000 (plus) students on campus every day. Max Davis-Johnson, associate vice president of information technology, focuses on campus Internet every year when it’s time to budget for the department. “Let’s just say we spend $100,000 a year on Internet connectivity,” Davis-Johnson said. According to DavisJohnson the school spends $160,000 on Idaho Regional Optical Network services. IRON provides one gigabit of commodity Internet to students and ten
gigabits of Internet for research and other services to campus. Another Internet service that Boise State provides is centered on the residence halls. “The Integra circuit we have pointed mainly at the res-halls. Right now that is most of our traffic. It’s a student’s home,” Davis-Johnson said. “They’re streaming movies, videos and gaming; it eats up a lot of bandwidth and so Integra, for the most part, is completely dedicated to the res-halls.” Integra costs Boise State roughly $3,600 a month, funneling one gigabit of data to students living on campus. Boise State eats most of the cost of providing Internet, but students also contribute. According to Davis-Johnson and the budget department’s detailed description of tuition and fees, full-time students are paying over
$90 a semester and parttime students pay $9.75 per credit per semester in technology fees for Internet and campus equipment. “I don’t like that, but I guess I can’t really say I dislike it because I use the Internet a lot,” said Kelly Larkin, sophomore preradiology major and service desk representative for The Zone. Larkin added that if the cost was over $100, she’d be less pleased. Student’s technology fees also go to helping OIT maintain coverage on campus. “Over the last four years, we’ve gone from about 200 access points on campus to about 1,300, so we’ve really put in a lot of additional access,” Davis-Johnson said. The access points power up to 25 active devices and are located both indoors and outdoors. “This year we’ve put out a lot of outdoor antennas. In
Make reading work for you Jillana Finnegan
Academic Advising & Enhancement
Reading your textbook is a critical component in being successful in a course but it can be labor intensive and time consuming. To maximize efficiency and retention of the material, experts recommend that you split the reading process into two parts.
Part 1: Before Lecture
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Strategically read by following these steps: • Preview the chapter: Flip through the pages to see what the chapter is about. Look at the headings, subheadings, key words, figures and tables. • Scan the chapter: Go back to the beginning and scan over the entire chapter. Carefully read the first and last sentence of each paragraph.
Otherwise, just visually scan the words—don’t worry about comprehension yet. • Pause and focus on key components: Now go back to the beginning and scan again. This time, stop and carefully read these parts: • Introduction paragraph • First section after each heading/subheading • Bold, italic or underlined words
theory, you walk from one end of campus to another and you have coverage. I told them it was my goal: to walk across campus with a streaming video and not ever lose it,” Davis-Johnson said. With everything the Internet does for students and faculty, it’s easy to see how it’s a necessity. “I live on campus so, I use the Internet a lot,” Larkin said. “I just really like being here; even if the Internet is a little expensive it’s still worth it. And it’s so fast too. If it was slow and crappy, it wouldn’t be as good of a place to be.” Davis-Johnson agreed saying that while Internet is expensive Boise State will get their money’s worth as technology improves. “I’d say two years from now we’ll still be spending $100,000 but we’d have twice the bandwidth coming into campus,” DavisJohnson said. • Figures/pictures that accompany text • R e v i e w / s u m m a r y — read twice • Scan review questions at the end of the section. Read sections related to any questions that seem completely unfamiliar.
Step 2: After Lecture
Use your textbook to fill in gaps in understanding: • Read entire sections that didn’t make sense during lecture. If there were parts of class in which you felt lost or confused, that means that the reading you did
$3,600 A MONTH FOR DORM INTERNET
$100 K
ON CAMPUS
INTERNET
$92.70 PER FULL-TIME
STUDENT PER SEMESTER DESIGN BY: CHRISTIAN SPENCER
prior to class wasn’t sufficient—that is OK! Go back and read those specific sections carefully and thoroughly. • Use active reading techniques. Mark up your book! Use active reading techniques like outlining or summarizing the paragraph, highlighting and thinking of personal examples. • Formulate your own questions. As you read, jot down questions. One of the best ways students learn is by creating questions and finding out the answers. “How does
this relate to the previous chapter?” or “What supporting information does this argument have?” are examples of questions you could ask yourself. • Answer review questions. Identify topics you are still unclear about and create questions to ask during class, faculty office hours or during study groups. For additional study strategies attend our free study skills workshops. More information can be found at aae.boisestate.edu/workshops.
10/06/2014
feature
Learfield gives Broncos ad revenue a f celift
Nate Lowery
Sports & Rec Editor
First and foremost, sports is a business. The focus of college athletics will always be on the athletes and the playbook, but make no mistake, athletic departments need revenue to keep the program running. Advertisement sales are one of the primary ways the Boise State Athletic Department brings in revenue. In order to make sure the athletic department sells enough advertisements to keep the program running, the Broncos are aided by Bronco Sports Properties, LLC, a subsidiary of Learfield Sports.
What is Learfield Sports?
For years, the Broncos sold all of their advertisements in house. As the university and athletic department grew, Boise State needed to find an organization with the infra-
structure to keep up with the growing demand for advertising sales. In 2010, a seven year contract between Learfield Sports and Boise State was signed, with three one-year options that could extend the deal to 2020. In August of this year, Boise State and Learfield Sports reconstructed their contract to extend to 2025. “We don’t have that infrastructure of hiring people and having a sales staff,” said Max Corbet, associate athletic director of communications “They (Learfield Sports) already have that built in.” Essentially, Learfield Sports acts as a middle man between athletic departments and companies that may wish to advertise. Learfield Sports and all of their subsidiaries gain the exclusive media rights to the athletic department they work with in return for their
DESIGN BY: TED ATWELL
$8,855,000 $10,408,000
20 M
Boise State’s original contract with Learfield Sports was set to run from 20102017 for $10.408 million, with three one-year extensions that would bring the deal up to $19.263 million. After four years, however, Boise State’s Athletic Department has become much more profitable. The new restructured deal between Learfield Sports and Boise State now totals $44.058 million from 2013-2025. Corbet feels the Broncos’ history with Learfield Sports has been beneficial for both parties. “We have guaranteed money with this deal,” Corbet said. “Whether they sell
Compensation for Learfield Sports
Boise State is not the only benefactor in this deal. Members of the Bronco Sports Properties, LLC team all receive commissions from their advertisement sales. In return for their services, Learfield Sports also gains access to several club-level seating and luxury boxes. According to Corbet, Learfield Sports uses these to solidify partnerships with current clients and as well as
to entice new clients. “They have X number of tickets,” Corbet said. “For the most part, they are definitely for taking care of clients. They are always looking at ways to increase their revenue. It’s advantageous for both. We want to help them so they can help us gain new partnerships.” In the contract between the two parties, Boise State also receives $100,000 from Learfield Sports each year as a capital stipend. This stipend must be used by the Broncos to improve their marketability and advertisement carrying possibilities. According to the contract, Boise State can use that stipend for “such items as the purchase and installation of a center-hung video board for Taco Bell Arena, or other mutually agreeable venue enhancements.” Both parties must agree on what the capital stipend is spent on.
5M
C.
B. A.
Old
new contract
P A Y M E N T
old contract
4M
3M
New
Total value of old contract (2013-2017) Total value of new contract (2017-2025) Value of 3-year extension on old contract (2017-2020)
2M
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The New Contract
those ads or not, we get that revenue no matter what. It all goes back into the pot and then pay us back. They set up all the partnerships. From a budgetary standpoint, it’s a lot easier to budget.” According to the revenue share hurdle clause in the contract between the two parties, Boise State gains any surplus revenue from advertisement sales.
$44,058,000
40 M
10 M
past history with the company. The $12.5 million deal to rename the football stadium to Albertsons Stadium generated $3,418,750 for Learfield Sports. The other $9,081,250 went to Boise State.
NATE LOWERY/THE ARBITER
50 M
30 M
advertisement expertise. Bronco Sports Properties LLC operates with a staff of four under the direction of general manager Dan Hawley. They have their own office space in the Stueckle Sky Center and receive a commission for their advertisement sales. Since Learfield Sports owns the media rights for the Broncos, radio announcer Bob Behler is an official employee of Learfield Sports. Learfield Sports has partnerships with nearly 100 universities across the nation. According to Corbet, a larger school such as Louisiana State could employ a staff upwards of 10 due to the demand. Learfield Sports originally was commissioned to solicit the naming rights for what was then called Bronco Stadium. As it happened, Boise State played a much larger role in the deal with Albertsons due to the university’s
Culture MAZERUNNER.COM
The best of the northWORST
Slam poetry regional takes place in Boise, Portland comes out on top
Patty Bowen
Asst. Culture Editor
One emcee, four teams and 16 poets greeted an overflowing crowd at The Crux for the NorthWORST Poetry Slam Regionals. The four teams included representatives from Spokane, Portland, Salt Lake City and Boise, each bringing with them the possibility of being the driving force that brings their team to nationals. The competition had four rounds with a poet from each team performing one poem per round. There was no lack of talent throughout the performances, with each individual bringing both thoughtful depth and jovial comedy. Portland won the NorthWORST competition and will be heading to nationals. Spokane finished in second, Salt Lake in third and Boise in last. According to Stephen Neads, member of the Portland team, the competition is all about being able represent your city.
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Each slam poetry event creates an opportunity for a poet to travel and meet new members of the community. “I’ve gotten to travel the country for pretty cheap, sometimes I’ve even made a little bit of money. I feel like you get to know and connect with people a little bit better than a day job,” Neads said. “The bonds that you have with the people who you do this with are heightened.” Former Boise State arts and communication professor Isaac Grambo’s introduction to slam poetry started off running. His first performance in Boise landed him in the Boise city finals, and then nationals. Grambo, who was performing a piece about Napoleon Bonaparte for the Spokane team, recommends slam poetry to students because it allows for a greater amount of feedback on a piece than the traditional written forms of poems. “With slam you have this structured element
where not only do you have people who are already on board with you, there is an element of evaluation, so you can get better,” Grambo said. “When I lived in Boise before, there was a big disconnect between people who were learning to write poems in school and people who were slamming. “There’s another element to (slam poetry); there’s communication in your body and in your voice and [the audience] works with that, with them. It is adding another bit to (written poetry).” Grambo feels that students shouldn’t be scared away by the performance aspect of slam poetry because it allows a student a chance to sort through their thoughts more thoroughly, and pick out flaws within their pieces in a more efficient manner. This oral aspect of slam poetry can be extremely useful to a student’s improvement process. “When you write stuff down and you sort of read it in your head, you sort of
don’t really know how it sounds, don’t really know if how it is coming across. If you perform it in front of people, you get audience response,” Grambo said. One of the biggest problems that the slam poetry community has in Boise is the movement of involved slam poets like Grambo in and out of Boise. According to Conor Harris, English major at Boise State, there is a huge disconnect between slam poetry and poetry students at Boise State. Many students fear or don’t respect the voice that slam poetry demands; however, Harris feels it is important poems were traditionally performed orally. Harris hopes to be able to form a slam poetry club at Boise State in the upcoming spring semester. “Everyone has a set idea of what poetry is and what slam poetry is, and specifically in Boise it is very not what you’re expecting and it is much more open to multiple genres and modes of performance and poetry,” Harris said.
Walton’s movie world: The Maze Runner Brandon Walton
Asst. Sports & Rec Editor
“The Maze Runner” is the latest in a plethora of young adult novels adapted for the big screen over the past several years. The genre has been very hit and miss over the last few years, both financially and critically. For every “Hunger Games,” there are a handful of duds. Just look at “Beautiful Creatures”, “Vampire Academy” and “The Host.” Luckily, though, “The Maze Runner” falls more in line with “The Hunger Games” and “The Harry Potter” franchises. Now, I am by no means saying this film is the next “Harry Potter” because it isn’t. It is, however, an enjoyable film to watch and keeps you thoroughly entertained throughout. The premise of the film is the plight of a teenager named Thomas, with no recollection of his previous life other then his name, who is suddenly thrust into a community of young boys who are trapped in the real world where the only way out is through a maze. The action sequences of the film, particularly the ones done in the maze, were fun to watch. The scenery of the maze was a good backdrop as it made you feel you were right there in
the maze with the characters. It was an appropriate setup for the film’s antagonist creatures. Despite the fact the film consists of relatively unknown actors, they all had solid performances throughout. The standouts of the film were Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Will Poulter, who play Thomas, Newt and Gally respectively. The best thing the movie has going for it, though, is the element of its intrigue, its intrigue as you immediately wonder, “what is this maze” and more importantly, “why did they put them here?” While the mystery keeps you locked in, the film does become a bit predictable at times. The film foreshadows certain events that do eventually come to life. My only real complaint concerns the end of the film. The end was underwhelming for all the build up that led to it, and it leaves you a bit confused. By the end I wasn’t sure I bought the whole “why” part of it and was left wanting more. Overall, “The Maze Runner” is an enjoyable film with an intriguing story, good performances and some cool action sequences. Despite it falling flat at the end, I am curious as to where the next installment in the franchise will go.
7.5/10
10/06/2014
Culture
Bronies come to Boise State Culture Editor
In the land of Equestria, Earth ponies, unicorns and Pegasi frolic in meadows, cloud kingdoms and in mysterious forests. Armed with their multi-faceted personalities and cutie marks, five “My Little Pony” heroines set out to understand the depths of friendship and the magic that lies within. Their audience consists of the television show’s target audience, children, and members of the brony fandom. The term “brony,” in its general sense, refers to older male fans of the show, although the term is often applied unisexually. Though the show was originally targeted at elementary-aged girls, many teenage and adult fans have become enthralled with the show’s moral message and complex, magical universe. These fans range from marines to avid male college students. Obsessive, unhygienic men, rainbow T-shirts, and plastic pony ears are the essence of the brony stereotype as perpetuated by main-
stream media and thought processes. According to junior history education major Riley Tidmarsh, this is highly unrepresentative. “The most common misconception is that bronies are neck-bearded, friend-zoned losers who draw nude pictures of cartoon characters and have absolutely no social life,” Tidmarsh said. “For the most part we’re normal people who like the messages about friendship that the show conveys.” Tidmarsh explained that he used to be more absorbed in “My Little Pony” than he is now. Many zealous bronies create fan art, music videos, and new avatars for their “My Little Pony” creations. Tidmarsh, however, steers clear of this sort of hyperinvolvement. Senior English major Matt Townend is a bit more invested in the fandom, though he still avoids the extremity of attending brony conventions. Townend considers himself a brony, but doesn’t necessarily associate himself with some of the obsessiveness that comes with the label. “I really just like the mor-
als behind the show and the characters, but I could care less about all the little fanboy stuff, like the subtle background ponies and such,” Townend said. Townend enjoys the moral messages that stem from the show and gains a sense of love and acceptance from watching the cartoon. He explained that, though he almost never cries over television, “My Little Pony” was able to bring him to tears with its heartfelt emotional messages. “As a Christian, I’ve also felt God speak to me through MLP in a way no other show, except maybe ‘Star Wars’, has,” Townend said. Many bronies argue that the show allows them to tap into their emotions and sensitivity that they are socially ostracized for exploring. “Patriarchal culture wants to construct men as being unemotional, aggressive, overlyconfident and unemotional,” Townend said. He argued that “My Little Pony” completely denies and thwarts this. This makes onlookers uneasy, thus allowing them to twist their discomfort into judgment.
Freshman French and economics major Amanda Aydelotte is fairly unfamiliar with brony culture, but has seen heard of some of its more excited members. “I’m somewhat skeptical in their obsession with a children’s show, but it’s not like it makes them a worse person,” Aydelotte said. In the end, Townend stands by his love for the show and focuses on the joy and fulfillment he gets from its characters instead of the flak from those around him. “I just decided that I’m going to love and tolerate the shit out of them and that will be enough,” Townend said.
STEPHEN DOWELL/MCT CAMPUS
Justin Kirkham
Jesse Carlson loves ponies.
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Culture
Football envelops foreign students Zoey Nguyen Staff Writer
As unbelievable as it sounds, when most international students hear “football,” an image of men into bright polyester shorts kicking a monochromatic ball back and forth pops up in their heads. It is acknowledged that the “other football” is a symbolic sport in the USA, but for others the concept of football is still a limited vision of an elliptical ball and Viking-looking helmets. Students from overseas may feel an odd mix of ex-
citement and anxiety at the opportunity to see an actual American football game, especially since it is a sport many American students talk about with such passion. But, in reality, it appears to many international students as physically painful. This fall, Boise State has almost 200 newly enrolled international students, some of which have attended the first Boise State football game. Some American students were, by cultural default, excited for the game; after all, the anticipation leading to it was just as enormous, as Facebook pages posted nu-
merous count downs, and most of the campus had eyecatching reminders of an upcoming game. The excitement that international students received from the game can be attributed to the infectious hype of the American students present, with the game time air full of adrenaline and anticipation. The audience became a crowd of blue and orange dots, bouncing up and down and screaming their team’s name to show loyalty and support. International students like Lyuaza Akhmatova, a junior from Kazakhstan majoring
in marketing, are usually seated on one side of the audience, trying to figure out what on earth is happening on the field. Akhmatova fed off the excitement channeled in the audience. All that Akhmatova could identify was that athletes shoving each other somehow equating to cheering form the audience. She screamed in unison with the rest of the football fans because it seemed like both the fun and right thing to do. For these international students, the rules and concept of the game still remained blurry, but cheering
did the trick. Most international students remain flustered when it comes to the terms and intricacies of football. South Korean education major Seungmin Yeon had heard about American football in her home country but never understood it completely. Even after attending the Colorado game with her Korean friends, all she took away from the game was the term “touchdown.” “I finally started to understand it when I went to the second game with my American roommates and they explained it to me,” Yeon said.
There are also those who put forth added effort in adapting and learning rules and concept of football like Hamid Dashti, an Iranian graduate student majoring in geosciences. He thinks his age difference with most students may have influenced the amount of time he had to spend learning the game. “I think we are very lucky to have the opportunity to see it here. The experience was very fun and I hope to go to games again when I have time,” Dashti said. “I tried to learn rules for the game though it was confusing. It was a very nice experience, but mostly because of atmosphere. Screaming with fans was fun because I felt like a part of the crowd,” Lyuaza said.
Everything in the paper and MORE
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10/06/2014
Sports & rec Women’s Ultimate throws out invitation
Y T I ERS SE
V I N U
PUL Sunday
TYLER PAGET/THE ARBITER
sry, k c i r iAtlister Malelol. l o P g c ox
The Ultimate frisbee club after practice Patty Bowen
Asst. Culture Editor
This semester, Boise State gets a progressive twist on the previously male dominated college classic with the creation of the Boise State Women’s Club Ultimate. Club activities started at the beginning of the semester, but according to Kelly Saunders, senior kinesiology major and treasurer for the club, there were a lot of women who had interest in forming an ultimate frisbee club before then. Saunders would previously often practice with the men’s ultimate frisbee team or with the city league. “Frisbee is just the kind of sport where you start to toss around a frisbee and you get to know someone just chatting,” Saunders said. The Boise State Women’s Club Ultimate team is planning on continuing into the winter and next semester. However, Saunders is wor-
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ried about the weather slowing down some of the practices and causing the team to possibly have to stop practicing completely. “Guys are a little tougher so they’ll try to go as long as they can outside but I know for us it just might be hard to get the numbers,” Saunders said. “Since we’re a new club, we don’t have access to the indoor facilities yet.” According to Saunders, the facilities will come with time. She explained that even if they can’t practice all the way through this winter, it’s just a matter of time before they can use the indoor facilities to do so. The Boise State Women’s Club Ultimate team is ranked in Division II, and will have its first chance to see how it stacks up to other teams this weekend. “This weekend is our first tournament. We’re playing Montana State, Montana, Utah, Western Washington, and University of Idaho…
everybody in the Big Sky area,” Saunders said. “I just like having more girls come out and play. It’s really easy to make friends with the other teams.” For many of the more inexperienced members this past weekend was their first tournament; however, Saunders felt confident in the progress they have made over the past five weeks of practice. “The majority of our team is freshmen and sophomores who have never played, but just in the first five weeks of practice you could see their throws improve a lot. Lots of solid backhand and forehand throw,” Saunders said. Students who are interested in the Women’s Club Ultimate team can show up to any of their practices on the field next to the SUB Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. “Anyone is welcome [to practice] any time,” Saunders said. “The more the merrier!”
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Sports & Rec
Boise State lost 4-2 to utah.
Club hockey strong as ever Staff Writer
The stage was set this past Feb. as the Boise State men’s hockey club faced off against Utah State in a nail-biting regional final. In the third period, the Aggies gained the upper hand by one goal, shutting the Broncos out from nationals. The hockey club is driven to prove themselves this year. For club president and forward JT Smith, the overall mindset of the team will be a big motivator throughout the season. “We have a whole new attitude as a team to get there,” Smith said. “It’s the first time that everybody is set on the same goal, like, ‘This is what we want’.” The club hockey program has grown over the years, ranking seventh in the MW from the American Colle-
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giate Hockey Association last year. Attendance at the games has increased as well. According to Smith, crowd size has gone from an average of 100 people to 600 people per game in the last three years. With key players returning—such as goalie Josh Benton, team captain and defender Rusty Costello and forwards Justin Videen and Taylor Crawford—the team will have plenty of talent on the ice this season. The hockey season is already underway. Boise State faced off against the Utah Utes on Sept. 27 at
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Century Link Arena. The first period kicked off with a goal by Greg Chapman with an assistance from Videen. Utah quickly followed with two buries in the first period, followed by another in the second. With two minutes remaining in the third, the Broncos exchanged the goalkeeper for another forward. Videen scored soon after, bringing the team closer to overtime. Unfortunately, the Utes utilized the missing goalkeeper and scored, ending the game 4-2 in regulation time. According to Videen, Boise State did well for
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Leslie Boston-Hyde
We have a whole new attitude as a team to get there. It’s the first time that everybody is set on the same goal, like, ‘This is what we want.’ —JT Smith
their first game. Boise State has practiced for three weeks compared to Utah’s two months. “As far as them having four lines and we only had three, I think we skated well with them,” Videen said. “We were actually told by the other coach that we are the best team that they’ve played so far.” This past weekend, Boise State hosted Bronco Showcase against Montana Tech, San Jose State and Western Washington. Games ran all weekend starting on Friday, with all four teams facing each other in a round-robin style tournament. Smith encourages Boise State students to attend more games this season. “Just come out and watch us,” said Smith. “It’ll be an experience that will make you want to come back again.”
Please don’t panic “Lowery Lowdown” is a comprehensive sports column written by Sports & Rec Editor Nate Lowery. Take your fingers off the panic button, put away your pitchforks and torches— Boise State football will be alright. After throwing four interceptions in less than three quarters at Air Force—his second four interception game of the season—senior quarterback Grant Hedrick was benched in favor of redshirt freshman Ryan Finley. In his first game action of his college career, Finley threw two touchdowns and almost led a successful comeback bid against the Fighting Falcons. That’s why when Bronco fans awoke the next morning, they were shocked, to say the least, to find out head coach Bryan Harsin was still going to stick with Hedrick as the team’s starting quarterback after the 2814 loss to Air Force. Here’s the thing though— Harsin made the right call by not throwing Hedrick to the wayside after an off day.
By benching Hedrick in the long term, Harsin would have admitted the team’s process and how they handled things was dead. Too often, new head coaches jump at the first signs of trouble and alter the team’s process. By sticking to his guns, Harsin is making a commitment to the team’s process and looking for long term gains. “You don’t put people to the wayside because of one bad game,” Harsin said. “The natural thing is you want to fire a guy. We’re not going to do that. We know what’s going to happen.” Hedrick didn’t waste any time to prove Harsin made the right decision, leading the Broncos to a thrilling 51-46 win over Nevada this past weekend. The Broncos scored a season-high 51 points against the Wolf Pack, the MW leaders in scoring defense. The Broncos scored on five of their six red zone possessions against Nevada, the third ranked team nationally in red zone defense, all with Hedrick at the helm.
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