The Arbiter 12.1.15 Issue

December 2, 2015 Vol. 28 Issue 15

In d epe nd e nt

The Arbiter

St u d e nt

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Refugees, ISIS and Syria

patrick adcock & Taylor Lippman/ the arbiter

Perspectives for the student, p. 4, 10, 8

Justin Kirkham

editor@stumedia. boisestate.edu

MANAGING EDITOR Patty Bowen

managingeditor@ stumedia.boisestate.edu

NEWS EDITOR

Patrick Adcock news@ stumedia.boisestate.edu

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

ISSUE

USAS Facbeook / courtesy

IN THIS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Fight for human rights, p. 7

Shelly Bohorquez news@ stumedia.boisestate.edu

SPORTS EDITOR

Ali Roberts sports@ stumedia.boisestate.edu

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Rylan Kobre sports@ stumedia.boisestate.edu

CULTURE EDITOR

Brittany Lindstrom culture@ stumedia.boisestate.edu

ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR Cheyene Austin culture@ stumedia.boisestate.edu

DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER PINK Boise State / courtesy

Jared Lewis digitalcontent@ stumedia.boisestate.edu Andrea Batten Reba Rice

DESIGN MANAGER Ted Atwell

BUSINESS MANAGER Connor Jones business@ arbiteronline.com

Distributed Tuesdays during the academic school year. The Arbiter is the 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.

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Get your Pink on, p. 13

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Editor’s note

Diversify your news diet with foreign policy, Freezing Point Justin Kirkham Editor-in-Chief

In a flurry of social media trends and hashtags, it is often difficult to understand or ingest the intricacies of foreign policy news. At the same time, with such an emphasis on hard-hitting news stories from several national news outlets, finding directly relatable pieces of entertainment news, coverage for community events or pieces of service journalism is nearly impossible.

This week, The Arbiter is bringing you, our read-

12/02/2015

ership, both.

In order to better help students sift through all of the coverage surrounding the events in Syria and their tie to the refugee situation in the United States, News Editor Patrick Adcock and Managing Editor Patty Bowen have compiled two articles detailing what all of this could mean for students making voting and policy decisions on page 10, and what refugee policy change could mean for the Boise community on page 4.

These events are generally presented to readers as dense, hard-to-digest top-

ics. But, for students, they are still as intrinsic to understand when facing decisions and understanding how, perhaps, the attacks in Paris might affect their own lives in the weeks, months and years to come.

In an effort to help students become wellequipped for discussions about Syria and ISIS, The Arbiter editorial staff decided these topics were well worth added coverage.

But, just as international news is important, cultural and recreational guides are also integral to the student perspective. This sort of

coverage rarely targets students specifically, so The Arbiter created “Freezing Point,” a winter guide detailing music to listen to over the winter, events to attend in the coming months and ways to best utilize the slopes surrounding the Boise area.

Winter is coming, and, just as some prepare for the stark onslaught of snow, students should prepare for winter recreation and media consumption opportunities.

Pick up “Freezing Point” at an Arbiter newsstand for the rest of the winter season.

Freezing Point A product of:

Page designs by Ted Atwell

Pg 3

NEWS

Rally discusses the future of refugees in Idaho Patrick Adcock News Editor

Patrick adcock / the arbiter

Hundreds of Boise residents gathered on the steps of the Idaho State Capitol Building to show their support for Syrian refugees in Idaho.

They held the rally on Nov. 21 in response to Governor Otter’s letter to President Barack Obama, where he shared his concern and disapproval of the decision to let 10,000 Syrian refugees

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into the United States over the next year.

Sean Foster, a teacher at Mountain Home High School, and Sophia Brasil, health science major at Boise State, organized the event via Facebook; both were surprised by the turnout.

Brasil became involved with refugees through an internship at the International Rescue Committee, and has since started her own group with Foster called Solidarity Idaho to continue working

with them.

“I want refugees to be welcome in my community. I think they make it a better place,” Brasil said. “We’re going to keep fighting for our community and standing up for what we believe in.”

Brazil and Foster arranged for several speakers to share stories and advocate for Syrian refugees including Freddy Balinda, refugee and student at Boise State.

At the rally, a separate group gathered across the street from the Capitol Building to protest the arrival of Syrian refugees.

Chants of “U.S. first” and “security not compassion” rang out from the opposition to the rally.

“We’ve been advocating to put a stop to the refugee program for some time now.

The reason for that being there are inherent security risks in the current policies,” said Chris McIntire, public information officer for three

percent of Idaho. “Mainly the fact that none of these individuals who are coming over here have a database to run their identities against to prove who they are. Now that’s a problem. With every other legal avenue of immigration, there are extensive background checks that make sure whoever is coming over is who they say they are.”

Secretary of State John Kerry recognized these concerns in a letter to governors opposing the acceptance of Syrian refugees.

“It is the most robust screening process for any category of individuals seeking admission into the United States,” Kerry stated.

“The process is multi-layered and intensive, involving multiple law enforcement, national security and intelligence agencies across the Federal government. Additional precautions have been

added with regard to Syrian refugees.”

Jared Smith, junior communication major at Boise State, attended the rally in order to better understand both sides of the discussion about refugees.

“I think it’s important we’re all fighting for the same thing. We’re really all fighting for equality,” Smith said. “Everyone wants to be treated equally. These refugees are fleeing the atrocities of war; for us to close our doors to them is so un-American.”

According to Foster, the greatest challenge facing the movement for Syrian refugees is a lack of knowledge about the vetting process.

“When they hear people have issues with the specifics of a policy, it lets them get to a point where they don’t have to disagree with refugees coming and they don’t have to disagree with the policy. But that reservation they have about the specifics of it allows them to take the opposition stance,” Foster said. “I think if people were better educated on the vetting process and data surrounding that—crime rates of refugees are typically lower than the surrounding community—that would go a long way toward changing those minds.”

Isaac Castellano, political science adjunct professor at Boise State, said such widespread opposition to refugees is relatively new to the United States, with the exception of Jewish refugees in WWII. Despite being a new concept, Castellano is not surprised by the decision of the

31 states who oppose the refugees.

“These are easy politics for them. For the governors, it’s easy, they don’t really have any control over it; they’re not on the hook for it,” Castellano said. “If something goes wrong down the road, they’re not going to be blamed for it.”

Castellano said these decisions have been amplified by the climate and discussion surrounding terrorism.

“Super-sized fear is how I’d describe the current climate.

These governors are making a very easy political choice in these typically red states,” Castellano said. “Never have Americans been so concerned about 30 deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa. I would definitely put this up to the barrage of media coverage on this.”

Castellano believes this fear largely comes from popular culture as well, leading to a great deal of public misconception.

According to Castellano, these governors don’t hold the authority to decide if refugees will enter their states or not and, at most, it can make the situation embarrassing, uncomfortable or difficult from a political standpoint.

“Overall, I think it’s a cynical political move, and I think a lot of it has to do with the eminence of the Paris attacks in everybody’s minds and the fact that we have an election season coming up,” Foster said. “I don’t see it being something that is a terribly principled stance that is going to guide Idaho in the future.”

12/02/2015

NEWS

Amazon bookstores pose little local threat Asst. Culture Editor

Amazon opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in Seattle on Nov. 3—a move that was met with both criticism and fascination from the public.

The store—Amazon Books—features only toprated books and offers a place for customers to try their tech devices, such as the Kindle, Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Echo.

The majority of books are cover-facing and accompanied by a customer rating and review. There are no price tags, since each book is priced identically to its online counterpart. To find out the price, customers must download Amazon’s application and scan the barcode.

“We’ve applied 20 years of online bookselling experience to build a store that integrates the benefits of offline and online book shopping,” Amazon’s website states. “The books in our store are selected based on Amazon.com customer ratings, pre-orders, sales, popularity on Goodreads and our curators’ assessments. These are fantastic books. Most have been rated four stars or above, and many are award winners.”

The opening of Amazon Books has led many to speculate about the future of independent booksellers. According to Daniel Kleinman, writer for Forbes.com, Amazon Books “is an interesting and ironic next chapter

12/02/2015

for the online retailer that is notorious for running bookstores out of business.”

However, many people, including Rediscovered Bookshop co-owner Bruce DeLaney, are not concerned and believe the showroom design of Amazon Books marks the distinction between Amazon’s goal and the goal of independent booksellers.

“They’re really trying to emphasize the difference from what we’re doing, and I think that comes from a deep lack of understanding of why people shop in physical stores,” DeLaney said.

He explained people enjoy the personal interest and service only locallybased booksellers can offer.

“My wife and I think about that a lot—how could we be the best physical bookstore possible?

How could we make our customers feel fantastic every time they walk in this store? How could we give them great service?

How could we give them great selection? From what I read about the Amazon store, they have done none of that.” DeLaney said.

Customers can come to the store not knowing what they want and walk out with a book suited to them or the person they’re buying for. Customers can also speak to the owner face-to-face, which, according to DeLaney, is important in creating a sense of community.

“You just don’t get that kind of service from a com-

pany that uses a computer to judge what you want to read based on socks you buy,” DeLaney said.

DeLaney speculated the purpose for Amazon Books might also be a physical location to display and promote their devices— something Amazon never had before. Kleinman also pointed to this possibility.

“Although Amazon won’t release sales figures for their e-readers, it is estimated that Kindle sales declined in 2012 and remained stagnant in 2013,”

Kleinman wrote.

Amazon Books may be a way to boost sales for their tech items, especially Kindle, which struggles to keep up with Apple’s similar products. But DeLaney doesn’t see how Amazon’s latest move can lead to profit.

“From what I’ve read, there’s no possible way they will not lose money every month in that store. But they don’t care.

They’re not doing it to be a bookstore,” DeLaney said. “If they were com-

ing in saying, ‘We’re going to set up a bookstore that is designed to be the best physical bookstore possible,’ my belief is it would look a lot like what you see around you (in Rediscovered Bookshop).”

Sophomore English major Alec Ellison believes there is no more of a threat to independent booksellers now than there was when Amazon was strictly an online retailer.

“The whole move seems perplexing to me,” Ellison said. “Amazon has already

done a lot to harm independent booksellers by it being more convenient to buy online. I really don’t anticipate it catching on, but I may just be a cynic.”

DeLaney agrees Amazon Books isn’t a threat and is likely not to last.

“I honestly really don’t think Amazon cares about us. You don’t see any direct competition,” he said. “In two years, their bookstore will be gone.”

The suvey, which polled 1,000 US consumers between the ages 18 and 34, found that in the last year, nearly twice as many respondents had read a print book (79%) than an ebook on any device - the closest being a tablet (46%).

Showing no strong allegiance, young Americans also reported reading ebooks on personal computers (36%) and dedicated ereaders (31%).

And, 36% of those polled even spent more money on print books in 2014 than they had the previous year.

The membership at the American Booksellers Association had gone up every year for the past four years. from 1,401 in 2009 to 1,567 in 2012. Another 65 companies joined the association this year, bringing the total up to 1,632. The actual number of bookstores is even greater.

Design by Brenna murray / the arbiter

Cheyene Austin

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NEWS

UF class holds post-Ferguson group discussion Asst. News Editor

A year and a half ago, the country’s spotlight was on Ferguson, Missouri, where massive riots broke out for months due to racial tensions between residents and Ferguson Police Department.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18, a year after the second wave of the Ferguson riots came to an end, University Foundations professor Elizabeth Swearingen’s UF 200 class participated in a post-Ferguson policing town hall discussion held in the Hatch Ballroom of the Student Union Building.

“One of the things I have focused on in my class is ‘What does restorative justice look like as a classroom model?’” Swearingen said.

“In other words—how can the discussion about human rights and systemic issues of racism and sexism be modeled in community dialogue outside of the classroom?”

A panel consisting of Boise Chief of Police Bill Bones, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho Leo Morales, President of the Afro-Black Student Alliance

Queen Alexander, Ethics Officer of ASBSU and Chair of the MLK Living Legacy Committee Milaun Danclar and Peer Educator for Multicultural Student Services Alejandra Mejia gathered to analyze and discuss how Boise city police are trained, not only in handling difficult situations, but to unlearn racial biases that are instilled through Eurocentric societies.

According to the 2010 US Census Bureau, Boise’s black community makes up less than 2 percent of the city’s total population, whereas Ferguson’s makes up just under 70 percent.

However, Swearingen explained Boise State still has a place in the dialogue.

“It’s an important conversation to have on all university campuses, regardless of where they’re located within the United States,” Swearingen said. “We did not go into the forum with the idea that we are comparable, but we did go into the forum with the idea that Boise is part of a larger national discussion and that there were some important experts in policing and in civil liberties, as well as diverse students from

Boise State who could participate in the dialogue.”

According to Swearingen, this discussion is necessary to avoid some of the tragedies that have happened in other parts of the United States.”

Before the semester began, Swearingen reached out and collaborated with Multicultural Student Services to plan this town hall discussion, which would include a variety of members from the community and representatives from various diversitybased campus organizations.

In the last half of the panel, Alexander asked Bones whether there was training to rid officers of bias against people of color.

“We’re here trying to build a community, and if officers don’t understand their own personal biases, that is not gonna help us get anywhere,” Alexander said.

According to Bones, the major problem is the unconscious bias that develops within the officer.

“Unconscious bias, implicit bias—it exists in every single one of us and it develops over time, in different ways, depending on what area you’re in,” Bones said.

However, Bones went on to say some biases produce notable results.

“If I stop a hundred cars in Boise; and a hundred of those are $30,000 Audis, Lexus… just nice cars, and then I stop a hundred cars— a thousand cars—that are worth under a thousand dollars, that are kind of junked up, you know what I mean?”

Bones said. “Which one do you think I’m going to make

more arrests out of? I’m going to make a lot more arrests out of the cars worth less than a thousand dollars. It’s a reality of our society.”

Although Bones did not elaborate on why there would be more arrests from older and less expensive vehicles, he explained police officers needing to fill quotas or wanting recognition can get into a cycle of overpolicing lower income areas

where they believe they’re more likely to find crime, which creates officers across the country who are biased to socio-economic standing, which can then translate further into racial bias.

“If you’re policing black neighborhoods and you’re stopping black drivers at a much higher rate, are you going to get greater amounts of arrests?” Bones said. “Absolutely.”

Patty bowen / the arbiter

Shelly Bohorquez

Rally fights for racial justice.

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12/02/2015

NEWS

Student group fights unfair working conditions Alivia Wachsmuth

Enforcement as well as Associated Students of Boise State University to arrange a meeting about incorporating Alta Alta Gracia Apparel, a com- Gracia clothing into the Bookpany whose Dominican Re- store. public-based factory maintains “They were receptive to the ethical working conditions, is idea of offering a labor-friendly now featured in the bookstore apparel option,” said Andy due to efforts by the United Ridgeway, president of USAS. Students Against Sweatshops “Originally, two racks of clothclub. ing were offered, but Parents’ Not a week after their cre- Weekend depleted most of the ation in October of 2014, the stock.” members of USAS completed Now that USAS’s first goal their first walk-in at the Office has been met, members are of the President to advocate now focused on the next step for Boise State sourcing its ap- of their mission. parel from Alta Gracia. Then, On Oct. 28, USAS asked 11/13/15 last spring, BBP15_OpenHouseArbiter_4.8x4.75_x1a.pdf members of USAS ASBSU to formally1 endorse emailed Boise State’s Office their petition to affiliate Boise of Trademark Licensing and Staff Writer

State with the Workers’ Rights Consortium—an independent labor-rights monitoring organization which conducts on the ground investigations of the factories that produce college apparel.

“We’d like to be able to show ASBSU this is an issue our campus community cares about,” said Ridgeway. “We’re asking our supporters to wear white t-shirts to the meeting.

The blank space on the front of the t-shirt is meant to represent the space where the Bronco logo will go-when we’re absolutely certain our Bronco clothing is produced in labor9:30 AM friendly conditions.”

Boise State is currently

enforcing labor standards through the Fair Labor Association, an organization that is supposed to promote supplychain transparency and protect the rights of workers.

“Unfortunately, the FLA suffers from a severe conflict of interest. Many of the members of the board have close ties to the textile industry,” said Ridgeway. “In addition, the interests of organized labor aren’t represented—unions, worker collectives and workers’ rights groups are conspicuously absent from the FLA’s decisionmaking process.”

Ridgeway gave a presentation to the student assembly while Rachael Bickerton, di-

rector of trademark licensing and enforcement, presented Boise State’s reasoning for affiliating with the FLA. The student assembly voted against the proposal for Boise State to unite with the WRC on Nov. 4. Brian Garretson, ASBSU president, explained the students’ thoughts for voting down the option to join the WRC. “There are a few reasons, but the primary one is for scholarships,” said Garretson. “The Bookstore’s extra revenue goes toward Boise State scholarships. I know a lot of students do benefit from these scholarships, and though it would be a small percentage, you’re still

taking away from that revenue.”

Though the student assembly rejected USAS’s first pitch to join the WRC, the club can continue to campaign and raise awareness for their cause.

Affiliating Boise State with the WRC and cutting ties with brands that use sweatshops for cheap production are USAS’s ultimate goals, but the immediate goal of the club is quite simple.

“The immediate goal of our organization is to remind the student body that this is our university,” said Ridgeway.

“It conducts business in our name, which means we should have a say in how that business gets conducted.”

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COME HOME. 12/02/2015

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Opinion Kelson Ball

Junior Computer Science

The public discussion on the Syrian refugee crisis has been addled with a significant amount of dangerous misinformation and reactionary rhetoric lately, and I would like to set a few important points straight.

Blocking refugees is damaging to our national security. This is because the refugee program is not a valid vector of infiltration for ISIS soldiers and is a deliberate and expressly stated goal of the jihadists to spread fear and misinformation about refugees in the West, providing no alternative to the Syrian population other than accepting ISIS rule.

Between the release of documents from ISIS leaders, detailing the need to spread fear about refugees and the placement of a forged passport of a Syrian refugee at one of the attack sites in Paris it is surprising to me so many of our elected leaders and media figures have either ignorantly pandered to the terrorists’ wishes or chosen to ignore reality.

To illustrate this, let me expand on my assertion that the refugee program is not a valid vector of infiltration—particularly to the USA. Refugees following the legal process do not get to pick which country they are relocated to. They are then subject to a minimum of 18 months of background checks and verifications by no less than three different federal agencies.

A terrorist that needs to travel to a specific location

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cannot afford to be directly scrutinized by intelligence agencies for 18 to 24 months before being assigned to a random location, when they can instead immediately get on a plane as a business traveler or tourist.

In direct contradiction to reality, several elected officials and candidates have claimed there is no background check process for refugees. Others have more reasonably claimed, since there is not a recognized government from which to request background checks, there is no way to validate the identities and histories of those wishing to come to the U.S. Given the fact that refugees often come from wartorn countries with weak or non existent states, as well as the fact that Syria is currently the location with the most scrutiny from the worlds’ intelligence agencies, I very much doubt background checks are impossible to conduct.

When confronted with reality, the people who wish to conform to the terrorists’ wishes and help spread fear about refugees have opted to move the goal post.

“Why should we help refugees when there are homeless veterans to take care of?” they ask.

The fact that many of the politicians asking this question voted only a few months ago to block needed spending for veterans’ issues are now using this as an argument in favor of their xenophobic and un-American policies is outrageous, particularly when our nation is fully capable of taking care

of, not only our homeless veterans, but our homeless population in general. The funds required to fully house the veterans in our country is a drop in the bucket as compared to only one year of our discretionary defense spending, and the amount required to relocate and support 10,000 Syrian refugees is small compared to even that drop.

Providing a roof and a warm meal to those in need—both Syrian refugees and our own homeless veterans—is a far more cost-effective way of combating ISIS than succumbing to their manipulations and attempting to bomb a culture, particularly when that culture was incubated by bomb-oriented U.S. foreign policy.

Patrick adcock / the arbiter

Letter to the Editor: Syrian refugees in the US

Boise rallied to support refugees.

Student Voices

Should refugess should be allowed in idaho?

Trevor Cleusen, junior, mechanical engineer “I don’t see why we shouldn’t. They’re escaping from ISIS. It’s not like America is one to talk about escaping into someone else’s country.”

Katelynne Jones, junior, elementary education

“Yeah, I guess the process needs to be thought out, but I think we should be more open and welcoming.”

Brock Roncace, junior, philosophy and history

“Yes, they’ll die if you don’t.

If no one helps them they will be left to destruction.”

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Feature

relations with isis shake up personal, Patty Bowen Managing Editor

For freshman art major, Lindsay Kemp, the political and military escalation between ISIS and NATO countries is one of the first world news events she has worried would affect her. Kemp, like many students, sees headlines for news articles and has trouble understanding what is going on and why it matters.

“I want to try and connect it, but most of the time, I take it in as little tidbits of information because I’m not reading up on it all the time,” Kemp said. “It shows up in a newspaper and I’m like ‘Oh, there it is.

There it is again.’”

Trouble understanding the continued threat of ISIS can make it hard for students to understand the pertinence these global events hold for

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students.

WHY UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM MATTERS

According to Isaac Castellano, political science professor, it is key for students to understand how reacting to what they are reading with fear could result in hasty conclusions. He emphasized the inability to understand the escalating threat of ISIS could force both students and the country to make illogical decisions about refugees or possible terrorism.

“We’re all just knee deep in popular culture about these sleeper cells and radical terrorists who are going to blow up buses, take AKs to public events and shoot people,” Castellano said. “All of that is possible. The threat, however, does not come from these Syrian refugees.”

Castellano explained the conflict with ISIS could manifest itself as a tendency by the media to shame Muslim culture. He said making sure Muslim students don’t feel attacked or isolated is important to understanding the conflict.

Castellano urged students to separate ISIS as a different entity from the Muslim faith.

“We’ve done absolutely nothing to combat the notion in certain pockets of the Islamic world that there should be a fear of our influence,” Castellano said. “We’ve only confirmed that fear.”

According to Michael Allen, political science professor, this is particularly important when several political candidates are using issues with ISIS as leverage in presidential debates.

“It’s possible the Paris attacks have shifted candidates to be more focused on foreign policy than they otherwise

would have been over the next year,” Allen said. “We’ll see much starker differences in the candidates in terms of their foreign policy position than in 2000.”

For Elijah Hill, freshman computer science major, understanding how the political race corresponds with foreign policy can be difficult. Hill has trouble figuring out how different news articles connect because they don’t fit neatly into a timeline.

“It’s hard to image things happening all at once,” Hill said. “Even when learning history, we go date by date, or do different things at different times. It’s hard to imagine something in Europe happening while something happens in America.”

Hill stated that although he is more focused on stances in domestic policy when choosing a candidate, what is going

on with ISIS is why foreign pol

TURNING MODERATE INTO RADICAL

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12/02/2015

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d air campaigns ) supply lines,” d. “You’re going pulation in the you’re going to se refugees.” not these refua part of ISIS is r or not ISIS is ally stay afloat.

Allen, taxation is one of the nue streams for

“Initially, a lot of the Islamic states’ money comes from taken over territory that had Iraqi banks in it. They looted the Iraqi banks as well as getting money from oil fields,” Allen said. “(ISIS) is more or less begging to get refugees to stay in its territory, because it represents a source of revenue.

Refugees leaving those areas represent a loss of income for ISIS in those areas.”

While addressing the issue of refugees, Castellano explained it is also important students understand there is not a one-sided way to tackle conflict with ISIS, whether it be militarily or politically.

“No military strategy—no matter how sophisticated, well-funded and well executed—would be successful without a political strategy,” Castellano said. “The notion ISIS would cease to exist or Sunni radicalism would cease to ex-

12/02/2015

ist in that part of the Middle East—no military strategy is going to do that unless you’re going to kill them all.”

Castellano explained this makes it hard for students, or politicians, to figure out the right policy to combat ISIS. According to Castellano, it makes sense from a military standpoint to give weapons to the Peshmerga—the military force of the region of Iraqi Kurdistan which is currently in combat with ISIS—but not from a political standpoint, because 30 to 40 percent of those weapons would fall into the hands of ISIS. “ISIS has a bunch of the stuff we gave to the Iraqi military,” Castellano said. “That plays really bad politically because you see an ISIS dude rolling around in a humvee and we’re like, ‘Wow, we paid for that humvee, why does that ISIS dude have it?’”

That being said, Castellano concluded the best strategy to combat ISIS would be to create a state for Sunnis specifically with Sunni government.

POSSIBLE STRATEGIES

“A successful strategy would make it clear to Iraq there is a place for them in their countries,” Castellano said. “In both Syria and Iraq in the last ten years—before the rise of ISIS­—there have been a series of state policies that have alienated and isolated Sunnis from the government.”

Allen and Castellano both stated a country like this would be landlocked and would have trouble exporting oil. In addition, Allen explained creating this “Islamic state would win as a result of their tactics.”

“You are creating a state not necessarily for (ISIS),” Allen said. “But it does show the effectiveness of them com-

ing together in the first place and basically using violence and terrorism against the Shia states that were in this country.”

According to Castellano, even if an extremist Sunni state were to exist, there is no way to end extremist terrorism.

“There’s always going to be extremism,” Castellano said.

“What you get is some pretty radical, conservative interpretation of Islam and an exporting of that interpretation.”

Due to this inability to combat the religious needs of every sect, Castellano admitted there wouldn’t be a solution anytime soon.

“At the end of the day we’ve helped create a narrative and helped create the conditions for extremism,” Castellano said. “There probably won’t be long-term strategy. There certainly hasn’t been since 9/11.”

Design by Ted Atwell / the arbiter

,

Feature

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Culture

Holidays provide opportunities for giving back Brittany Lindstrom Culture Editor

“Peace on Earth, and good will to men,” is more than just a snazzy phrase gracing Christmas cards and clever marketing campaigns. While our little planet can be far from utopian some days, there are ways students can make a difference in someone else’s life.

From feeding the homeless to providing food and shelter to displaced pets, this holiday season provides plenty of opportunities for students to pitch in and help out.

Before jumping in, here are some guidelines to keep students from overtaxing themselves and propel them to getting the most out of their charitable experience.

Boise Rescue Mission Facebook / courtesy

Pick a cause

Choosing a cause is, perhaps, the most important step to charitable giving. It can also be the most daunting, as a quick Internet search for charities reveals a gargantuan number of different organizations seeking help.

Before choosing a charity or non-profit organization, students can sit down and reflect on which causes are most important to them.

This allows students the freedom and opportunity to develop a personal connection to their contributions.

There are no right or wrong answers here, and the goal is to create a set of personal guidelines students can use in the research phase.

Not one cause is greater than the other, and students should not feel their cause of

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choice is worth less than another’s decisions.

Students may decide they want to help the homeless, aid victims of domestic violence, pitch in to help lost and stray animals or donate to a local museum. Students may also want to consider if they would prefer to work with a worldwide, national or local organization, if they wish to donate money or volunteer time and if a student would prefer a solo or group contribution.

Do the research

Once a student has an idea of how they would like to help, it’s time to find an organization that fits the student’s parameters. Since there are currently no central organizations which keep charities accountable, taking a little time to research a potential recipient of a student’s funds or time is important. The research can give students the peace of mind their contribution is going directly to aid their cause.

When researching organizations, students should look for a declaration of that organization’s mission statement and current tax status. For example, the Boise Rescue Mission—which provides food, clothing and shelter to anyone in need—is listed on their website as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity. This tax code means the Boise Rescue Mission is a non-profit organization who receives no government funding and all donations received go to directly help those in need, pay staff wages and other operational costs.

Furthermore, on the Boise Rescue Mission’s website, potential donators can find

up-to-date statistics on how donations were utilized, as well as financial reports for the past four years.

While not all organizations can provide this level of transparency, students should be cautious of any charity which does not provide their tax code, mission statement or a level of accountability. If a student is suspicious, they can check with the IRS for a current list of registered non-profits.

ity—stated there is no limit on philanthropy.

“I want people to consider themselves a philanthropist no matter how much or how little they are giving,” Pallotta said. “Even if you are giving $25, you are still a philanthropist.”

Students should not feel obligated or ashamed if they cannot make a large contri-

bution, but they should be cautious about giving too much. Be it time, money or personal information, every student has the right to set a limit on what they can—or feel comfortable—giving.

Get involved

No matter how a student decides to spend their time

or money, supporting charities and non-profits can be a rewarding experience that does not have to be limited to holiday contributions.

With a little elbow grease and an open heart, students can help make “peace on Earth” much more than a quiet wish.

Set a limit

During a 2013 Ted Talk interview entitled “How to Pick a Charity That’s Right for You,” Dan Pallotta—creator of the Aids Rides char-

12/02/2015

Culture

Victoria’s Secret reps make Boise State Pink Jessica Richmond Staff Writer

Victoria’s Secret is wellknown for selling saucy lingerie as well as the ubiquitous “PINK” line of clothing. Known for popularizing cute words on the derrière of sweat pants, this line of clothing aims to bring in the college demographic.

As of last year, Boise State is now one of 99 universities to have PINK representatives—interns who serve as a link between campus life and the

company—as part of their “PINK Nation” campaign.

Boise State’s two PINK representatives are Hannah Budke, a junior communication major, and Molly Salmon, a senior in communication.

“I originally heard about it through my sorority,” Salmon said. “They reached out to Greek life and said they may be branching out to Boise State. That’s when I put in my application and the process started.”

Both Budke and Salmon applied via resume submissions on Victoria’s Se-

cret’s website. Soon after, they received calls to do an extensive Skype interview process and, in April 2014, they received the news that they were chosen to be Boise State’s first representatives.

As representatives, their responsibilities include promoting the brand by hosting parties and other social events as well as maintaining a set of social media pages. Budke and Salmon also organize and run a street team, which currently consists of seven other girls.

They hire for this street

team once a semester and promote these opportunities on their social media accounts.

“I became a street team member by applying online and going through an interview process,” sophomore communication major Addie Ramonda said.

“I love being a part of the street team and would suggest it to any girls who are interested but not sure if they want to do it yet. It opens a lot of doors.”

Victoria’s Secret PINK started their collegiate collection to support colleges as well as have their

own clothing line that represents those schools.

For the first couple years, PINK only represented certain state universities such as Arizona State.

The major success of the PINK clothing line, and feedback from customers, encouraged the company to branch out into more colleges.

Boise State’s inclusion in the expanding collection keeps the team busy.

Budke and Salmon, as well as representatives from other schools, travel across the country go to a PINK event once a year. This

past summer they went to training in Ohio.

“Since we are returning representatives, we—as well as two other schools’ reps—got to sit on the panel, which consisted of a question and answer for all the new girls. It was fun,” Budke said.

One of the biggest events they have is the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show viewing party in conjunction with the Red Bull campus team. The viewing party is free to attend and will be held Dec. 8, at 7:30 in the Vista Apartments by campus.

! s r a e B y d d e T Toss Those join us for the 18th annual teddy bear toss for tots presented by the steelheads booster club and united states marine corps on saturday december 5th!

vs

wed - dec. 2nd fri - dec. 4th sat - dec. 5th

for tickets and details visit idahosteelheads.com or call 383.0080 12/02/2015

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Culture

Review: “Fallout 4” filled with fun and bugs Patrick Adcock News Editor

“Fallout 4” had one of the most successful video game launches in history, selling over 12 million copies on the first day. Those numbers speak volumes to the amount of hype surrounding the game, and the expectations players have going in.

Post-apocalyptic issues

Learning the ropes

There is quite a learning curve in “Fallout 4,” but it isn’t always a bad thing.

Part of the experience in such a dense game is the sense of discovery that comes with learning how the world works, but for those new to the series, it comes with some annoying moments.

After several hours in game, these moments became few and far between

and were replaced with curiosity and sense of excitement as I explored the wasteland.

The main story is the most compelling part of the game, but takes a real investment to get through. Littered throughout the world are side quests that present enjoyable distractions adding new stories and impressive depth to the game.

Getting from one town to another can take a matter of minutes or several hours, depending on how many rabbit holes you decide to venture down. The great thing is these distractions are rewarding, not a waste of time.

Getting buggy

A game of this magnitude

comes with baggage—the baggage in this case being bugs and glitches.

In my time in the game, the bugs mostly occurred during dialogue scenes where characters would either disappear or the camera would be at a strange angle.

These bugs, in combination with the unimpressive graphics, creates an experience that feels like a step backward on the PS3. It pales in comparison to other versions of the game and other PS3 offerings.

While Bethesda did an incredible job of creating an amazing world for players to invest hundreds of hours in, the flaws cannot be overlooked. But they are easily forgiven.

The level of depth in the

world and compelling story allow the bugs and shoddy graphics to be overlooked, leaving the overall experience one you’re excited to come back to.

Bethesda set a new bar for open world gaming with

“Fallout 4.” It isn’t perfect, but it is hard to pull yourself away from wandering around the post-nuclear wasteland with your trusty dog by your side.

Images courtesy of Fallout 4

Trusty PS3 controller in hand, my first few hours in the limitless wasteland were enjoyable, but not without frustration. The amount of detail in the game is both inspiring and exasperating at the same time.

I spent roughly 20-30 minutes creating my character only to accidentally erase the changes I made by selecting a default character. My second go around was much more expedient, but the inci-

dent left a sour taste.

I had a few more experiences similar to this in my first few hours, as I gradually had to learn the mechanics of the game.

This is ultimately where Bethesda Software Inc. falls short. As with other titles they have developed, Bethesda presents gamers with a ridiculously vast and detailed world but little instruction on how to interact with it.

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12/02/2015

Culture

Cheyene Austin Asst. Culture Editor

Karen Day, an independent filmmaker, journalist, photographer and author from Idaho, recently produced a documentary about the lost female generation of filmmaking. It focuses on Nell Shipman—a Canadian actress and producer who left Hollywood to live in the Idaho wilderness and make silent films with her horde of rescued Hollywood animal performers.

“In the 1980s there was a professor at Boise State— professor Tom Trusky—who was researching film in Idaho,

12/02/2015

and he discovered a woman named Nell Shipman, who lived in Priest Lake from 1919 to 1924 and made silent films there,” Day said.

Day worked on the documentary—“Girl From God’s Country”—with an all-female crew to pay homage to Shipman and other women who were pioneers of filmmaking.

Shipman made over 25 films in Priest Lake—which is a scant 15 miles from the Canadian border and was over 30 miles from the nearest store.

Shipman is considered one of the first animal activists in Hollywood, the first action adventure heroine to produce her own films and she is also

accredited with the first nude scene in movie history.

“What was so unusual about this is in the silent film era—the early 1900s until 1924—women dominated the movie industry,” Day said.

“98 percent of the movie industry was manufactured and produced by women. Shipman’s life story and eight of her films were restored by Tom Trusky.”

“Girl From God’s Country” incorporates footage and archival materials donated from Boise State. During her research, Day discovered thousands of women from all over the world who were pioneers in filmmaking, who are also

included in the documentary.

“Definitely anyone who’s interested in media, anyone who’s interested in personalities—these famous people in Idaho—anybody who wants to learn about the history of film and a local heroine should see the documentary,” Day said. “I’ll be there to answer questions about how to get into filmmaking and how to be an independent filmmaker.

This is my 14th documentary.”

“Girl From God’s Country” will be shown at the Special Events Center in the SUB on Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. The screening is free and open to students, faculty and community members.

God’s ccountry / courtesy

Documentary highliths female filmmaker

Shipman made 25 films.

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Sports & Rec

Hobbs and Jessup to join Boise State next year John Jansen Staff Writer

Devin Ferrell/THE ARBITER

Recruiting in college sports is a lot like the lottery. You pick your “line up” of numbers and hope it will be the right combination for success. Conveniently for the Broncos, the NCAA allows basketball recruits to sign early for one week in November.

With their recent signings, it’s safe to say Boise State may have hit the jackpot.

On Nov. 11, head coach Leon Rice announced the Broncos have signed Alex Hobbs, a prolific two guard out of La Porte High School in La Porte, Texas and Justinian Jessup, also a guard, a versatile Longmont High School standout from Longmont, Colorado.

With the upcoming departures of guards Anthony Drmic, Mikey Thompson, Lonnie Jackson and Montigo Alford this spring, it was crucial Boise State find young talent to develop and eventually replace the incumbents.

Rice displayed a lot of confidence in Hobbs and Jessup’s transition into the program.

“These are two high-character young men who happen to be great basketball players,” Rice said. “Alex and Justinian are great fits for Boise State and we are really excited for their futures here. They are such hard workers we just know, as good as they are right now, they’re going to continue to improve in college once we get them in our system.”

In terms of improvement, the potential is sky-high for both players. Hobbs averaged a whopping 27.4 points

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per game and a productive 8.5 rebounds per game average. On tape, Hobbs shows dynamic playmaking ability and incredible touch when shooting from outside. Not only are his stats impressive, his high school head coach recently praised Hobbs for his character in a statement.

“He’s special,” said La Porte High School head coach Barry Gibson. “Words like ‘special’ and ‘gifted’ are generally overused, but you’ll know right when you meet Alex. Boise is going to love him. He’s a tremendous talent and a really good person. His teammates love him and he’s one of the most driven players I’ve ever been around. He loves the grind and the process of getting better.”

The Broncos will be very excited for Hobbs’ addition, as he also had interest from schools such as Baylor, Butler, Houston, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, San Diego State and Wake Forest. But he saw Boise State as the most fitting.

Hobbs will be exciting, but make sure you don’t miss out on the Broncos’ other signing, Justinian Jessup. Jessup, a natural southpaw, flashes a more versatile scoring skillset than Hobbs and his many abilities combined with his unpredictable style should fit Rice’s system very well.

Jessup’s AAU head coach Rick Jimenez had some words about Jessup’s game.

“Justinian brings a little bit of everything,” said Jimenez.

“Being a lefty, he has some craft to his game. He can shoot it, drive it, pass it, post up. He is going to really excel in Boise State’s creative and innovative offensive schemes.”

Not only does Jessup offer a unique skillset teams in the Mountain West Conference will hate to defend, he also brings a lengthy resume of success.

“He’s a winner,” said Rice.

“He comes from a successful high school and AAU programs, and winning is his top priority.”

Along with being named the 2014-15 Colorado 4A State Player of the Year and leading Longmont to the state championship game, throughout the season he averaged 17 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.2 steals per game as they dominated to a 27-1 record. Jessup shot 61 percent from inside the three and 42 percent from three-point range as a junior.

His most critical abilities according to Jimenez, however, are his knack for the clutch and his hunger to work harder than the guy next to him.

“He doesn’t show any emotion, but just has this killer instinct about him,” Jimenez said. “When we play against the big-city teams who have deals with shoe companies, that’s when Justinian is at his best. He knows he’s going to the next level and he still comes in the gym and works harder than anybody else.

He’s always asking himself ‘what’s my next challenge?’”

Broncos fans should be very excited for the future, as both players seem to be ideal fits in Rice’s offensive system.

Both players show enthusiasm to get better and big playability, Boise State still has more players yet to sign but for now the future seems very bright for men’s basketball at Boise State.

12/02/2015

Sports & rec

Ali Roberts

Sports & Rec Editor

The winter months can be, by far the hardest months to stay motivated in any factor of life—be it in class, work, working out or just eating healthy in general. Now, the majority of health articles

and self help guides will suggest just powering through and working like crazy to maintain goals and work ethic. But, in my experience, having a mentality of “things happen, and it’s alright to be flexible” is one of the best and healthiest mentalities.

Sometimes it is okay to be easy and kind to yourself and your body. This might not work the most ideal for everyon., but for me personally, when I can just relax and take care of myself as needed, things progress more naturally, and I can focus more on what my body needs to be taken care of.

Since so many people deal with a lot of things during the winter months, anything from depression, S.A.D. or just lack of motivation to go out into the cold, doing things for the benefit of mental or emotinal health can sometimes be more important than working towards solely physical health. Work-

ing out can be good for these parts of a person’s health because working out can increase endorphins within the body, and make the body feel better in general. But in the same notion, worrying too much about always working out and burning yourself out will eventually cause the opposite effect.

Care of the body during the winter months can simply be as easy as just being intimate with how your body works and doing what it needs at that point in time.

The most important thing is learning what that balance is and caring for your body in a safe and productive way.

Back In Town!

The Puck Drops At

7:10pm vs

wed: $2 beer night presented by bud light fri: 4 for $46 presented by pepsi and double r ranch sat: teddy bear toss for tots presented by steelheads booster club & usmc for tickets visit idahosteelheads.com or call 208.331.tixs

#SteelheadsHockeyRules 12/02/2015

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rec center / courtesy

Ali-oop: Balance winter physical, mental health

Sports & Rec

Self-paced study. Anytime. Anywhere!

Brooke Pahukoa: MVP and

other accomplishments

Jessica Richmond Staff Writer

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Devin Ferrell/THE ARBITER

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Boise State’s women’s basketball team is starting off the season with a 3-2 record, and the rest of the year seems promising.

One player in particular is doing her part and more— to perform her job on the court as well as step up to a leadership role when needed by her teammates.

Brooke Pahukoa is a junior and this is her third year playing for Boise State’s women’s basketball team.

The team’s chemistry this year is a fresh one being made of a large number of freshman players. But with Pahukoa’s leadership, they have the ability to make this season a successful one. Pahukoa is from Lake Stevens, Washington and plays as a guard on the team. Since her first year playing for Boise State, she has been pushing herself both on and off the court and it is not going un-noticed. In 2013-2014, she was awarded the Academic All-Mountain West as well as the Mountain West Scholar award. In addition,

during the 2014-2015, seasons Pahukoa was awarded the Mountain West Championship MVP—a huge accomplishment for Pahukoa, as well as her coaches and teammates. She was also awarded Mountain West Player of the week on January 19, 2015.

“I have a lot more pressure this year than I have ever had so just staying relaxed and remembering why I play the game as well as the awesome support I get from my teammates keeps me going and focused,” Pahukoa said.

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12/02/2015

Although Pahukoa stays focused on the game and her teammates, the support she gets from Boise State’s coaching staff only improves her and the game in every aspect. This season will be Gordy Presnell’s 11th year as head coach for Boise State’s women’s basketball team.

Coach Presnell has been there to see Pahukoa join the program and grow with her talents into the amazing things she is doing now for the team.

“At the end of last year, she became the leader of our

2 minutes from campus 0 minutes to the River 8 minutes to downtown

team and she is Mountain West Conference MVP of the tournament, which helped her become that much more of a vocal leader at the end of the year,” Presnell said.

“After some seniors left, she just jumped in to fill that roll and we were the.” With all the support coming her way from her teammates and coaches the season is only beginning for Pahukoa and the rest of the Broncos.

Every game is an important game to the athletes and coaches, especially with the record they have going,

they want to continue the good streak. One of the most anticipated home games coming up for Boise State’s women’s basketball team is the game on Thursday Dec. 3, against the PAC12 team, Washington State at 7pm.

The support from students and fans is important to the players in addition to showing Boise State’s spirit.

“I am blessed to have this opportunity and we love when fans come out to our games because it really makes all the difference,” Pahukoa said.

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Sports & rec

bucking around Sudoku

Local Yik Yaks

University Pulse radio spotlight: The Morning Drive is on every Tuesday and Wednesday from 7-8am and Thursday from 7-9am.

Featuring news, sports, band interviews and music-all with Rylan Kobre.

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12/02/2015