I n d e p e n d e nt
Issue no.
S t u d e nt
V o i c e
o f
B o is e
S tat e
S in c e
1933
38
February 2012
Volume 24
w w w.arbiteronline.com
Boise, Idaho
02
First issue free
Top Stories
Pinterested?
See how one new website is revolutionizing social commerce.
page
5
Bronco pride
Bronco Nation needs to support more than just the football team.
page
6
Report cards
CODY FINNEY/THE ARBITER
“Mr. Blue Republican,” Robin Koerner, describes his journey from liberal to libertarian at the Blue Republican event Saturday night.
Republicans are blue, too
Suzanne Craig
Developing News Editor
Men’s and women’s basketball get their midterm grades.
page
7
Weather
A variety of people filled the seats—old veterans, parents with their children, students and community members all turned up Saturday night to listen to Robin Koerner discuss the Blue Republican movement. Koerner, a British expatriate with degrees in physics and philosophy, coined the term Blue Republican in a Huffington Post article published last August. His argument is that President Barack Obama has failed to deliver on his message of change and
has in fact continued the policies of George W. Bush, which many were expecting him to stop. According to Koerner, Ron Paul is the candidate who will do what Obama promised, despite running on a Republican ticket. That’s the center of “Blue Republican.” The idea is that people who are Democrats, have “left” leanings and probably voted for Obama when he ran in 2008, will become Republican for one year, for the express purpose of getting Paul into office. Despite the fact that Paul’s
campaign hasn’t been making headlines, his campaign website states he has received the majority of the votes for the 18- to 29-year-old demographic in all the primaries in which he participated. He also got second place in the New Hampshire primary. The on-campus presentation was proposed in an effort to make young Idahoans aware of Paul’s message, though many outside community members came to listen to Koerner’s presentation. At the end of the hourand-a-half-long presentation, there was a question-
answer session, though in some cases Koerner delayed answering until after the session, as he wanted to make sure he answered completely. Lucas Baumbach, the event organizer, introduced Koerner and at the end of the talk, spent time explaining how to register as a Republican to vote for Paul in the primaries. But it won’t actually be a primary this year. The Republican party of Idaho decided to change the time of their vote from May to March, making it more likely to have an effect on the standings of the “favorites” of the presidential
race. Also, instead of a primary vote, they’re holding a caucus. Caucuses take longer and require voters to show up to the location selected for their county and hang out for a few hours casting their votes repeatedly. Baumbach advised setting aside two or three hours for the caucus if listeners want to participate. The talk was recorded and will be posted on the Idahoans for Liberty website. The event was sponsored by the Idahoans for Liberty and their sister organization, Students for Liberty.
Today
RAs crack down on policy Mallory Barker Journalist
Mostly Sunny
45º high
10%
chance of precipitation
Tomorrow
Mostly Sunny
44º high
0%
chance of precipitation
Saturday
In a meeting on Jan. 22 in Driscoll Hall, the resident advisers (RAs), James Gravatt, Greg Franz and Hannah Baker announced a policy change regarding alcohol in the dorms. They informed the residents that in addition to possession of alcohol being a breach of university policy, it is now against the rules to be drunk in the dorms. Madison Hansen, a freshmen resident of Driscoll Hall studying English literature, confirmed that one of the RAs jokingly said if students are drunk, they shouldn’t come home. However, Malinda Jensen, assistant director of residence life, denied this is a new policy at all—it is simply one not often addressed. It appears many residents do not fully understand or have any knowledge of the alcohol
policy and run the risk of being written up due to ignorance. Connor McCloud, freshmen resident in Towers, said he was unaware of the policy regarding drunkenness in university housing. He said he did not agree with the policy because, “home should be a safe place.” “The goal of having a dry campus seems reasonable enough to me, “ Hansen said. “But, we need a safe place to come back to, even if housing doesn’t like our choice to drink. People can respect the rules by going off campus to drink and that’s great. But having the ultimatum of getting in trouble if they come back to the safest place they have is just plain wrong.” “Most students who live in housing are underage and as such are not allowed to be drinking,” Gravatt said. “It is not necessarily our place to say what they can and cannot do
Sunny
47º high
off campus, however if they are intoxicated and come back to campus, it is the place of university officials to document the situation.” The full policy can be found in the student code of conduct on Broncoweb. Here is an overview: There is absolutely no alcohol permitted in the residence halls (regardless of age). There is no promotion of drinking allowed in the residence halls. Containers will be considered as evidence of consumption. Anyone found in a room where alcohol is present will be held responsible for consumption. Public intoxication is considered a violation of university housing policy. A person is considered in violation of university housing policy if his or her alcohol consumption infringes upon the rights of other persons or property.
∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙
chance of precipitation
Tasha Adams News Briefs
page
Local
page
Opinion
page
Sports
page
The Arbiter
News Editor
2 3 6 7
Students are not allowed to be drunk on campus.
Body found near campus
0%
What’s Inside
mct campus
CODY FINNEY/THE ARBITER
A body was found a mile away from this bridge.
Tuesday, the Boise Police department received a call reporting a deceased person hanging from a tree along the Boise River near Americana Boulevard. The body of an adult male, reported at 12:42 p.m., was hanging about 100 yards
from a railroad bridge. Police reported to the scene near Kathrynn Albertson Park where they located the body. Police spokesperson Charles McClure said there is reason to believe the adult male is likely a suicide victim. The man has not been identified and no other information is available at this time.
ONLINE Follow our Facebook page for updated information on this story. arbiteronline.com