4 25 online

Vol. 29 Issue 32

April 25, 2017 IN D EPE ND E NT

ST U D E NT

V O I CE

O F

B O I SE

STAT E

S I N C E

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Connecting the arts

The Arbiter

@arbiteronline

@arbiteronline radio

arbiteronline.com

PHOTO BY PATTY BOWEN / THE ARBITER

Proposed School of the Arts combines theatre, creative writing, film, music and visual arts starting in Fall 2017 P.10

TOC

INSIDE: 4/25/17

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Patty Bowen

editor@stumedia.boisestate.edu

OPINION EDITOR Sierra Williams

sierrawilliams659@u.boisestate. edu

INVESTIGATIVE/ENTERPRISE REPORTER Jacob Palmer

jacobpalmer@u.boisestate.edu

NEWS EDITOR

Samantha Harting

BUSAYO APAMPA / COURTESY

news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

A guide to getting involved : pg. 9

NEWS REPORTER Taylor Munson

taylormunson@u.boisestate.edu

CULTURE EDITOR

Brandon Rasmussen

culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

CULTURE REPORTER Michael Paquin

michaelpaquin@u.boisestate. edu

SPORTS EDITOR Evan Werner

sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

SPORTS REPORTER Rylan Kobre

rylankobre@u.boisestate.edu

DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER Jared Lewis

COPY EDITORS

Darby Ebeling Maxwell Peterson

DESIGN MANAGER TAYLOR LIPPMAN / THE ARBITER

BRANDON RASMUSSEN / THE ARBITER

Ted Atwell

Middle school pool shark takes over the Games Center pg. 16

Contact Us:

The Culinary Arts Building undergoes renovations : pg. 15

A r b i t e r o n l i n e . c o m 1 9 1 0 U n i v e r s i t y D r. B o i s e , I D 8 3 7 2 5 P h o n e : 2 0 8 . 4 2 6 . 6 3 0 0

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Nancy Flecha

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.

The first copy is free. Additional copies can be purchased for $1 a piece at The Arbiter offices.

SEND EVENTS TO DARBYEBELING@BOISESTATE.EDU. DESIGN BY NANCY FLECHA

digitalcontent@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Editor’s Notes Keeping the momentum going: a note from the new editor-in-chief

AXEL QUARTARONE/ THE ARBITER

Keep reading readers, things are about to get good: a note from the old editor-in-chief

Patty Bowen Editor-in-Chief

Editor@stumedia.boisestate.edu

As an editor in a college newsroom, I have become accustomed to change. University years are punctuated with movement: changes in classes, jobs, roommates. For three years, I have watched staffs cycle in and out of the newsroom, different desks marked by clutter or mementos.

To quote our previous opinion editor, Andy Ridgeway, nothing is permanent.

As I stare at the encroaching mess surrounding my office keyboard—fear of a possible landslide of outdated Arbiter issues and handouts on my mind—I am honored by the notion of leaving all of this, except the mess, in the kinder, more capable hands of Brandon Rasmussen and Taylor Munson.

My time at The Arbiter has taught me a lot of

things—email etiquette, comma placement, conflict management. Without it I would never have undersood the pleasure involved in investing wholeheartedly in a project or just how apparent my bias is to everyone but myself. The time I have spent at The Arbiter has given me purpose and perspective.

I started at The Arbiter seven semesters ago writing articles colored in errors and barely sourced. I have enjoyed listening to Evan debate the merits of “13 Reasons Why” or quote scenes from “The Office,” Jacob twist around from his desk with a video on his computer begging to be watched, Sam lift herself from her chair into several dance moves to punctuate her excitement. I will never forget Brandon’s bean story or the way Max saunters into the office each Monday with his entourage of small dogs. I’m sure none of our articles will be as

clean, not without Darby’s master eyes sweeping them of errors. Every time I pull up Netflix I’ll probably want to search “Mystery Science Theater 3000” after Michael’s many recommendations, and I’ll probably still find myself checking the Boise State calendar to see if Taylor will put on any more magnificent dance shows.

With this issue, we end our print cycle for this academic school year. The new staff will move in and do an excellent job, getting more articles online and hopefully connecting with more of campus.

My college career has been marked by the positions I have held here, the articles I have written and by the Tuesday mornings when I see our hard work all over Boise State stands. It has been an honor and a pleasure being a part of The Arbiter’s newsroom for so long. I can’t thank you all enough.

Brandon Rasmussen Culture Editor Culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

For the majority of my college experience thus far, The Arbiter has meant the echos of chatter in the Interactive Learning Center. I’d flip through the thin pages to the strangely comforting mechanical scream of the Einstein Bagels location downstairs, while struggling through a dry meal replacement sandwich. Since joining the ranks in August, The Arbiter has become more associated with the feeling of a notepad in my pocket, and the weight of a camera and recorder in my backpack. At the end of the school year, I am reeling at how I simply stumbled into something that would have such a profound impact on my college experience, and even how I identify myself.

Selfish reflections aside, I am thrilled to be able to continue The Arbiter’s mission of informing and connecting

students on campus into the next academic year. Having read the paper for years, it’s been a pleasure to see how far it has evolved and improved, much in thanks to our editorin-chief, Patty Bowen. Her leadership has pushed all of us in the editorial cube to improve as journalists and professionals, and has given us an excellent foundation on which we can continue to build.

The Arbiter is taking on a few ambitious projects in the upcoming Fall 2017 semester, such as a completely revamped website and placing more focus on online content in general.

I’m looking forward to working with our new Online Editor, Taylor Munson, to make these changes meaningful and face the challenges that come along along with them. Along with the rest of Student Media, we will do our best to become more in sync with Boise State’s ever-changing campus and improve as the independent voice of students.

Though a few of us in the current staff will be sticking around, I will deeply miss those who are finishing their final semester at Boise State.

The office just won’t be the same without the sound of Evan’s laughter-filled political musings, Patty’s endless puns, Sam’s improvisational singsong nicknames or Darby’s articulate sass. The shoes they’re leaving behind for us to fill are the kind you have to ask a store employee to get from the back, since they don’t keep a size that big on the shelves.

It has been my pleasure to work alongside such talented and creative people, and I look forward to more growth, hard work and office shenanigans that next year will surely bring.

We invite any students who want to get involved with The Arbiter to do so by joining the Communication Activites: Student Media class. See you all next year.

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NEWS

Total solar eclipse

Path of solar eclipse will pass through Idaho on Aug. 21

Water flow in Boise River increases, more parts of Greenbelt expected to flood Jacob Palmer Investigative/ Enterprise Reporter News@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Map of the total eclipse path as it goes through Idaho. (Courtesy NASA).

Taylor Munson News Reporter

News@stumedia.boisestate.edu

For the first time since 1979, the United States will be able to view a solar eclipse as it crosses the country on Monday, Aug. 21—with Idaho located directly in the eclipse track.

This solar eclipse will begin at 10 a.m. and will last approximately two hours, with the sun being completely covered for about two minutes. It will mainly be seen in south central Idaho, according to Brian Jackson, a professor in the Department of Physics. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks out light from the sun, thus casting a shadow that can be seen from Earth. The next solar eclipse viewable from Idaho won’t take place for over 150 years.

“Eclipses don’t happen infrequently—about every 18 months we will have a solar

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eclipse like this, but they’re not usually visible across such a wide swath of densely-populated area,” Jackson said. “Usually they’re in the middle of the ocean, or out in the middle of Siberia or something like that.”

Since the eclipse track passes through south-central Idaho, there will be many small towns within the path, according to Jackson. These small Idaho towns are beginning to prepare for the large influx of visitors on Aug. 21.

“This is going to be a pretty unique eclipse just from the respect of having a lot of people along the eclipse track,” Jackson said.

In addition to viewing the eclipse, scientists will also be utilizing this event to make observations and pursue many unique science and engineering problems, according to NASA’s website about the eclipse. Such observations will be made through spacecrafts,

balloons and from the ground.

As seen on the map of Idaho, the path of totality—which is the path in which you can see the sun completely covered— cuts through towns such as Idaho Falls, Cascade, Stanley, Challis, Weiser and Rexburg.

These towns anticipate accommodating thousands of visitors in August.

According to Jackson, the Department of Physics is very involved in spreading awareness about this event. Specifically, the Society of Physics Students has been leading the student effort to organize these events.

“We have (physics) students who have helped with the public outreach campaign. They’ll help us do the presentations, mail out the eclipse shades and help with the public events,” Jackson said.

Eclipse shades are intended to protect your eyes from being damaged by the sun and allow

you to view the entire eclipse, according to Jackson.

Throughout the summer, Jackson and physics students will run a wide-reaching public campaign involving site visits across Idaho. A PonyUp campaign has been set up to support these site visits, and they have currently raised about $5,000.

The state has provided some funds to go toward distributing eclipse shades for people to wear during the event. Jackson said they will end up ordering about 13,000 of these shades for distribution across Idaho.

For more information about this solar eclipse, visit NASA’s website. For other resources visit the Department of Physics website.

Faced with above average precipitation and high snowpacks in the mountains, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have decided to increase the amount of water flowing into the Boise River.

Approximately 250 cfs (cubic feet-per-second) of water was released last Friday, April 21 from the Lucky Peak Dam, bringing the total level of water flow in the Boise River to 8,800 cfs. A water flow rate of 7,000 cfs is enough to be considered flood stage.

According to a news release by the two agencies, this increase in flow will cause more areas of the Greenbelt to be

flooded. Erosion of land along parts of the riverbank is also expected to be a continuing problem. However, both agencies stated this increase in water flow is necessary to prevent even worse flooding later in spring due to melting snow.

Idaho Governor Butch Otter made a statement last Wednesday, April 19 urging citizens to take the flooding seriously and avoid going near the river.

“We’ve got to get the word out that this is a disaster waiting to happen,” said Otter. “We don’t need people to add to it by getting on the river or getting on the river banks.”

According to the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers, Boise River reservoir levels are currently at 68 percent. More increases in water levels could be coming in the near future depending on the weather.

Erosion along parts of Boise River bank expected to get worse.

(Photo Ellen Fogg / The Arbiter).

International students feel a loss with the move of International Student Services’ office Jordan Erb Staff Writer

Jacobpalmer@u.boisestate.edu

Once situated on the second floor of the Student Union Building, the International Student Services’ office has been moved to the Simplot Micron Advising and Success Hub to help create the Center for Global Education.

International Student Services, along with International Admissions, the Intensive English Program and Global Learning Opportunities are now situated under one roof, in an attempt to consolidate all forms of global education. This transition has caused some

dissent from international students.

According to President Bob Kustra, the move was not intended to take away from International Student Services.

Instead, it was simply designed to bring all global education together.

“I can’t imagine that we intended the move to, in any way, denigrate the role of the International Students’ office,” Kustra said. “To the contrary, we hired the current director of global education for the express purpose of expanding international education.”

Some international students are still feeling a sense of loss, as their office was moved from a more spacious and welcoming location, to something smaller.

Now, instead of sharing a space with one department, the International Student Services’ office is contending for room with four other departments.

“It’s funny that they want us all in one place, but to do that they’re giving us a smaller space than we were in originally— even study abroad, their office was a lot bigger right downstairs in the SMASH building,” said Busayo Apampa, senior business and economics major from Lagos, Nigeria.

The new location, according to Apampa, is too crowded to offer the same experience that it once did. Before, students would sit in the lounge and converse, do homework and associate with staff members.

Now that the office is a shared

space, this has changed.

“It was basically just a hangout spot for people who needed to find a place on campus,” Apampa said. “Not only international students, but also some domestic students would come and meet with international students.”

The original office had an attached lounge where international students could meet new people—students and staff alike. According to Apampa, this environment is vital to new students who are seeking connections and new friendships on campus.

Gonzalo Bruce, the new assistant provost for the Center for Global Education, hopes that eventually the whole campus will serve as a safe space for

international students to mingle and create relationships.

“Most of campus is moving in the direction of helping international students integrate more to the fabric of the institution, rather than having a specific space that is designed for them,” Bruce said.

Bruce sees the transition as a way to ultimately increase the internationality of Boise State. Having a strong hub for global education will aid in the recruitment of international students and allow for the University to diversify.

“It’s always a challenge to bring people to become a new team. We have a little bit of people who live in the mindset of the way we used to do it, but we really have to reinvent

ourselves,” Bruce said. “That’s sort of a challenge that always comes with creating new initiatives.”

According to Apampa, the idea behind the move was noble, but the execution was flawed.

“I’m on board with the motive, but you can’t cram us in one space where students don’t even feel like they are a part of it,” Apampa said. “I’m just trying to let people understand what that space means to us—it’s a community builder, it’s where we meet our new friends, where we feel comfortable and where we feel like we’re not alone. It’s more than a physical location.”

High turnout at Bronco Day Orientation reflects rising enrollment numbers News@stumedia.boisestate.edu

As some students wrap up their higher education with graduation this spring, others will just be starting as they enroll in Boise State for their first year.

Many of these students attended Bronco Day orientation, which occurred earlier this month on Saturday, April 8. According to Boise State President Bob Kustra, attendance numbers for the event surpassed predictions and stood out as one of the events he was most proud of this year.

“The most recent proud moment was the Bronco Day that we just had on Saturday, which really exceeded all expectations. We had over 3,000 people here on campus on Sat-

urday—a 20 percent increase over last year,” Kustra said.

The large number of attendees at the orientation took place after a rise in enrollment at Boise State over the past 10 years. According to Boise State’s enrollment data, the total student enrollment at Boise State rose to 23,886 students in Fall 2016—a 22 percent increase from the total enrollment in Fall 2007, which was 19,540 students.

According to Greg Hahn, associate vice president of communications and marketing for Boise State, predicting the enrollment numbers for the next semester is difficult due to a variety of factors.

“College ‘go on’ rates, other university tuition decisions, state funding and scholarship decisions and many more factors can dramatically affect

admission rates here—and at every university,” Hahn said.

There are some specific areas of the University that have seen more growth than others according to Hahn. Concurrent enrollment through local high schools has increased and students taking credit earning classes are counted as Boise State students in state numbers. Online courses have also increased, and is one of the factors contributing to the student population rising to over 23,000.

Another area that has seen growth is the Honors College, which has “essentially doubled in size since 2010,” according to Hahn.

“As for general admissions trends, we are still getting on the radar of more and more high school students from around the country—California, the Seattle area and other

Western states already send a lot of students here,” Hahn said.

“At Bronco Day, it anecdotally appeared that would continue to be the case for a while to come.”

When reflecting on the success of the orientation, one of the things that impressed Kustra was the dedication and work put in by Boise State faculty who weren’t required to be involved in the event.

“I’m so impressed with our faculty,” Kustra said. “To see such incredible support and partnership coming from the departments—and among our faculty—it was really exciting for me to be able to address these parents and students and then to see the turnout of the faculty on a Saturday when there’s lots of other things to do with your time.”

PAST ENROLLMENT NUMBERS Information sourced from Boise State Enrollment Services

ENROLLMENT

Jacob Palmer Investigative/ Enterprise Reporter

24K 23K 22K 21K 20K 19K 18K

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

YEAR

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NEWS Round up of the incoming Associated Student of Boise State University Executive Council Ximena Bustillo Staff Writer

News@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Along with a new school year, Fall 2017 will bring a new board of Associated Student of Boise State University (ASBSU) Executive Council members.

The President, Vice President, Secretary of Academic Affairs, Secretary of Community Relations and Secretary of Student Organization Affairs positions have now been filled, and the new members shared their plans for the next academic school year as ASBSU members.

President: Sienna George, junior communication and sociology major Vice President: Gabe Payne, junior health science major Sienna George will be entering the 2017 academic year alongside Gabe Payne under a platform of six core values: empathy, empowerment, equity, transparency, compassion and accessibility, according to George.

“The outgoing student body president has helped to establish a position for the Student Body President on the Vice President’s Council, the University’s Administration Council and as the chair of the Student Activities Fee Advisory Board—that helps to introduce the budget recommendation for Boise State in order to offer student voice in the student fee allocation, ” George said.

The foundation for involvement and accessibility is also laid out for the vice president.

“The outgoing vice president

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was responsible for growing the student assembly team to represent more students from across campus this year so that more organizations can be presented and more student voices can be heard,” Payne said.

Through their six core values, George plans to increase this assistance and build off of the outgoing president.

“In order to do this, we hope to give students a voice at the administrative level by hosting monthly luncheons with Gabe and myself, where students can voice their ideas and concerns and learn how to implement change at the institutional level,” George said. “We are working with administrators and students across campus to ideate solutions to the ongoing conversation on diversity and inclusion, in order to enhance efforts across campus.”

Increasing diversity is a goal for the ASBSU Student Assembly, as well as the ASBSU Executive Council.

“We hope to continue to diversify our Student Assembly team by visiting organizations come Fall 2017 to invite them to serve on our Assembly team,” Payne said.

Secretary of Academic Affairs: Garrett Pedersen, freshman marketing major The secretary of academic affairs is “what you make of it,” according to Pedersen. Pedersen will be in charge of the Golden Apple Awards, communicating students’ academic needs to the administration and the provost, and attending meetings.

“Historically, those in my position have fought for cheaper textbooks—though unsuccessfully. The outgoing secre-

ASBSU Vice President Gabe Payne (left) and ASBSU President Sienna George (right) will lead the 2017 to 2018 ASBSU Executive Council. (Photo by Patty Bowen / The Arbiter).

tary has also advocated for a syllabus bank, which would require professors to put up their syllabus before the first day of the semester,” Pedersen said.

In order to continue building off of this, Pedersen’s goals include creating the groundwork to increase the max credit limit to 18, increase funding for student research, continuing the push for a syllabus bank—as well as a lecture notes bank— and planning Bronco Happy Hour, an event for students to speak with faculty about general college questions.

“In order to push my plans through, I will mostly be working alongside fellow ASBSU members, the provost, deans of colleges and the Education Access Center and Office of Information Technology,” Pedersen said. “The College of Business and Economics has something similar to a syllabus bank, but not very many students know about it, and I want to also ex-

pand it into other sectors. I will work closely with my committee.”

Secretary of Community Relations: Austin Henderson, junior communication major As secretary of community relations, Austin Henderson will have the duty of facilitating community relations on and off campus.

“What’s hard is this role is essentially very new. My main obligations are putting together the Bronco Block Party and National Registration Day,” Henderson said.

This position was originally called the “secretary of external affairs.” Previous secretaries focused on the Treasure Valley’s relation with ASBSU and the University, according to Henderson.

“For example, there was push to get a student discount

program to get further discounts at businesses—the lines of this position are vague.”

Henderson wants to expand his position in order to increase student success off campus in terms of connections, job opportunities, internships and service hours.

“I want to raise awareness for opportunities, plan quadding events and diversify the student voice at Boise State,” Henderson said. “This year, there was major criticism towards ASBSU for not accurately representing the whole student voice. I felt very connected to this goal. We cater to the traditional (student) and need to expand. The Inclusive Excellence Council (IEC) will handle this, and I am excited to see it rise and become its own entity”.

There will be a Vice President of the IEC that will sit on both ASBSU and IEC meetings, according to Henderson.

“I want to work closely with whoever this person is,” Henderson said.

Henderson will work on social media efforts in collaboration with the communication officer, and collaborate with the Career Center on resource projects.

“I want students to not just be Broncos, but Boise citizens—even if they are out of state,” Henderson said.

Secretary of Student Organization Affairs: Justin Doi, junior political science major The secretary of student organization affairs oversees the funding process for the majority of clubs and organizations on campus, according to Doi. The process involves weekly hearings held on Fridays, during which representatives of

organizations pitch ideas for funding. The Funding Board Council—which is made up of four students—then votes on how to distribute the funds.

“It is important that students ask for the financial aid that they need. Clubs and organizations can apply for direct grants where the maximum dollar amount is $4,000 and individuals can apply for $400 grants,” Doi said.

Historically, the process has been made more efficient and accessible as former secretaries have downsized the hearing rooms to make it more personable and increasing the amount of clubs heard at each hearing.

For this upcoming term, Doi wants to focus on efficiency.

“I want to increase communication between the clubs and the understanding of the financial application processes. I want the officers to help the clubs spread their words and promote their activities,” Doi said. “The Funding Board should promote the events calendar. Clubs increase experiences and promotion of cultural values. Campus culture is enriched by the clubs.”

In order to do this, Doi said he has two main strategies.

First, revamping the job description for the Council to include consistently checking in with the clubs, looking for results and publicly promoting their accomplishments. Second, implementing periodic “hangouts” during which club leaders can come together.

“This increases networking and can be open to the public for anyone who may be interested in campus involvement.

I want to be a guide for these clubs—whether that be structural or funding assistance,” Doi said.

AXEL QUARTARONE/ THE ARBITER

Goodbyes from graduating staff members

Darby Ebeling Copy Editor

Culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

It sounds like a newsroom should; editors debate and fact check, make puns and graphics requests. It buzzes. I think. Usually my headphones are in, as I have been blessed to be the resident music columnist this semester and as a result have spent a lot of office hours researching. I will miss the friendly chair prods that pulled me into the office cacophony just when things were getting especially hilarious, or when someone found a particularly fascinating video online.

Working at The Arbiter has been incredibly enlightening. I have been taught the art of the narrative lead—thank you, Brandon. I have learned that a chicken sandwich and fries costs exactly $5.55—coincidentally, it takes about 5 hours and 55 minutes for the oily, thick smell of that lunch to vacate the office. I have been challenged to become more meticulous about AP Style—thank you, Patty—and I have seen what it means to consistently outperform yourself—you’re incredible, Sam! It will be hard to beat weekly discussions about the peculiarities of school mascots—Evan, I’m sure someday Cardinal will be pluralized. I am so grateful, however, to have had the opportunity to research these intricate details, learning reporting techniques from all of my wonderful workmates along the way.

Thank you homies—workmates and readers—for contributing to intellectual rigor and freedom by being a part of this wonderful facet of campus.

As a goodbye, I would like to remind everyone that there is not, never has been and presumably never will be an apostrophe in “Albertsons”.

Evan Werner Sports & Rec Editor

Culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

My experience with The Arbiter has been amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction into my career path in media and reporting.

Throughout my senior year, not only was I able to benefit from the hands-on experience, such as reporting on football games from the Stueckle Sky Center, I was able to meet amazing people that are interested and passionate about the same things I am.

On top of being able to better my writing, I was able to gain experience editing others’ work, as well as managing a small group—forming a close-knit group of sports nuts.

I couldn’t have asked to work with a better staff; they made every day of work entertaining and gave me an extra purpose to come to work.

From Editor-in-Chief, Patty Bowen, to digital content, to everyone in between, my time as sports and rec editor was truly a blast. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to work with to not only build my own portfolio, but to give a voice to the students of Boise State.

While we did have a lot of fun, I believe we did our best to be a great weekly paper for Boise State.

In the end, The Arbiter has given me experience that will last me a lifetime and will set me up for great success. I can’t wait to see what The Arbiter has in-store for the future.

Samantha Harting News Editor

Culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Over the last two years, the Student Media Office—or Educational Access Center as many thought—became my second home. My co-workers grew to be my closest friends, enough so, I’m now writing a sappy goodbye note about them.

All of my co-workers have a special place in my heart, which made coming to the office a great part of my day. Whether it be convincing myself not to kidnap Max’s dogs, talking to Darby about politics and good tuneage or having impromptu improv sessions with Patty and Brandon, there was never a dull moment.

I also loved getting cookies with Jared from the beloved Norma, talking to Freddy Mercury about Kenny Miller and witnessing Jacob laugh at infomercials.

I’m sure Taylor will miss my awkward dance moves and I’ll miss Evan calling me Hillary when I wore my “pant suit,” the look Sierra would give me when I tried to be cool talking about K-Dot and the puns we’d all create. The ever-so-talented Ted and Nancy won’t miss my late graphic requests, and I am glad to set them free of that burden.

The random, weird memories are endless, and I’m thankful for every one of them.

All of my co-workers are incredibly intelligent, charismatic and thoughtful in their own beautiful way, and I have no doubt college is only the beginning of their successful paths through the world.

A career as a journalist may not currently have a bright career outlook, but I’m grateful I was able to be part of a group determined to provide the community with well-written content. I can only hope the next group to work in the office has the experience I was fortunate enough to have.

Thank you all for putting up with my constant weirdness.

I love you all.

Love, Grandma Sam.

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OPINION It’s going to take more than a rubric to create thoughtful students Patty Bowen Editor-in-Chief

Editor@stumedia.boisestate.edu

As college students, we are often given research papers or pieces of writing that, at the time of their creation, were fantastic examples of critical thinking or innovative thought. As readers with little context for the academic climate decades ago, students can rarely put together why these pieces are chosen as standout examples of research or literature leaving them unable to figure out the formula, or make their own essays and projects articulate. Instead, they repeat ideas and phrases from the greats, assuming that repetition, not innovation, is how the genius of these works can be tapped into.

The assignments students are given in classes are more likely to take away their creative license than to promote the multidisciplinary kinds of work that allows for innovation and thoughtfulness.

In reality, college classes allow students to learn a small fraction of what they will actually need to know to conduct research or be successful in a career. That fraction—more often than not made up of memorization and misunderstanding—is the less important part of the whole. The most important—the one often left uncultivated—is critical thinking and agency in a student’s ideas.

With that said, here are some ways you can work to make yourself more of a critical thinker while taking college classes: Actively rebel against the notion of efficiency: Efficiency is formed when we find little habits that increase

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our productivity. Efficiency, however, does not prioritize learning, it prioritizing getting things done. It puts the emphasis of our academic experience on how quickly we can write a paper rather than in the intellectual connections we made while writing that paper.

Take pride in taking more time to write something. Start the project earlier and focus on doing extra research. The Wikipedia wormholes are a pleasure in themselves.

Start conversations with your peers: If college is truly about learning then the end goal of each class shouldn’t be for a student reach all the requirements. The end goal should be to create an environment where students feel like they have to learn more because their classmates are consistently demonstrating a level of knowledge that isn’t stagnant, but is constantly growing and expanding.

Surrounding yourself with people who have a thirst for knowledge will help you fill the in knowledge gaps and learn about new disciplines and ideas.

Become friends with your professors: Offer to walk them back to their offices after class, or just chat with them in the elevator. Simple chats with your professors give you a chance to test out some of the observations you’ve made on your own. As novice college students, despite our best efforts, we are generally wrong because we don’t have the context to understand all aspects of a subject.

Talking with a professor gives a student a better understanding of how to form an opinion and what to give weight.

Take less classes and focus on learning outside the classroom: As a high schooler, economist Tyler Cowen turned down his parents’ offer to be sent to a high ranking private school and instead attended a less academically rigorous public school. He used his free time to read books on the side, continuing to research areas of interested that were not being touched on in as much depth as he would have liked in his classes.

College classes are designed to either teach a skill or give a broad overview of a topic. By augmenting our classes with our own study and research we can specialize our education better than a more rigorous academic schedule would allow us.

Be a contrarian: There is always something to be skeptical about. There are always more questions to ask. Being a contrarian allows to test everything before you passively accept it. Accepting anything at face value underemphasizes the way that all knowledge connects together.

Each time you question new information, you are holding it against what you already know. This allows you to not only save yourself from unhealthy or poorly constructed information, it gives you the toolset to take exactly what you need from larger claims and break down their formation.

Students should seek organizations that fit their goals Sierra Willams Opinion Editor

SierraWiliams659@u.boisestate.edu

What does it really mean to get involved in your campus community? The idea of getting involved is often glorified as joining as many organizations as possible, but it is important to remember quality over quantity when filling out those contact sheets and collecting those giveaway items.

Idealistically, events like the Get Involved Fair and Bronco Day are great for an initial introduction into the campus community. They are meant to serve as a showcase for what Boise State has to offer in the extracurricular department.

However, there are still a variety of other clubs and organizations that you could be overlooking, mainly because these hidden gems may not be in the limelight of these events. Here is a guide to navigating the “getting involved” process.

Mainstream Organizations like ASBSU, Dance Marathon and Greek Life serve as a source to get involved with the campus in multiple facets. Events like Dance Marathon are seen as an opportunity to network and engage with students of all backgrounds while bonding over a fundraising experience.

Organizations like these are ideal for traditional students

who are looking to show off their Bronco pride.

Athletic

Students who are interested in athletics, but may not be committed to playing for Boise State competitively, should look into intramural sports.

Boise State’s intramural program has a variety of sports including flag football, basketball, volleyball and soccer to name a few. Other athletic entities include the Outdoor Program, which offers opportunities for rafting, skiing, climbing and mountain biking. For the Harry Potter fans, the Quidditch team is always a good choice.

Academic

For students who are looking to academically enhance their extracurricular experience, it is good to seek clubs and organizations within your respective field of interest. It also does not hurt to break out of your comfort zone and explore other disciplines through getting involved on an extracurricular level. There are a variety of organizations for practically every major.

Innovative For students who are looking to explore through creativity, organizations like the MakerLab, Space Broncos, Creative Writing Club or the Creative

Technology Association are all examples of entities that encourage innovative thought through seeing original ideas come to fruition.

Socially or Culturally Conscious Organizations that are a part of Multicultural Student Services, the Gender Equity Center and International Student Services are great areas for students who are looking to engage with a diverse group of ideas and to discuss topics pertaining to maintaining inclusivity on campus. Organizations like Students Honoring Active Demarginalization Efforts and the Martin Luther King Living Legacy Committee aim to en-

courage these kinds of conversations on campus. There are also a wide variety of clubs that represent specific cultures.

Those first Involvement Fairs can feel a little overwhelming, since there are so many options. Students should take time to themselves to research all of the organizations Boise State has to offer—even if they do not see what they are looking for. Lastly, there is always the option for students to bring their own ideas to the table. A benefit of getting involved with Boise State is students can create change by incorporating their own ideas into the campus community to have a positive impact.

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FEATURE

School of the Arts proposed for Fal

New school fosters collaboration between artistic disc

Patty Bowen Editor-in-Chief

Editor@stumeida.boisestate.edu

The north end of the Simplot/Micron Building is filled with students bustling about; some readjusting camera and sound, some moving props and one actor sitting in the corner memorizing his lines in preparation for filming of the Narrative TV Initiative.

“What we’re doing with the Narrative TV Initiative is a good example of different people who have different focuses and different interests—some of the people in casting or some in being cameraman—being brought together,” said Nolan Turner, second year fiction MFA student. “This is forcing us to be a lot more collaborative.”

Turner wrote the script for the Narrative TV Initiative, a collaboration between the Department of Communication, the fiction MFA and the Theatre Arts Department.

The program is piloting the style of multidisciplinary work that will be pursued in the the new School of the Arts.

The School of the Arts is a proposed subunit of the College of Arts & Sciences that will be submitted to the State Board of Education in May for approval. The School of the Arts would house the visual arts, music, theatre arts, creative writing and film, and is planned to start in Fall 2017.

The University hopes to use the new school to foster collaboration between artistic disciplines. Several faculty members see the new school as the grounds to start several new Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) and Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) including an MFA in dramatic writing and

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a BFA in musical theatre, film, creative writing and art entrepreneurship.

According to Leslie Durham, the associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of the Arts is in its planning stages with few of its details worked out. Durham created the proposal with a “working team made up of representatives from each department, department chairs and a faculty members without an administrative post.”

“Creating the proposal for the School of the Arts is what I regard as the first step in recognizing what a full School of the Arts will be,” Durham said. “[The proposal] will help us create a frame but then I think we can settle on more programs, cocurricular activities and opportunities to connect to the community.”

Durham said the proposal is “creating the administrative structure to administer” the tentative programs.

This, she said, is important because the majority of these programs will include interdisciplinary work.

“Research shows that people who have vibrant artistic careers are pulling from more than one artistic discipline and are able move across those disciplines so that is a good way to think of how to train young artists,” Durham said.

The Creative Writing and Theatre Department According to Richard Klautsch, chair of the Theatre Arts Department, people started “thinking in a totally different way” after several faculty members in the Creative Writing MFA wanted to be more aligned with the other arts.

“People in the arts and sciences had thought about a school of arts for a long time as a way to be able to

unify the arts, to make us closer, to dissolve the silos that exist between us and motivating us to make more interdisciplinary programs between the arts,” Klautsch said.

These conversations lead to the merging of the Creative Writing MFA with the Theatre Arts Department under the School of the Arts.

Klautsch said the department will most likely be renamed the Creative Writing and Theatre Department.

“It made sense to us that we need to be training our students as artists in the 21th Century, not just theatre artists or writing students,” Klautsch said. “We felt there was such a need

and fiction by Fall 2018. Wieland said the department should be well staffed enough to start the degrees and even consider adding a narrative arts track or a screenwriting track now that fiction writer Emily Ruskovich is a part of the staff.

Klautsch said that over the next two years the department plans to start an MFA in dramatic writing—which would be made up of playwriting and screenwriting classes—and a musical theatre BFA. Currently, Klautsch said the department has “pretty close” to enough professors to start both programs.

“The idea is MFA students in dra-

“Research shows that people who have vibrant artistic careers are pulling from more than one artistic discipline and are able move across those disciplines so that is a good way to think of how to train young artists.”

— Leslie Durham, the associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences

for that interdisciplinarity today because we realize we can’t just sit here and teach students about theatre anymore thinking that some of them will have a lifetime career in the theatre.”

According to Mitch Wieland, program director for the creative writing MFA, the merging of the two departments “seemed like a natural fit.”

“When we were looking for a good collaborative thing, theatre came to mind because they’re storytellers and we’re storytellers,” said Wieland. “And so they kind of speak the same language we do. What we really aspire to is coming up with a new department.”

According to Wieland, the new department is hoping to offer an undergraduate degree in poetry

matic writing would both teach and serve as in-house permanent working artists to workshop with each of the writers everyday in a lab,” Klautsch said.

In order to do this, Klautsch said the department will need a larger performance space—preferably off campus—where they can practice their scripts and have fellow MFA students serve as actors during workshops.

JZ Marrero, a junior English and Theatre Arts double major, said she felt there was a lot of overlap between theatre arts and creative writing. Marrero, who has written both screenplays and fictional pieces, believes students will become better writers by taking courses in both.

“It makes you more versatile,”

Marrero said. “When someone is looking for someone who can write something more stripped down and bare bones you have done screenwriting, you have done playwriting and then you just need dialogue.”

Adding Film to the mix

According to Wieland, the ideal department for theatre arts and creative writing would also house film.

“TV is in a renaissance right now,” Wieland said. “You could argue that some of the best writers and screenwriters have gone from film to television.”

Programs like The Narrative TV Initiative—a program where fiction MFA students are collaborating with students in the Communication Department and Theatre Arts Department to create a three episode TV series—will be the “cornerstone of this new department,” according to Wieland.

“Film tends to be a bit of a difficult discipline to place in academic institutions because it involves so many other forms of art, design and storytelling,” said Ryan Cannon, professor in the Department of Communication.

Cannon explained that this difficulty placing film is one of the reasons why the Narrative TV Initiative was started, to “see if we couldn’t marshal a number of the folks across campus whose work ties into narrative film and TV and do something together.”

The Cinema & Digital Media Certificate—offered by the Department of Communication—is, according to Cannon, essentially already an interdisciplinary curriculum that “taps into film courses across campus.”

ll 2017

ciplines

PHOTOS BY PATTY BOWEN, DESIGN BY NANCY FLECHA / THE ARBITER

Second year fiction MFA student Nolan Turner, who wrote the script for the Narrative TV Initiative, said working with film on a regular basis would give students interested in creative writing the skills to produce writing outside of literary fiction on a regular basis.

“TV is something I’m interested in at least and having a little bit more training than I’ve had now—if there was that focus it would be a little bit more cohesive,”Turner said. “There are more TV jobs out there than chances to write fiction.”

According to Klaustch, there could be some problematic aspects of including film in the School of the Arts.

“Right now Communication is a very large, very extensive department and it has areas, emphases, that crosses line between social sciences and the arts—even into the natural sciences and the certainly with the humanities,” Klautsch said. “So one of the big questions becomes: what is the best strategy to involve either just that film program or possibly film and media studies.”

Klautsch stated that the entirety of the Department of Communication wouldn’t “fit into a school of arts.” If film studies isn’t moved over to the School of the Arts, Klautsch worries that coordinating schedules, faculty workload, faculty policies and staff distribution will make it “a lot harder” to still ensure that collaboration between film and the School of the Arts takes place.

Cannon agreed that it would “make sense” to house film in the School of the Arts.

“We’re uniquely situated in the region to really thrive and build something special here,” Cannon said.

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STUDENTS!

REMINDER!

WEEKLY NEWS in a minute

ASBSU provides the funding for FREE ATTORNEY CONSULTATIONS with a local private lawyer for most legal problems you may have, including: - Divorce/Family Law - Landlord Problems - Child Custody and Child Support - DUI/Criminal - Collection & Debt Problems - Personal Injury & Insurance - Workman’s Compensation Claims

TAKE ADVANTAGE! Call 208-426-1527 for an appointment. You must be an enrolled full-fee paying student.

Attorneys: Margaret Lezamiz and John Schroeder of Schroeder & Lezamiz Law Offices LLP, Boise, ID.

For more information visit deanofstudents.boisestate.edu

Watch it online at www.arbiteronline.com or on

The Arbiter’s Picks Written by: Patty Bowen, Brandon Rasmussen, Jacob Palmer & Darby Ebeling

Movies:

“Dave Made a Maze”

Recently featured at Filmfort 2017, “Dave Made a Maze” is a powerhouse of creativity.

The film follows a group of young adults as they try to rescue Dave, an artist who constructs a deadly labyrinth out of cardboard in his living room. “Dave Made a Maze” provides plenty of laughs while simultaneously navigating vulnerability, the roles we play for each other and life as an artist. The film is currently only available via screenings, but will be available on DVD and BluRay this summer.

Students looking for a fresh new take on multiplayer shooters should check out “Splatoon 2,” set to release on July 21. The fun mix of Nintendo charm and competitive online multiplayer make this a game you shouldn’t miss.

“Blue Jay”

Judging by its cover—literally—”Blue Jay” at first glance seems just like any other romance film. The first 10 minutes of the black-and-white film don’t do much to change this impression, but those who stick with it will find it’s so much more.

The story dives past the romance and is much more intent on exploring what constitutes closeness and the opportunities we miss every day. “Blue Jay” is currently available to stream on Netflix.

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”

Starring former YouTube comedian and singer Rachel Bloom, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” tells the story of Rebecca Bunch, a lawyer who leaves her life in New York City to follow her old summer camp flame back to California. The show—which is a musical—tackles head-on many of the expectations and stereotypes pushed onto women, and accomplishes a level of inclusivity, depth and charm in a truly impressive way.

“This Beautiful Fantastic”

In this modern-day fairy tale, a young librarian falls in love with an inventor. With the help of a curmudgeon of a man, and his cook, she is able to write her first novel and plant a garden in the process.

“Planet Earth II”

This sequel documentary series made quite the splash when it came out late last year, but for students, it had to compete with the excitement of the holidays and gearing up for the Spring semester. “Planet Earth II” is a masterful expedition into the natural world. The narration, provided by David Attenborough, guides the viewer through a genuinely jaw-dropping experience, which serves as an ideal palate-cleanser from the everyday grind of college life.

These albums might not scream “sunscreen and lounge chairs,” but if your summer plans involve expanding your mind, these projects should appropriately inspire and challenge you.

Cold War Kids - “LA DIVINE”

Appropriate for the gym, the car or the beach, this album— released April 7 through Capitol Records—is sonically energetic in its treatment of the delights and sorrows of Los Angeles life, though the honesty of its lyrics creep in when you least expect it.

Favorite track: “No Reason To Run”

Kendrick Lamar - “DAMN.”

You’re biking to work. You’re slowly sipping an iced coffee.

You’re by the mirror getting ready for the night. You’re lying on your bed unable to sleep. Your headphones are in. You’re comprehending “DAMN.”—released in April through Top Dawg Entertainment and Aftermath/Interscope—layer by layer, and you’re pleasantly unsure you’ll ever get to the middle. See Arbiteronline.com for a staff review.

Favorite track: “DNA.”

Father John Misty - “Pure Comedy”

A good companion for those sweaty nights when you hide indoors, plastered to the AC, this album—released April 7 through Sub Pop Records—will have you reinventing your habits and remembering to tell your friends how much you love them. See Arbiteronline.com for a staff review.

The Black Angels - “Death Song”

Games: “Splatoon 2”

TV Shows:

Music:

Media to consume this summer

Classic Summer of Love vibes are strong with this album— released April 21 through Partisan Records—so if you’re drinking a cool beer in your backyard, throw this on your record player.

Favorite track: “Half Believing”

K. Flay - “Every Where Is Some Where”

In the track “You Felt Right,” K. Flay sings “In the summer, it was blazing/You looked at my black jeans, said are you crazy?”

Released April 7 through Interscope Records/Night Street Records, this album is great for road trips and better for hungover mornings when you are questioning the moral value of every life decision you have ever made.

Favorite track: “You Felt Right,”

Keep an eye out for other summer releases: Sylvan Esso - “What Now” - April 28 Wavves - “You’re Welcome” - May 19 Alt-J - “Relaxer” - June 2 Fleet Foxes - “Crack Up” June 16 Lorde - “Melodrama” - June 16

“Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”

If you haven’t heard already, “Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” is a must-play game. Available for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch, “Breath of the Wild” is a vast open world game that will have you exploring for months. The play-atyour-own-pace nature of this game will fit in nicely to any lazy summer afternoon.

Podcasts : “Orbiting human circus”

Broadcasting from the top of the Eiffel Tower, “The Orbiting Human Circus” gives listeners a taste of the peculiar—a storytelling cricket, an opera singing flea and the Janitor that simultaneously destroy and saves the show each week. “The Orbiting Human Circus” was written and produced by Neutral Milk Hotel’s Julian Koster.

“Alice is not dead”

A delightfully dark show that—written by co-creator of Welcome to Night Vale Joseph Fink—follows a woman as she looks for her wife who disappeared several months prior.

Dead, kidnapped, or maybe just uninterested, Alice—the woman’s wife—has left small clues all over the country side.

The show is filled with philosophizing, loneliness, and rumination on small towns and whether or not McDonalds is “more restaurant than public toilet.”

Books: “The Real Thing”

This gripping play by Tom Stoppard revolves around the lives of Henry and Annie who begin and end their relationship in adultery. The story is filled with gripping dialogue and insightful observations.

“The Good Lord Bird”

For a book about a young, recently-freed slave living in the South right before the American Civil War broke out, this novel by James McBride is surprisingly humorous. McBride’s writing takes on the tone of Mark Twain, and shows in scrutinous detail the violence and ideological extremes of war—on both sides. “The Good Lord Bird” asks what it means to truly be free.

Ashley Herman Staff Writer

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Emily Ruskovich joins Creative Writing Program Fall 2017 Maxwell Peterson Copy Editor

Culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

This fall, the English Department will welcome its newest faculty edition: Emily Ruskovich.

Ruskovich is not only a distinguished professor; she is an accomplished writer. Her book, “Idaho: A Novel,” was published in January of 2017 by Random House, the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world.

According to a Boise State Public Affairs report, Ruskovich will be teaching Form and Theory of Fiction courses for the graduate and undergraduate colleges.

“Emily is everything we could ask for in a teacher,” said Associate Professor in the English Department Brady Udall. “She’s a hell of a writer, a gracious and insightful mentor and a wonderful human being.”

Ruskovich also expressed excitement about her new position at Boise State.

“When I heard about the upcoming merging of the

Creative Writing Program with the Theatre Arts Department, I got very excited to come [to Boise State],” Ruskovich said. “[Boise State] is a place which I feel has a fantastic program—the professors are extremely talented.”

Ruskovich’s abundant experience in writing will be a welcome edition to the Creative Writing Program at Boise State, according to Udall.

“She brings a unique voice and vision to everything she does, and “Idaho: A Novel” is a testament to that,” said Udall. “I haven’t read anything like it. It’s both bold and quiet at the same time, and I think that might describe Emily pretty well, too,” Udall said.

Like so many faculty in the creative writing program, Ruskovich’s passion has driven her towards success in her field. She is the recipient of the 2015 O. Henry Award, a graduate from the Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop and has been published in Zoetrope, One Story and The Virginia Quarterly Review.

“Writing is not only

something I do. It’s the lens through which I see the whole world. I don’t know how to separate— or, at least, I don’t see the point in separating—[my] life from the art of writing,” Ruskovich said. “The act of creative writing can make a person more empathetic just by trying, just by putting yourself into someone else’s life— someone who isn’t real by literal standards.”

Ruskovich also expressed a portion of her vision and what she feels she can share with future students.

“I like to teach students first to see and give exercises in how to notice not only the things around them but the things in themselves,” Ruskovich said. “I approach creative writing as a way of both seeing and expressing what you see.”

Ruskovich will be making the move from the University of Colorado Denver with her husband Sam McPhee, both of whom will teach creative writing in the Theatre Arts Department.

Fiction writer Emily Ruskovich will start teaching courses at Boise State in Fall 2017 (Photo Courtesy Penguin Random House).

Culinary Arts Building eludes destruction—for now

Old building on University Lane houses various departments as it awaits future demolition

The Culinary Arts Building is undergoing several small renovations and is soon to be renamed. (Photo Brandon Rasmussen/ The Arbiter).

Michael Paquin Culture Reporter

Culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Up until 2015, the College of Western Idaho had leased the building known as the Culinary Arts Building from Boise State to house their technical programs. Since that partnership has expired, Boise State has found temporary uses for the building until the college decides exactly what it wants to do with it.

While the building is having some interior renovations to meet temporary new usages, it gets a stay of execution, as any plans to tear the building down are still a long way off.

“We looked at how we might want to use that building for the University,” said Christy Jordan, director of space management for the Department of Campus Planning. “Finally, we determined it is an older building, so we didn’t want to put a large investment in it—so we looked for what made sense to use the building for with minimal renovations.”

She also mentioned the convenience of using the spare space in the building to satisfy these functions.

“There are no current plans for a building in that location, which is why we chose to do some renovations and continue to use that building,” Jordan said. “There’s value in the building, and I think it works really well.”

According to Jordan, the old bakery room is now a t-shirt shop associated with the Bronco Shop while the front of the building, which includes the classroom and some of the offices, houses the Public Safety events staff and the Robotics labs is slated to be in the old dining room of the building.

Additionally, the College of Engineering will use part of what was once the building’s kitchen as student club space, however, those renovations have not been completed yet.

According to management major Conner Jungkuntz, who works at the Culinary Arts Building, the University wants to start replacement projects all “at one time, so we don’t have

to have our electrical contractors coming on site four times in a row to do work on the same area.”

On Boise State’s master plan, the area the Culinary Arts Building occupies will eventually be a roundabout and a new academic building—however, according to Jordan, this won’t be for a while.

“Right now we don’t have anything on our secure capital plan—so we have nothing planned for that location in the next six years,” Jordan said.

“It’s hard to say—it could be longer—and probably will be longer before that building will come down.”

Boise State’s Campus Master Plan only represents long-term goals for the final layout of the college, and individual projects are taken in portions according to priority.

However, one change that students can expect in the very near future to go along with the facelift is a name change.

Hopefully this will clear up some confusion, as in its current function, there is nothing culinary about it.

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SPORTS & REc

Games center home to a budding pool star Rylan Kobre Staff Writer

Sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Boise State students walk through the Student Union Building everyday for a plethora of reasons.

It may be to get a Subway sandwich or take a shortcut to get to class on time.

But every day many of those students walk by the Boise State Games Center and never take a peek at what’s going on at the 11 pool tables.

If they did look, they would notice Charlie Paul.

He doesn’t attend Boise State and he’s not enrolled in high school yet.

Paul is a seventh grader at Riverstone International School. He’s also the babyfaced assassin that probably will steal your lunch money if you decided to challenge him in a game of pool.

For the last five months, he’s been a regular on the Boise State University Games Center tables and Bronco students might not have realized it.

The Mental Fortitude The x factor that strikes you when conversing with the 14-year-old is that he doesn’t speak like one.

Even his friends, who are curious with his infatuation for the game know this.

“They always ask ‘Why pool? Why not basketball or something,’ and I always tell them, ‘It takes as much skill to play pool as it does

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any other sport,’” Paul said.

People might not think that. They think, ‘Oh I can shoot four or five balls in a row,’ but it comes down to more than that. There’s a lot more involved in the sport once you understand the professional aspect.”

As Boise State Games Center Assistant Manager Tyler Zacharisen has gotten to know Paul better, he has been able to notice this as well.

One day, Paul and Zacharisen talked about the housing market in Vermont.

“That’s kind of the difference between him and a typical middle schooler.

Super friendly, super outgoing,” Zacharisen said.

“It’s hard to gauge someone’s intelligence off of a few conversations, but he is well-spoken. He talks like a college kid.”

Being a college kid is something Paul has already thought about. For now it’s all about being the best pool player he can possibly be.

“I could see myself dedicating myself to professional pool, but I’ve always been interested, especially these past couple years, in business,” Paul said.

“That’s kind of my plan is to go to school for that, but pool is something that I want to take it as far as I can, whether that’s tournaments or professional play.”

The Beginning It all started in late October 2016. Paul was visit-

ing his brother at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. The youngster and his father were hanging out at the hotel and as they were walking through, his Dad offered to teach him how to play some pool.

This was the first time Paul had ever touched a pool stick, but as the balls accelerated into the awaiting pockets, his obsession with the sport began.

“The night after I started playing pool, I went back to my hotel room, was on my phone and was looking at professional pool,” Paul said. “Every day, I watch how the pros do it, and every little thing about how they are playing the tables.

And I started to strategize it.”

As soon as he got back to Boise, the process of finding a regular place to play began. Paul first started playing at Emerald Lanes, but one day his friend mentioned the Boise State University Games Center had some tables.

“I rushed over here after school, and it was like a dream to me,” Paul said.

“11 tables, all in good condition. At that point I didn’t have any equipment of my own so I picked up a house cue and started playing.”

The Learning Curve On most days, Paul’s father will drop him off. If not, he will Uber or ride his bike the six-to-seven mile distance to get his practice sessions in.

Middle schooler Charlie Paul lines up a shot on the Boise State University Game Center pool table..

(Photo by Rylan Kobre / The Arbiter)

About five days a week since October, Paul has been giving himself a healthy dosage of the Games Center pool tables. Many of those days, Zacharisen has sat behind the counter checking out a table to Paul.

“When he first started playing pool, he really wasn’t that good,” Zacharisen said. “He was like any other middle schooler coming in here. But five days a week, coming in here Saturdays and Sundays he started playing with the regulars. Now he’s

one of the best that comes here.”

Paul knew that he had some talent when he started, but there was an adjusting process that needed to happen.

“There was a lot of polishing I had to do. I could see the shots and I could kind of understand the points of the game but there was a lot of polishing from my stance to my stroke to everything about how I play,” Paul said. “I feel like I’ve come a really long way since I first started.”

One day, back when Paul was still figuring out the nuances of the game, Zacharisen decided he wanted to square off with the 14-year-old, thinking he could still beat him.

“He kicked my ass. I played him once and I told him if he beat me I’d give him free pool,” Zacharisen said. “As he got better he bought the glove, brought his own stick. When I played him he had just gotten the glove, so I thought I could catch him. He beat me bad.”

Boise State to cut wrestling program and replace in with baseball Evan Werner Sports & Rec Editor

Sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

On April 18, Director of Athletics Curt Apsey announced the decision to cut the wrestling program from Athletics, and replace it with a baseball program.

“This was not an easy decision, but one that needed to be made as we consider the long-term vision for Bronco Athletics,” said Apsey in a press release on the decision.

The announcement caught many off guard, including the wrestling team members themselves, given no forewarning before the public announcement the program would be cut.

Apsey assured both students and coaches that their scholarships and contracts with the school will be honored and players will be allowed to transfer.

“We will continue to honor the scholarships we provide our student athletes and will do all we can to help those who want to continue their collegiate wrestling careers elsewhere. Additionally, current coaching contracts will be honored,” said Apsey.

Boise State gave multiple reasons for moving on from wrestling and moving toward baseball.

“Boise State intends to add baseball. The elimination of wrestling alone will not be enough from a budgetary or structural standpoint, but it was the first step that needed to be taken to build the future structure of the athletics department,” Boise State athletics said in a press

Boise State wrestling grapples with recent decision by Athletics to cut wresting program. (Photo by Chloe Pampush / The Arbiter)

release. “There are multiple factors at play, including our role in the Mountain West and the long-term best interest of the University and its Athletic Department.”

Many in the Boise community are very upset with the decision, petitioning to bring the team back.

A petition titled “Save Boise State Wrestling” looks to reverse Boise State’s decision. The petition was created by Kevin Wood, a former Boise State wrestler who competed with the Broncos from 1979 to 1982.

Wood points to the historical magnitude of wrestling in the petition, currently signed by almost 14,000 people as of April 24, as

the reason why Boise State should continue to support the wrestling program.

“The Bronco wrestling program has been molding young men since 1959, and wrestling has a strong following in the Boise area and in the State of Idaho,” said Wood. “Boise State had one of the top wrestling programs in the country up until a few years ago. The program was top-ten ranked in 2010-11 and had an NCAA finalist that season (and again in 2013). Since 1999, it has produced two NCAA champions, two Olympians and six Pac-10 team championships.”

Mike Randles, an Idaho resident and wrestling fan,

discussed how everyone in the community was left out of the decision.

“Like so many Idaho wrestling fans, I was shocked to hear of Boise State’s decision to drop wrestling and add baseball. A decision that was made so tightly behind closed doors, so far removed from even the most immediate stakeholders that Boise State wrestling coaches were busy recruiting in the moments leading up to this announcement,” said Randles in a statement. “The announcement was not only handled with a lack of professional courtesy and forethought, but the decision itself is flawed on too many levels to count.”

Randles states that first, Boise State is a state college and should—by any standard—be a reflection of the community that it inhabits; second, wrestling is a more culturally diverse sport than baseball; third, the argument that Boise State wrestling is steeped in tradition and is an emotional appeal, and that should be considered, nonetheless; fourth, many people in the community see this as a business decision. Business decisions are predicated on profit. Dropping wrestling and adding baseball is not a profitable decision.

Although there is a very strong opposition to this decision from Boise State,

Boise State President Bob Kustra made it clear the decision is final.

In a letter sent by ASBSU President Sienna George, ASBSU student assembly was misinformed when looking to fight against the decision to cut the wrestling program.

“After careful consideration of the resolution (brought forth by the 20162017 outgoing executive team), and conversation with the outgoing ASBSU Student Body President it is clear to us that the resolution was passed with an incomplete understanding of the relevant facts. I want to express my sincerest apologies for this oversight,” said George.

“This decision aligns us more effectively with the Mountain West, how we can best use the athletic program for Boise State and its future enrollment beyond athletics.” said Kustra in a statement released on April 20.

“We have been on a year-toyear contract with the Pac12, which makes long-term planning and being in control of our future difficult. I appreciate that wrestlers and their families want to petition, but this isn’t a decision that is revocable. This is the final decision. We have to move forward.”

Boise State Athletics stated there is no timetable for when they will add a baseball team, but they are moving ahead as quickly as possible. They also stated wrestling is not a part of Boise State Athletics’ plan moving forward, and it is highly unlikely it would return.

Pg 17

SPORTS & REc Boise State basketball lands grad transfer from Fordham 2 BIG things toof look at on the Exploitation student-athletes or misinformation?

Boise State Football schedule Addison Dehaven RylanWriter Kobre Staff Sports & Rec Sports@stumedi a.boisReporter estate.edu

Sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu CBS’s playing of “One

sucking black hole, causes this figure to be seen as almost gave 2017 a Troy negative to the collegeNational Champions a loss earathletes, as they apparently ly in the season before falling do not see a dime of this.to Clemson 30-24. points out, The NCAA They finished however, that the overseason 90 21st in scoring defense percent of the moneyallowwill ingused 22.1topoints a game and be support studentwere 37ththrough in the nation passathletes all inlevels ingNCAA offenseDivision with 260.5 yards of 1 and 2 per game. sports.

While there are some The young Bronco NCAA athletes whodefense likely won’tmore have tofor facetheir leading rushearn school er Jordan Chunn and passer than they are receiving, Brandon Silversis as both that number very,players very graduated, but the Trojans will small.

In the SEC, schools return senior SafetyofCedarius spend an average almost

in the professional ranks.

Paying student-athletes Turf. than they already more The firstwill game open is arguably receive, the the most challenging on floodgates for game schools the pay schedule.

It willin be against to athletes certaina Washington State team that is sports—basketball and coming off back-to-back bowl football—thousands upon appearances of in dollars the history of thousands while the program, and is returning simultaneously taking one of the best quarterbacksfor in away opportunities the country. thousands of athletes Seniorthe Lukecountry Falk and his ofacross from fense finished in passing Division 1 tothird Division 2, offenseevery per other game, sport. averaging from 362.5 yards per contest.

While yes, a few Falk was projected leave athletes do not getto fully for the NFL but decided stay compensated for totheir for his senior year instead.

Last efforts and collegiate fame,

Shining Moment” at students and theAsstart of head Aprilhome signals finals end finish of up, the it means one the college thing: We are that much closer basketball season, while to football season. simultaneously closing two intriguing theHere year are in major moneythings to athletics look at on making for Boise the State’s 2017 schedule.

NCAA. Like clockwork, headlines and hot takes will 1. Troy shouldn’t be a walk come from publications through. like ESPN and their broadcasters about the Boise State fans have gotseeming “exploitation” of ten usedathletes. to beating up on one college team non-conference Thein their argument was schedule.

Tennessee-Martin, recently summarized by prominent college “I just find it ridiculous that this enterprise basketball analyst Jay Bilas makes billions upon billions of dollars and everyone paid their fairFive market on This the time sports-comedy the game will be gets in Washington. daysvalue laterexcept podcast Pardon My Take. ” for the athletes.’ the Broncos will get tested against a triple option New Mexico “I just find it ridiculous

analyst Jay Bilas offense that ledmakes the nation in —College rushingBasketball yards last season—350 that this enterprise billions upon billions of yards a game—and forced four turnovers on the Blue two years dollars everyone ago toand beat Boisegets State.” paid their fair market value except for the athletes,” Bilas said. $163,000 per student they help pay the way for Idaho State, Southern and athlete.

Bookard who had six intercep- thousands year against Boise in the Bilas, leading theMiss charge of State, athletes, Louisiana-Lafayette—once in tions that was tied which home opener Broncos, when it comes to the Arefor a defense student-athletes is whyfor thetherule can’t 2015, and again in 2016—have for second being in the country in in- be Falkchanged finished the fundamental changes actually exploited, for night these55-71 few been a few those teams. terceptions, forcing them. athletes with 480 yards. within theofNCAA’s system or are there just22aofselect that will end up those five meetings dat- few athletes that possibly getting Boise paid State anyway. cornerback Tyof Ofdealing with studenting back to 2013, Boise State 2. Washington athletes, is a firm believer don’t receive State the and full ler Horton had a pick-six and has won an average of amount New Mexico five days.

Boise State was able to pull out that manyby student-athletes of in compensation 42.8exploited. points a game. The 2017 that they deserve? a 31-28 win. are matchup be thefigures same.

At firstformer glance is of the schedThis time the game will be in One ofmay thenot main The easier to Thelikes Broncos host to grab ule, youheadlines might have with, gotten conthat to will getplaythrown but Washington. Five days later the Troy in thewhen season and home the fusedlatter whether you Less were than look- Broncos will be tested against around speaking is true. opener on Sept.issue 2. ing athundred the Boise State Basketball about this is the one athletes earn a triple option New Mexico In 2016,TV thedeal Trojans finished schedule or themore footballthan one. is offense that led the nation in NCAA’s with CBS their school the season andworth were in It was and Turner10-3 Sports 8 spent onfootball, them. but the Sat- rushing yards last season—350 contention for abillion.

New Year’s Sept. 9 matchup with yards a game—and forced years and $8.8 The urday, However, the rules Six game, beforethat losingcomes to Ar- should Washington State—followed expectation not change for four turnovers on the Blue two kansas State the middle of this by thevery Thursday, Sept.number 14 game years ago to beat Boise State. It along with inthe seeming small November. Theirofmost signifi- of versus New Mexico like was just the fifth loss the Bronexploitation studentathletes to makefeels a few cant victory may have come in thousand they should be playing at Taco athletes and the idea that dollars before cos surrendered at Albertsons a loss.NCAA is a money- they Bell Arena rather thanmillions the Blue Stadium since 2000. the go on to make

“

Pg 18

Tyler Deitrick Staff Writer

Sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

The Boise State men’s basketball team received a commitment last week from Fordham University graduate transfer Christian Sengfelder.

Sengfelder, who is from Leverkusen, Germany, has been a key player for the Fordham Rams the past three seasons. He made 160 3-pointers during his time, which put him in the top 10 in school history for 3-pointers made.

Sengfelder averaged 12.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season while starting all 32 games for Fordham, the Rams ended the season with 13 wins in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

According to the Idaho Press-Tribune, the 6-foot-7inch, 238 pound Sengfelder is very excited about his future here in Boise.

“I really like the coaching staff, and I liked my visit last weekend. I think it’s the best fit for me basketball-wise to take the next step,” said Sengfelder.

Sengfelder said his goals can be met and achieved with the Boise State Broncos basketball program next year.

“Hopefully I’ll be in a position with some responsibility and the opportunity to make it to the NCAA Tournament and win the conference, those were a couple goals I had when I decided to transfer and I think I can accomplish those at Boise State,” said Sengfelder.

As a graduate transfer, Sen-

gfelder will be eligible to play for the Broncos this upcoming season with one season of eligibility remaining.

Sengfelder explained to the Idaho Press-Tribune that he hopes to be a vital part in a run to the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m going to give it everything I have,” said Sengfelder.

“This is my last year, I want to make it my best year. I want to go dancing in March, so I’m going to give it everything I have every second.”

Boise State loses seniors Nick Duncan and James Reid from last season. Leading scorer, junior Chandler Hutchinson, declared for the NBA Draft, but won’t hire an agent and is expected to return for his senior year.

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