Opinion
Student government stands up for equal distribution of state funds.
Issue no.
Sports
Broncos barely beat buzzer to advance in the CBI tournament.
3
5
51
Volume 23
First Issue
FREE
March 17, 2011
arbiteronline.com
The Independent Student Voice of Boise State Since 1933
Call to Action
Inside:
Help Japan’s homeless rebuild Rebecca De León Culture Editor
Do you know what St. Patrick’s day is really about? Turn the page and find out!
page
2
News
What campus building used to be a yummy burger joint?
page
6
There are 8,000 people unaccounted for as a result of the disaster in Japan, and the official death toll is now at 3,676, according to CBS News. Experts say the number of deaths is expected to rise past 10,000 after the debris is cleared and the 8,000 missing people are found. Until then, an estimated half million Japanese people are now homeless. As if being homeless isn’t enough, Northern Japan -- the area affected the most by the earthquakes and tsunamis -- experienced heavy winter storms in the past couple days, hindering relief efforts and making the devastated homeless families even more miserable and sick. But so far, Boise State seems a bit financially apathetic. This is more than just a large earthquake, it’s a cataclysm. The magnitude-9.0 earthquake was a horrifying event which destroyed countless buildings and took lives. But then followed the aftershocks which still registered up to 7.0 magnitude, and then the disastrous tsunami which wiped the city of Sendai off the map. And to top it off, the United Nations’ nuclear agency has called an emergency meeting to discuss the deepening nuclear problem in Japan, as one of the chambers in a nuclear reactor has taken heavy damage, increasing the risk of radioactive leakage. This is a heartbreaking situation. So far, Boise State has not jumped to Japan’s aid. Alex Emanoff is a Boise State student currently studying at Tokyo’s Hosei University, but reported that he is not injured. Several Boise State alumni currently reside in Japan, and according to University News, all have been accounted for. Aiko (Iko) Kuromori Vannoy, a Boise State student and former Arbiter employee, felt the effects of the earthquake while on the 20th floor of a building in Tokyo. She has been updating us daily, and although Tokyo is not one of the areas completely destroyed, she reports that she is still having difficulties
mct campus
There are nearly half a million people in Japan who are now homeless because of the disasters. So far, the community at Boise State has been slow to respond to the crisis in the broken nation. cooking food because of the daily power outages. Teri Rapp, financial technician for Student Life, reported that no clubs or organizations have come to her to begin disaster fund relief efforts for Japan. “I’ve been waiting to see who would begin a fundraising effort, but nothing has come up,” Rapp said. Unlike efforts for relief for Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of New Orleans, the tsunami’s wake in Indonesia, and the earthquake in Haiti, philanthropy or support for Japan has not been addressed by any clubs. Volunteer Services Board Director Christina Coats admitted that the organization,
which helped set up fundraising for past disasters, does not have anything planned for relief in Japan now, but that does not mean they won’t do anything. “We can talk about it in our meeting tonight (Wednesday),” Coats said. “We already have a lot of events planned. We have the entire semester already planned, but we could do something during a Service Saturday.” However, at least one Boise State professor is taking initiative. Peter Wollheim, Ph.D., sent an e-mail to the students in his Studies in Media Theory class, encouraging them to donate. “Given the recent, horrific events in Japan -- the motherland of anime -- I think it ap-
propriate that our class, plus the BSU Anime Club, contribute to the relief efforts of the Japanese Red Cross,” Wollheim said in the email. “To that end, I am issuing a challenge: I will match, dollar-for-dollar, any financial contributions that BSU otaku wish to make by March 25. I’ll begin by pledging $100 of my own. Of course, contributing is a highly personal decision and I respect the fact that each of you has their own financial priorities. Whatever you chose will have absolutely no influence on your grade in COMM 487. That said, I’d ask all of us to consider the plight of the people who have given us so much in terms of art, entertainment and possibly even enlightenment through anime.”
Tremors, tension and scheduled blackouts color Japan
The scariest thing may be that life is pretty much back to normal. Even now (10:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning), the teachers at my school are more concerned about the recent graduates and their high school entrance examination results. I am grateful that my life has not been in turmoil since Friday but I just can’t help feeling that it should be. From the moment the earthquake happened, I have been bombarded by horrific images of destruction and desolation. As I sat at my local pub having my weekly happy hour meet up with other English teachers in Takasaki (Gunma), I watched the tsunami take out Sendai. Houses, cars, planes, capsized boats flowing over newly planted fields, across roads, destroying more homes, greenhouses, bridges.
Cars and trucks drove toward -- or away the only negative aftereffects of the disaster from -- swept out bridges in Aomori, and I I felt were minor tremors and the batteries sat with a pint while my friends and family being sold out at Cainz Home. I was able in the Pacific were a continent away tex- to purchase water. I filled up the bathtub. ting, Facebooking, Skyping, e-mailing me I bought groceries in a store that was fully to make sure I was safe and that I wasn’t stocked with food. Compared to what I anywhere near the epicenter. I responded was seeing on CNN, Twitter, the blogoas best I could. My thumbs were busy on sphere and Facebook, I was pretty lucky. my iPhone as the 3G network still let me On Monday, I went to school. Since connect to the Internet. The bar’s Wi-Fi there was a planned blackout for my area was available should the cell network drop. from 3:20 p.m. to 7 p.m., school was let out It was Japan’s amazing access to technology early so the students could return home that allowed me to comfort my family and safely before it began. The blackout didn’t friends. happen and then TEPCO moved it to 5 In the pub sat salarymen waiting for the p.m. to 7 p.m. Scheduled blackouts were trains to start working again so they could issued to help the country save power so it return to Tokyo. Exclamations of “sugoi” could be distributed to needy areas. (roughly translates to When I went to OMG!) carried over the grocery store after the heads of the patrons. school, there was more Everyone was in shock than enough food on the as evidenced by the fact shelves. What I found that we were sitting in a interesting was that they bar just two hours after were limiting how many the earthquake hit. I’m customers could enter not proud to admit this the store. The milk and but my friends and I the ramen aisles were stayed out all night in a completely empty, but post-apocalyptic frenzy the rice section wasn’t. of izakaya (bars that There was still bread -Melissa Llane Brownlee serve food and drinks) and I picked up two and karaoke hopping. loaves. I didn’t feel guilty Over the weekend, at the time but after hear-
“
I shouldn’t feel guilty that my life continues as always, but I do.
“
Melissa Llanes Brownlee graduated from Boise State in 2003. She currently lives in Japan and teaches English. Her story below discusses what happened following the quake in Japan and the current issues that face those living in the unsettled nation.
ing that my friend had encountered people hoarding diapers and baby food, which she had difficulty obtaining for her own son, I regret not buying only one loaf and leaving the other for another family. The blackout did not happen Monday night, but they are scheduled for every day until the end of the month. From what I can understand, a blackout may or may not happen depending on the volume of electricity used at the time of the planned blackout. I shouldn’t feel guilty that my life continues as always, but I do. Many English teachers from Gunma plan to donate blood, clothes and time as we are very fortunate to not be located in Miyagi. At this time, my school has nothing planned to help the survivors, but this may be something that’s lost in translation. My husband and I are as prepared as can be expected. We have lost nothing. We are not starving. Our electricity, gas, Internet and cable have not been disconnected. I continue to bike to school. I continue to work. I continue to live my days as I have always done, and yet, I feel stressed. The uneasiness makes it difficult for me to relax. Even with these devastating events of earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear reactor explosions, I do not regret that I decided to leave the relative safety of my own country for an exotic land.
Earthquakes by magnitude
8.0 or greater Great earthquake. Can totally destroy communities near the epicenter.
7.0 to 7.9
Major earthquake. Serious damage.
6.1 to 6.9
May cause a lot of damage in very populated areas.
5.5 to 6.0
Slight damage to buildings and other structures.
2.5 to 5.4
Often felt, but only causes minor damage.
2.5 or less
Usually not felt, but can be recorded by seismograph.
Recent earthquake in Japan: 9.0 magnitude http://www.geo.mtu.edu/ UPSeis/magnitude.html Courtesy Melissa Llanes Brownlee
What’s Inside
News Opinion Sports Culture
The Arbiter
page page page page
6 3 5 1
Weather
News
news@stumedia.boisestate.edu
News Editor
Andrew Ford
Assistant News Editor Suzanne Craig
Today
54º 51º Partly Cloudy high high chance of precip: 20%
Sunday
Saturday
Tomorrow
Partly Cloudy
chance of precip: 10%
50º high
Rain showers
chance of precip:40%
51º high
Rain showers
chance of precip:30%
arbiteronline.com