November 17,, 2015 Vol. 28 Issue 14
In d epe nd e nt
The Arbiter
St u d e nt
V o i ce
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Spikes in success
Abe Copeland / THE ARBITER
Women’s volleyball on the verge of NCAA tournament. -P. 16
Justin Kirkham
editor@stumedia. boisestate.edu
MANAGING EDITOR Patty Bowen
managingeditor@ stumedia.boisestate.edu
NEWS EDITOR
Patrick Adcock news@ stumedia.boisestate.edu
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
ISSUE
pornhub.com / courtesy
IN THIS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Pornhub gives back p. 14
Shelly Bohorquez news@ stumedia.boisestate.edu
SPORTS EDITOR
Ali Roberts sports@ stumedia.boisestate.edu
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Rylan Kobre sports@ stumedia.boisestate.edu
CULTURE EDITOR
Brittany Lindstrom culture@ stumedia.boisestate.edu
ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR Cheyene Austin culture@ stumedia.boisestate.edu
DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER Egipcia Mercado / THE ARBITER
Jared Lewis digitalcontent@ stumedia.boisestate.edu
COPY EDITORS DESIGN MANAGER Ted Atwell
BUSINESS MANAGER Connor Jones business@ arbiteronline.com
Distributed Tuesdays during the academic school year. The Arbiter is the official independent student newspaper of Boise State University and a designated public forum, where student editors make all content decisions and bear responsibility for those decisions. The Arbiter’s budget consists of fees paid by the student body and advertising sales. The first copy is free. Additional copies can be purchased for $1 a piece at The Arbiter offices.
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Editor’s note
Justin Kirkham Editor-in-Chief
Names are difficult beasts to tackle, and, sometimes, we get them wrong. In our last Sept. 1 issue of The Arbiter, we published a feature entitled “Student firefighter tells stories from fires in the northwest.” This piece, though well crafted and reported by News Editor Patrick Adcock, slipped through our editing process with quite the misspelling. When our news team found the mistake,
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the paper had already been sent to the printer, leaving out quite a few missed Cs. Instead of “Fisher,” every mention of the profile’s main source should be spelled as “Fischer.” This is something we were able to fix in our online version of the story, but, unfortunately, our print version did not reflect this lastminute change. As you can read on page 12 of this issue, names are important, especially amongst differing cultures. Our Assistant Culture Editor, Cheyene Austin, did a great job of outlining the
connection between identity and name spelling. In order to best define and acknowledge the individuals we come in contact with or describe, we need to be hyperaware of name spelling. Something as simple as a missed C can completely alter the perception that one receives. Luckily, Fischer, not Fisher, was completely fine with the misspelling. But, in the grand scheme of things, it is still important to us to acknowledge this mistake and move forward with a stronger attention to detail.
As Austin wrote, names can be incredibly important to some individuals, and it is important for us to reflect that in our work. Every staff member here at The Arbiter strives for professionalism and quality within their work. Attention to things as small as name spellings is a part of this mission. Every article in this publication should reflect that. But, sometimes we mess up. Keep in mind if we do, we will be the first to admit it. Thanks for keeping up with The Arbiter; we’ll keep moving forward
Justin Kirkham / the arbiter
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NEWS
Turkey, gravy and stuffing away from home ASBSU provides Thanksgiving dinner for students on campus
Staff Writer
Thanksgiving break is rapidly approaching, which has some students planning trips home and others deciding what to do around Boise for the week. For students staying on campus over the holiday, Associated Students of Boise State University will be partnering with the Residential Housing Association to host their first annual ASBSU Thanksgiving dinner for all students. “I just want to make sure the students don’t feel like they were left out because they had to stay here over Thanksgiving,” said ASBSU Vice President Nick Propp. Propp said he was given the idea last year when he and Brian Garretson were running for office by two-year resident assistant Dominic Costa, a junior mechanical engineering major currently working in the University Suites. “(Costa) was saying he was kind of disappointed with the food options around Thanksgiving,” Propp said. ”There wasn’t really a way for students staying here on campus over the break to have a good meal that is Thanksgiving themed.” After Propp and Garretson were elected, the dinner idea was put into action so students could get more out of their break spent on campus. “Thanksgiving is very much set around fam-
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ily time and since (some students) can’t go home to their families, we want them to feel like they have a family here on campus,” Propp said. According to Boise State’s Enrollment Services website, 3,922 of 19,351 undergraduate students enrolled in the fall of 2014 were from out of state. Many of these outof-state students, as well as some Idahoans, don’t have the opportunity to travel home for the holidays. “(The dinner) is great for all the RA’s that have to stay but also for the students staying because of financial reasons- or they can’t go home because of work,” Costa said. “It’s a good opportunity to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner, regardless of if they’re home or not.” An estimated 100 guests will attend the first annual Thanksgiving feast, which will be held in the Lookout Room on Nov. 25 at 3 p.m. ASBSU will pay for the meal and RHA will be in charge of entertainment and decorations. “We want to make sure students are getting out and feeling like they are at home,” Propp said. International Student Services will also be hosting their Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 21, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Simplot Ballroom. It will be free to faculty, staff and students, as well as their families and guests. They would like guests to RSVP by Nov. 19.
photo by Megan Greco, design by Ted atwel / the arbiter
Samantha Harting
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CONFUZZLED? GO90.
NEWS
Work with kestrels becomes more valuable Patrick Adcock News Editor
Boise State has studied North America’s smallest falcon, the American kestrel, for over 20 years and some unique discoveries resulted from the long-term research. According to Julie Heath, associate professor and graduate program director for the Department of Biological Sciences, this research is crucial in understanding the effects of a changing climate. “It’s important to understand how our activities influence the environment where other species are making a living, because we want to understand our effects on other species,” Heath said. “The natural systems that these species maintain is where we make our living from, too.” Heath said kestrels were chosen to represent how wintering species are impacted in times of climate change.
photo courtesy of AMKE Trapping , graphic by Ted Atwell / The arbiter
Winners of climate change
“In the Treasure Valley we have much warmer winters with much less snowfall and, because of that, we think there are more kestrels that spend the winter here than they used to,” Heath said. “The kestrels that spend the winter here can nest earlier than kestrels that migrate away, so in 25 years we’ve seen kestrels have shifted their nesting by almost 15 days, which is a lot.” As winters continue to warm, finding food has become increasingly easier for kestrels, eliminating the need to migrate. This changes the rest of their annual cycle. “We want to know what makes a species a winner in a time of climate change and what makes species threatened by climate change,” Heath said. “This really sheds light on what it takes for a species to adapt and what is going to happen to species that can’t adapt.” Because kestrels have an easier time finding food in the winter months, Heath expects to see continued changes in migration patterns to the point where the Treasure Valley will lose all of its migratory kestrels, leaving only residential ones. Heath believes this change in migration will cause kestrel wintering sites like Mexico and Arizona to experience an increase in species often seen as pests. Locally, Heath is unsure of the effect this will have. She speculates it will benefit Idaho by reducing the number of pests feeding on agriculture.
Interdisciplinary solutions
Keeping track of such small birds with varied migration
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habits is a challenge for Heath and others working on the project, but, through interdisciplinary collaboration, they were able to find a solution. Christina Hartmann, junior biology major, and geoscience professor Matthew Kohn discovered they were able to distinguish between migratory and resident birds by examining isotopes in their claws. “We can take a small clipping from their claw and it has the isotopic signature at the latitude where the claw was grown in the previous season,” Heath said. “So I can tell a bird that spent the winter here versus one that spent the winter in Mexico from its claw isotopes.” Hartmann was able to be part of this process through a grant from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Hartmann said this new method is particularly helpful when studying kestrels because they are such a small species for GPS attachment. Heath said the study has become incredibly relevant because of Hartmann and Kohn’s new method of identifying migratory birds. Heath believes these longterm studies will continue to become more important as we understand our changing environment. “These long term studies have really given us insight into how populations are changing,” Heath said. “They are so incredibly valuable. It’s great because you can track survival and you can track how all aspects of the bird’s biology have changed and that’s really compelling.”
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NEWS
Jonathan Reff Staff Writer
Since its foundation in July 2014, Vivid Roots—a studentrun lifestyle company—has expanded its scope in their pursuit to provide clean drinking water to developing countries. The expansion includes adding Ecuador to their list of clean water endeavors, partnering with Rotary Intl. to match donations for the construction of water facilities and working with the Public Relations Student Society of America chapter of Boise State to better advertise their cause. Dallas Crum, a business administration in entrepreneurship management major, said around 300 families in Guatemala and 350 families in Ecuador—2,800 people—are benefiting from Vivid Roots’s work. “Our mission is to inspire people to live life to the fullest while helping people in need along the way,” Crum said. According to Crum, 33 percent of Guatemala’s population does not have access to clean water. University of Idaho gradu-
1576 W Grove St DOWNTOWN BOISE (208) 331-1212
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ate and company co-founder, Trever Bostrom said that total profits have reached $55,000 since their first official sale, $13,000 of which is being used for the clean water projects. Crum explained the cost of building clean water facilities in Guatemala is $35,000, and $100,000 in Ecuador. Due to the high costs of traveling and the construction of water filtration systems, Vivid Roots partnered with Rotary Intl.— a humanitarian organization that provides human rights services to people around the world—to match their profits. For every dollar spent by Vivid Roots on clean water, Rotary Intl. multiplies it by seven. Bostrom said a total of $91,000 will be made as part of Rotary Intl. matching Vivid Roots’s contributions. Crum believes paying local laborers, having many volunteers, focusing on sustainability and creating these water committees are added bonuses for these impoverished regions. According to Crum, populations have risen in these settlements due to better access to clean water. He said children
are going back to school instead of working on the farms and crops because the cattle are not dying off due to dehydration. As part of their publicity initiative, PRSSA provided Vivid Roots with a media kit, which is a set of promotional materials for the company to release through different news outlets. “I think it’s an excellent tradeoff. We could not ask for a better opportunity to have real professional experience before we graduate and, in turn, Vivid Roots gets free publicity out of it,” said Kelsey Richards, senior communication major. “It’s cool to work with a company that I agree with and support.” The connection started after Ramirez and Richards heard Crum’s business proposal in 2014. Projects for the PRSSA are comprised of members being assigned to small groups while having the groups pick their own assignments. “I think it’s a mutually beneficial experience. Being a part of PRSSA allows us to work with clients in the Boise community, so it gives our members the opportunity to gain the real world public relations experience,” Ramirez said.
Jonathan REFF/ Courtesy
Vivid Roots Improves Goal of Providing Clean Water to Developing Nations
Dylan Carlson on Vivid roots projects.
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Opinion
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“No, I worked on campus and was only allowed to work 20 hours. Some people need to work more than 20 hours. Then people need to quit their jobs and find another one or work an additional job. Its easier to have on job that meets all your needs.”
"No, I don't think so. If they have the time to work they should have the opportunity to because college is expensive."
"I think it should be up to the student. In all honesty someone who is working 20 hours will take a second job if they need it. Its up to the student to show up to class and do their homework."
Do you think there should be a cap on student work hours?
"Yes, its difficult to hold onto a part time job when you're in school with 15 credits."
11/17/2015
Phtos by Patricia bowen, design by ted atwell / the arbiter
Student Voices Student Student Voices Voices Tiffany Jeppe, sophomore psychology major
The proposed cap on student working hours is a terrible policy that will jeopardize the financial security of student employees. The arguments that Lynn Humphrey is using to defend this policy reveal a frightening lack of communication between Bob Kustra’s administration and the students that attend this university. In Shelly Bohorquez’s article, Humphrey asserts student-employees are currently over-worked and that it’s having a negative impact on their academic success. When I spoke to Lynn Humphrey two weeks ago, she told me the university hasn’t surveyed the student-employees to determine how they feel about this policy. So, where is her evidence to support this claim? Who are these overburdened students she’s referring to? And, why do they need an official campus-wide cap on hours when they could just ask their supervisors to keep them scheduled under twenty? Students work because economic necessity compels them to work. In other words, students work so they can afford to pay for the food, rent, gas and tuition that make it possible for them to stay in school. Cutting studentemployment hours will cost student-employees hundreds of dollars’ worth of revenue and make it impossible for them to afford the basic cost of living.
Student-employees will be forced to seek alternative employment off campus or waste time and money commuting between multiple jobs. The cap on hours could even make it more difficult for student-employees to obtain government assistance, since a resident of Idaho must work at least twenty hours a week to qualify for food stamps. Students are responsible adults who have a basic right to work and provide for their families without third-party interference. If Boise State is really worried about the academic success of its student-employees, it can incorporate academic standards—like a minimum GPA—into its hiring procedures without jeopardizing the financial security of the students currently employed by the university. In the meantime, administrators should lead by example. I doubt they’d be promoting this policy if they had to experience for themselves what it’s like to try to survive when they’re working twenty hours a week for minimum wage.
Larisa Wallace, senior exercise science major
Boise State Student
Barron Richner, 2014 graduate in health science masters program
Andy Ridgeway
Bryant Johnson, freshman mechanical engineering major.
Letter to the Editor: Cap on student working hours
opinion
Students should rethink the Safe Campus Act The editorial column is agreed upon by a panel of Arbiter staff members and reflects the stance The Arbiter is taking on different pressing issues. Follow up is encouraged; our desire is to start the conversation on campus, not dictate a campus opinion. After hearing about the National Pan-Hellinic Council’s support of the Safe Campus Act, ASBSU president and past Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity president Brian Garretson was confused and frustrated—something every student should be after perusing the proposed legislation. “(The Safe Campus Act) was first presented to me through a Greek life lens, and I was honestly shocked our national leaders were in support of it,” Garretson said. The Safe Campus Act, in essence, will prevent universities from investigating sexual assault cases until after a criminal investigation by the police is completed. This act, along with four other similar proposed bills, has upset multiple organizations, including the Association of Title IX Administration, a national membership organization dedicated to the upholding of Title IX. The Safe Campus Act is under fire specifically because victims will be required to report their assault to the police and will not be able to work with their university to ensure their own safety in classes
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Alpha Phi International / courtesy
Arbiter Staff
Sign the petition at Change.org and housing situations. This piece of legislation should not be backed by any organization, as it puts unwanted obligations on victims and disallows access to the important services university groups have to offer these victims. If the act were to come into law, it would have several detrimental effects on victims of sexual assault that could otherwise be deferred by fighting the act. On Nov. 12, the Alpha Phi sorority became the first Greek group to openly oppose the bill, stating, “We believe our sisters who are survivors should have choices in how, when and to whom they go to for sup-
port or to report the crime.” After eight other Greek groups stood with Alpha Phi, the National PanHellinic Council changed its stance on the act, revoking its support after funneling over $200,000 into the bill. According to Annie Kerrick, director of Title IX compliance at Boise State’s Office of Institutional Compliance and Ethics, Greek life support for the bill originally stemmed from provisions that would benefit student groups under investigation for sexual assault. The Safe Campus Act will not allow universities to indefinitely suspend a group under investigation
for sexual assault. Instead, a group can only be suspended for a maximum of 10 days, therefore encouraging groups often under investigation to support the bill. But, in spite of this, many sorority groups are still opposed to the bill, arguing victims shouldn’t be required to report assault directly to law enforcement—an opinion that will ultimately benefit those in situations of sexual assault on campuses around the nation. Kerrick explained this required reporting can be significantly frightening for victims. “Victims will not report crimes for a multitude
of reasons,” Kerrick said. “There are, a lot of times, a fear that, ‘I’m 18. I was drinking and doing drugs. Will I get arrested when I report it?’” Dean of Students Christian Wuthrich believes the proposed legislation could cause more challenges than it’s meant to solve. “Victims are conflicted and confused,” Wuthrich said. “They may fear reporting to the police will have the perpetrator harm them more.” Boise State refers to sexual assault as a policy infringement, rather than a law infringement. This allows the Office of the Dean of Students and Kerrick to better work with victims
and perpetrators in a way the police cannot. “The university can provide a lot of things for victims of violence that the criminal justice system is not set up to do,” Kerrick said. “We can move more quickly, we can exclude people from our property, change class schedules, change housing schedules.” Instead of looking to the Safe Campus Act as a fix for the widely underreported sexual assault cases at universities across the nation, students should instead search for better ways to work with university systems to create a more united campus culture. “I wish there was a simple answer, but there isn’t,” Wuthrich said. “To believe there’s a one size fits all solution will not work.” Students can visit change. org to sign a petition opposing the Safe Campus Act or visit the Women’s Center or the Dean of Students to discuss sexual assault on campus and the intricacies therein. It’s important to generate discussion rather than hope solely for one-try fixes. That is why this piece of legislation should not be made into law. “The university has an obligation to our students to maintain a safe campus,” Kerrick said “It’s important to the well-being of our faculty staff and students that we can continue reviewing our policies, making sure they’re relevant and that our students are following them.”
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Egipcia Mercado / THE ARBITER
Feature
Homelessness in Boise
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11/17/2015
Local panel discusses housing options for homeless Shelly Bohorquez Asst. News Editor
The transition from cool, fall days to cold afternoons is a quick one in Boise. As people trade light sweaters for heavy coats, the homeless population of Boise are giving up their tents for the night and taking refuge inside several of the shelters, which offer warmth in exchange for privacy. At a forum presented by Transform Idaho during the first week of October, panelists representing different elements of the city spent a tense and heated hour with the public in an attempt to address homelessness. Chief of Police Bill Bones, President of the Boise and Ada County Homeless Coalition Barbara Kemp, Ada County Commissioner Rick Yzaguirre and Director of Community Partnerships Diana Lachiondo, faced a smoldering crowd of 130 locals who were frustrated with the direction the forum took. “They had a pretty aggressive agenda,” said Rochelle Cunningham, administrative assistant and office manager of the communication department at Boise State. “By definition, a forum is supposed to be where people come and exchange ideas, ask questions and get information.” According to Cunningham, over a hundred questions were turned in by the audience—none of which were addressed by the panelists. This caught the audience, as well as the panelists, off guard. “My understanding was the intent was to get questions from the audience—which they did collect. Unfortunately there was not enough attention to the questions the audience had,” Kemp said. According to Ron Rhodes, Webmaster for Transform Idaho, they were hoping the audience would be more focused on talking about ‘Housing First’ as a viable option for Idaho and about sharing the burden to resolve whatever problems have been holding it up. “It’s been several years now since it’s been an active discussion for Boise, and nothing has happened,” Rhodes said.
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According to Kemp, Housing First is an going to get sick.” According to Manning, the exposure to answer to homelessness that has proven effective across the country for decades, explicit situations and the constant proxdue to its low barrier to entry. It does not imity to people can take a mental toll on require participants to meet standards of a person. “The beds are literally a foot and a half sobriety for a particular amount of time or to have a good credit history. A person apart from each other. Can you imagine can come in as they are and receive help being that close to people coughing and through progressive engagement with passing gas?” Manning said. Jessica Smith, former California resicase managers, so long as they are willing dent, has been staying at Interfaith Sancto accept the help. “Right now we are in the same situation, tuary for seven months and has witnessed or worse, than we were a year ago, or the the exponential growth of people in Cooyear before that, or the year before that,” per Court over the past several months. “It’s really Kemp said. hard to deter“We can mine where talk and the homeless talk and that are in talk and we “When you’re exposed to carnage and the tent city can work on it, but anything that’s too graphic or explicit, it area should That’s a the proof is does something to your mind. It makes go. real hard deciin the pudyou have to fight a lot harder to main- sion because ding and tain your sanity,” there really we don’t isn’t any other have any place,” Smith pudding —Nathan Manning said. “But it yet.” seems like it’s Nathan getting overManning crowded and was born in Nampa, Idaho, and has been staying in overpopulated.” According to Kemp, shelters are what Boise shelters for over a year now. “Realistically, this is a horrible type Boise has for affordable housing, rather of situation. That’s the reason why most than temporary outlets. Kemp explained, people don’t stay in the shelters; they’d as a community, we must work toward rather live in the cold; they’d rather stay covering the spectrum of homelessness, ranging from shelters—which are meant in the street,” Manning said. According to Kemp, people who are for emergencies—to permanent supporthomeless and don’t wish to stay in shelters ive housing. “Not only are there people on the are painted as, ‘unwilling to avail themselves,’ particularly by the city. Kemp says street experiencing homelessness—there this is a great distortion of the realities are thousands of people who are at any moment just about to drop out of their people in that situation face. “People may have a mental illness or homes,” Kemp said. According to Idaho Housing and Fianxieties and they can’t be in that crowded situation,” Kemp said. “There are people nance Association’s 2014 Point-in-Time that are afraid of bedbugs, lice and germs. report, 753 of Idaho’s 2,104 homeless When one person gets sick in the shelter people are living in Ada County. This repand you’re in the same room—somebody resents an 18 percent increase in Idaho is coughing and the germs are everywhere. homelessness from 2013. These rising numbers contribute to the If one person gets sick, a lot of people are
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Feature
congested area of Cooper Court, where the situation is strained. “When you’re exposed to carnage and anything that’s too graphic or explicit, it does something to your mind. It makes you have to fight a lot harder to maintain your sanity,” Manning said. “You become desensitized—doesn’t matter what it is. A lot of people don’t have the mental structure to guide their way through that, so they end up becoming part of it and adding to it. This place festers.” Although most people in Cooper Court admit there is a comforting sense of community among the individuals who live there, physical fights, shouting matches and a lack of resources lead to a gnawing and unsafe environment. “Frankly, and very unfortunately, that homeless population is one of the most vulnerable populations and it’s a target of crime by other people who are trying to take advantage,” Bones said. “Right now, that is our highest calls for service area in the city of Boise. It’s been growing. We’ve gone to well over 1,500 calls so far this year in just that small area.” According to Bones, there are always officers stationed near Cooper Court to respond to those calls. Another forum will be held on Thursday, Nov. 19, which will be a presentation of information in which Andrew Heben, co-founder of Opportunity Village in Eugene, Oregon, will present his grassroots response to the growing homelessness in his city. Opportunity Village is a city-owned lot in Eugene, hosting 30, 80 square foot homes sheltering some of the city’s homeless population. Heben’s Opportunity Village was created to address Eugene’s own tent city and will be introduced as an idea for Boise to consider. “We need to provide for our fellow citizens a base where they can start putting things back together from whatever brought them to homelessness in the first place,” Kemp said. “You do that with safety and shelter, and, without that, you are just moment to moment.”
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Culture
Blizzcon excites gamers with new content and nostalgia Justin Kirkham Editor-in-Chief
Brittany Lindstrom
Blizzard entertainment facebook / courtesy
Culture Editor
Katie Dymock has spent many of her evenings since freshman year at Boise State playing the online game “World of Warcraft.” But, the newest expansion in the series may greatly alter the mythical world of Azeroth, which senior graphic design major Dymock is so used to exploring. “I’m still bitter about the coming content,” Dymock said. “I liked it, but I’m really afraid it will suck.” Dymock enjoys healing her allies in large, 25-player raid content in “World of Warcraft.” Raiding, which provides some of the most challenging gameplay in “Warcraft,” is highly dependent on healers. Dymock’s favorite mode of healing, known as “fistweaving” for monks, will no longer play a part in raiding after the latest gameplay change announcements that followed Blizzcon this year. Blizzcon, which took place from Nov. 6-7 in Anaheim, is unique for its singular focus. All products unveiled at Blizzcon are developed by Blizzard Entertainment— creators of the “Warcraft,” “Starcraft” and “Diablo” franchises. These franchises are familiar to students who have dabbled in computer
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gaming. Blizzard Entertainment has been plagued by reports of a rapid decline in “World of Warcraft” subscribers which overshadows Blizzard’s quarterly gains. According to Forbes Magazine, “World of Warcraft” has lost over 44 percent of its subscribers in six months and now has the lowest rate of subscribers since 2006. Thankfully, Blizzcon was Blizzard’s time to shine showing that, in spite of lagging subscriber numbers, they have plenty of new content in the works for “World of Warcraft” and other franchises—including a movie based on “Warcraft’s” lore set to drop summer of 2016. Changes in game mechanics—including those now facing Dymock’s monk—are part of the reason players decide to leave the game. But, die-hard fans like Dymock notice positive changes to the game and are with “World of Warcraft” for the long run. “I would say, from my freshman year to my super-senior year, it changed so much,” Dymock said. “It improved quite a bit for players or casual people to play—much better (user interface) and much better game play.” Daine Smith, a senior philosophy major who is excited for “Legion’s” new character class, demon hunter, isn’t concerned about “Warcraft’s” dip in subscribers. “As with every expansion, I
feel that old players and new players will join the game,” Smith said. “You typically see an exodus of players midexpansion and a return when a new expansion comes out.” With “Legion” set to come out mid-2016, and no new content announced to tide players over in the meantime, it may be a long while before Blizzard sees a return in players. Smith believes the yo-yoing of subscribers can be attributed to players wanting to try out other games while they wait for new, quality content. “Blizzard takes a lot of time to release content which is good because it’s amazing when it comes out,” Smith said. “In between expansions people feel their time and money is better spent elsewhere.” Ryan Pulver, senior psychology major, is most excited for the “Warcraft” film and recognizes Blizzard may be luring their own subscribers away from “Warcraft” via their other franchises. “I don’t believe Warcraft will ever have as much hype as it did,” Pulver said. “Mostly because of all the different titles Blizzard is releasing to keep their fan base entertained. I believe Blizzard has something for everyone at this point.” While “Warcraft” players wait for “Legion,” they can
find plenty of other Blizzard titles to explore. A large portion of Blizzcon’s stream of announcements revolved around the upcoming title “Overwatch,” and new content for recently released “Heroes of the Storm” and “Hearthstone” games. Much like “Warcraft,” these titles focus on social play and work to build a feeling of community and camaraderie all while being accessible to students of all skill levels. “Blizzard games have great design and make games accessible and enjoyable for all levels of players,” Pulver said. “From ‘Starcraft’, ‘Diablo’ to ‘World of Warcraft,’ there are different levels of play and play style gamers can delve into and enjoy.” Smith, who was able to watch Blizzcon live through the purchase of a virtual ticket, believes that one of the most rewarding aspects of Blizzcon and Blizzard’s games is the feeling of community. “Buying the Virtual Ticket allows me to get information firsthand,” Smith said. “In addition, it gives me that sense of community, like I’m there with my fellow fans. If there isn’t a community around a game—if you can’t nerd out with other people—then what’s the point? I don’t need other people to enjoy a game, but it’s awesome being able to talk to others about the
things you’re really excited about.” This community and inherent familiarity is what keeps Dymock coming back to the game. “There’s always a soft spot for the original races and the funny jokes,” Dymock said. “It’s a strong internet community because it’s such an old game.”
11/17/2015
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Culture
PornHub creates a $25,000 scholarship Zoey Ngyuen Staff Writer
dents should be cautious of such offers. He firmly believes one’s scholarship submission ought to be respected. People should not be oblivious that this is a PR strategy and a way of making the public accept PornHub. “While I don’t believe that all pornography is necessarily violent or exploitative, Pornhub is a major player in the mainstream industry, which relies on and reinforces the objectification of women and gender or sexual minorities, racist caricatures, the sexualization of youth and the romanticization of the lack of consent,” Harper said. The given concerns are seen as rational, yet the $25,000 scholarship is
definitely tempting for students. Noah Ipaye, a senior biology major, expressed it’s understandable how people make assumptions of the scholarship, despite PornHub’s stimulation of sexual needs. “I think the scholarship is a good thing, but how they made it is important to how we conceptualize the money (i.e. as dirty or clean),” Ipaye said. “Pornhub, as it stands, is morally questionable, both through a sexist lens and through the lens that they offer crazy, violent, extreme and demeaning porn. Provided they clean up the mess they themselves have made, offer more feminist porn and get rid of the extreme and unethical porn, then I
think the money wouldn’t be as questionable.” Chandra Reyna, a senior sociology major, supports the scholarship. She said since most people who watch porn are collegeage, it is a good way to attract viewers and gain popularity. She also realizes how challenging it is to pay for college and how many people can’t get a higher education. Thus, she believes the person to get the scholarship would ultimately deserve the money. Reyna emphasized it is a personal choice and a positive deed from PornHub, which essentially runs like any other firm, as long as they are not coercing anyone into anything without consent. “Are we to shame the
people taking the money from this company? No way,” Reyna said. “What we should be asking is why are people making a big deal about a porn company offering a scholarship? Why is their money being viewed as less credible than any other scholarship?” To apply for the scholarship, a student needed to submit an essay asnwering the question, “How do you make others happy?” and submit a video explaining the good work they do to achieve this goal. Students needed a GPA of 3.2 or higher to qualify. Applications closed on Oct. 31.
design by ted atwell, photos courtesy of “Pop goes the info” facebook
While celebrities who create scholarships to support college students are usually greeted with positivity, the public was simultaneously disturbed and shocked when PornHub—one of biggest pornography companies in the world—announced in September they created a scholarship of their own. Many people instantly assumed this was nothing more than a hoax or a way to receive inappropriate content. Jeremy Harper, a Boise State Foundational Studies Program instructor, explained their reasoning. “There is a long history
of really terrible practices that not only disregard consent but actively glamorize the lack of consent,” Harper said. “For example, there is an entire sub-part of the industry built on the idea of ‘revenge porn.’ So, many people would not be shocked to hear that a porn company had scammed people into submitting pornographic videos or something along those lines.” In spite of this, Harper believes scholarships are a positive way to alleviate financial burdens for students. “Scholarships are so incredibly important in a society where tuition costs are rising at unprecedented rates,” Harper said. However, he stated stu-
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Culture
Keep your pets safe in the cold Asst. Culture Editor
In Idaho, winter temperatures hang around the freezing point—32 degrees Fahrenheit. While this is uncomfortable for humans, this weather—including the holidays that come with it—can be outright dangerous for pets. The cold isn’t the only problem. According to the Idaho Humane Society’s website, small dogs, puppies and cats should be kept indoors if the outside temperature is 40 degrees or lower. That being said, if a dog is outside less often during the winter months
than other times of the year, he may be getting less exercise and therefore need less food. However, the opposite is also true. If a dog is outside more frequently during winter, he may need more food to burn extra calories necessary for generating body heat. Cats roam the residential streets of Boise far more freely than dogs, and they’re likely to seek refuge near warm car engines or tires in winter. It’s a good idea to check a vehicle before driving off and unknowingly injuring the friendly neighborhood cat. Chemicals used to melt ice are irritating to paw pads and
can cause major damage if ingested. If pets lick their paws after walking outside, these chemicals may burn their mouth and damage their digestive tract. Pet owners should wipe off their pet’s feet and underside after they come inside. A commonly used additive, antifreeze, is poisonous to pets. Poisoning mainly occurs when antifreeze drips from a car’s radiator and an animal licks it off the ground. Although it tastes sweet to pets, according to petMD’s website, “less than three ounces (or 88 ml) of antifreeze is sufficient to poison a medium-sized dog. Antifreeze poisoning affects the brain,
liver and kidneys.” Many dogs who ingest antifreeze develop kidney failure within days of ingestion. Outside hazards are not the only dangers pet owners need to watch out for. Winter holidays provide pets with plenty of curious, new items to ingest—many of which are poisonous or otherwise hazardous—both inside and outside the home. Pets may eat poinsettias or mistletoe berries—both of which are poisonous—and injure themselves on ornament hooks and ornaments. Making sure all decorations are secure and out of pets’ reach is important in ensuring their safety.
Idaho humane society website / courtesy
Cheyene Austin
DEAD EXTE LINE NDE D!
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Sports & Rec
Volleyball continues strong play through season Boise State women’s volleyball is on the verge of making the NCAA tournament. During last week’s matches against San Diego State and Nevada, the Broncos won without giving up a set and making a statement— we’re hungry. “I think we’re playing with a ton of confidence,” said senior setter Sarah Baugh. “We all have a really strong goal of what we want to accomplish and it’s been really exciting.” In the first of two games last week, on Thursday Nov. 12, Boise State cruised to a 3-0 win over San Diego State 25-16, 2523 and 25-8. Sophomore Sierra Nobley finished the match with 14 kills and Baugh helped set her teammates up with 34 assists to get the Broncos the win. Nobley and Baugh continued their strong play on Thursday, but it was other contributions from Maddy O’Donnell (six kills), Sabryn Roberts (10 kills) and Kaitlyn Oliver (seven kills) who helped pace the Broncos. Head coach Shawn Garus, has been happy with the confidence his team has played with as of late. “We’ve just jumped on teams early. I think it’s important that the visiting team looks through the net and says ‘Oh that teams not gonna lose’,” Garus said. “It’s done with our level of play, we come out and execute at a really high
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“I think it’s important that the visiting team looks through the net and says ‘Oh that teams not gonna lose’,”
level and show that other team ‘You’re not winning. You’re in Boise.’” The Broncos held the Aztecs to under 10 points in the last set of the night. It was a great way to head into Saturday’s matinee showdown with Nevada where the Broncos continued to play well, winning the match 25-18, 25-16 and a dominant 25-11 finish in the last set. Baugh and Nobley broke school records along the way to the team’s 20th win of the year. In the first set, Baugh passed Mandy Klein in career assists for fourth in school history and Nobley set the Boise State single season record for kills. “I couldn’t have done it without my whole team and my setter, Sarah Baugh, who’s racking up her assists as well,” Nobley said. “I’m really lucky to have such a good setter or else I wouldn’t be able to achieve that.” Garus has been impressed with Baugh’s season—she is third in the nation with 12.22 assists per set, but it has been her ability to handle her teammates that has the head coach feeling good about his team’s chemistry. “Her leadership qualities are second to none,” Garus said. “She has the ability to be really feisty and aggressive but yet soft enough for her teammates in the right
—Shawn Garus setting.” Baugh’s leadership qualities kept Boise State rolling in Saturday’s match. The Broncos led 2-0 heading into the third set and left no doubt after coming out of intermission and winning in commanding fashion. “I feel like in the last two matches, as a coaching staff, you are always paranoid. You try to prepare your team for the toughest situation they can possibly face,” Garus said. “Then you go out and you’re up 2-0, we get back to the locker room to talk tactically and you realize we have a lot of control here. We know what they want to do and they can’t stop what we want to do.” It was that kind of control that gave Boise State their 12th win in 13 games and their sixth consecutive win. The Broncos now have their eyes set on a matchup this Wednesday at Air Force a team that has beaten Garus’s team the last two years in Colorado. The coach knows his team will be well prepared for the road trip, despite the pressure of all the national attention. “It’s special; it’s great to be there, great to be in the discussion nationally,” Garus said. “But we only stay there if we keep winning and Air Force is the most important match for us.”
Abe Copeland / THE ARBITER
Asst. Sport & Rec Editor
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Rylan Kobre
11/17/2015
Sports & rec
Clearing the confusion about NCAA violations John Jansen Staff Writer
If you viewed any sports news in the past few years, odds are you may have come across a report about a university being sanctioned for major NCAA violations. For the casual sports fan, it can be understandably easy to develop the perception that many universities are sneaky and secretive. Louisville men’s basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino’s recent allegations involving strippers and planned dorm parties for recruits
11/17/2015
has brought the talk of NCAA violations back into the news cycle, and it may seem as though things are out of control in the world of college athletics. Last year, Huffington Post reporter Ken Reed said college athletic programs are now moving toward “A win-at-all-costs and revenue-at-all-costs mentality.” Matt Brewer, Boise State’s associate athletic director for compliance who also worked for the NCAA for four and a half years, explained the NCAA’s role in regards to
college programs. “One of the big misnomers is the NCAA sets the rules,” Brewer said. “It’s the membership that creates the rules. Everybody has to remember somebody had to have broken it at some point first, the NCAA is very reactionary in that way. I also don’t think schools are intentionally trying to cheat,” Brewer said. According to Brewer, the main reason for violations are a part of life in the college sports world. It is a constant system of checks and balances that is never
going to be completely perfect. Even Boise State was hit with NCAA sanctions in 2011 for lack of institutional control. That is why universities have directors of compliance, according to Brewer, have begun to hire more in an effort to make sure programs remain clean. “When those violations occur, we submit that to the NCAA. We also use it as part of the educational process...on all the rules and regulations of the NCAA, and new rules and changes,” sports information director Joe Nickell
said. “Matt meets with all of our staff, coaches and student-athletes and tells them these are the rules, this is how this affects us. So you’re trying to get in front of this, but there’s always going to be violations”. Something as simple as a coach retweeting a prospective recruit’s post online or an accidental redial on the recruit’s part would be considered a violation and must be reported to the NCAA. According to Brewer, a school like Boise State that has 20 sports averages 15-20 violations
per year, and a bigger 30-sport school like Ohio State averages around 2025. When looking at a university’s infractions is the severity of the infraction and whether or not it is isolated to a certain coach. Matt Brewer described the situation by saying, “There are a lot of rules; sometimes coaches screw up, and we have systems in place to catch that, and we catch it and we move forward. We try to educate and make sure it doesn’t happen again, but there’s some that are just going to happen.”
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Sports & Rec
Boise State men’s basketball fall in Montana Rylan Kobre
Asst. Sport & Rec Editor
player, junior James Webb III, only saw the floor for 17 minutes due to early foul trouble. He finished the evening with just six points and two rebounds before fouling out. The big storyline of the night came from the foul line, where the Grizzlies held a 36-12 advantage on shot attempts. At the end of the night, Boise State had Drmic, Duncan, redshirt freshman Zach Haney and sophomore Chandler Hutchison all with four fouls. Montigo Alford had three fouls and Paris Austin had two.
To give you an idea of the amount of fouls called in the game, every Bronco player who entered the game, a total of 10 guys, all had at least one foul including freshman Robin Jorch who only played three minutes. In the loss, Anthony Drmic surpassed Jeff Elloriaga on the list of three pointers made in Boise State history. Drmic now stands third all time in school history with 219. The Broncos return to the court Monday against Northern Arizona University, who like Montana, is a member of the Big Sky Conference. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. MST and the game will be televised by ROOT sports.
photo by Abe Copeland, design by jared lewis/ THE ARBITER
In a game which saw Boise State lead by as many as 11 points, the Broncos fell on the road to University of Montana Friday night 74-72. Anthony Drmic scored a team high—23 points, including nine straight points on three consecutive three’s to push the Bronco lead to 11 with just 10:45 to play. But, Drmic’s hot night behind the arc (5-11) could not convert to a win,
as Montana took their first lead of the half on a three point basket with 2:01 left to play. With 10 seconds remaining and the Broncos down 74-71, Boise State saw a three-point attempt from junior forward Nick Duncan, hit every inch of the rim before popping out. The Grizzlies would hang on to a 2-point victory. Boise State saw nice contributions from senior guard Mikey Thompson off the bench, who chipped in 15 points on 6-8 shooting. Arguably the Broncos most talented
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11/17/2015
Sports & rec
Ostrander and cross country keep winning Asst. Sport & Rec Editor
In journalism, the first paragraph of a story is called the lead. Allie Ostrander, the freshman women’s cross country star, really likes to lead races but also likes her name included in a story’s lead.Ostrander took home first place at the NCAA West Regional in Seattle, Washington this past weekend. with a six kilometer time of 20:10.9. Ostrander finished 22 seconds faster than the second place finisher, University of Oregon’s Waverly Neer. It is just the second time in school history a Bronco has won the West Regional; the last to do it
was All-American Emma Bates in 2013. Ostrander is the first freshman to accomplish the feat in Boise State history. “It was a fun race—kind of adventurous out there with it being muddy and slick,” Ostrander said. “But it was fun, and it made it all the better that we had a good team race.” Ostrander led the pack for the Bronco women that saw strong performances from freshman Brenna Peloquin, who finished in fourth place, and sophomore Minttu Hukka, who finished in fifth place. The dominating day by the three ladies earned the Broncos a second place overall finish. The ladies ended up one point behind University of Oregon,
but earned an automatic bid at next weekend’s NCAA National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. “The women continue to impress,” said Head Coach Corey Ihmels. “I thought our top three pretty much controlled the race. Any time you automatically qualify to the national meet it’s exciting, but to lose by a point to a very good Oregon team is a little disappointing.” Although Ihmels was disappointed in the close loss the coach knows his team will “get another chance to go at it next week.” On the men’s side, Boise State was one of the 13 teams selected as an at-large bid at next week’s championships af-
ter their showing in Seattle. Sophomore Michael Vennard paced the Broncos with a time of 31:29:8, and a 17th place finish. Sophomore Louis McAfee finished 28th, and behind him was Mountain West freshman of the year Elijah Armstrong in 30th. “I thought the men did a nice job today,” Ihmels said. “Obviously, getting to the national meet for the first time in a long time is a huge step for our program. Both teams in the national championship speaks volumes to our group and what they stand for.” It is the first time in school history both the men and women have qualified for nationals in the same year.
boise state track and field facebook / courtesy
Rylan Kobre
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