November 3, 2015 Vol. 28 Issue 12
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Photo by Ellen Fogg, Design by Jared Lewis/THE ARBITER
51 percent of food workers serve sick. p.4
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
IN THIS
Taylor Lippman/THE ARBITER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ISSUE
Making campus a gallery p. 10
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
COPY EDITORS Andrea Batten Reba Rice
DESIGN MANAGER Ted Atwell
Sam harting/THE ARBITER
Taylor Lippman/THE ARBITER
Jared Lewis digitalcontent@ stumedia.boisestate.edu
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.
Student hours get capped p.5 Contact Us
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Shoes off, Arms ready p.22
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Editor’s note
Visit Arbiter Online for consistent, daily content Editor-in-Chief
This past week, four members of The Arbiter’s student staff had the opportunity to attend a journalism and media convention in Austin, Texas. After combing through workshops and keynotes, we came back to Boise with several ways to make the newspaper better than ever—and it starts with the design of The Arbiter. We want our paper to be more inviting, and that means more graphics and better photos are on the top
11/03/2015
of our priorities list when it comes to putting the final print product together. After attending multiple design workshops and classes, our design manager, Ted Atwell, has come away with several new ways to break up long blocks of text and make each photo more dynamic for our readership. You can see a prime example of this on page 4. By cutting out and placing the subject of the photo on the page so it fills a more interesting shape, it replaced a graphic element that would originally only be a rect-
angle in a sea of text. This isn’t interesting to readership in any way, so better attention to detail when it comes to those simple photos will be useful in both filling space and creating stronger story packaging. Our other initiative after the College Media Association conference is consistent, daily content. This will come both online on our website and on our social media platforms. As explained last week, our copy editors have already launched a new social media initiative with complete coverage of every piece of
print content. Now, this week, we are beginning a new daily website content plan. Be sure to check out arbiteronline.com every day for new content from our editorial staff. Read staff writer Alivia Wachsmuth piece on Human Health Habits or look forward to the sports & rec section’s web blog scheduled to post tomorrow. Or, in an effort to stay up to date with every possible piece of new content, be sure to follow us on social media for timely, constant updates.
Pjustin kirkham/THE ARBITER
Justin Kirkham
Pg 3
NEWS
Food service employees battle sickness on the job Patrick Adcock News Editor
Taylor Lippman/THE ARBITER
Due to the sensetive nature of this article, the names of sources were changed to ensure their safety. Flu season is upon us and many students are doing their best to stay healthy, but for students working in the food industry, staying healthy can be a lot more challenging. A recent study by Alchemy Systems—a company that educates and trains food workers—revealed
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51 percent of food workers said they “always” or “frequently” come to work sick. “It’s funny you can’t get the sick days off in a restaurant because you’re dealing with everyone’s food,” said Taylor Smith, a freshman biology major at Boise State. “It’s the one i n -
dustry you feel like you should get your sick days.” Smith works at a restaurant in Boise, and said, unlike other jobs, this issue is unique to the food industry. “I work in retail too. It’s definitely not the same. When I would call in and say ‘I need work off,’ they would find someone or just say I didn’t have to come in,” Smith said. “With restaurants, you don’t get to just not come in. There’s just not the choice. With retail, you can get by without having someone and still function, but with a restaurant, it just doesn’t function.” Smith said even though he has only worked in the food industry for four months, he has already seen people come to work sick because they have no alternatives. “This last We d n e s day, this girl I know was super sick. She was throwing up
right before, and she still came in and worked her shift because nobody would cover (her shift),” Smith said. According to Smith, she had to work because she didn’t have enough money to take the day off. “I do the same thing, honestly, when I’m not feeling that well, but I know I have a shift,” Smith said. “I know if I don’t work that shift, I lose out on $100. Money is definitely more of a priority.” Jordan Lance, a junior art major at Boise State and co-worker with Smith, said this mentality is common among her peers. “Everyone is trying to make money and trying to cover bills and no one is willing to take the time off,” Lance said. “I haven’t worked there long enough to really have been through the cold season, but I abso-
lutely know people go to work sick all the time. Even now, I feel like I’m not at 100 percent, but I’m still going to go to work.” Even if money isn’t the main concern for food workers, the function of the restaurant is. Smith said many times managers know their employees are sick, but—unless someone is willing to take their shift— they have to stay and work. Not taking time off while sick can have drastic consequences. “Each year, contaminated food consumed in the U.S. results in an estimated 48 million illnesses, more than 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths,” said Kate Fowlie, press officer for the CDC, in an email. “Of all reported foodborne disease outbreaks, norovirus is the leading cause. Infected food workers cause about 70 percent of reported norovirus outbreaks.” Lance and Smith both recognize the hazards of working sick, but currently feel they can’t be avoided—or the alternatives are easier to swallow. Lance said this
problem affects students in particular as they try to balance school, work and a social life. “Burning both ends of the candlestick definitely takes its toll. And I think being a student makes it harder and you’re actually more susceptible to being sick,” Lance said. Both Smith and Lance agree steps can and should be taken to ensure the health of food workers, and offered some suggestions of how to do so. Smith recommended having employees on call and ready to work to cover for sick employees. This would allow the restaurant to function while ensuring the safety of the customers and workers. “I wouldn’t want someone who is throwing up the night before to be running my food. That’s gross,” Smith said. Lance recommended raising wages to reduce the pressure to go to work while sick and encouraged customers to do their part in staying healthy as well. “Even though we’re washing our hands and doing everything (to stay healthy), we’re so affected by our environment. Hundreds of people come in a night, and when they’re sick, and going to the bathroom without washing their hands and touching glasses, it makes us more susceptible to whatever they’re carrying,” Lance said. Lance recommends both employees and customers take responsibility for the health and betterment of the community.
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NEWS
Boise State proposes cap on student hours
Shelly Bohorquez Asst. News Editor
ASBSU opposed a policy that would place a cap on the number of hours students are allowed to work on campus during a Student Assembly meeting on Oct. 21. Sunny Wallace, senior director of development and alumni relations, and Lynn Humphrey, director of student affairs, presented the policy to ASBSU, looking for student feedback. “I can tell you right now, the majority said, ‘No, we don’t think there should be a cap,’” said Rebecca Kopp,
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assembly speaker for ASBSU. According to Kopp, this initial question was followed by asking, if there was a cap on hours students may work weekly, should that limit be at 20 hours. “There were two people that said, ‘Yes, there should be a cap, but not at 20 hours—something like 30’. The majority said, ‘No, there shouldn’t be a cap, not even at 20 hours,’” Kopp said. In April of 2014, a committee consisting of representatives from Human Resource Services, the
director of the Career Center, the director of Institutional Research and the executive director of Campus Services began researching the impact a cap hour policy would have on student employers across campus, as well as students themselves. “Those of us who work with students have seen the impacts on an individual basis,” Humphrey said. “We all know students who are working too many jobs or working too many hours. The impact it has on them and their ability to get to class in the morning, persist, hang in there
and finish classes—it was extending the time of their degree and taking them longer to graduate. It’s been a concern for a long time.” After conducting their research and communicating with on-campus employers, the committee drafted a policy they felt would promote student success. But limiting hours for some students could mean providing additional opportunities for others. “(Campus employers) indicated it might mean they have to hire more students to do the same
amount of work,” Humphrey said. “From our perspective, that’s a good thing. One of the things we want to do as a university is expand on-campus employment opportunities for more students.” According to Humphrey, there currently aren’t enough on-campus jobs for all the students who want them. The current draft of the policy however, provides flexibility by allowing students to work over 20 hours per week during particular events. Transportation and Parking Services or the Morrison Center,
are occasionally involved in events which require employees to work longer hours, and the policy attempts to accommodate this.
Continued pg. 6
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NEWS
This reevaluation of work policy for students did not stand alone last year; businesses across the nation reorganized their employee process to be in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, which requires businesses to provide healthcare to employees working more than 32 hours per week. While the enactment of this new legislature initi-
“
“Obviously when you work less, you have more time to do schoolwork, but also, working increases your work ethic and motivates you to do better in your classes. If the hours were reduced, it would give me more time to work on schoolwork but maybe I wouldn’t be as motivated.”
“
Continued from pg. 5
ated a critical analysis of hours worked by students, it also served as a proponent to speculate the impact of excessive work on a student’s academics. Lisa Harris, vice president of student affairs, felt it was important to student success to cap the amount of hours students could work within their department, and therefore applied an hour cap in the spring. “We went ahead and asked our department to limit the number of hours to no more than 20,” Humphrey said. “In our role as advocates for students and in supporting their academic endeavors, (we decided) it was best we go ahead and implement that
—Emily Fritchman
change in our division.” In comparing the GPA’s of students who did not work at all over a period of two years, to students who worked at various incremental hours, it was found students who worked between five and 15 hours per week had a higher GPA than students who did not work at all. “Obviously when you work less, you have more time to do schoolwork,
but also, working increases your work ethic and motivates you to do better in your classes,” said Emily Fritchman, sophomore English major. “If the hours were reduced, it would give me more time to work on schoolwork but maybe I wouldn’t be as motivated.” According to Humphrey, the committee found a noticable decline in GPA when students worked
more than 20 hours per week. Although, academically, limiting the number of hours worked by students could be beneficial, one of the main concerns is students in need of more income might look for work outside of campus. This would take more time away from studying than if there was no cap at all. “I don’t really think it’s fair to judge how many hours a student can fit into their work week,” said Avi Steiner, mechanical engineering major and mechanic at the Cycle Learning Center. “Students should be getting the opportunity to work as many hours as they feel is necessary.”
According to Humphrey, limiting hours worked by students on campus is not a conversation happening solely on our campus. 10 out of 16 of Boise State’s peer institutions have a cap at 20 hours students are allowed to work. But the continued rise of higher education costs has students working more hours in order to try to cover those costs. The policy has been in draft form for about a year and is in the stage in which campus feedback is being gathered. It will come up for consideration soon but has not yet been scheduled.
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11/03/2015
NEWS
New budget model proposed at Boise State Patrick Adcock News Editor
As the cost of tuition continues to rise, students are asking where their dollars are going more than ever, placing a brighter spotlight on universities’ budgets. On Oct. 27, Vice President for budget and planning finance and administration at Boise State, Kenneth Kline proposed a new budget model to Boise State’s Faculty Senate. The push for the new budget model came after the university’s growth
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over the past several years. Marty Schimpf, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Boise State, hired Kline to be part of building the new model. “I worked at Northern Kentucky University,” Kline said. “When I was there, we studied (the proposed budget model) for a number of years and developed the budget model itself. We actually didn’t have it in effect at Northern Kentucky.” The new proposed budget model emphasizes individual colleges within the university and the
amount of revenue they bring in. Kline said there is a spectrum of how much focus universities place on revenue within their budget models. Currently, Boise State is on one end of this spectrum, where revenue has little to no affect on the budget model. “Under the current model, if (departments) want to add advisors, they submit a budget request, and then centrally, we look at how much money we have,” Kline said. “We look at, from a simple perspective, do we have money this
year to invest in things? If the answer is no, we don’t fund that request.” On the other end of the spectrum are universities that allow individual colleges to keep all their own revenue and make their own decisions. According to Kline, these models have a high level of competition for resources, since revenue is what affects their budget. Kline believes there is an unhealthy amount of competition between departments in these models. The proposed model would move the university toward the middle of
the spectrum, allowance of revenue to influence budget decisions. This lets the university to view budget decisions from a business perspective. “It’s not about growing more revenue—it’s about balancing the decisions we make with revenue and the outcomes we want: student success, graduation and the like,” Kline said. “The big difference is, from the business perspective, the outcome you want is to get more money than you bring in. From our perspective, the outcomes we want are very different. The structure does parallel
how a business might look at it, it’s just the objectives are very different.”
Continued pg. 8
Pg 7
NEWS Continued from pg. 7 However, increased value placed on revenue brings increased competition between departments. This is something Kline says the university will have to keep in mind with the new model. “The difference is, (departments are) competing for resources today, just in a very different way,” Kline said. “One of the challenges with our current budget model is—as a de-
partment—you have your budget and really your incentive is to a have as few students as possible because your budget doesn’t change.” The new model would shift the incentives’ focus on retaining and graduating students. Kline said other institutions like the University of Washington have switched to this type of model and have seen it increases student retention without negative effects like larger class sizes. According to Schimpf, increasing retention rates not only helps students, but could also help the university gain more funds from the state. Schimpf said many states are now looking at perfor-
mance-based funding for universities and this new model would place Boise State in a favorable light and likely increase state funding. Kline said that the new budget model is likely to affect tuition rates of graduate programs. Kline used Boise State’s MBA and the Teachers Education programs as examples. According to Kline, the MBA program has no concern about how much the program costs therefore they charge students as much as they can. The Teachers Education program, however, is concerned about its prices and takes that into account when pricing tuition. The new model essen-
tially encourages graduate programs to apply for differential tuition rates and charges students as much as they can. Kline doesn’t believe the budget model will have the same effect on undergraduate courses. Kline said there is discussion of differential tuition rates for undergraduate programs, but ultimately this would not be affected by the new budget model.
The new model raises many questions for faculty and students alike and Kline plans to communicate and receive feedback from the university through open forums and groups like ASBSU and Faculty Senate. Currently the model is still in development and will be guided by a committee who will work to establish principles, structure, incentives, allocation rules and exceptions.
The timeline for the proposed budget is for implementation to begin in 2016 and for the model to officially begin on July 1, 2017. Kline emphasized this is not an official timeline and it is more important to get the budget right than to stay on schedule. Both Kline and Schumpf are confident the new model will help guide Boise State as the university continues to grow.
FY10
State Contribution to Revenues Source: University Financial Statements
FY10
27%
FY11
23% 77%
72%
18%
22% 79%
20%
FY13 82%
Other FY14 FY10 Revenue 80%
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FY12
Sources
State Appropriation
11/03/2015
9.65" 9.75"
Opinion
Art engagement makes for stronger students 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. Patricia Walsh spoke at the Northwest Public Art Conference—held this year at Boise City Hall on Oct. 16—about the importance of unbiased artwork selection for public instillation. The same idea can be applied to artwork on campus. Students should have more say on the what is installed—promoting a stronger connection to Boise State through engagement.
How art is selected
Currently, permanent artistic structures are filtered through The University Art Collection Committee, formed roughly 10 years ago. According to Lee Ann Turner, department chair of the Art Department art on campus previously only needed approval by Foundations—the section of faculty in charge of raising money and accepting donations. Turner explained the committee is made up of the chair of the art department, the SUB gallery director, the deans of the College of Arts and Science and representatives from Foundational Studies and Insurance Managent. Turner believes students should have more say
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in what is installed on campus. “People like different things,” Turner said. “The campus should be a place where all that can get explored. That’s what the power of art is—people love it, they hate it. If they’re talking, that’s really the bottom line.” According to Turner, artwork for the Hemingway and Liberal Arts galleries are picked by the gallery curator and don’t need to go through the committee. That being said, most of the art installations in these two galleries are campus-based anyway. “A lot of what we have on display is tied to our department. That doesn’t leave a lot of room in our schedule for outside exhibitors,” Turner said. The University Art Collection Committee doesn’t have a say in how
commercial businesses decorate their spaces. But, the aesthetic and artwork of businesses on campus affects how the campus is received and how students interact with campus. Students should have a platform to voice their opinion before they are installed.
Why
art on campus is
important
According to a study done by The Knight Foundation’s Soul of the Community Initiative, art installations in public places create attachment between community members and their community. According to Nicole Nimmons, executive director of transportation and parking, the same thing can be said for artwork on campus and students. Nimmons, who is head of the Boise State Commu-
nity Printed Artwork Galleries in the Lincoln Avenue Garage and Brady Street Garage, stated artwork on campus makes students engage more. “The more engaged students are, the more likely they are to continue with their classwork and dedication to the university,” Nimmons said. “The more engaged you are, the more apt you are in a learning environment. That goes right along with our mission as a university.” Allowing students to have a voice in picking what artwork will be displayed in these galleries would help instill a sense of pride on campus. If we allow students to have ownership in our campus art galleries, they will be more likely to interact and engage with them.
The Boise State Community Printed Artwork Galleries were originally installed several years ago with the hopes of having new artwork every semester. Due to the some changes in staffing, the artwork will now start being changed out biyearly starting next semester. “We would like to continue with our projects in regards to art in the garages and see what it would look like to have art in parking lots,” Nimmons said. “Do we open something to having art in regards to a parking space that you walk by or any other areas?”
Student engagement
Both Nimmons and Turner are unsure of how to best elicit that engagement. Turner is “open to ideas.”
Currently the Art Department is working on creating a website that will show what and where all the artwork on campus is. Turner hopes the website will feature different artists each week or month to raise awareness for the artwork on campus. Turner feels spreading artwork into high traffic areas—like the two parking garages—would help, but ultimately it will be about students showing interest and being a part of the conversation. Students should take this opportunity to engage in their artwork on campus. Students who want to get more involved can email Nimmons or the art department about their ideas. Let’s make campus beautiful together.
Taylor Lippman/THE ARBITER
Arbiter Staff
11/03/2015
Opinion
Collect Memories, not crap Staff Writer
Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner and so is Winter Commencement for the lucky students who are participating in the ceremony. With each coming, graduation money will soon be delivered to said students’ doorstep. With the overflow of money pouring in, purchases will be made, whether they are in the form of material goods or eventual memories. Material goods will provide short term happiness compared to memories and experiences that produce lifelong stories. Experiences provide stories that bring smiles, tears and laughter. These experiences turn into memories that—whether they were once good or bad—make and shape the person students will become. “One of the enemies of happiness is adaptation” said Thomas Gilovich, psychology professor at Cornell University. Through his research, Gilovich found adaptation—to change your behavior so it is easier to live in a particular place or situation—affects our happiness. In his study, he asked people to self-report their happiness with major material and experiential purchases. Initially, they were ranked the same. Over time, their satisfac-
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tion with the things they bought went down, whereas their satisfaction with experiences went up. “Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods,” Gilovich said. “You can really like your material stuff. You can even think part of your identity is connected to those things, but nonetheless they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.” Memories are something students take with themselves to their grave. Each experience tells a story. It gives students something to laugh about at a Sunday brunch when their family or best friends come into town. While they can always share a laugh over one of said great life experiences, physical objects and things create a different bond. “Experience and memories are a bigger part of me,” said Tanner Tallan, junior communication major. “There are some things money can’t buy, like your experiences with family and friends.” One common trend with anything and everything that can be bought is it has an expiration date. Things go out of style, change value, fade, disappear and soon become that old item that holds little to no value anymore. “Some things lose value over time,” Tallan said. “Experiencing and going
to the Fiesta Bowl with the Boise State football team, is something that money can’t buy—that overwhelming joy and happiness of my team winning.” Good decisions and bad decisions always make for a tremendous story. It is a reflection students can always look back upon, remember and take with them for the rest of their lives. In the journal Psychological Science, Cornell doctoral candidate Amit Kumar explained this phenomenon. “Even a bad experience becomes a good story,” Kumar said. “Even if it was negative in the moment, it becomes positive. That is a lot harder to do with material purchases because they are right there in front of you.” When Santa comes this year and the Christmas cards come rolling in, think of that older version of a student, 20 years from now, and make the decision that person would want to be made. “Ultimately, experiences are what make you who you are, not the things that you own,” Tallan said. Experiences provide eventual laughter and happiness that will last a lifetime. More new stuff and objects will always come, but the memories and once in a lifetime experiences will fill a joy no material object ever could.
Kyle Moeller / Courtesy
Kyle Moeller
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Feature
Exchanging cultures: Saudi, kuwait governments inve Justin Kirkham Editor-in-Chief
After graduating high school in Saudi Arabia, Faisal Almanee dreamed of pursuing marketing and business in a university setting—in the United States. Fortunately for him, the king of Saudi Arabia wanted the same for him and thousands of other new graduates in the Middle Eastern country. “I applied for some universities back home, but was not interested in studying there,” the senior marketing major said. “I wanted to study abroad and have some new experiences.”
Sponsors in the USA
Almanee is one of approximately 80,000 Saudi Arabian students studying in the United States and one of the 251 Saudi students studying at Boise State. In an effort to bolster their local workforce, Saudi Arabia sponsored these students’ academic journeys, paying for their outof-state tuition fees and health insurance, along with a monthly living stipend. The program is wrapping up its second five-year phase in the United States, offering funds to students who graduated with respectable grade point averages and a high school diploma. “There wasn’t a big focus on higher education (in Saudi Arabia),” Drew Clippard, sponsored student support coordinator at International Student Services, said. “Now, with this scholarship, there is a bigger push for building up a local workforce.” In an office decorated with foreign postcards and picturesque landscapes, including some mementos from his time spent teaching in Saudi Arabia years ago, Clippard advises students with sponsored scholarships and
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coordinates with their respective government programs.
Changing majors and monthly stipends
Though the application process is simple, Almanee still finds working within the sponsorship time consuming. “It’s difficult,” he said. “You have to send transcripts each semester and register for classes you want to take.” The first phase of the sponsorship offered scholarships to a select group of students. And, at the end of this second phase focusing on high school graduates, the Saudi government will offer scholarships to those already in the workforce, emphasizing employee progression. Almanee explained, when choosing a major, hopeful sponsors select two or three areas of study they would like to explore. The government then considers the potential majors and sends students to the United States who are mainly interested in engineering and business majors. According to the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission website, the sponsorship aims to “support our students academically and financially so that they may concentrate on achieving their academic goals,” bolstering the potential of their local workforce as they move forward in a global market.
Kuwait’s expensive contribution
After this program gained strength in 2011, the Kuwait government followed suit, offering a similar scholarship to its own high school graduates. The main difference between the programs, according to Almanee, is the amount of money they receive from their governments each month. Almanee’s monthly pales in comparison to
Kuwaiti-sponsored junior mechanical engineering major Mohammad Alfadhli’s $2,600 monthly income. “I think it works very well,” Alfadhli said, recounting his ability to apply for further government sponsorship for graduate school or entrance into the American workforce. This same opportunity is available for Saudi Arabian students, but it is much more difficult to apply for and receive. Almanee hopes he can qualify for the more selective graduate sponsorship offered to those from his country.
A cultural exchange
But, in the end, the sole focus of these sponsorship programs is not academic progression. Instead, they focus on molding internationally-conscious workers. “Close to half of the scholarship agreement focuses on a cultural exchange,” Clippard explained. “They also want their students to come back more global. The governments are realizing, especially in business, they will have to go past their borders, and that requires cultural competency.” To enact this, sponsored students are not allowed to take more than 12 credits of online or hybrid classes. This, according to Clippard, encourages the students to get out of their apartments and engage with the communities around them—which can be difficult with the rise in new technology and a focus on more online classes at universities around the nation. “People might not understand why these students are here; they see the students grouped up,” Clippard said. “That’s not the main goal. We want our in-
Countries represented at Boise State by internati ternational students engaging inside and outside of the class.” Unfortunately, cultural exchange is not always possible when communication itself is difficult in classrooms with differing cultural and language backgrounds.
Social stumbling blocks
“When the professor wants us to do group work, I share my opinion with the American students and they don’t understand what I say,” said sophomore communication major Mayu Suzuki. “Then, when the professor wants us to summarize, they always just say what the American students said and ignore what I said.” Suzuki, an international student from Hanoi, Japan, believes this is a common trend in classes
where international students struggle to communicate with their peers. “I didn’t have confidence, and I didn’t want to be shamed or let other students know I didn’t understand,” Suzuki said of her first experiences in America. “I thought it was my fault because I can’t speak English well enough.” According to Christy Babcock, associate director of International Student Services, this is something many international students grapple with—especially when they come from a culture where talking with and associating with professors is unheard of. And, even further, those students’ new American professors might not know how to best
communicate with their students either. “Asking for help can be so hard for students because, for 18 to 20 years of their life, that hasn’t been something they can do,” Babcock said. “We can’t flip a light switch and say this is what we do here and have them be comfortable doing it.” Graduate computer science student Guru Sridhar explained, in India, “professors are at the top.” This meant that, in the United States, he was able to better ask for help and assistance in his coursework but was still hesitant because of his cultural upbringing. But once those social hesitations are breached, classroom situations can be valuable for all
11/03/2015
Feature
est in sponsored students
Most International Students in the US come from:
China (30%) India (11.6%) South Korea (7.7%) Saudi Arabia (6.1%) Canada (3.2%)
International Students in the U.S. over time
ional students
Changing expectations
In order to laugh and engage in class, according to Babcock, international students have to work past their own hesitations, professors and domestic students have to work with new and different forms of communication and everyone involved needs to be more aware and conscious of the different communicative and social barriers in their classrooms. This can include numbering
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off when choosing groups so international students have the opportunity to work with domestic students, encouraging faculty to fully explain their syllabus instead of expecting all students to read and immediately understand it and providing additional explanations to students who might need a better understanding of assignments and expectations in the classroom. “When I see an appointment with a Middle Eastern student on my calendar, it’s very common for that student to bring one or two or three other students to the meeting with them,” Babcock said. “We’re really strict about privacy in the US. You have to ask, ‘We’re gonna talk about private things, is it okay if
they’re here?’” By keeping these cultural backgrounds in mind—like the collectivist Saudi Arabian culture—professors can better understand where a student is coming from and facilitate that cultural exchange the Saudi and Kuwait government is so eager to initiate. According to Clippard, this exchange can be something everyone on campus, including domestic students, contributes to. “There are very few people that would turn down the opportunity to travel the globe,” Clippard said. “But, when I am able to engage with an international student, it’s a free plane ticket with just those stories from home.”
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students. “For some of the more sleepy students, the professors bring more spirit into the class,” said Hoa Pham, junior electrical engineering student from Vietnam. “If you have something to laugh at, you are more likely to learn.”
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Culture
Culture Editor
November is the time for giving thanks, but for a community of gamers it is also a time to give back. On Nov. 7, dedicated groups of gamers will participate in Extra Life—a 24- hour gaming marathon raising money for The Children’s Miracle Network of hospitals. Founded in 1983, The Children’s Miracle Network is dedicated to helping children be happy and healthy, all while supporting their families. Be it cancer, complications from a premature birth or injuries sustained in an accident, CMN hospitals treat children even if their parents are unable to afford the medical assistance. Funds raised from events like Extra Life go to support medical costs as well as research and development for new treatments. Similar to other formats of charity marathons—such as the Susan G. Koman Race
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for the Cure for breast cancer—Extra Life participants sign up for the marathon in advance and ask potential donors for their support during the event. While Extra Life facilitates the event and takes in donations, they do not keep a cent of money raised. All donations raised during Extra Life will be given to the hospital or charity of the participant’s choosing. While streaming video game content may be the most popular type of marathon during Extra Life, this event is not limited to one type of gaming. According to their website, all types of gaming are encouraged “from PS4 to poker on your phone, from classic board games to playing H-O-R-S-E in your driveway, the important thing is that you’re having fun and helping the kids.” Located off Fairview Avenue in downtown Meridian, Phoenix Fire Games is one of several stores in the Treasure Val-
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community. Students can look forward to a wide array of events of games to try out during the event. “Historically, we’ve had people bring their choice of games and enjoy finding new people to play with,” Wainwright said. “We also have a huge demo selection in our open library.” Students who are unfamiliar with the world of board games outside of Monopoly and Candy Land can explore the depths of the current market. Board games currently scheduled for the marathon include Lanterns, Abyss, One Night Ultimate Werewolf and Takenoko. Phoenix Fire Games will also have role playing game events hosted by the Pathfinder Society. Fans of Blizzard games, including Hearthstone and World of Warcraft, will be delighted to watch BlizzCon on Phoenix Fire’s televisions. Students are also encouraged to bring their
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Brittany Lindstrom
From PS4 to poker on your phone, from classic board games to playing H-O-R-S-E in your driveway, the important thing is that you’re having fun and helping the kids.
ley dedicated to tangible styles of gaming. Their large variety of games and gaming accessories includes collectable trading card games, tabletop games and board games. During the marathon, the store will be open for 24-hours and host a large variety of gaming events. Sean Wainwright, owner of Phoenix Fire Games, is excited for the marathon. “While we take part in a number of charity organizations every year, Extra Life is definitely one of my favorites,” Wainwright said. “It provides a greater opportunity for outreach than most others do because we’re inviting people to join us in the cause by doing something fun. Donations don’t have to be made
—Extra Life website
to enjoy the time spent, and I feel that people are more comfortable giving to a charity that doesn’t expect anything.” Wainwright chose a local facility—St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital— to receive all donations earned from the marathon. A father with two young daughters, Wainwright “can’t think of anything I wouldn’t do for them, especially if they became sick.” St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital is the only care facility of its kind in Idaho and is the only facility from Idaho which is part of the Children’s Miracle Network. While the Extra Life Marathon is intended to raise funds for ailing children, it is also dedicated to having fun as a
own games, set up for local network computer gaming and even set up their own event during the marathon. Interested students may submit their event idea to Phoenix Fire Games via their Extra Life event page on Facebook. While Phoenix Fire Games location in downtown Meridian may be a bit of a journey for students on campus, Wainwright believes the trek will be worth it. “I think Phoenix Fire Games is the most community building driven store in Idaho,” Wainwright said. “We work hard to involve every other store in our event planning and schedules to (hopefully) offer the best options available to any gamer no matter their level.” Students who are interested in hosting their own marathon through Extra Life may still do so through the Extra Life website and may complete their marathon at anytime.
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Pheonix Fire Games FB / Courtesy
Like a red potion, Extra Life heals children
Culture
November is National Novel Writing Month Asst. Culture Editor
For some, November is synonymous with novel writing—tracking word counts, organizing, brainstorming and occasionally crying through the night and into the early morning hours. This past Sunday marked the beginning of National Novel Writing Month— NaNoWriMo for short. The goal of the program is to motivate aspiring and hobbyist authors to complete a word count goal of 50,000 words in 30 days. Put into perspective, 50,000 words is roughly
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the same length as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” “I think it’s an awesome program. It encourages people into writing in length and helps people think more creatively under pressure. That can help later on with working pressure,” said sophomore biology major Hannah Elizabeth Pettibone. NaNoWriMo isn’t an elite club and it doesn’t require a membership fee to join. The only requirement to participate in NaNoWriMo is to decide that you are, in fact, participating in NaNoWriMo. But the official program,
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Cheyene Austin
“(NaNoWriMo) is an awesome program. It encourages people into writing in length and helps people think more creatively under pressure. That can help later on with working pressure,” —Hannah Elizabeth Pettibone
which students can register for on NaNoWriMo’s website, offers prizes for those who complete the word count goal. According to NaNoWriMo’s website, there were 325,142 participants in 2014. Over 250 novels originally written for this project have been traditionally published,
including “Water for Elephants,” by Sara Gruen and “Cinder,” by Marissa Meyer. The project welcomes everyone to become a novelist for one month, not just those with the goal of topping the New York Times Best Seller’s list. However, many students are intimidated by the pros-
pect of writing 50,000 in 30 days, which equates to at least 1,666 words per day. “I think it might be a little difficult to write that many words because people get writer’s block and struggle to get the words out and make sense,” Pettibone said. “It makes it harder to write, especially in only 30 days, but it can be a good learning experience.” Thankfully, NaNoWriMo’s website features tips for brainstorming and staying focused through the month. Articles include information on scheduling, character de-
velopment, world building, plot and conflict. In addition to forums that can be used to share ideas and connect with fellow writers locally and globally, there are also “pep talks” from published authors like Neil Gaiman and Lois Lowry. NaNoWriMo is an effective way to squeeze in writing time despite a hectic student schedule. There are local events for participants in the Boise area, which can be found by joining the NaNoWriMo Treasure Valley Facebook group or choosing the Boise region during registration on the official website.
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Culture
Fettuccine Forum brings taste of history to First Thursday
Brittany Lindstrom Culture Editor
Every First Thursday, downtown Boise fills up with intrepid citizens looking for the hottest new gallery opening or event to attend. Amid all the events offering free wine and h’orderves is the Fettuccine Forum. Primarily hosted by Boise State University and the Boise City Department of Arts and History, the Fettuccine Forum offers a series of panels during the academic year, all aimed at feeding the mind. What began as a lunchtime lecture series in 1989 in Noodles Italian
Restaurant has grown into a First Thursday staple. In 2004, the Fettuccine Forum was adopted by the City of Boise and Boise State, and is now in its 12th season of delectable discussion. The Fettuccine Forum is not a simple pasta dish. Brandi Burns, history programs manager for the Boise City Department of Arts and History, describes the depth the forum offers. “Its purpose is to engage our local community through education and interaction with politicians, artists, historians, activists, advocates and professionals in an effort to promote good citizenship and responsible
growth,” Burns said. The upcoming panel on Nov. 7 focuses on community and service groups which have helped shape Boise’s development. Entitled “Service Clubs: Building Community, Respecting Historic Roots and Staying Relevant,” the panel will bring in four representatives from various service groups and will be moderated by Anna Webb, reporter for the Idaho Statesman. Webb is excited to be moderating the panel. “Some of these service clubs have been around for so long,” Webb said. “They really helped form the city in tangible ways and they’re
a bit under the radar these days since people have other things to do. A lot of the things these service groups created, from libraries to parks to monuments, still exist and are still part the city today.” The Columbian Club is, arguably, the most influential on Boise’s history. According to “Brief History of the Columbian Club,” produced by The Office of the City Historian, the Columbian Club was founded in 1892 in order to create a display for the Columbian Exhibition at the Chicago World Fair. This ladies-only club
continued to thrive long after the Chicago World Fair and still works to promote education and historic preservation. One of the Columbian Club’s greatest accomplishments was acting as a middle man between wealthy philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and the City of Boise to establish the first incarnation of the Boise Public Library. Other accomplishments include raising funds for parks, the recent restoration of the O’Farrell Cabin— Boise’s oldest home—and
s e c u ring funds for Boise State University in its fledgling years as Boise College. Students worried they’ll miss out on the prime First Thursday treats need not fret. “They want these things to be kind of casual and conversational,” Webb said. “The Forum starts at 5:30 and lasts about an hour so that people can do all their First Thursday stuff.” Students with an interest in city history, non-profit organizations or who are members of service groups are encouraged to attend and bring lots of questions.
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Sports & Rec
Broncos victorious against UNLV in Vegas Asst. Sports Editor
The Boise State football team did not need to wait until Saturday night to get their bucket of candy; they found it at noon on Saturday in Las Vegas. Before their 1:30 p.m. start time against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels, the players arrived in the locker room to a special Nike edition “Halloween themed” helmet. The special helmets received positive feedback on social media with over 2,400 retweets from ESPN’s well known College Gameday ac-
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count. The Broncos (7-2) are now (1-0) with the new headgear after their (55-27) win against UNLV (2-6). Heading into the fourth quarter, the Broncos were only up 27-24 and were on the verge of leaving Las Vegas tricked rather than treated, but a big 28-point fourth quarter gave the Broncos their fifth win of the season. Head coach Bryan Harsin delivered a strong message for his team after the first two quarters. “We weren’t winning the turnover battle at halftime,” Harsin said. “We had to come
out and find a way to get that done.” Fifth-year senior Darian Thompson took the challenge upon himself with his 19th career interception, which makes him the all-time Mountain West leader for career interceptions. “It was a little bit of a slow start for us,” Thompson said. “We were able to pick it up after halftime. There are some things to correct and we’ll get after that this bye week.” Thompson was not the only one with the record- setting day. True freshman quarterback Brett Rypien had 469 passing yards and threw for
two touchdowns, along with a rare receiving touchdown from receiver, junior Thomas Sperbeck. Rypien’s 469 passing yards were good for a Mountain West Conference record for freshmen. At the end of Halloween, the Broncos finished their trick or treating with 705 yards of total offense and an assortment of compliments from college football fans across the country on the new helmets. The Broncos head into the bye week with a win and will come back on the blue turf against New Mexico on Nov. 14.
Bronco sports fb / courtesy
Rylan Kobre
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Sports & Rec
Ali Roberts
Sports & Rec Editor
The Boise State women’s soccer team competed against Utah State on Oct. 30, and, even after double overtime, the score remained one to one. Leaving the question of which team would move on into the postseason in limbo. This result leaves the team at a slight disadvantage because the other teams within the Mountain West division have not finished their regular season games. The results of those games will decide if
Boise State moves on into the postseason or not. The previous week, the Broncos competed in a “win and you’re in” competition format for the final games of the regular season. According to Bronco Sports, “The formula is simple for four teams, including the Broncos—win and you’re in. The same is true for Boise State’s opponent in the regular-season finale, Utah State. A loss would eliminate the Broncos while a draw would create further implications.”
The cause of this unsure decision is because of how Boise State and the other teams performed this season. Boise State finished their regular season with in conference scores of five wins, five losses and one tie. According to the statistics given by the Mountain West Conference, this places Boise tied in confrence play with Utah State. The remaining deciding games have been completed but the decision for the post season competitors has yet to be announced.
abe copland / cthe arbiter
Soccer postseason left in the balance after tie
MW Championship on Nov. 7
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Sports & rec
Broncos, Ostrander, at Mountain West Championships Rylan Kobre
Asst. Sports & Rec Editor
boise state cross country twitter / courtesy
Allie Ostrander left Reno, Nevada on Friday night with a lot of hardware in hand. The accomplished freshman won the Women’s 2015 Mountain West Cross Country Championships title with a first place time of 21:49.97. She was named Mountain West Women’s Athlete of the Year, Freshman of the Year and she earned First Team All-Mountain West honors. Ostrander was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school in Kenai, Alaska. She was a three-time Alaska State Cross Country champion, and in a video featuring Ostrander from “Flo Track,” her track and field coach, Tim Sandahl, refers to her as “The best there has ever been in the state of Alaska.” Ostrander became the sec-
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ond freshman in Mountain West history to win an individual title. It was last done in 2002 by BYU’s Kassi Anderson. The win also brings home the women’s individual title for the fourth straight year. Former All-American Emma Bates won the previous three years for the Broncos. For the women’s team, as a whole, the Broncos achieved second place behind New Mexico. Freshman Brenna Peloquin had a nice showing, finishing second among her teammates and eighth in the entire race. Peloquin also earned Second Team All-Mountain West, along with teammate junior Anna Holdiman. Sophomore Michael Vennard from Cheshire, England paced the Bronco men with a fifth place finish. Vennard clocked in with a time of 26:40.37 and earned AllMountain West First Team honors.
Boise State finished third as a team in the men’s race behind Colorado State and Air Force respectively. The three teams were separated by just four points. Boise State had four members selected to the AllMountain West Second Team, including freshman Elijah Armstrong, redshirt freshman Chandler Austin and sophomore Rhys Park. Armstrong was also named Freshman of the Year in the conference on the men’s side. The second and third place finishes could be just the start of strong showings in the Mountain West for the coming years. The top two runners for the Broncos are freshman, and the fourth best is a sophomore—while the entire men’s roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores. Both teams will compete next on Nov. 13, in Seattle, Washington at the NCAA West Regional Meet.
Sports & Rec
Boise State taekwondo: shoes off, arms ready Staff Writer
Taekwondo athletes walk into the small, sparsely decorated room in the Kinesiology Annex wearing their doboks, the training uniform of Korean martial artists. They all take off their shoes and step onto the mat. The Taekwondo Club is ready for practice, and to learn about the rules and traditions of the sport as they prepare for their next competition. “The tournaments we host are really learning experiences for everyone. I try and create a fair competition experience,” said Jason Jeffries, instructor of the Boise State taekwondo Club and adjunct kinesiology faculty member. Jeffries studied Taekwondo for 20 years and reached the level of fifth dan—achieving the rank of master. Jeffries has been the club instructor for the past two years. “I run it as basically a school. I take all skill levels. I train them like I would at a school,” Jeffries said. According to Jeffries, the club has had its ups and downs since it started in the 1980s, but he is working on reinventing the program. “I will teach anyone that is willing to learn,” Jeffries said. “I don’t require any sort of membership application or fee. It’s open training. I make it very easy for students.” Taekwondo club president, sophomore dual mathematics and theatre
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arts major, Joseph Willert, who started learning this form of martial arts when he joined one and a half years ago. “I joined because I saw it as student involvement and I just thought it looked fun. I thought I would want to try it,” Willert said.
“(My favorite part is) the people. I like the atmosphere. Everyone is really friendly.” Fellow member and club treasurer, junior psychology major Junny Foo, has been with the club for two and a half years but has been practicing taekwondo for the past 10 years. Foo earned a black belt at the age of 15. “I started taekwondo in Malaysia and then I went to Japan to study. I actually stopped practicing for around three years,” Foo said. After a three year hiatus, Foo decided to pick up the sport again by joining the Boise State Taekwondo Club. “I just like (taekwondo). It’s all about body motion,” Foo said. “You really have to learn about your body and understand your own body to deliver a strong kick.” Foo and Willert will get to test their skills at their upcoming competition this month. Jeffries is planning on having all members of the club participate— by competing or helping officiate. “Competition, from a sport’s psychology aspect, is neither good nor bad. It’s just experience,” Jeffries said.
The Taekwondo Club will host the 2015 Boise State University Open on Nov. 7, in the Esther Simplot Ballroom at 8:30 a.m. Boise State will compete against groups like the Idaho Taekwondo Training Center, the McCall Taekwondo Club and the Sun Valley Taekwondo Club.
Sam harting/THE ARBITER
Sam Harting
University open on Nov. 7
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bucking around
Check out on campus:
Local Yik Yaks
German Club has erected a recreation of the Berlin Wall on the Quad. Stop by to learn some history and make your mark.
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