page
3
page
BPD discusses biking while intoxicated.
4
page
Students participated in Service Saturday.
6
Graham Delaet: first Bronco in the Masters.
arbiteronline.com The Arbiter Indepen d en t
S t u d e n t
V o i c e
o f
B o is e
S tat e
Si n c e
1 9 3 3
April 10, 2014 • Issue no. 54 Volume 26
Boise, Idaho
@arbiteronline First issue free
Life’s a beach
Boise State adds sand volleyball team Brandon Walton Staff Writer
For the first time in school history, Boise State has an official sand volleyball team. “I think it’s really exciting and we are all pretty excited about it,” junior outside hitter Sarah Horton said. This brand new sports program was added this past year and its maiden season is officially underway. “It was fun,” freshman middle backer Laney Hayes said. “It was a surprise to come out and see teams with previous experience and that weekend was a big
learning experience for us.” The Broncos had their first games this past weekend with a California road trip that saw Boise State win two out of five matches. “I’m really excited on where we are at,” head coach Shawn Garus said. “We didn’t know what to expect and picking up two wins was just fantastic.” Garus, who is also the head coach for the indoor volleyball team, was instrumental in bringing sand volleyball to Boise State. “I have been involved with trying to grow the sport of sand volleyball for over six years now,” Garus said.
The sand volleyball team is made up entirely of the indoor volleyball team from the fall and its focus right now is helping the team get that valuable extra experience. “I think playing in the sand will get me more comfortable going into my senior indoor season,” sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Gammel said. “It’s definitely going to benefit me and our entire team.” Though much of the team hasn’t played competitively in sand before, Gammel has already seen improvement. “Not a whole lot of us have played sand volleyball
before so it’s definitely a learning experience, Gammel said. “But we have definitely benefitted from it.” Sand volleyball is quite different than normal indoor volleyball so there is a lot to adjust to. “It’s definitely more personal,” Gammel said. “You learn to work with each other and communicate with one another because it’s just you and that other person.” Boise State is hoping the addition of the program will prompt more players to come to the university. “It will really help in the recruiting process,” Garus said. “Being able to be one of the schools that offers
both indoor and sand volleyball is fantastic and this will bring in more recruits.” The future of the sport does indeed looks bright as already several other schools across the nation have or are considering adding it. “I believe there will be as many as six Mountain West schools having a sand volleyball in the next two years,” Garus said. “I see it growing a lot in our conference and it’s a sport that’s not going to go away, so we want to put ourselves in a position where we are going to be competitive.” Despite inexperience the Broncos are looking to
have a solid season and believe they have what it takes to do so. “We definitely have the potential to win matches which we proved this last weekend,” Horton said. “Hopefully we can keep competing, keeping the matches close and getting wins.” The team certainly feels that is only the beginning and that the best is still yet to come. “It’s just exciting to think about the upcoming years,” Hayes said. “Once we get that experience under our belts we can keep getting better and compete with those top teams.”
Brandon Walton Staff Writer
Tuesday night marked the beginning of a new reign on campus, the reign of a new Associated Students of Boise State (ASBSU) student government. Bryan Vlok, president of ASBSU, is excited to begin work with his fellow representatives. “I’m very excited. Even now this group has already started planning for what they want to do,” Vlok said. “They are driven students and they just have great ideas and are ready to take on the year and I’m excited to work with them.” Lisa Harris, vice president for Student Affairs, is confident these students will make an impact on campus. “The work that they do will leave a legacy,” Harris said. “What they do is very important and it has meaning for this university.”
News
The Arbiter
The event celebrated the deeds of the previous administration, but more importantly marked the beginning of the newly elected officers eager to make their marks at Boise State. Megan Buxton, assembly speaker, expressed her feelings on her fellow colleagues. “I’m really excited to see where we go with this new group and I feel there are already some good dynamics,” Buxton said. “We have plans, energy, and I think we are going to be unstoppable this year.” Hailey Weatherby, secretary of student organization affairs, can’t wait to get started. “I have always been really passionate about student government,” Weatherby said. “I really believe in helping students achieve their dreams and if they can come up with something they want to do with some idea that has never been done before,
pg 3
I want to be able to help them with that.” Helping students is Vlok’s main priority. “The one thing I want students to know about ASBSU is that we are truly here for them,” Vlok said. “We are the ones that say ‘How can I help you?’” They not only want to help students but also want to receive input on what they wish to see in ASBSU. “We are really excited to have a dynamic year,” Weatherby said. “We are excited to support innovation, creativity and excitement on campus because we are really interested in what students have to say.” Getting more students involved with ASBSU will be at the top of their list come next year. “I would love to see more people get involved,” Buxton said. “We will be targeting the energy of the younger students to get them plugged in early and use them to transform our
Cody Finney/ the Arbiter
ASBSU officials sworn in
Bryan Vlok is the new president of ASBSU. campus culture.” Chris Bower, secretary of academic affairs, expressed how honored he feels to serve the university. “This is hands down one of the greatest privileges that I have been able to indulge in and I am spoiled rotten by the gifts that the students here allow me to gain by serving,” Bower said. “I love this position and as much
Arts & Entertainment
pg 5
as I’d like to think I put into it, I still get more than I could ever put into this.” Harris expressed that the most important part about ASBSU is their ability to serve students and make the experience here at Boise State the best it can be. “It is part of not only their service and charge but their gift and joy to make sure that students see their worth and their value through their ac-
Sports
tions,” Harris said. “It is why they do what they do.” New Representatives: President Bryan Vlok, Vice President Lauren Albright, Assembly Speaker Megan Buxton, Secretary of Academic Affairs Chris Bower, Secretary of External Affairs Angel Hernandez, and Secretary of Student Organization Affairs Hailey Weatherby
pg 6 arbiteronline.com