The Arbiter Vol. 35 Issue 7 11.10.22

Editor-In-Chief

Andrea Teres - Martinez editor@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Online Editor Kelby Andrew onlineeditor@stumedia.boisestate.edu

News Editor Brydon Black news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

News Reporter Kate Jacobson news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Culture Editor Hanalei Potempa culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Culture Reporter Naomi Priddy culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Sports & Rec Editor Adam Bridges sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Sports & Rec Reporter Marlei Soderquist sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Opinion Editor Amanda Niess opinion@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Copy Editor Kelly Ann Asker copy@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Social Media Coordinator Amy Brennan

Digital Content Manager Taya Thornton digitalcontent@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Digital Content Producer Elise Ledesma

Graphic Design Manager Sasha White design@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Graphic Designer

Dorothy "Dot" Martin

Illustrator

Alieha Dryden

Distributed every few weeks during the academic school year and online daily, The Arbiter is the official independent student newspaper of Boise State University, 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.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

ON THE COVER:

The Nampa School District banned 22 books from school libraries for containing “sexually explicit content” and circumvented the established procedures for reviewing books. This decision led to concerns about how book bans impact education. Illustrations by Alieha Dryden Back page graphics by Dot Martin

CONTACT US: editor@stumedia.boisestate.edu 208.426.6302

of

MISSION:

As a student-run organization, we produce accurate and hyper-local information through non-partisan and socially responsible media.

MAILING ADDRESS: Student Media MS 1340 1910 W University Dr. Boise, ID 83725-1340

Albertsons

BOISE’S HOMELESS POPULATION BRACES FOR FREEZING TEMPERATURES

Weekly sweeps on West Cooper Street displace Boiseans impacted by the housing crisis

Brydon Black | News Editor | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Four out of the first five days in November saw temperatures below 35 degrees Fahrenheit in Boise, Idaho. Two of those days had lows of 32 and 27 degrees. Addition ally, KTVB reported that Boise’s homeless population has doubled in the past three years, meaning the number of Boiseans sleeping through freezing temperatures will also increase this winter.

The City of Boise’s website says Boise is facing an “unprecedented” housing crisis due to rising rents and appreciating home values.

According to the New York Times, the national median asking price is $425,000 with a 10% down payment, which ends up being an additional $1,117 every month. Mortgage rates broke 7%, the highest since 2002 and more than double what most borrowers paid during the start of the pandemic.

“Mortgage rates are sky high, prices are sky high, and there’s no inventory,” chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Mark Zandi told the New York Times. “This may be the worst time in my living history for the home buyer.”

On Wednesday Nov. 2, Boise Mutual Aid Collective posted a video and a series of pictures to Instagram of a sweep that took place on West Cooper Street, where people experiencing homelessness had their belongings and tents thrown away. The post said that Boise police offi cers “smiled and laughed while watching people desperately try to move their only possessions after a night of enduring severe wind and temperature drops.” The post ended by posing a question to Mayor Lau ren McLean, “Who does it help to harass these folks just trying to survive?”

The sweeps take place every Wednesday,

according to multiple people who live on West Cooper Street. Seven people who live on the street spoke with The Arbiter about their lives, how they are preparing for the cold and how these weekly sweeps have affected them.

A 24-year-old man who goes by T grew up in Idaho from the age of 9. He moved to Illinois when he was 18, working at Walmart as a lead deli employee. When COVID hit, he lost his job, so he came back to the state he knew best. He has a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old son, who currently live with T’s parents.

“Every Wednesday, they come through and they’ll sweep everything. They’ll bring two different labor details in from the jailhouse or the prison,” T said. “This alley will look brand new by the time they’re done. A really good friend of mine lost her best friend’s ashes because it was in one of her bags.”

A 64-year-old woman who called herself Deb T. was evicted from Boise River Park in July. She said she wasn’t present for the latest sweep because she was in the hospital suffering from hyperthermia. Deb was concerned that all of her things would be gone when she got back, but was grateful to a friend that made sure to safeguard her belongings.

A man named James had been disabled from a motorcycle accident, losing his left leg. His mother has Alzheimer’s, and his brother is suffering from methamphet amine addiction.

“It’s supposed to get colder and colder. It’s supposed to start snowing from what people tell me. I’m a victim of circum stances, and I’m out here. What can I do? Live or die.” James said.

Mia, which she described as her street name, is a 56-year-old woman born on

the Mountain Home Air Force Base. She has eight kids, and had her first child at the age of 12 from a 25-year-old man who she moved around the country with and eventually married for 13 years before divorcing.

She credits him for teaching her every thing she learned on the streets.

“Prostitution, selling drugs, whatever. He taught me all what’s happening,” Mia said. “This has just become the lifestyle I’m accustomed to. I’ve been in and out of prison all my life.”

She said the sweeps on Cooper Street have added another layer of stress to her life. Around a month ago, Mia said they were woken up at 3 a.m. for a cleanup of the street.

“They come in here, and they’re herding us like cattle. It’s horrible. The only place

we got to sleep is Cooper Lane and the alley. That’s the only place we can go.”

West Cooper Street is directly behind the Boise Corpus Christi House. The center provides clothing, breakfast, lunch, showers and other services such as helping people file their taxes.

A volunteer of 15 years, who went by Mary D, told The Arbiter that the day-shelter never used to have more than 35 visitors on a daily basis. Today, they have an average of 100 to 120.

Nicki Vogel, who has worked for four years at the day-and-night homeless shel ter, Interfaith Sanctuary, told The Arbiter that the shelter has been at capacity as of late.

“We have to turn people away, which is really awful, especially when it gets cold,” Vogel said.

Boise police officers throw out people’s tents and personal belongings in a sweep of West Cooper Street. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

WHAT STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FIREARMS ON CAMPUS

Students and faculty can concealed carry on campus, but only under strict rules

Kyle Oldham | Staff Writer | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Students could, and likely do, walk past concealed weapon carriers everyday. This is true for Idaho as a whole, and Boise State’s campus is no different.

Boise State University lays out its gun rules for any students or staff that want to carry a firearm. This clear-cut set of rules combined with the staff and students’ reciprocity has created a campus with no reported gun violence.

These regulations were created after the passing of the campus carry statute, signed by former Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter on May 21, 2014. Senate Bill 1254 applies to all public colleges and universities such as Boise State and Idaho State University, but not to private institutions such as North west Nazarene University.

Gun violence occurred on a few occasions near Boise State, but never on campus.

Boise State University Policy #12080 defines rules for carrying firearms on cam pus. Guns can be carried only under a few specific conditions:

If the person is law enforcement/quali fied former law enforcement, if the person

is armored transport personnel, if the person receives permission from the Asso ciate Vice President of Public Safety, if the person is in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) or if you have an enhanced concealed carry permit.

Even if a person meets the criteria, un less given explicit written permission from the associate vice president of public safety, they still don’t have permission to carry a firearm into a dormitory or into a large entertainment facility, including but not limited to, the Morrison Center, ExtraMile Arena or the Student Union Building.

“I have been in this position on and off for 10 years and have never given that permission to anybody,” said Interim As sociate Vice President of Public Safety Jon Uda. “If they are asking to carry outside, they can get the permit and don’t need to ask me. If they are asking to carry in an en tertainment facility, there just isn’t a good reason for that.”

Facilities such as ExtraMile Arena have metal detectors specifically to prevent the entrance of weapons.

Excluding entertainment facilities, pocket knives and pepper spray are both

acceptable without permits. A pocket knife means specifically a folding, moderate ly-sized knife, such as a multi-tool. This does not protect the carrying of hunting knives, combat knives or cooking knives in a non-culinary area.

The Idaho Office of the Attorney Gen eral, in conjunction with local sheriffs and the Division of Motor Vehicles, handles concealed weapons permits and the legali ties involved.

“I only have a regular concealed carry permit, not an enhanced one, so I have to follow more regulations,” said freshman political science major Tucker Pasquinelli. “I cannot carry on campus at all. I can carry while off campus, like if I’m going to the grocery store, but not on campus, a school zone or a government facility.”

Enhanced concealed carry means that the permit holder takes a firearms safety course to prove proper understanding of their weapon to acquire or renew the license. A regular concealed carry permit does not require this extra step, but in turn, has a much more limited set of per missions and is less likely to be recognized by other states.

Pasquinelli has done research on what he can and cannot do on campus, as well as off campus to keep people safe.

No gun violence has ever been reported on campus, but one student accidentally fired a shot in a Boise State dormitory.

According to a security report from March 9, 2020, an ROTC student accidentally discharged their firearm within their dorm. Specific details about the student are withheld to protect their identity, but they had just returned from a field training exercise in Utah and did not realize that they carried two firearms in their backpack while in Sawtooth Hall.

their neighbors to ensure nobody had been injured and had the incident resolved with police and campus security. Nobody was physically harmed by the incident.

“Firearms are kept out of the dorms for everybody’s safety and to prevent reckless misuse,” Uda said. “My fear is students showing them off like toys and mishan dling the firearm.”

Although the most dangerous incident, this is not the only weapon-related issue to occur on campus.

“We get a handful of incidents involving a weapon each year,” said Tana Monroe, security, police and event operations director at Boise State. “I couldn’t give you a specific number off the top of my head, and they aren’t very common, but they do occur.”

These incidents are not inherently violent. One relatively common issue is a carrier revealing their firearm, typically unintentionally. A student or staff member with an enhanced concealed carry permit may carry a firearm, but it does need to be concealed. Open carry is not allowed on campus.

If any student or staff member sees a weapon-related issue, or a different security concern on campus, Monroe recommends that person to use the Rave Guardian app. It allows students to send tips to campus security, call 9-1-1, and receive security alerts in the area. Students can also ask questions and report issues directly with campus security’s non-emergency number at (208) 426-6911.

Additionally, Boise State has active shooter classes and information on the public safety website regarding what actions can be taken to stay safe if such an event occurs.

Although Boise State has never experienced a case of gun violence, the university deals with a handful of incidents involving weapons each year.

Elise Ledesma | The Arbiter

The student decided to do a dry fire ex ercise and return it to their storage facility off campus, however, the firearm was not properly emptied and fired through the door. The student immediately checked on

“We’ve never had a shooting on campus, and hopefully we never will,” Monroe said. “That does not mean that students don’t need to know how to stay safe and knowledgeable.”

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN BOISE EXPANDS DESPITE FUNDING CONSTRAINTS

How Boise’s growing population has created the need for more public transportation

Kate Jacobson | News Reporter | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

As Boise’s population has grown, the city has experienced an increased demand for public transportation. However, funding in this sector is limited and existing transportation resources are being underutilized.

In an effort to increase awareness regarding transportation resources, Boise State’s Parking and Transportation division presented on campus alongside the Ada County Highway District’s Commuteride program on Sep. 28 to help provide the campus community with information about public transportation and commut ing in Boise.

Commuteride is a program of the Ada County Highway District that aims to “promote smart commute options through education, rideshare services, and effective partnerships.”

The program provides resources and information about the different methods of commuting in the Treasure Valley, including riding buses, biking and walking and using the program’s Share the Ride Idaho service.

“You need to give people a lot of choices

in order to get their transportation needs met. The more choices they have, the healthier the community is,” said Ada County Highway District 1 Commissioner Jim Hansen.

Share the Ride Idaho is a service provid ed directly by Commuteride that utilizes a van or carpool system, which can be especially helpful to those who do not live near an active bus route.

Users who register with the program online can input their daily commute and will be matched with an existing van or carpool that aligns with their desired route. Carpools can be used when two or more commuters want to take turns using their own vehicles to drive the group. The costs associated with the commute are then divided between all users.

Vanpools, on the other hand, are a formal arrangement between five or more commuters to share a ride to work or school. Vanpools use passenger vans pro vided through Commuteride, and again, the full cost is split among all passengers.

“[Share the Ride Idaho] encourages employers to get their employees a carpool (or) vanpool and it’s really great to help

people realize there is another option,” Hansen said. “They’re still tied to that van, so they don’t have quite the choice of picking a bus that might come every 20 minutes, but at least it’s better than taking their car and paying for parking, and it fills an important niche in transit services.”

As of 2021, Share the Ride Idaho has roughly 4,500 users, which is a 45% increase from the year before, according to Commuteride’s 2021 annual report. While this is a positive increase, it is a very small fraction of Boise’s commuter population, and more engagement is still needed for the service to improve in efficiency.

Data from the Idaho Department of Transportation shows that there are over 385,000 motor vehicles registered in Ada county alone as of 2019, which is almost 100,000 more vehicles than a decade prior. As Boise’s population has grown, traffic congestion in the city has worsened, making essential the use and availability of public transportation.

“If you don’t have what’s called high-ca pacity transit, which could be light rail or bus rapid transit, you end up having massive congestion, and you have a sprawl

development pattern,” Hansen said. “The absence of that has led to a lot of sprawl in our valley.”

The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS) is an association of local governments includ ing the Ada County Highway District dedicated to assessing and planning for the transportation needs in the Treasure Valley.

The organization released a draft of a long-range transportation plan in Septem ber and is currently accepting public input to ensure constituents have the opportuni ty to voice their concerns.

“[Public opinion] matters hugely be cause everybody moves about the com munity,” Hansen said. “Public input is important and it is taken seriously, but we don’t get enough by far, so the more the better.”

COMPASS’s most recent long range plan is called the Communities in Motion: 2050 plan and includes both short and long term projects to improve transporta tion in the area.

While the Communities in Motion plan could bring a lot of benefits to Boise, it is reliant on both public support and massive increases in funding. Some projects, such as the widening of several city roads and increased bussing, already have funding accounted for — but others, such as a high-capacity transit system, have not yet been sufficiently funded.

The only way that this plan could be fully implemented is if the Idaho Legisla ture were to allow counties to implement a local option tax, or a tax that is decided by the affected community. Currently, Idaho is one of only 12 states that does not allow for a local option tax.

“We still don’t have the local option authority to fund a robust transit system,” Hansen said. “To fully implement Com munities in Motion to (address) long term transportation needs, it does require tools that we don’t have.”

Boise’s traffic increased by almost 100,000 vehicles in a single decade, which has worsened congestion in many parts of the city. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

BOISE STATE TALKIN’ BRONCOS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE IN COMPETITIONS

Broncos to host a debate tournament open to all students during spring break

Brydon Black | News Editor | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Boise State University is gen erally known for its football team and their blue turf. What people often don’t think of is national championships, despite the Boise State speech and debate team, the Talkin’ Broncos, having recently won five of them in a row.

“I would like the Boise State commu nity, the students, campus and faculty to be more aware and proud that they have a speech and debate program that is one of the best in the country,” said Dr. Manda Hicks, associate professor and director of forensics for the Talkin’ Broncos.

This is the beginning of Hicks’ 12th year coaching the team. She told The Arbiter that there are only two national tourna ments for college debate, Pi Kappa Delta National Champion (PKD) and National Forensics Association (NFA), and that affiliation is a matter of self-selection.

Hicks said that schools affiliate with a conference before moving to PKD or NFA, or both, for a national champion ship. Boise State has been with the NFA

throughout the year. Unlike football or basketball, there is no SEC, Mountain West style of division between schools. Talkin’ Broncos compete against every one, from UC-Berkeley, to Penn State, to College of Southern Idaho.

The PKD tournament is biennial, so 2011-2019 adds up to five consecutive national championships. Talkin’ Broncos won their first PKD championship in 2005, with following wins in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. They took second place in 2021.

Their team has also finished in the top five at the International Public Debate Association national championship three times in the last 12 years and was a semi-finalist in the National Parliamentary Debate Association championship.

“We value professionalism, excellence and creative expression. When you have those values, you tend to get really good outcomes,” Hicks said. “I would attribute the success of the program to its history, to the people that came before me, to the wonderful Idaho high school speech and

debate community that we have that pre pares students to come to Boise State and do such a good job.”

So far, the team has competed at two tournaments this year, winning both.

One Talkin’ Bronco is freshman English major Allie Hampton. She was first intro duced to debate in elementary school by her teacher, who had the students stage a debate with local high school students who were there to judge their performance. She would go on to compete during all four years of high school before coming to Boise State, where two of her high school coaches were competitors.

“I looked at a bunch of other schools, but when I came to visit a Boise State debate class and talked to the director, I really got a feel for what Boise State’s team is, and the thing is they’re competitive, but in a really healthy way,” Hampton said. “They’re serious, they want you to focus and work hard, but it doesn’t feel like pressure. It feels like motivation.”

Hampton praised the team environment and helpful feedback she receives from her teammates. One of her favorite parts is how before a debate round, the team prepares their topics, which Hampton described as adrenaline-filled.

“In my personal relationship with speech and debate, I feel really fulfilled when I have a round with a good audience; when they laugh at my jokes, nod at what I’m saying or look engaged with me. It’s a really cool feeling, I feel like I’m really communicating something instead of just saying words.” Hampton said.

Being a first-year student, the Talkin’ Broncos has helped Hampton find a com munity on campus. She said having friends from the team to go to for questions has been a huge relief, especially as a commut er student

In addition to providing community, the team has also helped her grow as a person.

“It makes me think critically about the world instead of just listening to the news.

I have to start thinking about, ‘Well, what does that mean? What is that going to look like in the future? How can we fix that?’” Hampton said.

Another member who lauded the com munity element of the team was president of Talkin’ Broncos and senior interdis ciplinary major Brie Ellison. Ellison has been in debate since her freshman year of high school.

She loves the educational facet of speech and debate, along with the friendships she’s cultivated. Ellison enjoys debating environmental and domestic social issues, but said even topics outside of her comfort zone serve as a learning experience.

She said there’s a wide variety of people on the debate team who have different ma jors and interests, so no matter what topic she gets, she’s confident in her teammates’ help.

Ellison commended Boise State’s strong system of coaching, the alumni and the funding Boise State provides their pro gram. She said if she could say one thing to anyone interested in debate, it would be how it pays off time and time again.

This coming February and March, the Talkin’ Broncos will hold workshops to help students prepare for a national debate tournament, open to all Boise State students. Students can also opt to judge if they don’t want to debate.

The tournament will be hosted during spring break 2023, Thursday through Saturday.

“A lot of times our students want to be involved in speech and debate, but the commitment — it’s a huge commitment and it’s not a good fit for them,” Hicks said. “But this is the opportunity that if they are interested in speech and debate, they don’t have to qualify at large, which for a lot of national championships you have to. Not only do you not have to qualify at large but it has a novice division for people with no experience.”

The Talkin’ Broncos, Boise State’s speech and debate team, won five consecutive national championships.

Photo courtesy of Amanda Hicks

Welcome to Boise State University: home of the $11 box of Lucky Charms cereal.

Meal plans at Boise State are already un reasonably priced, which can increase food insecurity and make it difficult for students to maintain a stable eating schedule.

Sure, there are meal credits and Dining Dollars associated with each meal plan that can aid students in eating food that isn’t in the campus cafeterias. However, these extra benefits are not substantial in the long run.

Market Boise is located in the heart of campus in the Student Union Building (SUB) and offers a wide variety of food options for students to purchase. This food, however, is notoriously expensive.

When compared to other markets or grocery stores around campus, it’s almost humorous to see the price point average of each food item they sell.

I took a survey of various foods around the market and noted their individual pric es. I also visited the Albertsons on Broad way to compare. This is what I found:

A standard can of Pringles Potato Crisps at the Boise Market is sold for $3.99. At Albertsons, they had a sale for 3 cans for $5.00 or $2.69 individually.

A box of gluten free Barilla penne pasta at the Boise Market costs $4.99. At Albert sons, it is being sold for $2.49.

A bottle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup costs $5.99 on campus, and at Albertsons, it costs $2.89.

A microwave dinner from Velveeta at the market goes for $9.99, and the same one at Albertsons costs $3.89.

Now, for the most infamous Boise Mar ket item, which was recently taken off the shelves: the standard box of Lucky Charms cereal. Coming in at a hot $10.99 at the

Even

for students who use meal credits and Dining Dollars to purchase meals on campus, they might find themselves paying double what they would pay off campus. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

Boise Market, the same size box of cereal costs $5.39 at Albertsons. Even better, the family size box of Lucky Charms at Albert sons costs $6.99, even less than the smaller box on campus.

The total for these five items at the Boise Market would cost a student about $36.00 before tax. At Albertsons, the same five items would cost about $18.00 before tax. That’s almost exactly half for the same items.

I was a freshman once. I understand the midnight cravings and wanting to buy snacks from the dorm markets using my Dining Dollars. However, when this craving becomes a routine, it becomes expensive.

Yes, each student, depending on their chosen meal plans, has Dining Dollars. But there are many other dining options

like Chick-fil-a or Starbucks that may provide more sustenance for students on the go. Plus, these Dining Dollars can only be stretched so far on a weekly basis.

Meal plans include Dining Dollars, but for individual Dining Dollars, the price is much different. The cheapest Dining Dollar plan is $95 for $100 worth of credit. With the items I surveyed above, that’s equivalent to about three trips to the market, if a student buys items within these price ranges.

The most expensive Dining Dollars plan is $915, but you receive $1,000 dollars worth of credit. No meal plan includes that many Dining Dollars, but then again, who will live off of $1,000 of Dining Dol lars alone throughout the whole semester?

All in all, food on campus is expensive. For those who do not have jobs and rely

solely on the pre-paid meal plans, their options become slim and often mundane as the semester goes on.

Thankfully, there are alternatives to the expensive food prices at Boise State, and they are closer than most students think. To start, Albertsons is a 15-20 minute walk from campus. If you are looking for something closer, the Campus Food Pantry is a perfect resource to grab a few grocery items at no cost.

OPINION

PARKING ON CAMPUS IS NOT JUST ABOUT CONVENIENCE

How parking at Boise State became a safety issue

Amanda Niess | Opinion Editor | opinion@stumedia.boisestate.edu

At this point in the semester, most students are aware of the frustrating parking situation on Boise State’s campus. The parking garages are organized chaos, in addition to the sparse street parking we are given as overflow.

Whether it be the daily parking rates in those few garages on campus or the permits purchased at the beginning of the school year, a fee of some kind is required regardless of where you park.

According to Public Records Coordina tor Robert M. Adelson, Boise State has a total of 8,508 parking permits for all lots on campus. 2,842 students and faculty members are still on a waitlist to obtain a permit. This number may include dupli cates of people on multiple waiting lists and may include current permit holders, according to the Office of the General Counsel.

Unfortunately, the inability to afford or find parking is not just an issue of conve nience. It is also an issue of student safety.

Aside from the skyrocketing parking permit prices, there are more concerns re garding the safety of students who cannot afford to park on campus. Instead, they take the risk of parking in hotel lots or neighborhood side streets.

On July 6, 2000, at 10:15 a.m., a Boise State student parked near the Greenbelt at Julia Davis Park and walked to class. As she was heading to class, she was abruptly stopped and kidnapped off the Greenbelt, raped and shot in the head — only to be found in a concrete drainage tank in Nam pa, Idaho, two days later.

Her name was Samantha Maher. We remember her name as we think about the risks each student unknowingly takes when they park off campus and walk to class, no matter the time of day.

Parking on campus should not be a dreaded task as a student or even as an employee, but it feels like we are headed in that direction.

People like Samantha Maher found a loophole by parking at a location near campus, but ended up paying a fatal price. Because of Maher’s story, I feel less in clined to park anywhere that isn’t a parking garage on campus, but financially, I don’t always have that luxury.

One day, however, I was running late af ter tracing the winding ramps in the Brady Garage. The lot was at max capacity, and I had no other choice but to park in the West Reserve lot, which runs parallel to Brady Garage. I paid for parking using an application on my phone and confirmed my spot.

However, when I returned to my car, I noticed a warning slip on my windshield saying that I was not allowed to park in this permitted lot, despite the fact that I had paid for a full class session’s worth of parking on my phone.

For this day in particular, if I wanted to make it to class on time, I had to risk the consequences of parking in a new lot, and I ended up paying for it in the end. Choosing to miss class because of our cur rent parking situation or because of safety concerns is not something that should cross our minds at this point in our college careers. Unfortunately, it is.

There is a free lot, the Satellite Zone, which is on the other side of Broadway Av enue. The lot still requires a permit, which students can obtain through the Transit Center. However, this “free” parking is off campus, across one of the busiest streets in downtown Boise and requires you to contact the Transit Center first, which not many students are familiar with.

The other lots and garages on campus are financially unrealistic on top of every thing else we have to pay for as students, such as food or textbook materials.

The cheapest permit on campus is $124, and the location is not any better than the aforementioned Satellite Zone parking. The East Commuter, running parallel to Broadway Avenue, and the South Com

muter, running alongside Beacon Street, is where these students may park. Not to mention, these are some of the farthest lot locations from the primary classroom buildings in the Quad, which adds about another 15 minutes to a student’s com mute time.

The most expensive parking permit, and one of the most difficult permits to attain, is the Brady Street Garage. The permits themselves cost around $390, probably because the parking garage is in the heart of campus. However, it is also notorious for being overcrowded and accident prone. With winter quickly approaching, the season’s shorter days and colder weather will inevitably bring more vehicles on campus, many of which do not have access to parking permits or convenient parking locations. Boise State transportation needs to be re-evaluated for this time of year. Not

only is the weather a concern for students parking farther away but also because of the safety issues associated with walking off campus after the sun goes down.

Parking on campus is a battle between convenience and safety. What risks are students and faculty willing to take if they don’t already have a secured spot to park on campus? This puts us at a disadvan tage — women and low-income students especially.

I do not want another student’s life to be at risk for attending classes, nor do I want to feel stressed about finding a parking spot with the possible consequence of getting ticketed for parking in the “wrong” spot. As Boise State’s student population continues to rise, serious changes must be made to the university’s parking situation.

A total of 2,842 students and faculty members are still on a waitlist to obtain a per mit to park on campus.

Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

CENSORSHIP IN SCHOOLS

NAMPA SCHOOL DISTRICT’S BOOK BAN AND FREE SPEECH

The Nampa School District Board of Trustees voted in May to permanently ban 22 books from the district’s libraries due to “pornography or sexually explicit content,” although a majority of these books also contain LGBTQ+ and other minority characters.

This decision came after parents com plained to the school district about certain books being available at school libraries, after which the school district quickly re moved the books from all of their shelves.

Not all parents and students were in agreement, however, as Nampa’s action led to a community-wide debate about what authority schools should have to censor their classrooms and libraries and how cen sorship impacts schools’ ability to properly educate their students.

Controversy over the book ban

The controversy following this book ban wasn’t inherently about the banning of books itself, but rather that the Nampa School District didn’t follow the proper channels or make a justification for why these books needed to be removed from schools.

“There was a procedure in place to review those books if necessary, and the board is diverting procedures to restrict students’ access to entitled information,” said Shiva Rajbhandari, a Boise High School senior who, in September, became the first student to win a trustee seat on the Boise School District School Board.

The original list of banned books in cluded 25 titles. Educators in the district recommended at least six of those books be removed from the list because they contained “no explicit content.” However, the board banned every book except those found to already be unavailable in their schools.

“I think one of the things that is getting missed in this conversation is that libraries have processes for handling challenges,” said Michelle Armstrong, associate dean of

Albertsons Library at Boise State Univer sity. “The reality is that librarians navigate these questions all the time … [but] when that process is skipped, that’s when censor ship truly happens.”

Since the ban, the American Civil Liber ties Union (ACLU) of Idaho, among other individuals and organizations, have been pushing for the Nampa School District to release documents explaining how the board reached the decision to remove these books.

The ACLU of Idaho sent an official public records request to the school district in July 2022. Prior to releasing said documents, the school board held a closed meeting on July 25 to determine which records are exempt from disclosure.

“The documents we’ve reviewed make clear that the Nampa School Board banned a number of books without any justification,” Colleen Smith, cooperating attorney for ACLU of Idaho, said in a press release. “The board’s assertion that students should be denied access to these books because they are ‘pornographic’ is meritless.”

Censoring diverse stories

Some may view the ideas presented in many of the books banned by Nampa as “offensive” or “uncomfortable,” as they regularly deal with stories about racism, sexual assault and queer identities. Howev er, this is exactly why students need access to them.

“People deserve to see themselves rep resented,” said Rebecca Leber-Gottberg, the events coordinator at Rediscovered Books in Boise. “If you feel uncomfortable about a book that involves sexual assault of a teenage girl, think about the girl who’s been sexually assaulted and does not have the language or the network to put those feelings and put that experience out into the world.”

Access to books from school libraries is often the only way that kids are exposed to diverse backgrounds and stories. Reading

allows students to learn about nar ratives and ideas that might not be explored in the classroom.

Rediscovered Books, a local book store with locations in downtown Boise and Caldwell, held a book giveaway in June in response to the Nampa book ban. The store offered all students and educators from the Nampa School Dis trict up to three free books from the district’s banned book list.

The giveaway relied on donations from the community, and in less than a week, the store gathered over 1,200 banned books to distribute to those whose access had been revoked by their schools.

“What amazed me was that I remember reading a lot of these books as a student,” said Jacey Anderson, a Rediscovered Books employee who graduated from Nampa High School before receiving her bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Boise State University.

“When I was young, ‘Drama’ (by Raina Telgemeier), which is one of the banned books, was one

KATE JACOBSON |

of my first introductions to LGBTQ+ relationships, and without books like that I don’t think I would have felt comfortable exploring those options.”

Up until 2015, books were primarily banned by school districts if they were deemed to be “unsuitable to the age group,” but this has since shifted to include books “contain ing LGBTQ+ content.” Statistics from the American Library Associa tion show that 5 of the 10 most banned books in 2021 were banned from schools due to LGBTQ+ content.

“Our country’s culture is begin ning to diversify and bring to light things that have always been there but have not been mainstream or acknowledged by certain fac tions of the country, and that is frightening to people in power,” said Benjamin Kemper, shipping manager at Rediscovered Books.

“The best way to pretend they don’t exist is to cut off all access to stories about it.”

Academic repercussions

Book bans not only bar kids from inclusivity, but they also severely hinder their overall educational expe rience. Some of the books banned in Nampa are part of the curriculum for

NEWS REPORTER |

DRYDEN

the AP Literature and Composition course, such as ”The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margret Atwood, which Rajbhandari explained he is required to read while taking the course this school year.

AP courses are college-level classes offered by the College Board in schools across the country. These classes allow students to gain college credit prior to graduating high school without the burden of having to pay for them.

Banning books that are course readings for AP classes put students at a disadvan tage compared to many of their peers. Students who take AP classes are more likely to attend and be successful in college than those who do not, according to data from the College Board. Even students who failed their AP tests were found to be more advantaged than those who never took any AP courses.

“Free access to information is integral to the maintenance of a democratic society,” Rajbhandari said. “And I think that by limiting students’ access to resources, those board members and the school district are failing in their duty to educate students.”

Rajbhandari expressed that he doesn’t feel that the Boise School Board will follow suit with any book ban similar to that in stated by Nampa’s school board. That said, the Boise school district could be impacted if the Idaho legislature chooses to pursue censorship laws at a state level.

Censorship beyond book bans

In March, the Idaho House of Repre sentatives passed House Bill 666. The bill has since been deferred to the State Affairs committee, but if this or a similar bill passed, it would remove current exemp tions for libraries, schools and universities that protect them from prosecution for disseminating material that could be “harmful” to minors.

“Teachers and librarians’ livelihoods are being threatened just for having these books on the shelves,” Leber-Gottberg said. “It is only recently when we’re start

ing to see people pushing school boards and the legislature to deny access to books for people through public libraries [and] public schools.”

At the beginning of October, the Nam pa School Board took censorship a step further, discussing a potential policy that would bar teachers from displaying certain content in their classrooms. This policy is nearly identical to one that the West Ada School District implemented this year, which limits what teachers can put on display in their classrooms to neutral and curriculum relevant materials.

Under such a policy, Pride flags may only be put up during Pride month in June, and Black Lives Matter flags would likely only be appropriate when learning about the movement during social studies classes.

“This really has nothing to do with something [being] wrong in our schools. It is about power, and it is about money,” Rajbhandari said. “The far right are trying to undermine our schools … They don’t care about the cost to society. They just want the money.”

Censorship has been rapidly increasing across the country for the past few years with nearly 700 attempts to ban books in 2022, according to data from the Amer ican Library Association. As recently as 2015, there were less than 300 attempts to ban books throughout the entire year.

The American Library Association also reported in 2021 that 75% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans oppose book banning, with only a small, vocal minority leading the charge to ban them.

CULTURE

HOW YOUNG ARTISTS ARE CHANGING THE CREATIVE SPACE IN BOISE

Naomi Priddy | Culture Reporter | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

It’s clear to see that the Boise art scene has expanded in recent years. From spoken word, visual design and unique theatrical performances, it is easier now more than ever for artists to find community. However, where the city still lacks is in an outlet for young emerg ing artists to share and collaborate.

always room for growth. As the city grows, the arts have to grow with it, and if arts don’t grow, then the city becomes desolate and loses its life. We really focused on that and that idea of ‘you’re supposed to be here,’ ‘you’re meant to be here,’ and really, you’re welcome here.’’

Backyard Artists launched its first event, “In Our Own Backyard,” on Oct. 1. The event consisted of a series of non-fiction, fiction and poetry readings accompanied by art and food vendors. The event saw a turnout of around 85 attendees.

“This idea has been cooking in my brain for two years ever since I moved up here,” Marsh said. “We didn’t have the means of doing it, and then I interned with Story fort for about a year and a half, and that’s where I really learned how to run an event and really learned about the community and so many people within the communi ty. That was the moment I was like, let’s do this, and so then it came to fruition.”

This is the very problem founder Ryan Marsh sought to address.

As a writer himself, Marsh recognized this need and organized a community of creatives.

Soon after, “Backyard Artists” was born, a nonprofit dedicated to giving emerging artists a platform to share their work across all mediums.

“We are just one in the void,” Marsh said. “That’s all we’re doing. We’re just filling the void in this life, so why don’t we do cool s---?”

According to Marsh, Backyard Artists is a way to encourage young people in the community to apply themselves.

“This is the place to get those credentials and to take that chance, and so it’s really working towards building within the com munity of Boise,” Marsh said. “There is

On Nov. 19, Backyard Artists will host its first workshop open to 40 people that will include four instructors, campfires and homemade smores. The space will give attendees the opportunity to work with instructors to indulge in writing prompts and collaborate among one another.

Their next event will be themed around “For Life” on Saturday Dec. 3. This up coming event will feature three readers as well as an on-stage tattoo artist who will tattoo their apprentice and talk through making a living as an artist.

The road of an artist is one that relies on networking. In a space where gaining experiences often means needing experi ence, the opportunities for growth can be complicated.

Marsh has created a space accessible

to the everyday artist of any level and an opportunity to nourish the soul through language, food and art in its limitless platform.

The crux of Backyard Artists is put sim ply: filling the void and allowing a space for art to flourish.

To participate in events, visit @theback yardists on Instagram for more informa tion and direct message the account if you would like to be involved.

Backyard Artists is an emerging nonprofit that is making networking among arts more accessible

Backyard Artists looks to encourage young creators to share their work with the Boise community. Illustration courtesy of Sarah Rogers

“There is always room for growth. As the city grows, the arts have grown with it, and if the arts don’t grow, then the city becomes desolate and loses its life.”

- Ryan Marsh, founder of Backyard Artists

“This is the place to get those credentials and to take that chance, and so it’s really working towards building within the community of Boise.”

- Ryan Marsh

BOISE STATE ALUMNI FUEL IDAHO’S MOST POPULAR RACEWAY

How the university helped alumni pursue their dreams in drag racing at Firebird Raceway

Ben Studer | Staff Writer | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

the safest venue to do it. It’s the right thing to do,” John New said.

Connor New shared that the raceway has an additional safety measure on the track called PJ-1, or more commonly known as “TrackBite.”

“TrackBite” is an ultra-adhesive sub stance added to drag racing strips to keep the cars on the road and avoid potential crashes. John New shared that PJ-1 is so sticky that those walking onto the track in regular shoes would eventually lose them.

John New assured that with these safety measures in place, crashes and 911 calls are very rare at Firebird Raceway.

Drag racing is one of the safest forms of racing, especially at Firebird Raceway, with the New family taking every necessary pre caution to reduce any potential accidents.

State.

Most of the family staff who run the day-to-day operations at the raceway are Boise State alumni including Brad New, the marketing director for the raceway who sells advertising on the track.

Brad New graduated from Boise State University in 1992 with a degree in human resource management. Today, the raceway has many of the same advertisers as Boise State football, including Coca Cola.

Brad shared that his education at Boise State helped him be successful with his advertising work at the raceway.

“It’s helped me immensely with my work ethic, to focus on the task at hand and the ability to prepare a professional presentation when it comes to business,” Brad New said.

At Firebird Raceway, any car can be a race car.

Connor New, a third-year visual arts major at Boise State University, holds four championships at his family’s racetrack, Firebird Raceway. His winning champion? A hand-me-down 2002 Ford Explorer.

“All you need is a seatbelt and pants, then you’re set,” New said.

Firebird Raceway, located in Eagle, Idaho, was founded in 1968 by the late Bill New and his wife, Eleanor New, and is owned and operated by the New Family today.

After more than 50 years of racing, Fire bird Raceway is the first drag strip in the U.S. to be recognized as a historical site by the National Parks Department.

Anything goes at the Firebird Raceway, as long as one’s car fits all of the safety requirements.

Firebird Raceway, a family-owned and operated business, is open to all kinds of people and their cars. American muscle cars frequently face off against Japanese ral ly racers, huge trucks try their luck against Teslas and, sometimes, dragsters take off

against minivans.

Connor New and his 2002 Ford explor er specialize in “grudge racing” and the Gold Cup racing events, two of the many kinds of races Firebird hosts. Grudge rac ing is the simplest of the races at Firebird, presenting only two cars racing against one another.

Firebird also hosts bracket races, which involve any two cars ready to race, with the slowest starting first and the faster car trying to catch up.

The most unique, however, would be Firebird’s “Beat The Heat” program.

“Beat The Heat” involves a local police station or sheriff’s department modifying a squad car for drag racing, then the raceway invites speeders to take them on.

The program is designed to give high school and college students the chance to speed on a safe racetrack rather than on public roads, which endangers pedestrians and other cars.

John New, the facilities manager and Connor New’s father, manages the track and the surrounding facilities like the food and beverage stands.

“Need for speed? Go to Firebird. This is

All of the cars racing must be fully com pliant with the raceway’s safety require ments in order to race, and the raceway has experienced staff ready to respond to any unexpected situations that may occur on the track.

Firebird is managed by Bill New’s son, Scott New, and his wife Debbie New, the Firebird track administrator. Scott New graduated from Boise State with a bache lor’s degree in marketing, and Debbie with a business degree.

Scott New reflected on the different programs at Boise State that helped make Firebird a successful venue for drag racing in Idaho.

“Boise State certainly offered me a positive foundation and framework to help grow and build our family business into a thriving operation that annually impacts tens of thousands of participants, fans and companies that align with our motorsport’s facility,” Scott New said. “I’m really glad my father (Bill New) originally helped encourage us to pursue a degree at BSU. The business school and university is top notch.”

Scott and Debbie New aren’t the only members of the family with roots at Boise

Scott New also shared how students at Boise State could get involved with a career in racing, either on the track or behind the scenes.

“Our automotive industry offers a wide and diverse array of opportunities to capture a job ranging from marketing to finance to engineering to social media and many other avenues for those who might be looking to start a new career,” Scott New said. “Our sanctioning body, the National Hot Rod Association, even offers a platform today called NHRA Launch that will assist in career opportunities for individuals who may want to jump into our motorsport’s arena.”

Staffed with experienced employees with caring attitudes, it’s no wonder Firebird has been home to families and racing fanatics alike for more than 50 years.

John New emphasized the importance of drag racing to the New family legacy, and to all other families who consider drag racing a part of their way of life.

Firebird Raceway and the New family welcomes all Boise State students as well as anyone who is interested in racing. The raceway is prepared to host families and events for years to come.

Firebird Raceway is the first drag strip in the U.S. to be recognized as a historical site by the National Parks Department. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

REVIEW: ‘MIDNIGHTS’ IS SHOCKINGLY VENGEFUL AND BLISSFULLY NOSTALGIC

Taylor Swift explores sorrows, regrets and love in her new pop core album

Taylor Swift released her 10th album, “Midnights,” on Fri day, Oct. 21 at midnight (of course). The superstar’s new album is already making history on the first day of its release, officially breaking Spotify’s record of most streamed album in a single day and making Swift first artist to hold all top-10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.

As fans mourn the end of the “Red (Taylor’s Version)” era of falling leaves and red scarves, a new era has emerged. If the “Red” era was a cup of hot coffee on a rainy day, the “Midnights” era is a sleepless night after walking home from the bar at 3 a.m.

Illustrating the aesthetic of dark blue and deep purple hues, Swift asked her fans to “meet me at midnight” for her most cryptic and defining album yet. In “Mid nights,” Swift presents 13 main tracks that take the listener on a journey through 13 of her sleepless nights, scattered through out her life.

The album diverts from Swift’s recent recordings of intimate, alternative folk al bums back to her pop core, which was last seen in original albums like “Reputation” and “1989.”

As if 13 original tracks weren’t enough to make big waves in the music industry yet again, Swift released a surprise “3am Edition” of the album just three hours after the album’s original release.

This edition of the album includes seven bonus tracks, illustrating nights where Swift stayed up way past midnight, hence the title “Midnights (3am Edition).”

Swift explores revenge, regrets and love. Her lyricism in this album lives up to her irrefutable reputation of mature and deeply authentic language. Yet, this album remains scattered with simplistic and whimsical metaphors.

In “Midnights,” Swift’s most explicit album yet, she is painfully honest with her regrets and shares a sense of confidence in

her revealed flaws.

She presents an almost unsettling sense of tragic self awareness, repeatedly singing, “I’m the problem, it’s me,” in the song “Anti-Hero,” and “No one wanted to play with me as a little kid / So I’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since,” in the song “Mastermind.”

In contrast to her prior most recent release, “Red (Taylor’s Version),” which included five collaborative tracks with other artists, “Midnights” only included one collaborative track, her song “Snow On The Beach” featuring Lana Del Ray on back-up vocals.

Although this may be her darkest and most villainizing album to date, a listener cannot ignore the precious and delicate songs such as “Labyrinth,” “Sweet Noth

ing” and “Bigger Than The Whole Sky,” that play a strong role in creating emotion al diversity in the album.

The song “Sweet Nothing” is the most uplifting song on the album. Swift sings, “You’re in the kitchen humming / All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing,” which illustrates the small poetic details of being in love, and that what may seem small and mundane can sometimes mean the most.

Critics are claiming that this album de pends on the narrative of Swift’s life, as it is deeply personal to her experiences. This dependence is revealed through striking, specific details in her lyrics.

Though understanding the stories of Swift’s relationships, struggles and her pursuit of fame would make for a more

comprehensive listening experience, Swift once again creates an album that anyone can connect with.

Although the album explores very emotional topics, it wouldn’t be a Swift pop album without a couple of lightheart ed and fun songs scattered throughout. Songs like “Paris” and “Bejeweled” will get you dancing around the room with your friends all night.

“Midnights” is an album of deep love and sorrowful regret, glittered with a comforting sense of nostalgia. It creates a soundtrack you can cry to, scream to, fall in love to and, ultimately, stay up all night listening to.

Taylor Swift’s 10th album “Midnights” is cryptic and vengeful, with a comforting sense of nostalgia

Photo courtesy of Beth Garrabrant

Hanalei Potempa | Culture Editor | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

THERE’S A NEW SPECIALIST FOR THE PARANORMAL AT BOISE STATE

Kelby Andrew | Online Editor | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

building.

“[This position] is very on brand for things that he talks about,” said Lacey Jensen, a senior integrated media and communication major and a student of Snyder’s. “I think that he has spent a lot of time researching things like this, or spending time on his own studying para normal-type stuff.”

Students also attested to Snyder’s credentials as the building’s director of paranormal activity and investigation.

Building

something that exists in my imagination or your imagination, but we both believe it and have some sort of concrete world or real world experience around it. That might be the kind of thing that qualifies as a ghost,” Snyder said when explaining his perspective on the paranormal.

Snyder used money as an example of this concept. Since money carries an assigned value that is collectively agreed upon, it bears real-world consequences despite its imaginative properties.

Abaffling personality. Eclectic. A genius. These are the words used to describe Nathan Snyder, the inaugural director of paranormal activity and investigation for the Communication Building at Boise State University.

Snyder, a media professor at Boise State, has taught at the university for 13 years. Now, he’s expanding his resume to feats beyond the classroom.

As Halloween comes and goes, conver sations about ghosts and the paranormal are in high gear, especially for one of Boi se State’s allegedly haunted buildings on campus: the Communication Building.

The building is rumored to be haunt ed by the ghost of a former Boise State student, Dinah. Although there are no records to verify her existence, the rumors are enough to draw attention from stu dents and the local community year after year.

“Inevitably, at this time of year on Hal loween, people come looking for ghost stories. This year in particular, we had some students in a room holding a seance unbeknownst to anybody in the build ing,” Snyder said. “One of my employees walked in on them in the dark not seeing them. They started talking to him and

scared him pretty badly.”

Although information regarding the building would normally go through the building coordinator, Snyder decided to undertake the responsibility of answer ing paranormal-related questions. After seeking approval from the chairs of the Media and Communication Departments earlier this year, he was appointed as the first-ever director of paranormal activity and investigation.

As director, Snyder coordinates with anyone who is interested in ghost-like activity within the building. He also arranges investigations and tours for those looking to conduct seances or ghost hunts.

“I realized we’ve always had people wanting to know more about this build ing, particularly about the ghosts,” Snyder said. “I just decided that I would create this position of the director of paranor mal activity and investigation because those were fun words to throw out there, and they sound like something that Peter Venkman from ‘Ghostbusters’ would put on the title of his door.”

Though initially taken aback by news of his new position, many of Snyder’s students were unsurprised by his decision to take on such a unique role within the

“Like most things Nathan says, I had to question if it was a joke, but then he went on to explain how he came to have that position,” said junior film and television arts major Sebastian Mendoza. “I don’t think he’s a religious man, but I do think he is a spiritual man in … a very analyt ical sense. And truly, if anyone would be tasked with that job, I think it should be Nathan.”

Mendoza described Snyder as a “Renaissance man” with a foot in every door, stating that Snyder could talk about nearly any topic while being somewhat knowledgeable in it.

Though Snyder’s domain on campus is limited to the Communication Building, he is no stranger to ghosts outside of a university setting.

After purchasing property with his wife in an old mining town in Boise County, they discovered the history behind the property’s previous owner, Bella Cathcart. Old postcards were tucked behind the baseboards and personal items strewn underneath the house. Over time, they formed an impression of who she was.

“The ghost of Bella Cathcart haunts us in that house, because her presence was kind of left behind with it,” Snyder said. “Her activities and her life were there.”

As for the future of his role as director of paranormal activity and investigation, Snyder explained that he is content with the current scope of his position and believes it is well-suited for the Commu nication Building.

“[Nathan] is like a mini-historian for everything he touches. He grabs on to the whos, whats and wheres of everything,” Mendoza said. “I think he could apply that knowledge to the paranormal.”

Though many attribute Snyder’s credentials to his analytical prowess, he believes that dealing with the paranormal requires a philosophical approach rather than a scientific one, describing his bach elor’s degree in philosophy as his “best credential” for the position.

“A ghost might be something like

“[The position] is a very informal title. In fact, the sign on my door says ‘director of paranormal activity and investigation,’ and it’s just written in Sharpie. It’s as serious … as anybody wants to take it,” Snyder said.

Regardless of whether the ghost stories are true, the rumored paranormal activity within the Communication Building is enough to “haunt” generations of college students for years to come. And for those who are brave enough to test the validity of these ghost stories, they’ll have Nathan Snyder to guide them.

Boise State’s allegedly haunted Communication Building has been the subject of ghost stories for many years. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

Boise State media professor becomes director of paranormal activity for the Communication

“I do think he is a spiritual man ... in a very ana lytical sense.”

- Sebastian Mendoza, junior

THE

END OF A RIVALRY: AN HOMAGE TO BOISE STATE

BYU beats Boise State 28-31 in potential final game

Marlei Soderquist | Sports & Rec Reporter | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

After heated back-and-forth plays and a controversial final call, Boise State was defeated by BYU 28-31 in a rivalry win to remember.

Spanning over 13 games and 11 consecutive seasons, the rivalry between Boise State University and BYU has been nothing short of historic.

With BYU heading into the Big 12 Conference next season, the end of the Boise State/BYU rivalry is in sight.

The rivalry originated in 2003 when the Broncos handed the Cougars a heart breaking 50-12 loss.

Since then, the two teams have met 12 times and created an electric rivalry. Five of their meetings were decided by one score.

The Broncos held an 8-4 advantage in the series coming into their Nov. 5 game against BYU, including a 5-1 record at home.

The Cougars’ only win at Albertsons Stadium came during the 2020 season. They beat the Broncos 51-17 and handed them their largest defeat on The Blue.

Despite being ranked No. 25 in the AP preseason top 25, BYU has had an underwhelming season. Prior to this rival ry game, the Cougars lost their last four matches and held a 4-5 record.

The Cougars’ losing streak can be attributed to their fourth-down struggles. They are one of only seven teams that have converted under 30% of their fourth-down attempts this season.

BYU’s rush defense has faced new chal lenges as well. Their defense allowed op ponents to gain at least 200 yards on the ground in six of their last seven games.

However, their efforts seemed to over whelm the Broncos in this matchup.

“It’s not an easy loss to swallow, espe cially when it is a rival game,” Bronco wide receiver Latrell Caples said. “It’s hard when you know it will probably be the last matchup.”

More than 34,000 fans filled Albertsons Stadium to watch the showdown between the rivals on The Blue.

The Cougars’ opening drive resulted in a 3-yard rushing touchdown by BYU quarterback Jaren Hall.

The Broncos tied the game late in the first quarter when wide receiver Latrell Caples caught a 16-yard pass from quarterback Taylen Green.

The second quarter was full of turnovers and controversy.

In their matchup last year, BYU strug gled against the Bronco defense, recording three fumbles and one interception.

In the second quarter of this game, BYU quarterback Hall threw interceptions to JL Skinner and Rodney Robinson.

VS. BYU

The Bronco defense came up big in the last play of the half. The Cougars were unable to convert their decisive 1-yard play into a touchdown, resulting in a 7-7 tie heading into halftime.

Boise State started the third quarter with a 71-yard scoring drive. Efforts from run ning back George Holani put the Broncos in scoring position.

Green completed a 9-yard pass to wide receiver Eric McAlister. The Broncos regained the lead 14-7. However, BYU was quick to respond with a 25-yard field goal by kicker Jake Oldroyd to close the margin 14-10.

The Cougars scored back-to-back, and a 24-yard reception touchdown by wide receiver Puka Nacua put BYU up 14-17.

In the fourth quarter, the Broncos had a strong drive that led to a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Holani. The Broncos recov ered the lead 21-17.

The Cougars answered the scoring drive

with one of their own. Running back Hinckley Roparti had a 48-yard reception to put the Cougars up 21-24.

Holani came up big with an 11-yard touchdown rush to regain a Bronco lead 28-24.

Referees reviewed a controversial call on a deciding touchdown reception play by BYU’s Nacua, which they then confirmed. The lead went back to the Cougars 28-31.

“That’s the road we live on as a defense, a razor’s edge,” safety JL Skinner said. “It could all come down to one play. That’s what we live with as a defense. Those are plays you have to live with and learn from but that’s what we signed up for.”

The Broncos fall to 6-3 for their overall record and retain a 5-0 record in the Mountain West Conference.

The Broncos will head to Reno, Nevada, to play University of Nevada on Nov. 12.

Although the Broncos boasted a 5-1 record coming into their Nov. 5 game, BYU defeated Boise State by a narrow 28-31 margin in what may be the last game between the two rivals. Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

THE

OF

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HAS HISTORIC SEASON START

Adam Bridges | Sports & Rec Editor | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

After last year’s tenuous perfor mance, the Boise State wom en’s basketball team returned to their winning ways this season.

The team defeated Multnomah Univer sity 121-64 on Monday, Nov. 7, breaking a program record for the most points scored in a single game.

Last season, the Broncos finished sec ond to last in the Mountain West with an overall record of 8-21. The team was lead ing or tied at halftime in eight of their losses last year, and nine of their losses were determined by six or less points, according to Boise State Athletics.

“I think last year was good motivation

for us because obviously it’s something we don’t want to happen again,” said junior guard Mary Kay Naro. “It just came down to our lack of being able to finish games. Last year, we were in so many games, but we just couldn’t finish them at the end. That has been our focus in practices. We have to finish plays, finish shots and finish rebounds.”

The team also had the worst 3-point field goal percentage (0.268), worst freethrow percentage (0.641), fewest 3-point ers made per game (4.1) and the lowest turnover margin (-3.31) in their division, according to the Mountain West.

“Going from last year to this year, we want to be able to run our offense

effectively and be able to shoot from the perimeter,” said head coach Gordy Presnell. “The room shrank on us last year quite a bit.”

“The room” certainly did not shrink on the team in their first game this season.

Naro set her team’s intensity early on by landing a 3-point jumper on the first possession of the game. This play was the first of many 3-pointers from the team.

The team averaged only four 3-point shots per game last season. The team managed to double this stat in the first half and quadruple it by the end of the game with help from freshman guard Dani Bayes and junior guard Anna Ostlie.

“I think it just comes down to im

proving our shooting percentages,” Naro said when asked about the team’s 3-point shooting. “We’ve done a lot of different drills where you have to make a certain amount of shots or else you have to redo it. I think it has been a big emphasis for us.”

The team set program history with the second-most 3-pointers made in a single game, with 16 in total. It was also two away from tying the record of 18 set in 2016.

The team also set a record with 46 field goals. The previous record was 43 against Whitman College in 1989.

The most field goals made and sec ond-most 3-pointers converted ultimately led to the team setting the record for most points scored in a game. The team scored 121 points against Multnomah, which beat out the previous record of 119 points set against San Jose State in 1988.

“I was just excited the room was big for us today,” Presnell said. “It was a fun night. Everyone scored and everyone got to play, so it was a good night to kick off the season.”

Though there are many more games ahead, the team has something to be mo tivated by with this historic win to start the season.

The Boise State women’s basketball team began their season smashing program records after last year’s 8-21 performance.

Corissa Campbell | The Arbiter

CITY

‘THREES’:

The Broncos are back with more intensity after last season’s wavering performance

“Last year, we were in so many games, but we just couldn’t finish them at the end. That has been our focus in practices. We have to finish plays, finish shots and finish rebounds.”

- Junior guard Mary Kay Naro

BOISE STATE CLUB WOMEN’S SOCCER TO COMPETE FOR NATIONAL TITLE

Adam Bridges | Sports & Rec Editor | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

The Boise State women’s club soccer team is going to compete in the NIRSA Soccer Championship series for the first time in program history in Round Rock, Texas, from Nov. 17-19.

The NIRSA is the national league for club sports, including club soccer, and has more than 4,500 members. Their league is broken into six regions, with each region hosting a regional tournament.

Each regional championship winner, along with two of the top performing teams in their region, will receive an au tomatic bid for the National Tournament. The National Tournament also holds an “at-large” bid raffle for six teams across the country. This allows any team to randomly be selected to receive a bid for the tournament.

The Broncos were one of those six teams selected.

The team entered a raffle for the cham pionship earlier this season and received the automatic bid, earning them an auto matic pass to the championships.

While the team would love to win the National Championships, they will focus on having the most fun while there.

Throughout the season, the team has emphasized the importance of finding a balance between competition and fun.

“Although we decided not to compete in regionals because we already received a bid to nationals, we did not want to go because it was held over Halloweekend,” Wright said. “We could have done it, but ultimately we decided not to.”

Conference, but we decided not to,” Wright said. “If we did, there would be set games we would have to play and might miss other events we want to go to like football games, so we didn’t really want to do that.”

This mentality set to complement each player’s college experience has helped oth er students gain interest in the club over the past few years.

according to Scholarship Stats.

The Campus Recreation office was shocked with how many players had signed up at the beginning of the year.

“I put us into a lottery drawing to qualify for Nationals, and we actually got drawn to go,” said club president Rylie Mackie. “That’s why we declined going to regionals and qualify for nationals since we just won the lottery. I was like ‘I’m gonna take this lottery drawing, and we are all going to go.’”

Because the team wants to provide flexibility to their players throughout the season to both play the sport they love and have a social life, the team opted out of joining a conference in their region.

If the team were to join a conference, they would be required to play a set amount of games throughout the season.

“We could have joined the Western

The team had around 15 players when Mackie and Wright joined. This year, the team started with 49 players and are cur rently sitting at 35 players, according to Mackie and Campus Recreation Associate Director Jared Cox.

Their original starting size had the team sit at 11 more players than Boise State’s varsity women’s soccer team (38 players) and 20 more players than the average size for a collegiate soccer team (29 players),

“I am in charge of ordering bags, socks and shorts for all the new members, and I remember going to the (Campus Recre ation office) and asking them to order 50 of each for us,” Mackie said. “At first they were like, ‘Are you serious?’ and I had to tell them yes.”

No matter how the team performs during their first-ever championship appearance, Mackie knows she along her team will have a great time.

“We’re just super excited,” Mackie said. “I don’t know what to expect. I don’t think the team knows what to expect. No one on the team has even been to Texas, so we are all just excited.”

The team will compete in the NIRSA Soccer Championship series for the first time in program history

The Boise State club women’s soccer team started with 49 players, which is 11 more players than the starting size of the varsity soccer team. Photo courtesy of Heather Wright

“I don’t know what to expect. I don’t think the team knows what to expect. No one on the team has even been to Texas, so we are all just excited.”

- Club president Rylie Mackie

OUR BEST GUESS

THE ARBITER ALIGNS YOUR STARS

CAPRICORN

DEC 22 - JAN 19

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LET’S WORK ON OUR SELF-CONTROL OF THE URGE TO FIND YOUR ROOMMATE’S CLASSMATE’S INSTAGRAM.

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WHAT YOU’RE MEANT FOR WILL SOON BE FINDING YOU, JUST REMEMBER THAT A WATCHED POT NEVER BOILS. REFRAIN FROM TEXTING “K” TO THE NEXT LONG PARA GRAPH YOU RECEIVE TO PROVE EVERYONE’S SCORPIO STIGMA. WRONG

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YOUR NEXT MID-SHOWER REENACTMENT OF A CON VERSATION WILL BE GOLDEN.

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GRAB THE CLOTHING ITEM YOU NEVER WEAR AND YOU’LL HAVE A NEW CAMPUS TREND ON YOUR HANDS.

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TAKE THE TIME NECESSARY TO MENTALLY PREPARE FOR THE THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE BALLOONS.

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