WHAT’S INSIDE
NEWS 1–3
SPORTS 6–7
OPINION 4–5
CULTURE 9–11 I SSU E
24
The Independent Student Voice of Boise State Since 1933
Volume 22
First Issue
F R E E NOVEMBER 19, 2009
ARBITERONLINE.COM
Looking ahead to the Wolfpack Hockey club ready for BYU
’Shadows of Tehri’ showcased
PHOTO BY JOSH ILLUSTRATION RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER BY BRENDA N HEALY/ THE ARBITE R
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DISRUPTION Faculty senate members walk out after heated debate Faces are painted inside a Boise State classroom in the PAAW building.
ZACH GANSCHOW/THE ARBITER
Accreditation evaluation sparks Art Dept. to show off
EVAN WESTERFIELD Journalist
The National Association of Schools of Art and Design, or NASAD, is evaluating the Art Department for accreditation this week. The Public Affairs and Arts building has become a temporary display gallery for student work collected over the last few years. “We were first accredited in 2003,"said professor Richard Young, chair of the Art Department. "Since that time we have worked to adhere to NASAD standards regarding curriculum, facilities, safety, finances, class size, and library.” The NASAD is the association responsible for all art and design curriculum, as recognized by the Idaho Department of Education. It accredits educational programs in art and design, and established curricular standards for specific degrees and credentials. The requirements Young refers to can be found in the NASAD Handbook, which dictates the minimum standards institutions and programs must meet to remain accredited. Most of the basic guide-
lines set out in the Handbook are simple. For example, it requires a program to have library space and the resources appropriate to an educational program. “Faculty have been working on the self-study for over two and a half years,” Young said. The self-study is interinstitutional, which means this study was conducted by the department itself. In preparation for the review the Art Department had to produce a comprehensive effort on the part of the institution to evaluate the program’s objectives. Young said the self-study is an analytical evaluation of the program, with a format and structure established by the NASAD. The process of accreditation is a system for academic review. It periodically evaluates and produces independent judgments by peers about the extent to which a program achieves its educational objectives and meets the standards set by the NASAD. By receiving accreditation, a program states agreement with a set of standards and procedures, indicating the program’s ability to upholding of external criteria. “The visiting evaluators will be looking at student work
from all classes and at all levels,” Young said. “The evaluators will analyze the self study; (they will) compare the information to a series of onsite interviews with students, staff, faculty and administrators.” Young asserted from the information in the self-study and gathered during the interviews the evaluators determine whether the pro-
gram meets the standards it sets out. “The process is very similar to the recent re-accreditation of the University.” Students can see the art on display for the evaluation. It is up in the halls and classrooms of the PAA building on campus, which is located across from the parking garage on Brady Street beside the MPC Building.
ZACH GANSCHOW/THE ARBITER
A student looks over work on display in the PAAW building. The PAAW is serving as a temporary gallery.
Valley bus system more popular MIKE JOHNSON Journalist
The Treasure Valley’s "ValleyRide" saw a record amount of usage in fiscal year 2009, with 1.4 million riders. This increase happened despite a national decrease in the use of public transportation due to lower gas prices and increased unemployment, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). “For (ValleyRide) to be seeing a ridership increase in these economic times is definitely bucking the national
trend,” Mantill Williams, spokesperson for the APTA, said. The Boise area saw a 14.7 percent increase this past year in ridership, the busiest route being route No. 9, which runs on State Street from downtown Boise to Glenwood/Gary Lane. The route served over 200,000 people in the last year. “People are realizing that the bus routes can work for them,” Larry Pew, operations supervisor for ValleyRide, said. “They’re realizing that if they can ride transit even 2-3
times a week, it’ll help them save a lot of money and help the environment, not to mention the reduced stress levels of leaving their car at home.” The Nampa/Caldwell area saw a larger increase, at 22.3 percent. “With the new bus stop system, people realize they can ride the bus from their neighborhood, and it’s a much cheaper form of transportation,” General manager for the Nampa, Caldwell and Intercounty service area for Valley Regional Transit, Hollie Young said. Young also attributes the
rise in ridership to an increase in the student population. “A lot of them (riders) are out of work, so they’re going back to school,” Young said. ValleyRide allows students from Boise State, the College of Western Idaho, and Boise School District high schools to ride the bus free of charge, with a valid school ID. BSU senior Brett Berning uses ValleyRide frequently. "I commute either by bike or bus practically every day," Berning said. He claims ValleyRide would be much more convenient if buses ran later than 6:45 p.m.
KIM KING Journalist Several members walked out of a senate meeting Tuesday rather than participate in a vote involving all official faculty in a decision making process. The original intent of the special session in the SUB was to approve proposed changes to a State Board of Education policy, further protecting tenure and salaries. A debate over the changes escalated into an argument over the involvement of all faculty and staff, resulting in the walk-out. The proposed revision addressed the threat of exigency and the need for shared governance. The American Association of University Professors defines exigency to be “an imminent financial crisis that threatens the survival of the institution as a whole and that cannot be alleviated by less drastic means than the termination of tenured faculty appointments.” Shared governance implies changing the delegation of authority from the chief executive officer to a procedure allowing for faculty input and formal due process. Business and Economics College Representative, Gary McCain, opened the discussion by a motion to reject any change to the exigency policy. “There is no sense to make a revision if we agree with this policy,” he said. “I believe when we write our own institutional policy it will give us more protection than the State Board of Education can provide.” Drafting an institutional policy to further protect employment is next on the faculty senate agenda. It will clarify and define circumstances of financial crisis, budgetary units, faculty tenure salary ties and reinstatement procedures. Social Sciences and Public Affairs Representative, Bob McCarl, stated a revision was not required. “We already have the power and the right to make changes if we feel they are necessary,” he said. “We need to send a message to the State Board that we stand with other universities and we retain the right to move independently - if
we so choose.” Education Representative, Roger Stewart, presented the alternate viewpoint of going with the proposed changes. “We have the opportunity to craft our destiny,” he said. “The cup is half full, not half empty. I have compared the documents and this is a very doable compromise.” Health Science Sen., Sara Alten, agreed with Stewart and suggested full participation of the senate. “If we don’t participate, it may happen any way, and it will look like we didn’t care,” she said. A roll call vote was taken resulting in the majority favoring the proposed change. Vice President, Lynn Lubamersky, said if they proceeded in changing the policy, faculty members would be upset. “I think this is too important of an issue and we are too divided as a senate,” she said. “If we can look at this policy, all faculty members should be able to, as well, so they can decide if this will be a good thing for them or not.” Alten rejected the idea, stating involving faculty members would be unfair. “This has been a three month process,” she said. “They don’t have the full background, the e-mails, and all the discussions.” Ex Officio Sen., Craig Hemmens, disagreed stating faculty members should participate. “We all have Ph.D.’s,” he said. “We don’t need a trail of e-mails. We can ask the question - do you like it or do you not - it’s that simple.” Accusations of biased presentations were answered by claims of anti-social behavior as several members left the room. President Owen McDougal responded to questions regarding quorum, voting by proxy and proper procedure after an attempt to vote by the eight remaining senate members failed. “We can’t justify this vote based on who is here,” he said. The next faculty senate meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8, one day prior to the State Board of Education meeting. The possibility of faculty and staff input was effectively eliminated by the senate members walk-out.
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