WHAT’S INSIDE
NEWS 1–2
SPORTS 4–5
OPINION 3
CULTURE 7–8 I SSU E
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The Independent Student Voice of Boise State Since 1933
Volume 22
First Issue
F R E E FEBRUARY 18, 2010
Boise State's national track champion
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'The Slants' to melt faces at VAC
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Flower farmland hurts wildlife
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ARBITERONLINE.COM
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Professional Fees Engineering faces increases
SARAH MURPHY Journalist
Boise State’s college of engineering is following in the footsteps of many colleges across the country and introducing professional fees to its program. College of engineering's (COE) dean, Cheryl Schrader, said this has been in the process before she became dean in 2003. The three universities participating are Boise State University, Idaho State University and University of Idaho. According to Schrader, the first step was to look at statistics of other engineering colleges that currently use professional fees. These have gone before advisory boards and student leaders. The next step is for the three Idaho universities proposing the fee to come together and bring it in front of the State Board of Education during the next annual tuition and fee hearing -- which is scheduled for April. The fee will be phased in starting in the Fall 2010 semester. The fee will start at $500 per semester in 2010-11, $750 per semester in 2011-12, and $1,000 in 2012-13 and beyond. Unlike tuition, professional fees
The fee will be phased in starting in the Fall 2010 semester and will start at $500 per semester in 2010-11. go “straight to the college, not the university,” Schrader said. The professional fees in the COE will only affect engineering students at the junior and senior level. Engineering student Jessica Minick said the professional fees “are unfair to engineering students. If they’re going to charge an additional fee, it should be shared.” There will be a maximum cap of $4,000 for part-time students needing to take extra time to complete course work. Scholarships are eligible to be used for the professional fees but depend on the donor. The motivation behind the professional fees is not “because of the current economic situation but because of the increased cost and increase in demand,” Schrader said. The COE has been struggling like every other college to make ends meet and has been connecting
Kustra to speak at State Board of Education meeting WHEN
Meeting begins today at 8:30 a.m.
WHERE
Simplot Ballroom in the SUB Continue to check arbiteronline.com for live Twitter updates and articles related to Boise State and President Kustra's speech.
Swine Flu, who? H1N1 cases dwindle on campus KATY BUTLER Journalist
With spring just around the corner there has been little talk about the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu. "There were 298 cases reported on campus as of Dec. 1. There hasn’t been any cases reported since, but that is no reason to let down your guard," said director of medical services Vincent J. Serio, III, M.D. “We can assume that the actual number of cases is two to three times that many due to the cases that weren’t reported,” Serio said. According to Serio, a typical person diagnosed with H1N1 was 19-years-old and lived in the residence halls. “My sister was diagnosed with swine flu a few weeks after it was announced on campus, I tried not to worry about it too much. Instead I took simple precautions such as wash my hands more frequently and stay away from stair railings and other high traffic areas,” Boise State student Shara Aberham said. Signs of H1N1 virus include: fever higher than 100 degrees lasting for three or four days, muscle aches,
headaches, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, vomiting and diarrhea. Ways to prevent H1N1 are to practice healthy hygiene habits; cough into a tissue, wash your hands regularly and stay home if you feel sick. “Luckily there weren’t any deaths on campus, but you can never predict how severe it could get,” Serio said. Over 900 vaccines were given on campus with only 90 still available. There are no restrictions pertaining to who can receive an H1N1 virus vaccine. It’s available to all students, faculty and staff on campus. People can get the vaccine at the new Health, Wellness and Counseling Services building on Belmont street. An appointment is not necessary; people can walk in anytime during regular business hours. Receiving the vaccine is a short process that only takes about 20 to 25 minutes. “The vaccines made a huge difference on the number of people who were affected by H1N1 on campus," Serio said. "I highly recommend getting vaccinated while it’s still available.”
Engineering students Ben Becker, right, Ryan Rust, middle, and Tyler Phillips use a computer to design an experiment in an engineering lab Tuesday.
MITCH ESPLIN/THE ARBITER
those ends only through gifts, sponsorships and grants. They provide approximately 30 percent of BSU external funding. The proposal states that “the fee will be dedicated to supporting the student experience in the professional undergraduate programs of
the COE.” This would include “laboratory equipment, course support, professional advising, and enhanced student support services such as internship coordination and placement.” All of these help students gain the education they are
pursuing. “It addresses additional costs not linked directly to courses,” Schrader said. Minick believes the fees will benefit the students over time but, “we’re doing just fine with what we have. I feel (the fees) are unnecessary.”
Reagan Biographer Hayward and the Libertarian Vanguard PATRICK TRUJILLO Journalist
Policy scholar and columnist, Steven F. Hayward appeared before faculty, staff and students Wednesday, Feb. 10 to speak on his work, "The Age of Reagan," and the opulent refuse of mining that dirty little gem called politics. Hayward addressed an estimated 200 listeners in the Simplot Ballroom. He was introduced by State Sen. Russ Fulcher and Boise State professor Scott Yenor. Also in attendance were State Rep. Judy Boyle and Rep. Steven P. Thayn. The event was made possible by the American Founding Initiative (AFI), brainchild of Yenor to promote the ideals of constitutional limited government and classical liberalism. AFI presented Hayward as part of its bi-annual lecture series on the heels of having produced columnist Charles R. Kesler for Constitution Day. On the legacy of Reagan, Hayward spoke of the former president’s ability to engage the Soviets on diplomatic and strategic issues, restore the American public’s faith in the Office of the Presidency, and recognize the threat of a growing federal government eroding constitutional freedom. Hayward then answered questions fielded from the audience, drawing similarities in today’s political climate to those of the years before and leading up to Reagan’s presidency. “Some of the circumstances that we face economically right now are not unlike the early 1980s when Reagan took office,” Fulcher said. His fellow constituent, Thayn, elaborated on the growing social programs of a welfare state. “It’s important to talk about the legacy of Reagan both on what he did accomplish and what he wasn’t able to accomplish -- specifically deal with the growth of the entitlement sector of budget which is still bothering us today -- that is the issue we need to address. It goes
Some of the circumstances that we face economically right now are not unlike the early 1980s when Reagan took office. — Steven F. Hayward back to the idea of federalism,” Thayn said. “Federal government was to be limited in its responsibilities, and the entitlement portion of the budget would be better served being pushed back to the states where they could run the programs more efficiently and effectively. It’s part of the budget that Congress seems unable to exercise a discipline to reign in. If the states were able to take those responsibilities for 30 percent less cost because of the inherent nature of states being closer to the people, then you could solve a lot of the state’s budget problems simply by transferring that responsibility.” Hayward’s "The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order" and "The Conservative Counterrevolution," is a two volume biography considered by many conservative intellectuals to be a concise account of the late 20th century political landscape that was conducive for Reagan to become president; from the social program effects of FDR’s New Deal to the welfare state of LBJ, the rise of the radical left, and the spring board result to the far right. I asked Hayward afterwards about the course of liberalism through those eras, and its direction now. “The left and the right have frac-
tioned into several different currents, it’s hard to pick out a dominate strain,” Hayward said. “You really do see a resurgence -- all those magazine covers a year ago -- ‘is Obama the second coming of FDR’-- of what I’d call Johnson programmatic liberalism; let’s start lots of new programs and bigger government and confidence that we can actually spend money and solve problems. Liberals are feeling more confident that they know how to fix the economy better than conservatives, and conservatives frankly have not been speaking with a clear voice about what happened with the banking and housing crisis. A big part of liberalism has really become cultural. Conservatives have their own splits. I think now that the libertarians are about to have their biggest innings in a while. Smaller government across the board -- economic liberalism.” Hayward is a Weyerhaeuser Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, a Senior Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute and an adjunct Fellow with the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs. A former contributing editor of "Reason," Hayward’s commentary has been published in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times and National Review.
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