The Arbiter

Page 1

WHAT’S INSIDE

NEWS 1–2

SPORTS 4–5

OPINION 3

CULTURE 7–8 I SSU E

57

The Independent Student Voice of Boise State Since 1933

Volume 22

First Issue

F R E E April 22, 2010

How athletes overcome bad injuries

4

Dr. Dog unleashes awesomeness!

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3

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Is Earth Day really still important?

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ARBITERONLINE.COM

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Proposition 1 passes,

doesn't appear on paper ballot Katy Butler Journalist

Proposition 1, the restructuring of the Associated Students of Boise State University, was signed by Boise State President Bob Kustra and former ASBSU President Trevor Grigg Monday. ASBSU's structure will now include eight positions: president, executive vice president and six vice presidents. Each of the six vice presidents will be in charge of a certain function and will have the same voting power as a senator. The functions represented will be Service and Equities, Student Life, Clubs and Organizations, Academic Affairs, Legislative and Government Affairs and Facilities. The vice presidents will also have committee members working under them. The president, executive vice president and the six vice presidents will all be elected officials, and the committee members will be appointed. The purpose of the new structure is to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and allow for more student voice and guidance on campus. Full implementation of Proposition 1 will go into ef-

Nobody in the process feels that this is going to go smoothly but the idea is that this is definitely putting it on the right track. —ASBSU lobbyist Danny Edvalson fect in the next election, meaning that this year the student government will remain unchanged. According to election board chair Johnni Wuest, the biggest job of the new ASBSU officials will be focusing on changing the election code and preparing ASBSU for the new structure. “This isn’t designed to be the perfect end product,” ASBSU lobbyist Danny Edvalson said. “Nobody in the process feels that this is going to go smoothly but the idea is that this is definitely putting it on the right track and as time unfolds this will better represent students time and interest.” As for his new administration, ASBSU President-elect Stephen Heleker will be creating a similar structure to the one that will be created by Proposition 1 and add positions such as Secretary of Academic Affairs within his executive team. “We are trying to use our appointed positions to try and

create a smooth turn over for next year,” Heleker said. When voting in the recent ASBSU re-do election, some BSU students noticed that Proposition 1 was not on the ballot, whereas it had been during the original online election. Proposition 1 passed during the first election and was not put on the paper ballot due to the high number of votes in favor of it on the original ballot. According to Edvalson, a paper ballot was called for because of technology issues with the online ballot. The general council and Vice President for student affairs Dr. Michael Laliberte issued a recommendation to redo the entire election and emphasized that it’s ASBSU's decision. The Judiciary, Executive Branch and Election Board came to the agreement that because of the high number

of votes in favor of Proposition 1 versus the number of "no" votes, it was not necessary to place it on the paper ballot. Of all votes cast, 1,250 votes were in favor of Proposition 1, 418 were not in favor and around 500 people who voted chose not to vote on Proposition 1 specifically. “The difficulty in the voting system wouldn’t have affected the outcome of prop. 1” Edvalson said. “To avoid addition difficulties and focus on the issues at hand we kept it off the ballot.” Heleker agrees with ASBSU’s decision in leaving Proposition 1 off the paper ballot. “I think it is good that it was not placed back on the ballot,” Heleker said. “It won by a landslide initially, and therefore its removal is easily justified by the simplification of the voting system and the lessening of the amount of paper used."

Visit arbiteronline.com for more ASBSU coverage.

courtesy ada county sheriff

Professor charged with cocaine possession Benjamin Mack News Editor

A BSU professor has been charged with felony possession of a controlled substance after she apparently attempted to mail cocaine to herself. According to records, 48-year-old Joanne E. Taylor was arrested Saturday. Ada County jail records show she posted $5,000 bail and was released. The Idaho Statesman reported April 20 that police said Taylor addressed the envelope to herself, and used the address of a downtown business as a return address. The letter did not reach Taylor, and was returned to the sending address. Employees opened the letter March 12 and called police to report a small amount of white powder was found wrapped in a piece of paper in the envelope. In the Statesman’s story, prosecutors said the envelope contained 3.1 grams of cocaine. Police do not know why Taylor used the return address she did. According to communications and marketing director Frank Zang, the university is “taking appropriate action.” Taylor is an adjunct professor in the Communications Department at Boise State who taught Media Relations this semester. Last semester, she taught studies in public relations. Taylor was formally arraigned in Ada County Court Wednesday.

Budget decrease prompts change in class size Sarah Murphy Journalist

mitch esplin/THE ARBITER

SPRING TIME

Students chatting near the quad enjoy the warm weather Tuesday. While the day warmed to 74 degrees, a thunderstorm in the evening brought more than a quarter of an inch of rain.

In such a poor economy, students are financially stretched to their thinnest. With an additional 9 percent tuition increase, students may feel even more of a pinch in their pockets. Vice President for finance and administration Stacy Pearson said the university has had personnel reductions, reorganizing of positions, reduced operating and travel expenses, increased class sizes, as well as closed sections of classes with few students in them. “We don’t want to impact classes. We asked faculty to consider where it would not impact the quality of the instruction if they could increase (class sizes),” Pearson said.

Larger classes not an easy fix Larger class sizes are fine for some classes, but for others

See CLASS SIZE I page 2

Suicide prevention a victim of bureaucracy Patrick Trujillo Journalist

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in four American adults suffer from a diagnosable mental condition at some time during a given year. Mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States and Canada, and about one in 17 adults in the United States suffer from a serious mental disorder. Overall, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly all suicide victims, or those attempt-

ing suicide, have, or do, exhibit some form of substance abuse and, or mental health condition. The state of Idaho has cut Health and Welfare budgets by $3.4 million. Substance abuse programs have been cut by $1.5 million. The Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline was dismantled three years ago due to lack of funding. The hotline handled up to 3,600 suicide interventions a year, or an average of 10 per day. Seven to 10 percent of those calls were immediate medical emergencies and 40 percent were related to do-

mestic violence. With the cut, Idaho is currently the only state in the U.S. without an operating hotline. Calls are taken nationally, then redirected to Oregon. The Idaho Institute for Rural Health secured federal funding two years ago to set up a new suicide intervention hotline. Monies sufficient to operate for two years and establish a federal grant were approved by the federal government and disbursed by the state, where the money was reappropriated into other programs. Instead of two years of funding, the project was given

two months. State Medicaid providers of substance abuse -- mental health counseling, hospice units and pharmacies that dispense medication -- now wait 14 months for reimbursement from the state, another product of budget cuts, causing many of these services to refuse treatment to Medicaid insured individuals and-or close their doors altogether. Idaho State Health and Welfare offices that provide individuals the ability to apply for these services are also being-

See SUICIDE I page 2

Photo illustration by mitch esplin/THE ARBITER

The Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline was dismantled three-years-ago due to lack of funding. The hotline handled up to 3,600 suicide interventions a year, or an average of 10 per day.

The Arbiter • arbiteronline.com


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