WHAT’S INSIDE
NEWS 1–2
OPINION 3–4
CULTURE 5–8
SPORTS 10–14 I SSU E
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The Independent Student Voice of Boise State Since 1933
Volume 23
First Issue
F R E E August 23, 2010
University Swells 19,682 students enrolled for fall Gabrielle Brandini Arbiter Staff
This semester, current enrollment numbers are the highest ever recorded. According to Boise State University President Bob Kustra, 19,682 students are enrolled at the university for the fall term, an increase of more than 6 percent compared to last year. The number of freshmen coming straight from high school is more than 80 percent of all incoming students, a 10 percent increase compared to last year. There has also been a 51 percent increase of graduate enrollment over the past four years, making Boise State the second largest graduate school in Idaho, after Idaho State University. More incoming freshmen are also coming from outside of Idaho. About 14 percent hail from other states, where as in 2005, nine percent of freshmen were outof-state. There has also been a 27.2 percent increase in admitted transfer students due to the success of the College of Western Idaho, Kustra said. Kustra said academic merit is on the rise too. More than 76 percent of incoming freshmen have a 3.0 GPA or higher and 40 percent have a 3.5 GPA or higher. Ten National Merit Scholars have declared Boise State their school of choice for fall 2010 and 35 National Merit Scholars have attended the university since 2005.
SPB calendar
The WAC gets separated, broken up
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Pole dancing for fun and charity!
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Do women need gay, male friends
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ARBITERONLINE.COM
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What's next for Boise State?
Kustra asks for new business model at State of the University Address Wednesday Andrew Ford News Editor
Boise State President Bob Kustra dropped hints of increased independence from the state and a push toward increasing forms of teaching through technology at the State of the University address Wednesday. Kustra cited several educational leaders, including the president of Ohio State University that view state-funded higher education as a dying breed. "While I still haven't given up on state government's role in supporting public higher education," he said, "with each passing year I see more clearly that the funding of higher education as we experienced it in the past will not be replicated in future years." Boise State needs to reexamine the business model universities use and construct a new one, according to Kustra. He did not say what that new business model would be or how it would operate, but it's likely to be formed around an increase of private funds and student fees. Kustra said the university returned more than $6 million to the state in holdbacks for fiscal year 2010, with those reductions becoming permanent in 2011. The state board of education recently reviewed a proposal to create a differential fee policy that would allow charging higher fees for undergraduate programs that have higher costs. BSU will continue to research new technologies on-campus to help bolster the ways students educate themselves. According to Kustra, students are becoming more tech savvy, prompt-
nik bjurstrom/THE ARBITER
Boise State University President Bob Kustra harangues a crowd during the State of the University Address Wednesday. Kustra talked about the budget, new technology and innovation. ing faculty to innovate to with the reshaping of the learning process. Kustra cited a book, "Rethinking Education in The Age of Technology," by Allan Collins and Richard Halverson. He said the book raises questions for the university as they map out an "agenda for innovation." "Should the social networks now employed in large part to keep in touch and be hip," he said, "be used to advise students and provide a more structured learning agenda through cyberspace?"
According to Kustra, Collins and Halverson said people are taking education out of school and into homes, libraries, cafes and workplaces. More than 8,000 students enrolled in at least one online course last year at Boise State. "Fortunately we are not sitting by in the development of new learning technologies," he said. Faculty are using the iPad, software simulations, gaming strategies and interactive 3-D representatives of data. "We may have a few years
to wait it out and see who's right," Kustra said, "but the private and proprietary sectors of higher education are not standing still... " Kustra announced that the university has raised $145 million for the Destination Distinction campaign, about 83 percent of their goal. He praised the 35 percent of all faculty and staff who donated $1.8 million toward the campaign, despite the current economic situation. BSU sponsored research funding jumped almost $13 million in the fiscal year 2010 to more than $50 million.
Capping the grants, a $4.9 million grant was donated to establish a national geothermal data system. Biology professor Kristen Mitchell received a $400,000 grant for novel research on liver regeneration while Cheryl Jorcyk received a grant worth $720,000 from the American Cancer Society for breast cancer research. The engineering team of Don Plumlee, Jim Browning, Amy Moll, Sin Ming Loo and Inanc Senocak were awarded more than $600,000 to develop novel propulsion systems for the NASA.
Monday: ASBSU/SPB/VSB/Sorority & Fraternity Life Open House 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Student Involvement & Leadership Offices (SUB second floor) Meet ASBSU, the Student Programs Board, the Volunteer Services Board, and representatives of Sorority and Fraternity Life. See who they are, what they do, where they work, and what they have to offer. SPB Special Event: Hypnotist 7 p.m. at the Special Events Center. Free for students. Check out the comedy and magical weirdness of a great hypnotist.
Friday: Old School @ Your New School 10 p.m. – 1 a.m.: SUB Patio and Games Center Free for students, $5 for guests. This arcadethemed event is a tribute to old school fun and will feature food, games, prizes. Sponsored by the Student Involvement & Leadership Center, Student Programs Board, and University Health Services.
Stimulus money is still in the bank
Idaho officials are satisfied with slow, conservative spending a one and a half years later McClatchy News Despite a national unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, less than half the stimulus money slated for infrastructure development and job creation has actually been spent. It's been 18 months since Congress approved the $787 billion stimulus package, hoping to buffer the worst economic conditions in several decades. The funding was divided into three main categories -- job creation, tax benefits and social programs like extended unemployment benefits, or a higher Medicaid match. Most of the money for tax benefits and social programs has already been spent. However, the latest figures from the recovery.gov Web site indicate payments for various job creation-retention efforts have yet to hit the midway point. Through the second quarter of 2010, state agencies and private contractors have spent just $86 billion of the $219 billion they've were
awarded. The money paid for everything from propping up state budgets to highway construction and environmental cleanup. Much of the remaining funds have been obligated -contracts have been let, projects begun -- but rather than hire more people up front, the work is being spread out over months and years. Mark Dunham, executive director of the Idaho Associated General Contractors of America, said he hasn't heard complaints from his members about the pace of spending. "The initial round of stimulus money was focused on transportation projects, and I think our members were very pleased with the efficiency and speed at which projects were identified and executed," Dunham said. "For the other stimulus, I think they're all eager to have projects get out faster, but it takes a while to get these things going. Overall, I think they're patient." Idaho officials say they're equally content with the way
things have gone. Even Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter, who opposed the stimulus effort from day one, said the state is doing its part to get the money out into the economy as quickly and responsibly as possible. "As far as getting the money out, we're close to the bottom of the checking account," he said. "We thought that's what the stimulus was all about -creating jobs." Paul Kjellander, administrator of Idaho's Office of Energy Resources, said it's not about spending money as fast as possible so much as spending it appropriately. "Our intent was, if this were our money, how could we spend it to get the biggest bang for the buck," he said. "We wanted it to be cost-effective for taxpayers." The largest share of the $40 million awarded to his office will go toward energy efficiency in public schools, he said. Energy audits are being completed for every school district in the state. They'll identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce
energy costs. There isn't enough money to actually do all the projects, Kjellander said, but about $9 million in grants will be awarded in November to help schools that have the greatest potential for savings. "For every dollar we save through energy efficiency, that's a dollar we save in state general fund money," he said. Although his office has only spent about a quarter of its stimulus funding through June 30, Kjellander said Idaho has been praised by the U.S. Department of Energy for how fast its programs were put in place. "You can't just flood the economy with this money, or there won't be any accountability," he said. "It's like building a house: You give the contractor some money up front, but you don't give him everything until the work is done. You have to establish appropriate procedures or you're going to end up with waste, fraud and abuse. I think we've done a good job of avoiding that." The state also received
$30.3 million for low-income home weatherizations. Program manager Genie Sue Weppner with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said that was a "huge boost" compared to past funding. "We had a tremendous ramp-up and lots of training to do," she said. "The money was supposed to cover two years. There was no advantage to ramping up faster." So far almost 2,700 home weatherizations have been completed, she said. That's more than double the number in a typical year, and it puts the state well on the way to its target of 3,113 by next April. More than 340 jobs were created or retained just in the second quarter, according to stimulus reports filed by the state. That includes certified inspectors who visit the homes and determine what weatherization procedures are needed. Certified technicians then do the work, after which inspectors go back and make sure everything was done.
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