I n d ep en d en t
Issue no.
S t u de nt
V o ic e
o f
B o is e
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55
April
09
2012
Volume 24
Boise, Idaho
Top Stories
Wet dreams
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First issue free
Preparing for school safety Amy Merrill
Assistant News Editor
Wakeboard club makes a splash, excited for more warm weather.
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Knit for kids
Students combine hobbies and helping at the Women’s Center.
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Media frenzy
What do you think about the Trayvon Martin case?
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mct campus
People mourn the seven victims of the Oikas University shooting which took place in Oakland, Calif. three main considerations: to get out, to hide out or to take action. What students would do depends on their location and their proximity to either the shooter or safety. If the shooter is not in the vicinity, students, faculty and staff need to get out. Before heading to an exit (if inside) have an escape route in mind and don’t take any personal items. Keep hands visible when evacuating so security, police and armed personnel can see you are not a threat. Nicole Henman said she has opted in to the Bronco alert system but said, “I am not sure what I would do in the event of a shooting, besides taking cover and helping other people do the same.” Henman is right in taking cover, but only if there is no way to safely get out. As far as helping other individuals to safety, that is a choice
individuals have to make for themselves. Littrell advised people to, “adopt your survival mode” and gave the example of an airplane that has released oxygen masks. Passengers are always cautioned to first secure their own mask in place before helping others. This advice is also suitable for an armed shooter situation. First, take care of individual safety. In the case of hiding out, stay out of the shooter’s view. Turn off all lights and silence cell phones. Block the door and if it locks, lock it. When law enforcement arrives, it’s important to realize that until the shooter has been apprehended and everyone is out of danger, the shooter is the police’s main concern. Keep your hands visible to show you are not a threat and avoid quick movements like pointing until you are told it’s safe.
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Cheyenne Perry Journalist
As students look forward to summer, they must also face the task of creating new schedules for the fall 2012 semester. Choosing classes each semester can pose a challenge to many students, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the process. Kimber Shaw, director of Advising and Academic Enhancement, stressed how important the Academic Advising resource is for
students. Shaw said the biggest mistake students make when choosing classes is failing to contact an adviser to check on progress and selection of courses. Instead of exclusively basing class decisions on other students’ recommendations, Shaw believes students should meet with advisers. Shaw gave the do’s and dont’s of choosing classes from her experience as an adviser:
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The final option is only to be used as the very last resort if there are no other options and an individual’s life is in immediate danger. In this situation it is time to take action. Survival mode needs to kick into overdrive and an attempt needs to be made to incapacitate the shooter. Faced with this situaction, don’t hesitate to act very aggressively and, if possible, try to throw things at the shooter. In any scenario, once safety has been reached call 911. Try to provide them with as much information as possible such as how many shooters there are, a physical description, the amount and type of weapons carried and the location of the shooter. The final thing individuals can do is to report anything suspicious. “There’s no silly calls,” Littrell said.
There are services available to individuals struggling with a variety of issues, but to ensure these people receive the help they need the Security Department needs the campus community to make those calls. A campus shooting is “a low probability and high impact situation,” Littrell said. Being aware of your surroundings and avoiding fear in lieu of preparedness are the two biggest pieces of advice Littrell stressed. For additional information and resources: The University Security & Police Department can be reached at 426-1453 to report suspicious acts or people. Anonymous reports can be made by calling 343-COPS or by clicking the ‘silent witness link’ at security@ boisestate.edu. Additional resources can be found at emergencymanagement.boisestate.edu.
Adviser outlines class registration faux pas
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The probability of an armed shooter on campus is fairly slim. However, school shootings occur around the United States every year. Most recently, there was a shooting at Oikos University in Oakland, Calif., killing seven on April 2. Preparedness is not a misplaced objective and, in unlikely but not impossible scenarios, preparedness can save lives. Rob Littrell, emergency management planner at Boise State outlined a few key steps that could help keep students safe in an emergency. The number one action for students to take—stressed repeatedly by Littrell—is the Opt-in option on the Bronco alert system. Students can Opt-in by logging onto BroncoWeb. The “opt-in emergency alert” option is listed on the bottom of the main menu. After opting-in students can choose to receive email and/or text message alerts in the case of an emergency. Currently only 30 percent have signed up for Opt-in, leaving 70 percent of students that may not be notified in the case of an emergency on campus. Not opting in could be especially risky for commuters who wouldn’t be aware of an emergency or danger until reaching the campus. The second most important thing that can be done by students, faculty and staff is individual awareness. Although individuals will most likely never need to put a personal safety plan into action, being prepared for the worst can often mean surviving the worst. For tips and a quick video students can go to the University Security and Police website and find these additional sources on the left hand side of the page under “Active Shooter Video.” But in the instance of a shooter on campus there are
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Rebecca Coziah, a junior studying pre-nursing, believes the Academic Advising program has helped her. “They help you keep on track, so you don’t take useless classes,” Coziah said. Senior Judy Lui uses Academic Advising at least once every year, but also has other methods of staying on track with her pre-nursing major. “I always go by what I feel is a good balance between hard classes and easy classes,” Lui said. Lui generally accomplishes this by combining one 300-level class
with two 100-level classes. Her process for creating a new schedule consists of looking at her four-year plan, picking what classes she thinks will work, placing them in My Planner on BroncoWeb and adding them to her shopping cart. She then uses resources like RateMyProfessors.com. She also recommends talking to the peer advisers that many departments offer as a resource. As a senior, Lui feels she understands how to choose her classes correctly. This was not the case when she was a
freshman. When she first enrolled, she wasn’t sure how to use the catalog the way it was meant to be used. She wasn’t confident in creating her schedules until a fellow coworker with the same major sat her down and taught her to use the catalog correctly. Lui then taught her friends what she learned. “My best advice to students that seem lost in preparing to choose classes is always talk with people that are the same major as you, or even just an upperclassmen because they should know the process by then,” Lui said.
Do…
Meet with an adviser. Each department has advisers with whom students can meet. The Academic Advising program also has advisers for students with undeclared majors. Schedule time for studying. Shaw recommends students who commute should study at school. Keep an eye on the location of the classes. Boise State has classes at Mountain Home AFB, Gowen Field and Meridian. Make sure to set aside enough time to get to each class. Schedule breaks between classes. Treat a schedule with 12 credits or more (a full-time student) as a full-time job.
Don’t…
Stray from the four-year plan. Choose classes during unproductive times of the day (if a student doesn’t like mornings, he/she shouldn’t sign up for morning classes). Only look at the most recent class check sheet on the Boise State advising web pages. Check sheets alter with changes to catalogs/departments; each catalog lasts for six years, so students should follow the check sheet that matches their catalog. Use sites such as RateMyProfessors. These sites can be helpful when used as supporting resources, but should not be used on their own. She stressed the importance of focusing on content more than instructors and how the student learns rather than how the instructor presents the info. Forget about prerequisites or co-requisite courses. arbiteronline.com