I n d ep en d en t
Issue no.
S tu de nt
V o i c e
o f
B o is e
63
S tate
Sin c e
1933
May
07
2012
Volume 24
w w w.arbiteronline.com
Boise, Idaho
First issue free
Top 10 newsworthy articles
of the year
1. Steve Appleton passes away
At the age of 51, Steve Appleton, Boise State alum, philanthropist and CEO of Micron died in a plane crash at the Boise airport in early February. Appleton donated to Boise State scholarships, youth
tennis programs in the area, and to the Appleton Tennis Courts. The City of Boise mourned Appleton’s passing by hosting a memorial service and leaving flowers at his plaque on campus.
2. Presidential hopefuls visit
Candidates for the Republican nomination for president came to Boise in February. Ron Paul,
Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich all took time to speak to Idaho voters.
3. University of Idaho tragedy
On Aug. 23, 31-year-old Ernesto Bustamante shot and killed 22-year-old Katy Benoit, then shot and killed himself in a nearby hotel. Bustamante, a professor of psychology, had been involved in a confirmed
sexual relationship with Boisenative Benoit, a grad student studying psychology at the University of Idaho. The family of Katy Benoit settled out of court for $375,000 which they will donate to charity.
4. Protesters occupy Boise
The Occupy Wallstreet movement reached Boise last fall. Protesters camped in front of the Capitol Building for months despite harsh weather conditions to protest unfair taxation in favor of the very wealthy. In February, Occupy
Boise celebrated a victory when a federal judge ruled the state cannot remove the encampment. However, protesters can no longer sleep in front of the Capitol overnight. The battle between protesters and lawmakers continues.
5. Treefort Music Festival
Boise hosted its first four-day music festival, which a reported 10,000 people from all over the nation attended. Over the course of the festival, 137 bands played on eight different stages while patrons ate, drank and hung out. The bands
were mostly indie and had proved themselves in the college radio scene. The festival set a precedent only larger cities know, putting Boise on the music-scene map. Most agree Treefort was a success and look forward to another next year.
6. Greenspeed breaks record
The world’s fastest vehicle that operates purely on vegetable oil was built by a handful of innovators from Boise State. The group, Greenspeed, received the Trailblazer award from President Bob Kustra after it shattered the previous
world record by running a 1998 Chevy S-10 pickup truck 139 mph on the dry lake bed of the Mojave Desert. As if that weren’t enough, Greenspeed broke its own world record a day later by racing the vehicle at 155 mph.
7. Course catalog changes
Boise State decided to change the structure of its core curriculum, which will affect incoming students. Instead of Area 1, 2 and 3 courses, the university will have students complete University Foundations classes. The classes
will still be made up of generals, but the structure reflects the number of credits students now need to graduate, which was lowered to 120. The course catalog changes also aim to reduce any redundancy in course curriculum.
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8. No conditional registration
The university did away with conditional registration, forcing students to sign up for classes only when they have the qualifications. Although it seems a deterrence for last-minute students, it allows professors to have a better idea of
how full their classes will be. However, conditional registration made it possible for transfer students to get into classes without repeating credits. Without conditional registration, it may be harder for those students to get into some classes.
9. SOPA and PIPA fail
In an unprecedented uprising from youth, proposed bills SOPA and PIPA, which aimed to regulate foreign piracy, were shot down. A massive protest fueled by social media and internet moguls such as Wikipedia convinced legis-
lators to change their stance on the bills in what many call a large display of direct democracy. The bills’ failure made headlines because of the internet’s involvement in educating about the possibility of censorship.
10. The Arab Spring
Perhaps the biggest national news were the Arab Spring and death of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. A result of groundbreaking strategy, the Arab Spring began in December when social media was used to organize and encour-
age revolts in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. They were sparked by civil unrest stemming from government dictatorship, corruption and crimes against humanity. As a result, Gaddafi was captured and killed in October. Page design bryan talbot/THE ARBITER
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