WHAT’S INSIDE
NEWS 1
SPORTS 3–4
OPINION 2
CULTURE 6 I SSU E
10
The Independent Student Voice of Boise State Since 1933
Volume 23
First Issue
F R E E September 16, 2010
Is the new ticket policy a good thing?
2
VAC showing 'Judaica' exhibit!
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3
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Broncos face fired up Wyoming
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ARBITERONLINE.COM
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Senate soups up accountability bill Edina macic Journalist
glenn landberg/THE ARBITER
A NEW SLICE
Saturday morning hundreds of Apple fans lined up to enter the first Apple store in Idaho at Boise Town Square mall. The store contains 114 “touch points,” including iPods, iPads, iPhones, laptops and desktops customers can work, explore and play with. Amy Root, a 34 year-old home maker was first in line at 7:35 a.m. Root didn’t plan on buying anything, but wanted to experience a store opening and support Apple. “It’s exciting that it’s happening in Idaho,” she said. The company brought in employees from Portland, Chicago and other stores to assist with the opening and train Boise specialists.
Enrollment Jumps to 19,993 Students arbiter staff University enrollment jumped 5.6 percent to almost 20,000 students, an increase of 1,057 students from last fall. The total marks the state’s largest enrollment for higher education institutions. Boise State’s student population has grown 21 percent from its enrollment of 16,482 in 2000 and 48 percent from its enrollment of 13,529 in 1990. “Our record enrollment indicates that students are choosing Boise State because of the quality and breadth of its educational programs," Boise State President Bob Kustra said. "They are staying here because of the outstanding undergraduate experience and the advantages offered by a metropolitan university with a community atmosphere.” Boise State has increased its overall retention rate to almost 70 percent. According to the university, the retention rate stemmed from a combination of strong orientation experiences, enhanced advising, first-year student programs, increased faculty-student interaction, campus employment opportunities and remedial math success. In total, undergraduate student enrollment has grown by
September 1, 2010
653 students (17,349 total), graduate students by 404 students (2,644 total) and new transfer students by 153 students (1,147 total). “The growth in our student enrollment is a clear signal that Boise State is a university on the rise,” Kustra said. “The substantial increase in graduate students demonstrates the strong connection between our academic programs and research endeavors.” Not only is the university growing, it also is attracting an increased number of high-ability students. Lucas Beran, a new freshman from Austin, Texas, said he could have attended public or private institutions in Texas. He instead enrolled in the Honors College at Boise State based on both the strength of the university’s economics program and the College of Business and Economics’ international accreditation. “This is an awesome city and a great school,” he said. “I knew I could get a valuable economics degree here.” The number of new freshmen in the top 25 percent of their high school graduating classes is up 9.2 percent, for a total of 653. In addition, 39.7 percent of enrolled freshmen scored in the top 25 percent on the ACT, a 19.5 percent increase from fall
2009. The average ACT score has increased from 22.03 to an impressive 22.42, above both the Idaho (21.8) and national (21) averages. The number of new freshmen with a high school GPA exceeding 3.5 rose 13.3 percent, from 751 to 851. A total of 31 National Merit Finalists are enrolled at Boise State -- 10 new students and 21 continuing. “The incoming class of students again has set a new standard for academic success,” Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Laliberte said. “They are meeting the highest admission standards in the state of Idaho, a measuring stick that will be even more selective in the years ahead.” Idaho residents comprise 84 percent of the student body. Out-of-state enrollment has more than doubled in the last decade. Top states behind Idaho are California, Washington, Oregon and Nevada. The university saw a 16 percent increase in the number of new student applications this year. New degree-seeking freshmen are up 11.6 percent from last year (249 students). Other class enrollment increases include: sophomores, 5.7 percent; juniors, 2.5 percent; and seniors, 9.7 percent. These increases indicate more students are staying
in school and earning enough credits to move forward. Fall Enrollment Facts: * Ethnic diversity of students is up, with 2,693 students (13.5 percent) from underrepresented populations. * Freshmen enrolling directly after graduating from high school increased 12.8 percent increase from fall 2009 (1,949). Those enrolling one year out of high school also increased by 12.8 percent. * The number of students taking one or more online classes is up 479 students, more than a 10 percent increase. * Female students make up 55 percent of the population, while males make up 45 percent. * International students represent almost 2 percent of nonresidents. * Registration by college is: College of Arts and Sciences (23 percent), College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs (22 percent), College of Business and Economics (15 percent), College of Health Sciences (14 percent), College of Education (13 percent), College of Engineering (9 percent). * Prospective students can visit the university Oct. 16 for "Discover Boise State." The daylong event features a campus tour and workshops on admission, financial aid, jobs, housing and more. Learn more at the website, admissions.boisestate. edu/discover.
The Accountability Bill received new amendments from the Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU) Ways and Means Committee Friday. The committee’s concern was to get senators involved on campus, according to Steven Mercado, a junior and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Mercado said in order to reach out to students more, the bill includes two new amendments: First, senators must spend two hours per week meeting with students, faculty, administrators, or employees somewhere outside the office. Second, senators need to attend at least three club meetings or events each month. Senators cannot already be members of the clubs. The new changes were not accepted by senate due to the wording of the amendments. The bill was returned to the Ways and Means Committee to be fixed before it went to vote. Some senators did not understand why they could not count visits to their own clubs, according to Mark Gehrke, a 21-year-old senior and senator at-large in ASBSU. “It’s all about getting out of your comfort zone,” he said. Gehrke hopes the committee makes corrections by Friday at 4:30 p.m. so it can be passed and become active. “We are all about serving students," Gehrke said. "I think it’ll work because of the senators we have this year.” According to Mercado, the committee did not want to have senators take on too many tasks, and wanted to show students ASBSU is involved. Senators created a form to fill out each month to report back to the senate what they have been talking about with active members of clubs and those who attend events. “Senators are accountable to show they are involved and I’m excited that there will be a consistent outreach,” Mercado said. Irving Lucatero, a 21-year-old junior construction management major said he thought the bill was a great idea. “I think it will help create better communication between ASBSU and the student body. Face to face time with students’ senators is important.”
Mitch Esplin/THE ARBITER
The ASBSU senate hopes to increase face to face time with students and faculty with the new accountability bill.
C
AMPUS
September 8, 2010
RIME
Sept. 1: A wallet was stolen from the Student Union Building between 6:30 - 7 p.m. Sept. 2: There was a hit and run accident on Cesar Chavez Lane. A parked car was struck by another car and didn't leave a note. A bike was stolen from the back of a pickup truck at Bronco Stadium parking lot between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sept. 3: Two bikes locked together on the bike rack at University Square on University Drive and Earle Street were stolen. The bikes were stolen on August 17.Between 2 and 6 p.m. a bike lock was cut and a bike was stolen outside Chaffee Hall. Lock was taken too. Sept. 4: There was a hit and run accident between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. on Boise Avenue and Martha Street. The car's owner left the car parallel parked along the streets, then returned to find a mark stretching from front to back bumper. Sept. 8: Several bad checks were written to the Boise State Bookstore. The checks were written from Aug. 23-24.
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