Culture
Asst. Culture Editor
The wake of last week’s total lunar eclipse and the discovery of evidence for water on Mars has piqued many students’ interest in space. Fortunately, there are opportunities at Boise State for further development of this interest, one of which is Space Broncos. Space Broncos is a spaceoriented student organization aimed at providing outreach programs for the community, research projects and connections with NASA. The club lacks the typical hierarchy of a president and vice president and instead implements a group of strong leaders who work together. Junior mechanical engineering major Camille Eddy, who is part of Space Broncos’ core leadership team, explained the goal of Space Broncos. “We try to create big social events centered around space to get the whole campus involved and aware of the space things they can do on campus,” Eddy said. In the past, these events have been huge successes. Space Broncos works closely with Steve Swanson and Barbara Morgan, both former NASA astronauts and distinguished educators in residence at Boise State. In 2014, Boise State hosted the Space Symposium. It featured a live Q&A between Space Broncos, Swanson and fellow astronaut Rick Mastracchio while they were at
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the International Space Station via downlink. It was a historic moment for Boise State, and the university has continued to cultivate a relationship with NASA through various events and research projects ever since. “In the fall, we had Steve Swanson come back here— just returned to earth from the space station—and we had a big event. We were in the Jordan Ballroom. It was packed. There was about 1,000 people there,” Eddy said. “After that, we went on the Blue during a football halftime show and had Steve walk on. He had taken a hat with him into space, so he brought the hat back with him, went on the Blue and presented that to Boise State.” The club’s intention is to let people know about NASA research going on and ways to get involved with NASA. Space Broncos also connects with other members and groups in the community. “We’re going to hopefully be working with the Boise Virtual Reality Project,” Eddy said. “They are a virtual reality initiative, and we’re going to try to do an outreach with them.” Any students who wish to be part of Space Broncos are welcome to join, regardless of if they are majoring in a field related to space. Eddy said the club is eager to use any skills students possess and help them develop those skills to take elsewhere in the future. “A lot of the students in
“The Martian” invades theaters Patrick Adcock News Editor
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Blast off with Space Broncos
Swanson returns from space. the club are really passionate about space, but they also have great leadership skills,” Eddy said. “This really lends itself to (Space Broncos) being a powerful club. When the really strong leaders of Boise State get together in
the same room, that’s where we come up with these really great ideas and opportunities—not just networking within the club, but also using our network outside of the club. We can pull in some awesome opportunities.”
“The Martian” may come off as another space movie, but five minutes in, the film blows that notion away. “The Martian” is based on a book by Andy Weir, that was published in 2011 and republished in 2014, about a man stranded on Mars. The story follows American astronaut Mark Watney—played by Matt Damon—and his crew, as they leave Watney for dead on the red planet. The film relies heavily on the performance of Damon as he takes the majority of the screen time and does so alone. Damon does an incredible job of creating dialogue through video logs as he performs experiments to
survive on the planet. This is where “The Martian” truly shines, in Damon’s ability to make these interactions feel authentic. The screenplay cannot be praised enough in this film. It creates a great pace for the plot to unfold and makes use of the incredible cast. The cast features Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Sean Bean and Kate Mara, just to name a few. “The Martian” is a powerful film that shows off the talent of its renowned cast and crew and allows Damon to give one of the best performances of the year, and of his career. The film’s realistic tone gives it power over the viewer and may just inspire the next generation to problem-solve its way to the stars.
10/06/2015