page
6
page
Valentine’s isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Check out an alternative take on the day of love.
7
page
Check out The Arbiter’s guilt-free Valentine’s Day treats.
9
Every tournament is important for Women’s golf heading in to post season.
arbiteronline.com The Arbiter Indepen d en t
S t u d e n t
V o i c e
o f
B o is e
S tat e
Si n c e
@arbiteronline
1 9 3 3
February 13 2014 • Issue no. 38 Volume 26
Boise, Idaho
First issue free
Holiday boosts economy
Senate committee approves gun bill Ryan Thorne
page Design Megan Nanna/THE ARBITER
@RyanThorne86
Locals power Bronco men’s golf Nate Lowery Most athletes dread practice, the monotonous hours of work and the sore and tired feeling felt afterwards. Boise State’s men’s golf team is the complete opposite. A routine putting drill that would normally be filled with silence and concentration is replaced with golfers yelling jokes, cheering each other on and plenty of bragging for a competitive group. You can expect that to happen when six of the nine golfers on the roster all hail from the Boise area and know each other from their high school days. “It’s absolutely wonderful to play with these guys,” Jordan Skyles said. “We all have a great relationship with one another, but we’re still competitive and hate to lose to each other.” All three of Boise State’s current freshman golf team members called Boise home during their high school years, making for easy recruitment for head coach Kevin Burton. “It certainly was easy recruitment for the last couple years,” Burton said. “We’ve
News
The Arbiter
Devin Ferrell/THE ARBITER
Staff Writer
Junior Ty Travis reads a putt during the Broncos home tournament. had some really good players to come out of the Treasure Valley. It’s nice to keep them home.” Burton attributes more golfers from the Boise area enrolling at Boise State to the improvement in talent level of golfers in the Treasure Valley, something he expects to continue to get better and better. Burton has not always been able to hold onto that talent coming out of high school,
pg 3
but somehow managed to get Boise’s best in the end. Skyles, a redshirt senior, is one of two Broncos to transfer to Boise State after graduating from high school in the Treasure Valley. The other Bronco, Ty Travis, transferred in from Weber State this season, while Skyles joined the Broncos in 2011 after spending two years at the University of Oregon. While both agreed
Opinion
their experiences at those schools were valuable experiences they enjoyed, deep down they knew Boise would always be home for them. “I got outside of Idaho for two years and it was nice to experience something new,” Travis said. “I wanted to come home though. Boise did all of the recruiting for me. It’s a great city and moving away I realized how nice it was here.” Even Skyles, who
pg 6
knew he wanted get away from his family and learn to live on his own, couldn’t stay away from the school his parents graduated from and rooted for while growing up. Burton can thank the rain for Skyles’ decision to return home. “When you have to go out and golf for 3-4 hours a day in the rain, it drags on you,” Skyles said. Returning home to a city that they love, and teammates
Arts & Entertainment
they’ve known for years, has only made the transition back to Boise life that much easier for Skyles and Travis. “I played high school golf with most of the guys on the team so it was an easy change,” Travis said. “I missed Boise and I’m playing a lot better golf so I think it worked out well.” So far, things are looking up for this team that calls Boise their hometown.
pg 7
Sports
The Senate State Affairs Committee voted Monday Feb. 13 to approve Senate Bill 1254, which would allow citizens and students with specialized permits to carry firearms on Idaho’s college campuses. SB 1254 will now head to the full senate, where it will be considered further by legislators. Earlier that morning, Boise residents gathered to give testimony regarding the implications of the proposed bill. National Rifle Association lobbyist Dakota Brooke spoke in support of SB 1254, arguing that students would be safer in the event of a shooting if concealed permit weapons were allowed on campuses. “Would opponents of this argument rather no one had a weapon to defend themselves in this situation? The shooter at Virginia Tech had nine minutes in which he locked the doors to the engineering hall and wreaked havoc on individuals,” Brooke said. Opponents of the bill cited the danger of mixing common college activities like drinking with loaded firearms. Brooke said a portion of the bill would penalize those caught intoxicated with a firearm in their possession by revoking concealed weapons permits for three years. Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson expressed frustration regarding the handling of the meeting, criticizing Senate State Affairs Committee chair Curt McKenzie (RNampa) for allowing a large time allotment for Brooke while cutting others short despite calls from Sen. Elliot Werk (D-Boise) requesting an extension allowing for further testimony. Although lobbying groups were asked to testify, none of the police chiefs and law enforcement leaders were afforded time to speak; some had travelled from as far as Moscow. Shortly after the hearing, Masterson released a statement condemning McKenzie’s actions. “Where is our democracy today when police leaders directly responsible for developing policy and training for your safety are effectively silenced by the Chair of a committee who introduced the bill himself?” Masterson asked. The Idaho Board of Education’s Chief Communication and Legislative Affairs Officer Marilyn Whitney testified against the bill saying gun regulation should be left in charge of individual campuses whose administrators best know how to assess and handle security risks. “The board feels strongly that SB 1254 takes away an important management tool necessary to maintain an environment conducive to learning,” Whitney said. “This management tool allows each of the campus administrators to rely on the trained law enforcement professionals they hired to help them develop safety policies that provide the best experience possible for students, faculty, staff and visitors.”
pg 9 arbiteronline.com