The Arbiter Vol. 36 Issue 11 | 2.15.24

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

ON THE COVER:

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Idaho has instated abortion bans that are among the strictest in the nation. These bans have greatly impacted the entire healthcare system in the state. Idaho has become an example nationally for the impacts of strict abortion bans.

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As a student-run organization, we produce accurate and hyper-local information through non-partisan and socially responsible media.

Photo of BSU Basketball player #3, Kobe Young, hanging from the basket.

Photo by Alec Simeone

University Television Production faces substantial budget reductions

The program suffers financial loss after its special funding requests were denied

Kate Noden | Staff Writer | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Boise State’s University Television Production (UTP), a program that houses media production and filming through staff-led student crews, is facing a funding cut that will reduce the impact UTP has on campus and in the community.

UTP is no longer receiving funding for “special funding requests”, which were requests made in the past to maintain the university’s television channel and productions for various kinds of university entities.

Founded in 1986, UTP is an academic opportunity and a service to the university by offering classes, work study opportunities and producing a multitude of content for Boise State. UTP’s work includes live multi-camera streams, studio video content, promotional videos, instructional videos and other informational video content.

However, the future of UTP now looks different after reducing the budget of the program.

Boise State University is currently in the process of “modernizing” their budget. According to Boise State’s website, the budget modernization is evaluating the current model and proposing a new budget model to align with the University’s Strategic Plan.

Nathan Snyder, director of UTP, said he was left with many questions following this reduction in funding as it affects the program greatly.

According to Snyder, UTP has functioned through special request funding through the provost for over a decade.

“There used to be $50,000 here that we have used for many years. And now that money is somewhere else,” said Snyder.

“I believe our program is very valuable to students. I believe it’s super valuable to the university.”

At the end of the academic year in 2021, John Buckwalter was named the new

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. This year, Buckwalter denied the special funding request for UTP.

“As I understand it, and I don’t know the details, but my department chair and the dean have said special funding requests are no longer a thing with this current provost,” said Snyder. “We don’t have another way to generate the money for staff to help our students produce quality content for the university.”

Snyder describes the program as being a “transparent entity” and students within the program work closely with staff to make funding decisions for the program, making this funding reduction a loss for the entire program.

“It’s not a direct kind of thing where they are reading about it in a book and then taking a test. They’re actually sitting at a table with me, negotiating stuff and finding out how we pay for things. I think it’s a very valuable experience for them,” said Snyder. “So when we lost this bit of money, I had to explain to them that we’re not going to have the staff that has helped in the past negotiate remote productions and mentor them.”

This hands-on experience is exactly why students decide to become a part of UTP. UTP offers three courses: Media 117, 317,and 417, along with work study opportunities — anyone can join UTP.

Jordyyn Puckett is a fifth-year student studying integrated media and strategic communications with an emphasis in television production, along with certificates in sports information, culture and social media. Puckett has spent eight semesters involved with UTP and describes it as “more like a club than a class” because of how personal and passionate every member is.

She has spent three of those semesters as Snyder’s teaching assistant, and another three being a lead producer for the show.

“UTP has offered more than any other regular media and film course has. It offers hands-on experiences with real professionals who have worked in the industry,” Puckett said. “It also is a space for students to express themselves creatively. Personally, UTP has shown me a whole different side of production that I couldn’t learn in my workplace or other classes.”

Puckett’s co-producer, Carsen Cloud, is also studying integrated media and strategic communications, and has taken all three classes offered by the program.

“It’s (UTP) really helped me learn a lot more about what I want to do in the future, where my skills lie in production, and generally just hone my skills to be a more suitable standard when I leave the university,” Cloud said.

Puckett expressed her frustration with the future of UTP after gaining so much from her time in the program.

“I think the university is doing students in this program and incoming (students) into the program an injustice,” said Puckett. “We pay a lot of money to attend this university and if the university is not pouring into our futures and investing in our interest the way they claim to … then it just is not fair or ethical.”

UTP encourages the university and surrounding community to continue supporting them. UTP does discounts for student organizations and is available for anyone interested in their services.

The Boise State University Television Production (UTP) program is resilient in their passion to continue doing valuable work on campus, even in the face of funding reduction challenges.

Photo of the set of University Television Production.

Photo courtesy of Boise State Television

A new fraternity is expanding Multicultural Greek Life at Boise State

Diversity at Boise State is growing, and new spaces in Greek Life are needed with this growth

Daisy Bautista | Staff Writer | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Boise State’s community has become more diverse throughout the last ten years. Despite this, the traditional Greek organizations at Boise State have not changed significantly to reflect this.

Multicultural Greek Life was established at Boise State in 2015, and only four multicultural chapters are still standing. Three out of four of these multicultural chapters are sororities.

This year, there are plans of adding another multicultural fraternity by the end of February.

New fraternity, new spaces

Omega Delta Phi, also known as the

Knights, are coming to Boise State this spring semester. The Knights were founded nationally in 1987.

Sergio Orozco, admissions counselor and coordinator for multicultural recruitment at Boise State, was asked to help bring Omega Delta Phi to Boise State by the multicultural student body.

Orozco’s role at Boise State focuses on recruiting students from local schools here in the valley, territories in Eastern Oregon, as well as U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the northern islands. His recruitment work focuses on initiatives that increase numbers for multicultural students.

Alongside being a multicultural admission counselor, he is also an advisor for the Multicultural Greek Life Council. He has been influential in bringing this fraternity to Boise State.

Orozco said this is a “full circle” moment for him. In his role of recruiting students from diverse backgrounds, he is also going back to his college roots, as Orozoco himself was once a brother in the Omega Delta Phi fraternity at University of Idaho.

“I think by creating a new fraternity, it creates a new space for students to find something that may work for them,” Orozco said. “One thing that I loved about my organization is the fact that our number one goal was to graduate. There was a really strong emphasis on individuality.”

This commitment to student growth is not just a shared sentiment within Orozco’s fraternity, but also to multicultural students.

“What drew me into the multicultural fraternities was that I think just the conversations like a lot of the people came from like the same background as me and I just felt really understood, you know, and I felt that was one of the biggest thing was like seeing like the diverse community,” said Ismael Mendoza, a national board member for the Knights who’s assisting in bringing Omega Delta Phi to Boise State.

Ingrid Garcia, a Boise State student and the Multicultural Greek Council President, said this idea began when members of the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) visited the University of Idaho, and became inspired by how multicultural life on campus was thriving.

Garcia believes bringing this fraternity to Boise State will bring community and a safe space for students.

“I think it will bring a lot of community service involvement. I know there’s a lot of alumni around the area and they’re willing to put in the work and guide these gentlemen like, about college you know, like if you need someone to mentor,” Garcia said.

Accessibility of traditional Greek life vs Multicultural Greek life

The average cost for a traditional fraternity ranges anywhere from $700 to $1, 200 a semester at Boise State. The cost of traditional chapters can deter students, which can exclude those who are less wealthy.

Multicultural chapters are more affordable, as costs for a multicultural chapter range from $150 to $255 a semester. Multicultural chapters are for all — however many of those who choose this particular chapter are first generation students according to Orozoco.

Orozco, Garcia and Mendoza, who are first generation students, all mentioned how the costs of their multicultural chapters played a huge role in why they joined.

Demographics

Enrollment at Boise State has become more diverse over the last 10 years, and Boise State multicultural leaders are hopeful that additional multicultural Greek life will encourage enrollment from all backgrounds.

From 2013 to 2023, the number of Hispanic and Latino students rose from 1,857 students to 3,838 students. The number of students enrolled who are two or more races rose from 605 to 1,394 and the number of black and African American students rose from 336 to 449.

The population in these demographics have doubled, and the diverse range of students Orozco works with are asking for more.

“You can see, even if it’s a little bit of an increase, it’s always great to see. Students are asking for something new, I think even the students themselves are starting this,” Orozco said.

This new fraternity, Omega Delta Phi, aims to ensure that the campus becomes a space where every student can find their place.

Boise State students and professors weigh in on the rise of artificial intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence in the classroom impact teaching approaches

Spencer Rentfro | Staff Writer | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

The integration of artificial intelligence is becoming one of the most polarizing topics in education today.

As artificial intelligence software programs such as ChatGPT gain traction, Boise State must figure out how artificial intelligence can be intertwined into education for the better.

Assistant professor of management in the College of Business and Economics, Dr. Steven Hyde, uses generative artificial intelligence such as Chatbot in his lectures, where his students can create flashcards, quizzes and generate cases on concepts related to the material in his classes.

“It’s really effective, I use it like a tutor or a teaching assistant,” Hyde said. “It can help provide and distill the information for the students and then the students can make it more customizable.”

Hyde mentioned that he uses artificial intelligence on a consistent basis, whether it’s for teaching, research or “service”.

“It’s the most useful tool for any knowledge worker,” Hyde said. “The resistance to it is stupid. The professors who aren’t using it, who are scared of it, they’re shooting themselves in the foot because it’s the most useful tool for any knowledge worker.”

Boise State Center for Teaching and Learning provides weekly workshops for instructors to learn about the use of artificial intelligence.

With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, Hyde recommended that students should become familiar with artificial intelligence to prepare them for the workforce after college.

“I would say it’s academic malpractice to not be forcing our students to use it because they’re going to be forced in the job market,” Hyde said. “I’d say in the next five years, if you do

not have competency with AI, I don’t think you’ll be employable for a white collar job.”

Hyde explained that because of the demand for artificial intelligence in the workplace, he’s had to adjust his teaching requirements for his students.

“Before generative AI, my whole goal with the students was that they would be able to create a rough draft of whatever we’re doing, because in the workforce, if they’re in a white collar job entry level, largely their job is creating a rough draft that someone above them would edit,” Hyde said. “Now the value of a rough draft is zero, because an AI can create a rough draft instantly in anything. So that means now that I have to force my students to be able to edit like that upper level person.”

Hyde added that colleges will need to accommodate to tools like artificial intelligence similar to the expansion of portable electronic calculators.

“Now that’s my focus, is how do I ensure that they edit like it because now what was the bar, AI has that bar, and has passed it,” Hyde said. “So now we have to increase our bar ourselves. It just means that we need to adjust college to the tools they have, the same way that mathematics have adjusted.”

A survey from Forbes magazine shows that 60% of young educators use artificial intelligence in their classrooms.

Department of Communication

Professor Dr. Seth Ashley shared that the possibility of intertwining artificial intelligence in education could be beneficial for brainstorming ideas.

“I think of it a lot like Wikipedia, it’s a good place to start to get background information on a topic, especially if you’re new to the topic,” Ashley said. “In that sense, I think it can be a great research tool that can help with just finding out about any -

thing and that can certainly help with people’s media literacy.”

Joseph Kuhn, a senior psychology major, finds artificial intelligence a helpful tool for his hobbies, generating images of art for inspiration and also receiving grammatical feedback when writing about the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons in his free time.

“[AI is] beneficial as long as you can use it as a tool, not like a crutch for certain things,” Kuhn said. “Having an over reliance on it for your own creative processes is obviously not a good thing.”

Kuhn also mentioned he uses software called ElevenLabs, which takes

voice samples and turns them into models using artificial intelligence.

Conversely, Brys Greer, a senior majoring in construction management, believes that relying on artificial intelligence to create content can obstruct students’ ability to learn new skills over time.

“I think it takes away and makes it lazier for individuals,” Greer said. “I think there’s good in having to take the time to learn something or to read something or to write.”

With artificial intelligence evolving, it’s unclear what final decisions will be made and how it will impact future education.

Photo of a computer screen displaying ChatGPT. Photo by Niamh Brennan

Results of the Idaho Public Policy Survey reveal Idaho residents’ top concerns

The 2023 poll reveals 43% of survey respondents believe Idaho is heading in the wrong direction

Kaylie Hilliker | News Reporter | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Article Boise State’s school of Public Research released its 9th annual Idaho Public Policy survey results in January.

The survey addressed a range of topics in state policy such as housing, public safety, taxes, education, growth and the economy. There were 1,007 Idahoan respondents in total, from 44 of the state’s districts.

“The purpose of the survey is to provide some insight into how Idahoans feel about public policy issues,” Matthew May, survey research director for the School of Public Service at Boise State University said. “So that when policymakers are debating potential solutions down at the statehouse, they’re able to fold Idahoans’ opinions into their calculus.”

The survey conducted by Greg Strimple Strategy Group used cell phone (25%), landline phone (25%), online (40%) and text message (10%) to collect responses.

Key findings stated that Idahoans top three legislative priorities are education, jobs and the economy and housing.

“Idaho Policy Institute’s mission as a whole was to be an independent, nonpartisan resource for decision makers helping to inform the possible options but not of course, to push any particular option,” Lantz McGinnis-Brown, Research Associate, who has worked on the survey for several years said.

In 2015, the College of Social Science and Public Affairs at Boise state was reconstructed and renamed the School of Public Service, focusing on providing research to support decision-making for policymakers in the state.

The Idaho Policy Institute was established in 2016 as a reincarnation of research that started in 1990.

The director of the Idaho Policy Institute, Vanessa Fry, launched the institute alongside Director Greg Hill in 2016.

“We work directly with the decision

makers at the capitol, including the governor, and the representatives and senators to understand what sort of information would be helpful for them to know when considering policy and programmatic decisions,” Fry said.

The Idaho Public Policy team annually briefs the governor’s office and staff, holds meetings with the majority and minority parties in both the house and the senate and gives individual briefings for any elected officials interested in the survey’s results according to Fry.

The Idaho Public Policy team gives multiple presentations to the community at different events, including a presentation at Boise State.

The Idaho Public Policy survey results showcase will be hosted by The Idaho Policy Institute and the Dean of the School of Public Service at the Alumni and Friends Center on Feb. 13 from 5:30 p.m to 7 p.m.

Report authors May, McGinnis-Brown and Fry will present on the data.

Idahoans have listed education, jobs, and the economy as their top three legislative concerns for 2024.

“Education always has been at the very top of that list,” Fry said, referring to the last nine years of Education topping the list as Idaho’s most important issue.

Access and affordability of housing, commuting traffic and population growth

are other concerns from survey respondents.

The 2024 survey found that 43% of survey respondents feel the state of Idaho is off on the wrong track.

The 2023 survey found 44% of Idahoans believed the state was heading in the right direction, while 41% believed it was heading in the wrong direction.

“So last year it was within the margin of error,” Fry said. “Which was like 3.1% … this was the first time that the static result of the, ‘off in the wrong direction’ was above ‘on the right track.’”

The next annual survey will be available for the public in January 2025.

Photo of a person handing out a survey on a clipboard.

Photo by Niamh Brennan

OPINION

Reading between the lines: Elitism in the reading community is toxic

It doesn’t matter what kind of book you choose; here’s your sign to start reading, again.

Koletta DiDio | Staff Writer | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

It’s midnight. You’re under the bedcovers, flashlight illuminating the pages of a book — your eyes swim with exhaustion, and your hands shake, but by god, you’re going to finish this chapter.

You’re driving to work. But you get a notification that your favorite fanfiction is finally updated, so you run a few minutes late to quickly read the new chapter while still in your car.

The professor in class mentions Dante’s Inferno — and you sit up straighter because you once went down a rabbit hole of research one night, and now you’re obsessed.

We all love stories — that’s a human thing. But books bring people together in a particular way. And over the last few years, reading has become more popular than ever.

If you’re wondering why that is, think back to the smell of bleach and the

smothering of an ever-present mask. COVID did give rise to at least one good thing, though — books!

A reasonable alternative to mind-numbing boredom and oppressive anxiety, reading as a hobby rose exponentially in popularity through the pandemic. Inspiring social media like “BookTok” and elevating archiving sites such as Goodreads, books were something that people connected over.

But where there are nerds, there will be gatekeeping as well. Elitism in literature looks like a person sneering at “bubblegum”, lighter-read novels, then bragging about their latest read from an obscure Russian author they still can’t seem to pronounce. As Alexander Pope said, “A little learning is a dangerous thing.” Given this environment of elitism, it’s no wonder that people would prefer not to share what they’re reading. Is this elitism a movement, though?

Higher education in the literature departments says it’s just a phase. They’ll grow out of it. And contrary to gatekeeping, literary professors have no qualms about what or why you’re reading. They just care that you’re reading.

But if you’re still worried about validating your book choice, have no fear. Professor Ann Campbell, Chair of the English Literature department, Jane Austen Society leader and all-around bookish advocate, has your back.

Professor Campbell, an active literary community member, insists that all reading is equal. “I think that’s one of the things studying literature and reading stories does—it quiets your mind and opens it to other ideas, other stories. And I don’t care what the book is; honestly, the goal is to give people tools to read. So they go out there and have their own reading life.”

Two genres are dominating the bookshelves right now: fantasy and romance.

Coincidentally, those are the two genres readers most often feel embarrassed or ashamed to admit. The Atlantic printed an article about why we lie about what we’re reading, and it’s because we want to be relevant, intelligent, and cultured. Or maybe we just don’t want to be mocked for our book choice.

So why are romance novels so popular right now? Professor Campbell says it’s the lack of social integration. We live in a time where, despite the influx of social media, we feel isolated — a fact only emphasized by the lingering trauma of COVID-19.

More than ever right now, we seek to feel a positive connection with the people around us. As professor Campbell says, the Shakespearean truism goes that a

comedy ends in marriage and a tragedy ends in death — marriage (in spirit if not actuality) signifies the completion of that social integration, that connection between self and community.

Similarly, fantasy offers an escape from the conflict and trauma of our everyday lives and a sense of joy and wonder. It’s not just an escape to another world. It’s a reframing of our lives. Books make you see the world differently because you are different once you read them.

So, what’s next down the printed pipeline in terms of popularity? If we use the same logic explaining why romance and fantasy are so popular, the next “best thing” in reading genres is science fiction and true crime.

Of course, it can be hard to read sometimes. The average student’s emotional bandwidth is short: attention spans have the lifespan of an iced coffee on a Monday morning. So, if you can manage to crack the spine of a book, you’re already doing your brain a service.

Reading gives your mind the same rest as meditation (except it’s a lot less tedious). So, whatever draws your attention is not only valid but also exceptional. Whether it be romance, true crime, or even fanfiction — it doesn’t matter.

Professor Campbell’s words ring true, “Reading is fantastic for anyone—all the time. Whatever you’re absorbed in, you’re absorbed in a story. You’re in that other world. You’re taking yourself out of the strife and stress. You’re resetting your mind. Whatever you’re reading — read on.”

Photo of books stacked on a shelf.

Photo by Niamh Brennan

College

students may think VPN’s are safe...but they’re wrong

Hola VPN causes trouble for Boise State Cybersecurity

The Journal of Behavioral Addictions in 2014 found college students in the United States average 8-10 hours a day on a smartphone. Just a smartphone.

Reading that statistic made me curious to check my own screen time in my phone settings, and I found my usage average to be 1 hour and 50 minutes a day. I pick up my phone on average 108 times a day and receive around 117 daily notifications. For my laptop, I averaged around 7 hours of screen time per day.

Combining my laptop and phone usage, I average 8 hours and 50 minutes a day of screen time. Then I remembered if I watch Grey’s Anatomy or Friends after a long day of school work, I have to add those hours too. Turns out, that statistic describes my daily life.

A fact is a fact: our modern lives are deeply wired into our technology, and I know I’m not the only one.

For the amount of time we spend staring at screens, we don’t think often enough about the negative sides of technology. Maybe you’ve read about the impacts on your mental health once or twice, or how screen time takes away from friends and keeps us from exercising. We know a lot about how our personal lives can be affected by technology, but what about our personal data and information?

Brandon Bowlin, Chief Information Security Officer at Boise State, is responsible for all cybersecurity information and activities on campus. Bowlin is also the Executive Director of IT Governance Risk and Compliance. Bowlin works with departments around campus to secure employee data, student IDs, social security numbers and other sensitive information. Bowlin monitors Boise State’s network and blocks malicious websites, phishing attempts and malware with the security team.

Bowlin discussed how he has been in

the cybersecurity industry for 30 years and was scammed recently.

“I would also say anyone is susceptible,” Bowlin said, referring to malware. “It’s getting much harder to detect scams as well, especially with a lot of AI-generated content. A lot of the traditional kind of flags with bad grammar misspellings … you’re not seeing that anymore, because they’re using AI to actually kind of perfect this and make it much harder to realize that this isn’t legit.”

College students are more vulnerable to online scams than the average Joe.

This year, a 15% increase in cyberattacks against educational institutions was discovered according to Check Point Software’s Threat Intelligence Report. The report stated that 2,507 attacks were recorded in the first months of 2023 per college institution per week.

“College students in particular are heavy targets,” Bowlin said.

While there are installations and apps that can hide malicious software in its systems, such as TikTok when it was banned nationally in 2022 via the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, there are other less obvious installations that can attack users.

One VPN in particular has caused trouble for Boise State’s network and its users: Hola VPN.

“VPN is a virtual private network … by connecting to a VPN, it essentially puts you on to another network. So for example, for most of the staff members there’s a VPN provided by Boise State that if we are working from home, we can connect to the VPN and then be able to access internal resources on the Boise network,” Bowlin said. “The flip side is that it provides a secure mechanism so that if you are on a VPN, only that VPN provider can actually assess your network traffic.”

Hola VPN was developed by a company named Hola Networks Ltd, headquartered in Netanya, Israel.

Eric Kollmann, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer at Boise State, knows how bad actors can target students as scapegoats for their malicious data.

“One of the big things we’ve seen over time has been peer-to-peer VPN software,” Kollmann said. “It sounds great. Everyone wants to protect their traffic with VPN. A lot of times they download Hola VPN, it’s a peer-to-peer one but what happens is it puts you in the end of a bigger, larger network that lets people route their traffic through you.”

A peer-to-peer network (P2P) is when two or more devices share a connection of files, data and information.

“Students have been primarily using this all the time,” Kollmann said. “What they didn’t realize is now their machine became a node for bad actors to route traffic. So everything that was happening on that machine whether that was attacking third-party websites, sending spam stuff was all tracking back to their machines. We put blocks on that product specifically and a few other peer-to-peer VPN products.”

Boise State has been on email blacklists before due to email spam sent from the Boise State network traffic according to Kollmann. “Bad actors” or digital criminals attack software that their device and

their target’s device share such as Gmail. com.

For example, if a student has Gmail and a bad actor has Gmail, that bad actor will attack the Gmail they share on the peerto-peer network like a VPN. Any traffic a bad actor creates on his or her device is hidden in the peer-to-peer network he or she shares with the student.

“Because you’re one of those nodes on that network, the traffic now goes out your IP address,” Kollmann said. “It attacks whoever that third party is, the response comes back to you because you would have initiated it from the VPN perspective and then it routes back to whoever the original person is.”

Any shady activity a digital criminal would want to hide, he or she can hide in your computer via sharing a VPN like Hola.

“Any investigation by police … they’re gonna track back to you the node that was there, the IP address was actually attacking and they won’t be able to tell any difference,” Kollmann said.

Online savviness is critical to every digital consumer, especially in days where even cybersecurity officers can fall prey to a scam.

Graphic of a virus-infected computer screen. Graphic by Kelsey Mason

The impact of abortion bans on Idaho residents and healthcare

Idaho's healthcare system loses medical personnel, endangering those who seek both abortions and basic healthcare

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Idaho has instated abortion bans that are among the strictest in the nation. Abortions became criminalized when the state’s trigger ban went into effect. Trigger bans are laws that were drafted before Roe was overturned, “intended to ban abortion entirely if the Supreme Court limited or overturned Roe or if a federal Constitutional amendment prohibited abortion” according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Idaho’s abortion laws

Idaho’s laws effectively ban all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — a point at which many individuals may not even be aware they are pregnant. Exceptions only exist in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother, and the state even proposed to eliminate the exemptions of rape and incest from state law with Senate Bill 1129 on Jan. 15.

This strict abortion ban in Idaho is not just affecting pregnant people actively seeking abortions. Jen Quintano with the Pro-Voice Project, a group in northern Idaho dedicated to raising awareness about and advocating for abortion rights, discussed why the ban is so deeply impactful to communities across the state. She shared that when healthcare is not only denied to patients in need but is criminalized, the entire healthcare field suffers.

“With these laws, the intent was to address people who are seeking abortion care,” Quintano said. “In actuality, when you take one piece of the healthcare, when you remove one piece

of that tower, the whole tower is going to crumble. So this isn't just affecting people seeking abortions. And now it isn't just affecting people who are pregnant. It is affecting all people here who need reproductive health care. We've lost access.”

Idaho’s Defense of Life Act is one example of how Idaho's abortion policies can be a danger to those seeking basic healthcare. The Defense of Life Act makes it a crime to perform an abortion, even when the mother’s health is greatly endangered, with the only exception being if the abortion is absolutely necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.

The policy places Idaho residents in a dangerous position where there is no guarantee that they will receive help from healthcare professionals unless it is proven a patient will die without an abortion. Healthcare professionals can face a lawsuit and lose their medical license for performing the abortion.

Regardless of conflicting views of abortion, Idaho residents have largely expressed the necessity of reproductive healthcare options. According to Planned Parenthood, “65% believe it is important that women in Idaho have access to all of the reproductive health care options available, including abortion. Across party, 95% of Democrats, 66% of Independents, and 49% of Republicans believe it is important.”

Kimra Luna from Idaho Abortion Rights discussed how she has seen Idaho residents respond to the Defense of Life Act.

“People are really scared to even be pregnant in the state of Idaho because

they don't know if there's an emergency if they'll be able to get care,” said Luna. “You basically can't get care unless you are seconds away from death. They'll tell people, ‘Nope, sorry, you just have to wait.’

Wait to die? Wait to bleed out? Wait for what? And that's absolutely mortifying.”

Sen. Dan Foreman proposed Senate Bill 1229 earlier this year, which would have eliminated the abortion ban exemptions in the case of rape and incest. While the bill did not pass, protection for victims of rape and incest is limited in Idaho, according to Representative Ilana Rubel.

“There is practically speaking no rape or incest exception in Idaho's law right now,” Rubel said. “I'm not aware of any woman in the state who has successfully been able … to get an abortion for rape and incest. No police department has set up the procedures by which you could apply for it. No doctor is willing to put themselves on a list as somebody you could go to because they still face a $20,000 lawsuit. While there's nominally an incest exception on the law currently, it's essentially non-existent.”

The impacts on the healthcare system

The strict abortion bans in Idaho have led to fear in the medical field that results in many people being unable to access the care they need. Since doctors face the possibility of high fines, loss of their license or even jail time, they feel unsafe providing the care that they were trained to offer their communities.

“With these laws, the intent was to address people who are seeking abortion care. In actuality, when you take one piece of the healthcare, when you remove one piece of that tower, the whole tower is going to crumble. So this isn't just affecting people seeking abortions. And now it isn't just affecting people who are pregnant. It is affecting all people here who need reproductive health care. We've lost access.”

-Jen Quintano from the Pro-Voice Project

Ella Van Leuven | Opinion Editor | opinion@stumedia.boisestate.edu | Photos by Taya Power-Thornton

“Since these laws went on the books, we have seen an absolute exodus of healthcare professionals,” Rubel said. “We've lost 55% of the state's fetal maternal medicine specialists who are the doctors that deal with high-risk pregnancies. We've seen two hospitals shut down maternity services. We have nearly three-quarters of the OBGYNs in the state are looking to either retire early or leave the state.”

Rubel continued to discuss how this has impacted those in need of medical care.

“It has absolutely gutted our medical infrastructure, because doctors don't want to practice in a place where they face years in prison or there's a permanent loss of their license for providing the care that they were trained to provide,” Rubel said. “There's no health exception in Idaho's laws, so unless the doctor can prove that the woman faces certain death, the doctor faces prison time for providing a medically necessary abortion. And, of course, that loss of medical expertise hits everybody, far beyond just women seeking abortions.”

National implications

With some of the strictest bans in the country, Idaho has become an example for other states for the impacts of strict abortion bans. Quintano outlined the implications Idaho's laws might have on the national conversation and legal framework, particularly considering the shifting landscape of abortion rights at the federal level.

“If we continue to see things like this proliferate, whether it is abortion travel bans or fetal personhood, I think that does expand the realm of the possibility of what could happen at a federal level,” Quintano said. “If it's seen that this kind of legislation is successful in places around the country, and Idaho is ground zero for where those start, then I think that could have a direct impact on what we might see come out at a federal level.”

Rubel echoed this, discussing how Idaho has become an example for other states.

“We are a state where women are having to be airlifted out of the state when they have emergencies during their pregnancy, and the exodus of doctors is putting us on the front pag -

es of newspapers around the nation,” Rubel said. “I think it's sending a message to people in other states that this is where you could end up if the vote of the electorate doesn't get engaged.”

Idaho’s strict abortion laws serve not only as a representation of the state’s stance on reproductive rights but also as a frontrunner for the national dialogue on abortion bans. The outcomes observed in Idaho, from healthcare challenges to legal precedent, emphasize the implications such laws could have across the nation.

Quintano discussed the power that every individual has to take action and make change in their community.

“I want people to understand that they have a lot of room to speak up about this,” Quintano said. “They have a lot of room to share their stories and be heard and be understood and have people empathize with them. There's a lot of room to have these conversations and build confidence in them and to see that we're not alone in our desire to have access to abortion and reproductive health care. There are so many of us in this state who feel the same way. We're just afraid to put our hands up and acknowledge that that's how we feel.”

"You basically can't get care unless you are seconds away from death. They'll tell people, nope, sorry, you just have to wait. Wait to die? Wait to bleed out? Wait for what? And that's absolutely mortifying.”

- Kimra Luna from Idaho Abortion Rights

CULTURE

FEBRUARY 15, 2024 | ARBITERONLINE.COM

The evolution of Boise’s music scene

From festivals to local bands and house shows, Boise’s rocking music scene is just getting better

Olivia Brandon | Culture Reporter | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

From its collection of local bands to the incredible visiting tours that play at venues across the Treasure Valley, Boise is known for its vibrant music scene.

For any music fanatic, you can’t help but wonder how the music scene has evolved and transformed over the years. Boise has gone through several different phases regarding its musical community, and local bands have been at the center of many of these changes.

Evan Zurilgen, vocals and bass for local indie rock band “Moon Reservoir,” and David Bridgeman, guitar, keyboard and vocalist for “Moon Reservoir” and “Down Coast” have both been active in the music scene for a number of years and have watched the Boise music scene develop its signature sound.

Zurilgen highlighted the draw of festivals like Treefort and Flipside Fest that offer a platform for bigger bands to play in Boise.

“The art and music scene here is pretty vibrant. It’s more vibrant now than it’s ever been,” Zurilgen said. “I think in the past year or so I’ve seen a ton of bands sprouting up and a lot of it is young kids who go to house shows and they’re like, ‘I want to do that.’ It’s cool to see and I think Treefort is a major catalyst in that.”

Companies like Duck Club provide artists with venues and opportunities to share their music with the Treasure Valley. Bridgeman shared his appreciation for the organization and what they do for local and touring artists.

Both Zurilgen and Bridgeman have noticed an uptick in house shows (an intimate show held in someone’s home) in recent years. Zurligen highlighted or -

2024

ganizations like the Trans Collective that create and host their own shows while Bridgeman suggested that musicians take inspiration from the homey vibe of Treefort.

“ I think you could say a lot of that [initimate shows] comes from Treefort because Treefort has this homegrown vibe to it,” Bridgeman said. “I went to Kilby Block Party last year and it’s totally different.”

Zurilgen touched on the difference between festivals like Kilby Block Party which focuses on bigger bands, compared to festivals like Flipside and Treefort which are geared towards finding new artists.

“They had a lot of big names.. Last year they had ‘Pavement’ and ‘The Strokes’ and the ‘Pixies’, whereas a festival like Treefort is a lot more focused on discovery,” Zurilgen said.

As with so many other aspects of life, the pandemic altered the music scene. Bridgeman explained how due to many venues having to close their doors during lockdown, many companies were itching to host events after life returned to something close to normalcy.

One of the major draws Boise holds for performers is the diversity in sound. Zurilgen touched on how much he enjoys this aspect of Boise’s music scene.

“The analogy that I like to use is we’re on different boats but we sail the same sea,” Zurilgen said. “So obviously you’ll have your indie people but also there’s a really thriving metal and hardcore scene right now, which I think is interesting … it’s just a whole bunch of different facets of stuff that is culminating in this melting pot.”

Be on the lookout for Moon Res -

ervoir’s upcoming single, releasing in March.

Josue Hernandez, vocalist for “Los Syringas” is a new addition to the Boise music scene as his band was founded in 2020, however, Hernandez is anything but new to making music.

Although he began making music at a young age, Hernandez didn’t have much exposure to live shows in his youth. Hernandez discussed the importance of house shows for a thriving local music community.

Hernandez noted that after moving to Boise and forming his band, he realized that attending house shows was the most effective way to get a sense of a town’s music scene.

The willingness of other bands to collaborate, even if they differ in style is something that has stuck out to Hernandez in Boise’s music industry,

“I will say that I feel like our band is a little bit detached from the music scene just because our goals might be a little different than house shows, and then when you have different goals you might not get to hang out with other bands,” Hernandez said. “Every band that we’ve interacted with, they’re always nice, like, they’re always really accepting. Everyone’s willing to work together, even if you don’t match genres.”

Hernandez discussed “Los Syringas” goal to have his band create music that a wide range of people and audiences can enjoy.

“I do know that there are certain genres that are pretty polarizing,” Hernandez said. “I think the band as a whole agrees we want to make music for everyone. Some of us might like polarizing genres, but I think because we all

want to be happy with it, it just naturally works for almost any listener.”

Hernandez echoed an earlier sentiment that there has seemed to be an influx of creativity in recent years.

“It’s not necessarily new people, it’s just people willing to do new projects,” Hernandez said. “It’s okay if a band breaks up for sure because sometimes it breaks up and turns into three bands and that’s just better for everyone. I think that boldness to create or rediscover their new musical journey, I think that’s been the biggest change in the music scene since 2020.”

Any music lover would consider themselves lucky to live somewhere like Boise, home to a music community that is full of heart and a passion for creating. The city has had quite the journey over the years and if these band members are any indication, it’s only going to get better from here.

Photo of albums at the Record Exchange. Photo by Niamh Brennan

How season one of Percy Jackson on Disney+ compares to the books

Disney+’s ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ has both dissapointing and thrilling factors

Kelly Ann Asker | Copy Editor | copy@stumedia.boisestate.edu

In 2005, author Rick Riordan published a book that would soon spearhead one of the most beloved young adult (YA) series of all time.

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” follows Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell), a 12-year-old dyslexic and ADHD troublemaker who gets thrown into the world of Greek mythology, one monster after another, until his mom is “killed” by the Minotaur on their way to Camp Half Blood — a sanctuary for demigods.

When he arrives at camp, he finds out that not only are the Greek myths real, but that he is the child of one of the Greek gods — Poseidon, god of the sea — who is forbidden from having children. If that wasn’t a big enough shock, Percy also finds out that Olympus is on the brink of war, and it’s all his fault.

Zeus’ master lightning bolt has been stolen, and now that word’s out that he’s a forbidden child, all fingers are pointing at Percy as the thief. One problem — he didn’t steal it.

With the help of Annabeth Chase (Leah Jefferies) daughter of Athena, and Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri) a satyr, the trio must embark on a quest to Los Angeles, where Hades resides in the Underworld, in efforts to convince him to return the bolt.

The trio must face monsters, gods and the police on their quest to retrieve the master bolt and save the mortal world from a battle between gods.

If you’re a fan of the books, the television series closely mirrors the structure of the books. From chapter to chapter, almost everything vital to the plot and characters is included in the show. Seeing places like Camp Half-Blood and the Underworld brought to life was like a dream come true.

There was a lot of controversy when the casting of the series was released, primarily because none of the actors fit

their character descriptions in the novel. With that being a huge issue in the 2010 and 2014 films, fans were looking for redemption in the show — which didn’t happen.

But I think Riordan and the casting directors made the right choice in their casting. Although none of the characters looked how they were originally described, each actor embodied their role perfectly.

There’s no denying that Walker Scobell was Percy, that Leah Jefferies was Annabeth and that Aryan Simhadri was Grover. Each actor brought all of the right quirks and personality traits to their character. If given the opportunity to choose between a book accurate casting or recasting these actors, I would absolutely keep Scobell, Jefferies and Simhadri.

But with any child actor, you run the risk of underdeveloped acting — which was unfortunately the case for this season. Lines were delivered poorly, reactions were underwhelming and there were several throw away lines.

But as the season went on, improvements were made. If the show is renewed for more seasons, this trio is sure to blossom into pros in no time.

Every show has its downsides, and when it’s an adaptation, those downsides are always more prevalent because you have something to compare it to.

The biggest two for me was the lack of humor and action in the episodes.

Percy Jackson was coined as “persassy” in the books due to his attitude and sarcastic sense of humor. This was an important element that just wasn’t included enough in the show. We get some funny quips, but not nearly enough to really bring Percy’s character to life.

Scobell is almost under utilized in this way. In his role as young Adam in “The Adam Project”, he played a younger Ryan Reynolds and quickly became

famous for his humor. It’s clear Scobell has a gift for comedy, so why limit his humor in the show?

Action was another disappointing factor.

A demigod fighting monsters like Medusa and the god Ares (Adam Copeland), is sure to lead to come pretty action-packed moments. But unfortunately, they were short lived and if it wasn’t for the stunning visuals and CGI, they’d be extremely underwhelming.

If you haven’t read the books, or if it’s been a long time since your last read, there may be some instances where you feel you’re missing some information.

There’s several scenes in the show where entire conversations seemed to be skipped over, leaving the audience with more questions than answers.

If you’ve read the books, you can fill in the gaps yourself, but if you haven’t, you might be grasping at straws, which isn’t a

great thing to do to your viewers. If you’re an avid fan of the books looking for the television series to be a verbatim copy of the novel, you’re going to be disappointed — I know I was. But after rewatching the episodes over and over, I was able to appreciate them in a new way.

With the author heavily involved in all elements of the show, it’s near impossible to not like — even if it’s different from your initial expectations.

Whether you’re a die hard fan of the book series, or a first time fan, season one is absolutely worth the watch.

I know myself and fans everywhere are already ecstatic for the series renewal, which will follow the second novel: “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters”.

Photo of Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, in the new series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Photo courtesy of Disney Plus

CULTURE

‘Lisa Frankenstein’ declares the ‘80s are back with this deadly horror rom-com

This week’s Monday Mystery Movie delivers one of the most entertaining horror/rom-coms

Kelly Ann Asker | Copy Editor | copy@stumedia.boisestate.edu

All of my hopes and dreams came true when Regal Cinemas showed “Lisa Frankenstein” as its Monday Mystery Movie on Feb. 5.

“Lisa Frankenstein” follows Lisa (Kathryn Newton), a high school senior in 1989, who had a rough few years after her mom was killed by an ax murderer. Facing a tough time with her new stepmom and overly-perfect stepsister, Lisa has been silently blending into the shadows … until now.

Lisa loves spending time in her town’s local “haunted” cemetery, where she sits by a grave belonging to a teenage boy (Cole Sprouse) who died decades ago. After a strange storm brews, Lisa is visited by the reanimated corpse of the very boy from the grave.

Although his revival initially comes as a shock, Lisa quickly recognizes the teenage boy from his headstone and realizes that he has come to her so they can be together. The pair slowly bond until they eventually combine lust and bloodlust and begin a killing spree.

The corpse becomes protective over Lisa, killing anyone who crosses her, and Lisa uses miscellaneous body parts and a haywire tanning machine to revive her undead crush until he’s almost human again.

It’s the perfect love story.

I can confidently say that “Lisa Frankenstein” is one of the most creative movies I’ve seen in the last few years. This is a film that isn’t afraid to grab the audience’s hand and pull them along through all sorts of twists and turns. No matter how bizarre the plot is, the audience isn’t given the opportunity to question any of it, because our protagonist just rolls with the punches — and so do we.

“Lisa Frankenstein” is a unique and artsy film, with everything being dramatized through the lens of Lisa. From black and white snippets, to slow motion

shots, every directorial choice is clear and intentional in developing both the plot, and Lisa’s character.

The thing that “Lisa Frankenstein” does best, is create lovable characters that you cannot help but root for. Even though Lisa and her undead companion are committing crime after crime, you continue to root for them because their character development is so strong, you feel like you really know them and want to see them win.

Lisa’s character specifically is very relatable from a female’s perspective. You get the sense throughout the film that Lisa is a “girls-girl”, meaning you could trust her with anything, and she’d never judge you. She speaks exactly what’s on her mind, even when it’s a little TMI.

But that’s what makes her character so great. Because she’s so open and honest about her feelings and her body, women of all ages can find at least one thing to relate to, even if they’ve never admitted it out loud.

Having a real character like that makes all the difference in a film. When you can connect and relate to a protagonist, it makes it easier for the audience to care about what happens to them.

Cole Sprouse, while not as relatable, gives a very strong performance. Even though Sprouse’s lines are almost exclusively grunts, you can still get a very clear idea of what he’s saying, thinking and feeling — which is very difficult to do when you can’t say any words and don’t have full range of motion in your face and body.

Sprouse has had a bit of a rough go being taken seriously as an actor, especially after his endeavors in “Riverdale”. Although his part in “Lisa Frankenstein” isn’t necessarily a “serious” role, it’s hopefully one that will open doors for him to showcase his talent more.

Films set in the ‘80s have a lot of work to do to achieve that authentic ‘80s

feel. Everything in “Lisa Frankenstein” screamed 1980s. From the home decor to the clothing, the hair and makeup and the references — “Lisa Frankenstein” hit the nail on the head.

Audience members of all ages were laughing for nearly the entire movie, as it was chock full of laughs that would appeal to all age groups. Even if you aren’t familiar with the 80’s, there’s still ample opportunity to burst into laughter.

Although “Lisa Frankenstein” might not seem like a typical romantic comedy, it holds a special type of romance. The connection between Lisa and her corpse isn’t stereotypical Hallmark “love”, it’s something much darker.

The love between the two is dire and almost obsessive, and it’s clear that the pair would do anything for each other — even kill.

It’s that type of love that sets “Lisa Frankenstein” apart from other romantic comedies we’ve seen recently.

Even though “Lisa Frankenstein” is classified as a horror/comedy, there really aren’t any major horror elements to this film. No jumpscares, no spine tingling suspense sequences, just some good old-fashioned kills and a tinge of gore.

Because the film is rated PG-13 however, most of the gore is just alluded to. While you do get a few bloody shots, there isn’t anything that will make your stomach toss.

If you’re looking for something other than your copy-paste Hallmark rom-com to watch this Valentine’s season, then I cannot recommend “Lisa Frankenstein” enough. Whether you’ve only heard of the ‘80s through your parents, or you have tales from the iconic decade yourself, “Lisa Frankenstein” is guaranteed to make you laugh.

“Lisa Frankenstein” slashes into theaters Feb. 9 — and I’ve already got tickets to see it again.

Photo of Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton in new movie Lisa Frankenstein

Photo courtesy of Michele K. Short

Jennette McCurdy’s ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ is a harrowing memoir

McCurdy’s memoir confidently confronts taboo mental health topics

Jaime Geary | Staff Writer | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

For nearly 25 years, Jennette McCurdy was best known as a breakthrough Nickelodeon child star and country musician who faded into the background after a successful childhood career. To millions of outside observers, she might have seemed unbelievably lucky, living a technicolor dream of fame, fortune and talent.

This couldn’t be further from the heartless truth. The 31-year-old writer/director’s 2022 memoir “I’m Glad My Mom Died” reveals a childhood and early adulthood akin to a living hell, fraught with physical and emotional torture.

Through blunt, detached diction thinly masking deep emotional pain, Jennette describes her young life in the constant shadow of her abusive mother Debra, who tried to take total control of her mind and body and caused a constant struggle with

distorted body image, disordered eating and toxic relationship dynamics.

For as long as Jennette can remember, fear loomed over the McCurdy household. Her father was frequently absent and assaulted by her mother who was in remission for stage 4 cancer, which she constantly weaponized against her daughter. Every year, Jennette’s terrified birthday wish was “That Mom [would] stay alive another year”. Debra took advantage of Jennette’s fearful maternal bond to push her daughter toward child acting.

Because she was a child star, Debra didn’t want Jennette to grow up.

When Jennette expressed her desire to “stay young” to Debra, glee spread across her face, and her mother revealed an insidious strategy of “calorie restriction” – teaching anorexia, the deadliest mental disorder. Led on by a mother engaging in

the same behavior, Jennette was indoctrinated into an eating disorder, purposefully withering her body to stunt her growth.

Jennette goes on to describe being subjected to sexual abuse on and off set. Dan Schneider, creator of the Nickelodeon shows for which Jennette performed, openly lusted for her in mandatory dinner meetings.

In addition to constantly scrutinizing Jennette’s dying body, Debra insisted on showering her and performing examinations on her genitals until she turned 18. So intensely horrified and traumatized by these assaults, Jennette went completely numb whenever she heard her mother walking toward the bathroom door, dissociating from a reality too painful to be present in.

When she broke from acting to tour her country album, the 18-year-old encountered her first love and began binge eating. Debra’s cancer returned and she wanted Jennette to be a singer and forced her on tour. Jennette obliged, unexpectedly using the tour’s freedom to rebel against her mom’s dogmatic rule by starting a relationship with tour guitarist Lucas, and allowing her body to nourish itself. Despite much-needed nutrition, Jennette describes a crippling sense of guilt from disobeying her mom’s disordered restriction rules.

Spoiler alert – Jennette’s mother dies. The very night the woman she gave her life to succumbed to cancer, Jennette began a downward spiral into bulimia and alcoholism, throwing up almost everything she ate and drank. “I [had] no idea how to go about life without doing it in the shadow of my mother,” she explains, stumbling out of control in a fading haze until her boyfriend Steven Grayhm, an assistant director she met on a Netflix set, forced her to seek therapy.

In a cushioned chair across from her therapist, Jennette finally understood she was a victim of abuse, a realization so painful her deadpan narration in the memoir’s

audiobook version is interrupted by a heart-wrenching sigh revealing decades of deep pain.

Though she was initially resistant to recovery, Jennette slowly realized she would die without it. She broke up with Steven because they were enabling each other’s self-destructive vices and sought out a new eating disorder therapist that gave her the help she needed. This therapist encouraged Jennette to journal her thoughts down – a transformative experience that revived her true love of writing, which her mom had prevented her from pursuing. “One million percent, writing has helped me establish my identity,” she told Vogue in 2022 regarding the freedom writing has given her, “be in touch with myself; heal, grow.”

McCurdy’s darkly comedic descriptions of intensely traumatic struggles with eating disorders and familial abuse are more than just a heartbreaking read; they’re refreshingly open advocacy for recovery in a modern age of rising eating disorder rates.

A 2022 study published by Current Opinion in Psychiatry revealed that nearly 18% of young women and 3% of young men in Western countries have met criteria for eating disorder diagnoses.

Jennette’s message is both brilliantly simple and extremely necessary – you are seen, you are heard and you are worth it. The memoir’s vulnerable discussion of eating disorders, abuse,and the damages of each invites those currently suffering from either to express their pain and seek support, and those who have never experienced an eating disorder or domestic abuse to understand and empathize with these formative, traumatic experiences.

A #1 New York Times Bestseller, Jennette McCurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died” is an open, smash-hit tragicomic memoir that may well be the most important book you read this year.

Photo of the book cover for Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died.

Photo by Niamh Brennan

SPORTS & REC

Boise State is gaining recognition for its effective implementation of NIL

Although NIL is still new, Boise State has successfully helped their athletes secure partnerships

Alec Simeone & Olivia Brandon | Sports Reporter & Culture Reporter | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Before 2021, most people could hardly fathom the idea of collegiate athletes getting paid. With the implementation of name, image and likeness (NIL), student-athletes now have the opportunity to establish their own brand and take courses at Boise State to create a polished image.

WHAT IS NIL?

Name, image and likeness (NIL), is a newly implemented concept that allows any athlete to be their own brand and make a profit off of themselves. On July 1, 2022, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) approved the monetization of athletes and completely altered the scope of collegiate athletes from that day.

Though huge strides have been made in the implementation of NIL, there are some drawbacks to consider as well.

Each state dictates the NIL rules and regulations and each school has a different interpretation of them. Brands cannot utilize photographs or other documentation of an athlete wearing their company or brand unless the athlete has entered into a contractual agreement.

Ensuring athletes have the rights to their personal brand is at the forefront of Boise State athletics, so there was no doubt as to why the University had been spotlighted for its dedication to supporting athletes in this endeavor. At the NIL Awards at the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022, Boise State took home an award for its education in establishing a brand.

One major point of success for the Broncos in this endeavor is Boise State’s “What’s Next Program” which provides athletes with the tenets of creating a

successful brand: advocacy, content and education.

The advocacy track focuses on finding athlete’s ad campaigns or opportunities that align with the brand they’re attempting to curate. The content aspect allows student-athletes to have quality images and video, as well as access to a podcast studio. Classes are offered to educate on effective marketing strategies and content curation.

HOW DO ATHLETES ESTABLISH THEIR BRAND?

In the Fall of 2023, Boise State created a “social media creator certificate.” Bronco Sports writes that athletic director Jerimiah Dickey believes the classes are a valuable addition to the university.

“’This online certificate program provides the flexibility of digital learning for our student-athletes, but is also open to anyone seeking skills to navigate today’s constantly changing social media landscape,” Dickey said.

There are three classes in total, two of which are available in the fall and spring and teach student-athletes how to curate a social media presence and the strategies for establishing their own brand.

NIL AT BOISE STATE

Boise State has made some of the biggest moves in NIL in the Mountain West since 2021.

The biggest of which is the acquisition of redshirt freshman Malachi Nelson from the University of Southern California. His suspected worth from NIL is $832k, which ranks 21st in the nation.

This deal ranks 22nd in the nation, with a valuation of $832k, per ON3’s NIL top 100 list. This outranks any group of five schools (G5) by wide margins.

The next highest valuation in the G5 is Southern Methodist UniversitySMU’s (SMU) Preston Stone who’s ranked at 51st in the nation with $630k. Though SMU is making the jump to a Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) conference, it was is is, by technicality however as the school is upgrading to the Power Five for the 2024 season.

“The NIL space is going to need to take care of Boise State and that’s just the nature of what college football is. How Boise State football moves and is able to use that space as a lot of other people are in college football is going to be a big deal for our success.”

Current Bronco football head coach, Spencer Danielson, was asked on national signing day how NIL and the money that Bosie State is able to provide affected this years’ class

“It didn’t impact this class, I’ll be honest,” Danielson said. “None of these guys are coming here because of what we’re paying them above somebody else … Our guys that ball out on the Blue, that do what they’re supposed to do on and off the field, and make plays for us,

we’re working our tail off and we have already set up structures to help take care of them.”

Boise State has taken a, ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,’ approach to NIL, as they now are a leading school in the Group of Five (G5), if not in all of college football when it comes to name, image and likeness.

Nelson might have the highest paycheck on the Broncos, but junior running back Ashton Jeanty made a deal this offseason worth $535k, while senior defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein secured a bag worth $578k.

If you add redshirt junior Andrew Simpson’s $287k deal to the mix, these four players combine for roughly $2,232,000. To put this further into perspective, the minimum rookie contract in the NFL is set at $750,000.

Numbers like this almost seem to add a pressure similar to an NFL team being in a “championship or bust,” mode.

Regardless, it’s good to know that Boise State is doing all they can for its athletes, with the help of culture, community and coaching.

Photo of BSU Football player #2, Ashton Jeanty. Photo by Taya Power-Thornton

Broncos in the NFL: Former Broncos featured in the 2023 NFL season

How former Boise State Broncos have performed at the professional level during the 2023 season

Jordan Craig | Staff Writer | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

The Broncos are fresh off winning the Mountain West Championship and signing their highest ranked recruit in history, Malachi Nelson, for the 2024 season. Despite the great current condition the program is in, it does not go without mentioning the legendary Bronco Football Alumni who have led the Broncos in previous years and continue to make strides in the NFL.

The Broncos have had incredibly successful alumni in recent years, including All-Pro Doug Martin and Super Bowl winner Jay Ajayi. However, this current class of former Broncos is one of the best in recent history.

THE STARS

While many have gone on to the NFL from Boise State, being able to make it on this stage can be tough for every player. But for those who manage to go from dominating college ball to dominating the big league get their names known on a global scale.

KHALIL SHAKIR

The second-year wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills holds a place in the hearts of Bronco Nation. After a phenomenal stint at Boise State, Shakir was taken in the 2022 NFL draft by the Bills with the 148th pick in the 5th round.

Despite a slow rookie season where Shakir only had 10 catches for 161 yards, he burst onto the scene in the 2023 NFL season and solidified himself a bonafide starter in a high-power offense.

Despite having to compete for targets with top pass catchers like Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis and Dalton Kincaid, he still had two 100 yard games and led the team in receiving on three occasions. He finished his 2023 campaign with 39 catches for 611 yards and two touchdowns and even managed to add two more touchdowns in his two playoff games.

His state even went toe-to-toe with All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs . While Diggs was dominant early in the year, Shakir outshined him as the season progressed. Most notably in the last 10 games of the season Diggs doubled Shakir in targets having 80 to his 37, but was actually outgained only having 422 yards to Shakir’s 462. He will certainly look to add even more to those numbers next year after a heart breaking playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs.

EZRA CLEVELAND

Ezra Clevland is one of the higher draft picks in recent history for the

Broncos, selected 58th overall in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

Cleveland has been a starter since day one for the Vikings. He was a part of their starting offensive line for the past year and played in the teams first six games until he was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars where he started five of nine games he played in.

Despite being a rotational player, Cleveland found his role quickly in the offense, only giving up one penalty and two sacks during his nine games played as a Jaguar. Despite being shipped from Minnesota midseason, Cleveland was able to gather his footing as the season progressed in this Jacksonville offense.

ALEXANDER MATTISON

This was supposed to be the year of Alexander Mattison.

The Minnesota Vikings had moved on from four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook in favor of the fifth-year man out of Boise State. After resigning and being named the starter for the 2023 season expectations were at an all time high for Mattison. However, despite the high hopes the season started off shaky.

After a few rough performances the Vikings traded for Rams running back Cam Akers to split the backfield with Mattison. During the 2023 season he started 13 of 16 games, yet failed to rush for 100 yards a single time and ended the season with the 32nd most rushing yards in the NFL, with 700 rushing yards. While it was his best year of his career his future in Minnesota is now surrounded by question marks.

LEIGHTON VANDER ESCH

Despite having a hot start to the year racking up 30 tackles in the first six games, the Cowboys former 19th overall pick even managed to record his first career touchdown. Unfortunately his season abruptly ended after a neck injury. While this is not his first neck

injury, as he had one in 2019 and one in 2016 during his Boise State days, this one seems to be even worse.

After his 2019 injury he was diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column in the neck. He had surgery on it in 2020 and has been closely monitored since. However with this reaggregation his career is in jeopardy and we may have seen the last of this Bronco in the NFL.

DEMARCUS LAWRENCE

While the tenth year defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys started all 17 games this season, age is starting to slow down his productivity.

Lawrence had just four sacks and 50 tackles on the year, however he is still as useful as ever. The veteran not only led his team to the second seed in the NFC this season, he is still one of the elite edge rushers, notching 10 tackles for loss on the season. Despite an early playoff exit, Lawrence is still looking for the glory of the Super Bowl with the team that took a chance on him.

CHARLES LENO JR.

While the tenth year offensive tackle hasn’t had the most glorious career during his tenures in Chicago and Washington, he has become one of the most consistent players in the league.

Leno Jr. has started every game in the season for seven of the last eight NFL seasons, even making a Pro Bowl in that time. He is a staple offensive lineman for the Commanders and has still shown his toughness at age 32.

Leno Jr. has also become more versatile in recent years. Before he has solely played left tackle but has been able to adapt his game in order to play on the right side as well. This flexibility led him to playing 98% of the team’s offensive snaps this season and only allowing three sacks.

Visit arbiteronline.com to read about the rookies and other notable players.

Graphic of Boise State and NFL logos atop Albertsons Stadium.

Graphic by Kelsey Mason

Boise State Softball: Big Matchups, hosting the Conference Tournament and more Coach Shults and the team look to expand on their success from the 2023 season

Caresse Basaraba | Staff Writer | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

With spring rolling into full effect, the Boise State softball team aims to bode even more success this season than in 2023.

In 2023, the Broncos finished 32-17 overall, 16-5 within the Mountain West Conference and earned them the 2023 Mountain West regular season title.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

In the 2024 Mountain West Preseason Polls, three Broncos were named to the All-Mountain West Preseason Team. Senior pitcher Taylor Caudill, junior outfielder Mykenzie Hanna and senior outfielder Jordyn Hutchins were the selected few to be added to the prestigious list.

Caudill is no stranger to these awards. In 2023 alone, the star pitcher was named to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team, All-Mountain West First Team and NFCA All-Pacific Region Third Team. Her junior season consisted of 33 appearances in the circle, 24 starts and boasted a successful 15-8 record on the season with a 2.72 ERA, 147 strikeouts, 16 complete games, four shutouts and two saves in 154 2/3 innings pitched.

“This has been the first preseason poll for softball, and it is an honor for them to get recognized. Mykenzie Hanna was left off some ballots last season, it was cool to

see her get the recognition she deserves,” Shults said. “The three of them are going to be a big nucleus. We’ve added some big pieces, I’m excited to see a slightly different version with our team with a little more speed and depth in the circle. It’s going to be a fun year.”

KAJIKAWA CLASSIC

The Broncos had a strong start to their season in Tempe, Arizona at the Kajikawa Classic.

Boise State won their first two games against No. 20 Northwestern and St. Thomas before losing to Wisconsin. They then bounced back by beating former Boise State Mountain West player of the year Kelsey Hall on her new team, Arizona State.

After routing Arizona State, the team finished the classic off with a 3-1 win over Grand Canyon University (GCU).

MAVERICK INVITATIONAL

Taking place in Arlington, Texas, the Broncos will rally against Michigan State University, DePaul University, University of Missouri at Kansas City and University of Texas Arlington. Notably, the Broncos played Michigan State last season and capped a 3-2 victory.

TIGER CLASSIC

Boise State will face another top 25 team in No. 15 Louisiana State University (LSU) at this tournament. Austin Peay State University and University of Houston will also appear on the slate at this tournament.

STANFORD INVITATIONAL

This may be the most challenging tournament the Broncos will compete in during the regular season. Not only will they take on No. 3 Stanford twice, they will also square off against No. 6 University of Georgia. Playing in this tournament will be a great opportunity for the Broncos, especially in regards to RPI rankings.

The Broncos will also face the University of California, Berkeley (Cal). Cal

finished their 2023 season with a 35-21-1 record and a loss to one of the most powerful teams in college softball, University of Oklahoma in the NCAA regionals. CONFERENCE

The Broncos will kick off Mountain West conference play against Utah State University when they take on the Aggies in a series beginning March 22 in Logan, Utah. This should be an energizing start for the Broncos as the Aggies finished 8th in the Mountain West last season.

The Broncos will look for revenge as they host San Jose State University (SJSU) for their first home slate on March 28-30. The two will face each other after SJSU bested the Broncos in game seven of the Mountain West championship tournament.

The most anticipated matchup of conference play will come against San Diego State University 2023 Mountain West Softball champions, in San Diego, California April 6-7.

San Diego State’s strength stems from their weapons on the mound as well as at the plate. Aztec’s own Mac Barbara was selected as the 2024 preseason MW Player of the Year, while pitcher Allie Light was the 2023 MW Pitcher of the Year and is named the 2024 preseason MW Pitcher of the Year.

The Broncos have a record of 15-19 against the Aztecs with their last matchup on April 30, 2023 where Boise secured a 9-6 win.

Despite the Broncos winning the Mountain West regular season title in 2023, San Diego State University won the prized possession of Mountain West Softball tournament champions.

MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS

With the Broncos winning the conference title last season, they are slated to host The Mountain West Softball championships. The tournament will be held at Dona Larsen Park from May 9-11.

This is possible with the addition of lights at Dona Larsen Park thanks to a seven-figure donation toward Boise State womens’ sports.

“On behalf of the entire department, our student-athletes, and especially our champion softball team, thank you for your generous donation. We had a need and Bronco Nation responded,” athletic director Jeramiah Dickey said in a press release. “This donation guarantees the installation of lights at Huber Field and ensures the Broncos will host the Mountain West championship this coming spring.”

The addition to the facility comes after a substantial year in fan attendance. The Broncos brought series attendance records in back to back weeks last season, with the series attendance record of 2,590.

“This opportunity is huge. They challenged us, if we win the conference championship, lights will be up and running,” Shults said. “The lights help us not only with the conference championship, but we are able to host twenty two home games this year which is the most in a long time. It allows our athletes to stay home and gives us more flexibility with the weather that Boise holds in the spring.”

The support of fans and necessary facility updates solidifies the growth in the Boise State softball program.

“Jenna Bloom, the transfer from Arkansas, came to the San Diego State series last season. To see that support and the fanbase rooting for us in a pivotal series, it helps in the recruiting process,” Shults said. “Our athletes get a premier, big time softball feel. It is exciting, it makes it a fun place to be - especially when we are making big plays.”

The support and success is anticipated two-fold this season for the Broncos, on and off the field.

Photo of BSU Softball players on the field. Photo by Corissa Campbell

CAPRICORN

DEC 22 - JAN 19

TEXT FIGHTING AFTER 11 P.M. IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA.

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SAVE THE THEATRICS FOR THE MOVIES THIS MONTH.

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ALLOWING NEW PERSPECTIVES INTO YOUR LIFE DOESN’T MEAN YOURS HAS LESS VALIDITY. TAURUS

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ARE YOU DOING THAT THING WHERE YOU PERFORM AROUND OTHERS? STOP THAT.

ILLUSTRATION

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Bronco alumni and employers are waiting to help you prepare for your career.

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