The Arbiter Vol. 36 Issue 12 | 2.27.24

ON THE COVER:

Last year in 2023, Idaho saw 13 policeinvolved shootings. Eleven of the 13 were in the Treasure Valley and seven were fatal. This marks a record for the state of Idaho. While the number of police-involved shootings has risen, crime rates have stayed level.

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Photo by Niamh Brennan

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PDAS Kristin Kane comes to Boise State to speak on diplomacy

Kane brings years of experience where she has worked on diplomacy from Lagos to Lisbon

Kiryn Willett | News Editor | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Global Public Affairs Kristin Kane came to speak at Boise State on Feb. 22 about diplomacy in the 21st century.

Kane always wanted to work in public service. For her, this started with a service in the U.S. and Mexico. After college she combined her “love of service with internationalism” and she joined the Peace Corps.

After returning from the Peace Corps, Kane continued her education at the School of Public Service at Georgetown, which existed even before the State Department’s foreign service. There she learned from professors who were former

diplomats, and later entered a career in public diplomacy.

Public diplomacy, sometimes considered “soft” diplomacy, is about building connections. According to Kane, part of the job is being the first to know what’s going on, and knowing who in the community has influence. Typically, around one half to two thirds of the staff at an embassy are local.

Her first assignment in Lagos, Nigeria remains one of her most impactful experiences. At the time, tensions were high between the Christian and Muslim populations from decades of religious conflict.

After 9/11, the people of Nigeria were waiting to see how the U.S. would re-

spond, and it was Kane and her team’s job to make sure the U.S.’s stance was clear. At the time Kane was a cultural attaché, and it was her boss who was supposed to give a speech to a crowd of thousands of men. When he fell ill, that responsibility fell to Kane.

“And [I had] all these questions, like you know, do I wear a headscarf? How do I communicate? Do I greet them in Arabic? You know, all these sorts of things,” Kane said. “And I went there as a quite young woman, brand new diplomat, to speak to them about what the United States was doing and why we were working in Nigeria and what our message was to the Muslim community and it was just such a massive crowd and I was so young in my career, and when I think back, that was again, likely one of the few of only experiences they had with an American official, and that those people probably went back and for them, I was the United States and the United States government.”

It was Kane’s job to explain that the U.S. was not anti-muslim, but trying to find a way to move forward after the terrorist attack. Nigeria has a long history of violence between Christian and Muslim populations, and at the time Kane visited the tension between the two groups was high.

“I remember getting a letter, you get all sorts of letters that people address to embassies, and I got this letter that I’m almost embarrassed [to] say the kind of language the person was using but essentially was saying ‘what those Muslims do to you guys on 9/11 was awful and we should kill them all and we support you and bombing them all,’” Kane said. “It was just terrible to get that kind of thing, even though it was, in the guise of supporting us. And so we just

realized there was so much more we had to do.”

After 9/11, the U.S. received international backlash for its handling of 9/11, and its wars in the Middle East, which have been called “forever wars”.

According to Kane the global public opinion of the U.S. went down, not just in Muslim countries, but in allied European countries as well. France was a vocal critic of the U.S.’s actions at the time. In response, there was an anti-France movement in the U.S., where some began calling french fries “freedom fries”.

“But truly I’m from California, wine shops [were] pouring out French wines. I mean, it was really incredible. So much of the world was concerned about where we were going and what we’re doing with those wars that were as a direct result of 9/11,” Kane said.

Kane also noted a generational divide when it came to views on U.S. global involvement. Kane believes that this is a result of Gen Z having information available at their “fingertips”.

“I do think that your generation is just demanding a lot more because you’re a lot more engaged and involved and that has a lot to do with not just internet but social media,” Kane said. “How much did we know about climate change? You know, not a lot and the little bit of global warming that we heard or talked about, we didn’t take it seriously. Now we’re meeting up with countries who this is existential for them. They literally might not exist, right, these island nations that are dealing with the rising ocean levels. And so we just have all these challenges in front of us that I think [Generation Z] has grown up seeing and are and bring a passion to it.”

Photo of Kristin Kane. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of State

Boise State and the City of Boise proceed with plans for

New details released regarding the timeline for apartments on Capitol Blvd

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

J. Fisher Companies, the City of Boise and Boise State have established plans to increase the current 110 units on the City’s parcels by double the amount for a 500-unit apartment complex on Capitol Blvd. As construction is taking place on an existing housing unit, the Uniform Relocation Act requires temporary housing for residents living in the previous housing to be procured during construction.

The new complex owned by the city will provide residents with a mix of affordable housing and market-priced housing, and along Royal Blvd. Boise State’s parcel is the surface parking lot and the structure will also feature multipurpose areas for meetings or collaborative projects.

Lynda Tieck, the Senior Director of Housing and Residence Life at Boise State University, discussed that with partnerships like the Capitol apartments it is important to establish meaningful connections with the city.

“That’s important that we have a good relationship with the city because we impact the city in good and bad ways,” Tieck said. “I would like it to be a lot of good ways.”

Some of the BSU housing structures were not necessarily built to last, Tieck highlighted the importance of ensuring affordable housing options are safe and built to last like the new apartments on Capitol Blvd.

“Economically, yes, they’re affordable, [previous housing structures] but everyone’s like, this is not good for people to live in,” Tieck said. “I know it’s not meant to last forever and so can we put some structures up that are really meant to last for a long time.”

Maureen Brewer, the Senior Manager of the Division of Housing and Community Development at the City of Boise and Drew Alexander, the Associate Vice President for Campus Operations at Boise State provided some background on the project, as well as what it means for the Boise community.

“The inspiration was a process of working with both the agencies under the realization that this neighborhood was going through a period of change and that each of these parcels was situated or positioned in a way to evolve into something else,” Alexander said. “Something that leveraged proximity to downtown that leveraged the increasing resident population within the

‘mixed-income’ housing

neighborhood and also kind of the evolution of the neighborhood to have more of a retail restaurant mixed-use nature.”

According to Alexander, five years of work have gone into the project so far, and Brewer added that the city of Boise has had plans in place to increase the longevity of future structures.

“Like BSU, the city has long considered this property in this collection of parcels, and the important part of its long-term planning, knowing that the buildings at least on the city parcel are coming to the end of their useful life paired with the fact that we had over 100 tenants living in those buildings,” Brewer said. “The city really wanted to take a proactive approach to ensure that those tenants could be successfully and affordably rehoused before we really had a problem on our hands where in which there was some kind of emergency or urgent situation with the condition of the buildings themselves.”

Brewer acknowledged the ever-increasing demand for more housing in Boise.

“Given what the city is intimately aware of and intimately understands in terms of the affordable housing needs of Boise residents across the city, this is a location that we recognized could be remarkably well suited for increased density and then a mix of incomes in terms of who ultimately might be housed there,” Brewer said. “I think both organizations recognize that we’re better together in this sense and that development of both of these parcels and being thoughtful and intentional about doing so together would create a better product for the project itself, but also the neighborhood and the city at large.”

One of the City’s main priorities is to ensure previous residents are rehoused while construction occurs on the property.

The City of Boise owns 300-plus adorable housing units and has ensured that vacancies within its housing portfolio are reserved for prior tenants. Brewer shared that of the 110 individuals living in the

previous structure, ninety have been assisted with procuring new affordable housing.

Brewer discussed how the pandemic highlighted the importance of essential workers and that it is crucial to provide affordable housing at a price point that is accessible to them.

“One of the city’s goals under the current administration with Mayor McLean has been that the city is for everybody and that everybody has an opportunity to create and maintain a home here,” Brewer said. “If we mean everybody that also has to mean those households that are making below the median income and in some cases, well below it.”

Alexander said the project is meant to create an economically diverse neighborhood.

“Really successful neighborhoods have a variety to them,” Alexander said. “In addition to the already high capacity of student-proposed housing in the neighborhood, this would inject that variety that hasn’t been part of, let’s say the last 10 years of construction in the neighborhood.”

Alexander feels that this development will allow for an enriched community.

“I’m excited for what the project will do again for existing residents in the neighborhood if this project has a deeper inventory and variety of retail and service uses that helped the neighborhood continue to grow in that way and be a destination not only for residents within the neighborhood but the community at large,” Alexander said. “And excited about how the project is going to create a space right on the front door of campus where the community is spending more time in the residence within a neighborhood [and] finding more opportunities within their reach.”

The complex is projected to be completed by 2026 and will provide the community with new housing, retail and multipurpose meeting spaces.

Mock up of new student housing on Capitol. Photo courtesy of Public Filing.

Local resources aim to address

LGBTQ+

housing

crisis

LGBTQ+ individuals experience higher rates of homelessness, but local programs aim to help

Kiryn Willett | News Editor | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Over the last several years, Boise’s housing market has inflated consistently, creating a housing crisis. LGBTQ+ individuals are disproportionately impacted by housing costs, as they already face existing barriers to access to housing.

While currently there is no data on Idaho’s rates of homelessness for queer youth, national statistics show that LGBTQ+ youth experience homelessness at twice the rate of their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts.

However, other resources exist for LGBTQ+ individuals in Boise.

Lestat Black is the founder of the Trans Housing Coalition, a local mutual aid group focusing on providing services for trans youth struggling to find housing. Long term, they hope to build affordable and sustainable housing.

The Trans Housing Coalition was founded in April 2023. Today, the Trans Housing Coalition has helped five individuals find housing, and is currently helping 42 individuals relocate.

According to Black, the struggles to find housing go far beyond a lack of legal protections.

“One of the struggles that individuals definitely face is just finding an area where people won’t treat you badly,” Black said. “The Boise area is a lot better than most other areas in Idaho. It’s still definitely has people that are not very welcoming, especially where I’m at in the Garden City area.”

Lestat said they themselves have struggled to find housing and have applied for housing but not been contacted despite meeting qualifications.

“They just would not respond and I’m not sure if that was because I’m transgender and that’s very noticeable on a lot of the documents I put in.

But it just seems like overall, there’s a housing issue as is here in Idaho, and being [LGBTQ+],” Black said. “I think it is causing a lot of LGBT individuals to go homeless or have to be in very unsafe situations.”

The Trans Housing Project isn’t the only group seeking to aid LGBTQ+ individuals in finding secure housing as Boise State has resources available for LGBTQ+ students seeking housing.

The Steve Nelson Memorial fund is a fund established to provide aid for students facing financial hardships due to coming out. According to Anna Moredhead, Associate Dean of Students for Student Interventions, the fund was established in 2015 when the Boise Pride Alliance approached the Dean of Students Office about establishing a fund to aid struggling LGBTQ+ students. The fund was being developed when Steven Nelson, an openly gay staff member at Boise State, was murdered April 29, 2016.

Since the funds establishment, 12 students have received assistance, averaging around two students per year.

In addition to the Steve Nelson Memorial Fund, Boise State also has LGBTQ+ friendly housing for students. According to Lynda Tieck, while Boise has had gender neutral housing for several years, but the push for LGBTQ+ housing began when Sam Hardwood, a Resident Director for Chaffee Hall, wanted to incorporate gender neutral bathrooms.

“She was one that really pushed for Chaffee to be inclusive and for the bathrooms to be more gender neutral like that anyone would have access that lives in on their floor have access to either bathrooms,” Tieck said. “And so to have that flexibility in a hall like Chafee where it can be very gendered because of the gender bathrooms that was a big shift.”

In the past there have been instances where students may try to use LGBTQ+ housing to live with their partners, even if they are not LGBTQ+. According to Tieck, when this happens they work with students to move them into the right housing and a couple instances like these are no reason to remove a great program.

Over the years, the demand for gender-inclusive housing from students has increased.

“The rate of increase has been exponential where students are asking for gender inclusive housing. And I think there’s a variety of reasons for it, but we definitely have seen where it was like single digits to now, you know, almost triple digits of students who are requesting gender inclusive housing,” Tieck said.

According to Tieck, gender-inclusive housing is necessary to support students, no matter where they are in their journey of self discovery.

“It’s important for students to see that we value who they are, and they don’t need to choose … we want them to come as who they are, and explore that. I mean, college is exploring who you are and learning and expanding in whatever way that is. And gender is a part of that is your understanding … Why wouldn’t we do that with the things that they may or may not know about themselves?” Tieck said. “And so that matters, and it’s hard because [of] the way housing is. It’s been gendered for so long that we need to create some spaces where gender isn’t a part of it. And that’s a shift and a change, but it’s an important one.”

Illustration of a house flying a rainbow flag. Illustration by Sydney Smith

BSU teams with Idaho Digital Learning Alliance for new semiconductor program Middle and high school students are given opportunities to be the future of the microchip industry in Idaho

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

The Idaho Workforce Development Council granted $5 million to Boise State University to launch the new Semiconductor for All Program. The course is geared toward increasing awareness and accessibility to the industry for middle and highschool students in Idaho through an online course pioneered by the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance.

The semiconductor industry involves a variety of companies manufacturing transistors and integrated circuits. Transistors and integrated circuits are needed to produce microchips.

The semiconductor industry in Idaho is expected to grow. In 2026, Micron plans to build a $15 billion chip fabrication plant in Boise, due to the passing of the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022. In 2022, Micron announced a $40 billion investment in the chip manufacturing industry.

Out of the 74,000 jobs in manufacturing in Idaho, 8,000 of them are semiconductor jobs according to Idaho’s Semiconductor Workforce.

“We’re in a state that is leading the way,” Montoya said.

The course will open in the Fall of 2024 to Idaho students. According to Idaho Digital Learning Alliance’s Director of Curriculum, Jolene Montoya, IDLA will waive the $75 course fee for the first year.

The program was brought to life under the Microelectronics Education and Research Institute (MER), which was founded last year at Boise State. Teamwork between Boise State, The State Board of Education, Idaho Workforce Development Council, Idaho Digital Learning Alliance, Micron and the Institute for Microelectronics Education and Research made the program possible.

Camille Platts-McPharlin, Academic Programs & Projects Coordinator for the semiconductor for A.L.L. Program said Micron will need thousands of new jobs for the plant. According to McPharlin, the Semiconductor for A.L.L. Program has three years of funding until 2026.

“I think Idaho is a great place to be working in this industry,” McPharlin said. “And we’re just trying to build recognition of that.”

“If we can provide that foundation and get kids interested in starting in that direction from a young age,” Lisa Kabel, IDLA Course Development Specialist said. “It’s going to benefit them as well as our Idaho businesses and the workforce and their futures. It really opens the doors for them to do anything they want to do.”

Amy Moll, director and professor for

the Micron Schools of Material Science and Engineering and Director of the Engineering Plus Program teaches an introductory class in which she explains what semiconductors are and how they work. At a super small scale, she describes a computer chip as being “a bunch of on and off switches”.

“And everything is then in this digital format … It’s what makes the industry so incredible is how it is such a refined manufacturing technique and such a complex technique,” Moll said.

Most if not all consumer digital products from smartphones to computers to cameras, even toasters, according to Moll

use electric chips and semiconductor technology.

“The semiconductor industry is a lot bigger than you think,” Moll said.

Globally, the semiconductor industry is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030 according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.

“I would encourage folks to really think about semiconductors and how pervasive they are in life and how critical they are and become interested. The science behind them because it really is pretty incredible,” McPharlin said.

Graphic of the Boise State logo on top of a computer board. Graphic by Kelsey Mason

OPINION

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 | ARBITERONLINE.COM

Hollywood is recycling ideas and smaller studios need more media attention

Smaller studios toying with innovative ideas deserve more coverage

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

In a world of media where Disney dominates the box office with live-action films, and movies are adapted into musicals and reconverted into a film once again such as with “Mean Girls” 2024, Hollywood can appear uninspired, to say the least.

Is Hollywood truly out of ideas, or should lower-budget studios and films with unique storylines just be getting more attention? Founder of MOTIF productions and PBS control operator Matt O’Meara provided his take on the Disney strategy of “reimagining” films every few decades.

“It’s like taking a work of art and then taking the elements that are there physically, but then not any of the elements that actually make it come to life and

Graphic of a collage of a clapboard, Marilyn Monroe, a lipstick mark and camera film.

Graphic by Sasha White

work as a beautiful story,” O’Meara said. “I feel like it has become a cash grab because of Disney CEOs, and it’s not just Disney now it’s sadly most every big studio that distributes blockbuster movies in the current day. They choose scripts and ideas based off of the AI algorithms of what will determine to make the most money possible.”

O’Meara went on to discuss the role AI is playing in script writing and film production, specifically within large companies. Many individuals who are in a creative profession harbor the fear that AI will replace or plagiarize their worksomething we’re already seeing occur.

“They are starting to get to a point where they’re not even reading new scripts, they’re just automatically throwing them out if it doesn’t have enough money-making ideas right immediately there,” O’Meara said. “What they found to be safe the last decade, and why I consider the 2010s to be the darkest age for blockbuster movies that America’s had in a while is because what they found was safe and working was just giving people another remake or another sequel or another reimagining.”

However dire the 2010s were for movies, or at least as far as animated films made by large film companies went, O’Meara is confident that the current Disney formula is not sustainable.

“What I am optimistic about is that we’re actually starting to see a shift because Disney now has started to see some major bombs because I think people are getting sick of it,” O’Meara said. “Cinema has kind of been doing more of the same, especially in big studios like Warner Bros with their DC Universe.”

O’Meara believes that studios aren’t

taking risks by investing in independent filmmakers, despite seeing the payoff with filmmakers like Spielberg and Tarantino. Although utilizing the same formula that has yielded promising results may be the easy option, we need films that challenge audience expectations and infuse our society with new or undercovered stories.

“Disney for instance, is hiring independent filmmakers who are artistic like that, like for instance Chloe Zhao (an independent filmmaker) who they let direct ‘The Eternals’ … but you can very much tell that they don’t let these directors actually direct the movies,” O’Meara continued. “If Eternals was actually directed fully by Chloe, though it would not look anything like the movie looks at all. You can tell that it is very much a director versus studio battle of what they say this movie needs to look like versus what the director wants to do.”

Ryan Cannon, associate professor and director of the Film and Television Arts Program, provided his take on originality in Hollywood cinema, as well as safeguards put in place to prevent films created by AI.

“They can use AI but it can’t be credited and they can’t use AI to rewrite what the WGA writers have submitted without the WGA writers being on board,” Cannon said. “So there is an interesting safeguard if they work with guild writers.”

As a filmmaker, Cannon touched on what sets a movie apart.

“I skew towards stuff that feels like it’s coming from a more personal place perhaps or is trying to break some rules or subvert some expectations,” Cannon said. “There are great films out there right now, most of them, in my mind are original stories.”

Cannon pulled up a list of box office hits from 2023 and was less than impressed with the representation.

“I look at this and I’m kind of horrified,” Cannon said. “This seems dim to me as somebody who wants to propagate the art of cinema and it being a life-affirming valuable empathetic medium. Studios look at this and they’re like, ‘Oh, I see how we make money.’”

The concept of films being adapted into musicals is not a new concept. However, having said musical then be reformatted into film, such as with the new “Mean Girls” is more foreign. Cannon suggested that perhaps this is not how Broadway lovers want to see these beloved shows, and cited the professionally shot production of “Hamilton” as an example of what audiences may want to see instead.

“There’s no one-to-one correlation between the Broadway show experience, and then transcribing that and changing it and adapting it into a film because those things are so different,” Cannon said. “They are different forms of storytelling, and you’re going to lose something in that translation or gain something in that translation, but they won’t be the same. I think if it’s just about accessibility, I like the Hamilton model better than let’s make the movie version.”

With so many incredible films that deserve more recognition, it’s important to support independent filmmakers to hopefully promote the creation of unique storylines. Although sequels and “safe” formats bring with them an air of comfort, the advancement of cinema depends on directors and writers who are willing to take risks.

Consignment chaos: overconsumption within secondhand fashion is not sustainable

Buying your clothing secondhand doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a sustainable clothing consumer

Ella Van Leuven | Opinion Editor | opinion@stumedia.boisestate.edu

My closet is honestly one of my greatest pride and joys. I spent the second half of high school and my time in college curating the sickest outfits possible, particularly with hauls from thrift, consignment and vintage stores.

For almost as long as I’ve been into fashion, I’ve also been aware of the consequences that the fast fashion industry has on the environment and the inhumane working conditions that many fast fashion companies place their employees in. It’s felt obvious to me for a while that the overconsumption of new clothes that takes place in the industry – consider the $400 Shein hauls that proliferate on TikTok – that I can’t ethically support companies like H&M, Romwe and Forever 21.

What took far longer for me to realize was that my constant buying clothes and then reselling them at secondhand stores was also a problem, even though I wasn’t directly purchasing clothes from fast fashion retailers. Although buying clothes secondhand is certainly a step towards more sustainable consumption, purchasing clothes from thrift stores or secondhand sites doesn’t guarantee that you’re having a positive impact on the environment.

Fast fashion, a term that describes the rapid production and consumption of inexpensive clothing, has burgeoned into a global phenomenon with far-reaching negative impacts. This model, driven by the constant demand for the latest trends, has serious environmental repercussions.

According to Fashion Journal, “Fashion is responsible for 10 percent of annual global carbon emissions (more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined) and uses 93 billion cubic meters of water – enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people.” Beyond the environmental toll, fast fashion also raises ethical concerns, often relying on labor practices that

exploit workers in developing countries where regulations may be lax and working conditions can be dire.

The industry’s relentless pace and low cost often comes at the expense of human rights, revealing a dark side to the convenience and affordability it offers consumers. Remake reported that “Today, over 100 billion garments are produced annually worldwide … plac[ing] fast fashion in critical opposition with the planet’s natural capacity to support life on earth.”

The rise in popularity of secondhand fashion, largely thought of as a sustainable alternative to the fast fashion industry, has paradoxically begun to show signs of unsustainability due to a culture of overconsumption. While purchasing pre-worn items reduces demand for new productions and thus has a lower environmental footprint, the sheer volume of consumption and the rapid turnover of garments being bought and sold mimic the fast fashion cycle, just in a different form. This trend, fueled by online marketplaces and thrift store hauls, can lead to excessive buying habits, where the value and lifespan of each garment are diminished in the pursuit of the next bargain or rare find.

Consequently, the environmental benefits of buying secondhand are undercut by the increased carbon footprint associated with shipping these items and the potential for these goods to end up in landfills when they are no longer wanted, questioning the sustainability of the practice when taken to excess.

In a Varsity article, Jennifer Cartwright addressed the deceptively “sustainable” nature of secondhand fashion.

“Reselling culture means items of clothing often spend longer in parcels than they do on our bodies,” wrote Cartwright. “Second-hand platforms such as Depop and Vinted, see users repeatedly buy something, wear it once, and sell it again, at minimal economic loss. If the item

can’t be sold again, its next destination may be a charity shop. But charity shops often don’t have the capacity to accept every single donation, especially if the quality is low. If this is the case, at best the item will become lost in a wardrobe, at worst, it will end up back on the route to landfill.”

To counter overconsumption in the realm of secondhand clothing, consumers should adopt mindful shopping practices that emphasize quality over quantity, as well as the longevity of garments over fleeting trends. This approach includes investing in timeless pieces that offer versatility and durability, reducing the need for frequent replacements. Embracing a circular fashion mindset by repairing, upcycling or swapping clothes with others can also extend the life cycle of garments and keep them out of landfills.

Fashion Journal offered readers advice,

telling them that “Investing in quality pieces that will last is the best way to lessen impact on the environment. Engaging in excessive, wasteful consumption is not a criticism that can level exclusively at people who shop directly from stores, but one we must all consider when shopping secondhand too.”

Educating oneself about the environmental and ethical implications of fashion consumption, and setting personal limits on the number of items purchased, regardless of their secondhand status, also plays a crucial role in promoting a more sustainable fashion ecosystem. Ultimately, the shift towards conscious consumption practices in the secondhand market is a powerful step individuals can take to mitigate their environmental impact and challenge the culture of overconsumption that is so prevalent in the fashion industry.

Illustration of shopping bags and accessories from a thrift store.

Illustration by Sydney Smith

2023 marked a record year for police-involved shootings in the state of Idaho

Police-related shootings are at a record high while crime rates stay level

Joel Hroma | News Reporter | news@stumedia.boisestate.edu | Photos by Niamh Brennan | Graphics by Sasha White

Last year in 2023, Idaho saw 13 police-involved shootings. Eleven of the 13 were in the Treasure Valley and seven were fatal. This marks a record for the state of Idaho. Compare this to 2022, when Idaho saw seven fatal police-involved shootings throughout the entire year.

According to data compiled by the Washington Post, the state of Idaho had 14 individuals shot and killed by police in 2023.

Potential causes

This raises the question of why Idaho is seeing an increase in police-involved shootings and whether or not this is a consistent trend.

“The numbers are small so it is hard to say if this is a trend or is it just a blip,” said Dr. Michael Kreiter, a lecturer at Boise State University in the sociology department.

A common data point that can be observed is the number of violent crimes in the area compared to the number of incidents that involve a police officer firing their service weapon.

According to Dr. Cody Jorgensen, an associate professor of criminology at Boise State, crime data could suggest that an increase in a city or a state’s violent crime could lead to an increase in police-involved shootings. In recent years, Idaho has seen a relatively flat crime rate, and in fact, the violent crime rate in the city of Boise has been trending down.

Despite the fact that Idaho’s crime rate has remained relatively stable, law

enforcement officers may perceive an increased threat towards them due to trends in other states.

“I think it is reasonable that local police are paying attention to what’s going on nationally, even though what’s going on locally, in their own agency, their own different jurisdiction, that crime is either flat or going down. But they are perceiving that nationwide, other places, violent crime is increasing,” said Jorgensen

This suggests that it is possible for law enforcement officers to respond to national violent crime trends and react accordingly in their local jurisdictions.

“It’s just a fact of human nature that we are very responsive to anecdotes,” Jorgensen said.

There is a common thread among the cases within the last year that, according to the police reports, the officer “perceived a threat” which is what led them to use their service weapon.

There is something known as the “use of force continuum” or a “use of force policy” that law enforcement agencies are meant to follow. This is designed for the officer to use the “amount of force that reasonably appears necessary given the facts and circumstances perceived by the deputy at the time”, according to Ada County Sheriff policy.

According to the Ada County Sheriff’s Department policy, “All commissioned deputies shall carry at least one less than lethal control device at all times while on duty.” This could

include pepper spray, a taser, or other “less than lethal” devices.

“The difference between reaching for a taser or pepper spray and reaching for the gun is that there must be a perceived threat that the suspect presents a significant likelihood of death or serious injury,” said Jorgensen.

According to the Ada County Sheriff’s Department policy, an officer “may use deadly force to stop a fleeing subject when the deputy has probable cause to believe that the person has committed, or intends to commit, a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious bodily injury or death.”

The policy also states that if an officer “reasonably believes” there to be an imminent threat of injury or death, they may use “deadly force”.

This is also designed so that the officer is protected physically and legally when they decide to use their service weapon, which can make it difficult for those involved in a fatal encounter by a police officer to pursue any further action.

This is a phenomenon that Dr. Jorgensen called “awful but lawful”.

“A police officer’s judgment is based on what any other ‘reasonable’ officer would do in the same situation,” said Kreiter.

A police officer’s actions are judged on whether any other officer, when faced with the same situation and went through all the same training, would do.

Mental health

Throughout the last year, there were two cases of a police-involved shooting that involved mental health crises. One involved Adam Michael Trejo and another involved Christoffer Huffman.

In the case of Trejo, officers responded to a man who was wielding two knives in a McDonalds drive-thru. Trejo had just recently runaway from St. Luke’s after seeking help for a “mental health crisis”.

The officers stated that Trejo “came at the officer” which is when the officer discharged their weapon, killing Trejo.

In the incident of Huffman, police were called to a scene in Star, Idaho where Huffman, was threatening to harm himself and “making suicidal statements” according to a press statement from the Ada County Sheriff’s office.

According to the police report, Huffman was “holding a gun” and after “numerous attempts” to get him to drop the gun, an officer shot Huffman. The ambulance arrived at the scene taking Huffman to the hospital around 7 p.m and Huffman was pronounced dead at 8 p.m.

Some advocates for reducing police violence call for law enforcement agencies to have a dedicated unit designed around de-escalating a mental health crisis.

Idaho does not currently have any specialized team that focuses on mental health crises, although officers

do spend four hours of academy time focused on “mental illness awareness”.

The Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), which is the academy all police officers must go through in the state of Idaho, requires a total of 14 weeks, or 579 hours of training to get their certification.

“When an officer approaches the situation and someone is exhibiting any of these symptoms, they know how to handle it differently and then the CIT (Critical Incident Training) class touches on different communication techniques when dealing with somebody who is in the midst of a mental health crisis,” said Aubrey McKay, the curriculum manager at POST.

Critics of the police say that there isn’t enough training in this field.

“They’re under-trained for that because it’s just really outside the scope of what they’re taught to do their function,” said Kreiter.

There are examples of programs in other states that have a dedicated team to call in for a mental health crisis.

For example, Denver, Colorado has a unit called Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) which was founded in 2020. According to their site, it is “an alternative response team that includes behavioral health clinicians and paramedics to engage individuals experiencing mental health distress and substance use disorders.”

Between the years 2015 and 2023, Denver had a total of three mental health related incidents that ended in a police-involved shooting, whereas Idaho had 12.

While units like these exist, they are few and far between in the United States.

While it is unclear if this past year is an indication of an upward trend for police-involved shootings in the state of Idaho, researchers and professors are taking note.

“Who knows, maybe next year police will have a record low number of shootings,” said Jorgensen.

As Idaho’s overall crime rates continue to stay relatively flat, it is unknown whether police-involved shootings will be a rising trend.

“The numbers are small so it is hard to say if this is a trend or is it just a blip,” said Dr. Michael Kreiter

CULTURE

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 | ARBITERONLINE.COM

Student spearheads Record Exchange and Albertsons Library collaboration

The collaborators aspire to make an archive of Idaho’s music history

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

On Jan. 26, Albertsons Library announced its partnership with The Record Exchange to support the preservation of Idaho’s musical history. The collaboration will allow library-goers to listen to music both digitally and on vinyl.

Cora Lee Oxley, a Boise State senior majoring in humanities and cultural studies with a minor in english literature was the visionary behind this exciting win for Boise’s music-loving community.

The project came to fruition after Oxley participated in a five-week course project that allowed her to meet with archivists and discuss the process of establishing a special collection. Oxley noticed a gap in the archives’ documentation of musical history in Idaho and due to her work at The Record Exchange was inspired to connect the two organizations.

“My initial thought, having worked downtown, both at the Record Exchange and Rediscovered Books — there is a good amount of historical materials that pass through local retail spaces that aren’t valuable in a retail space or are not worth reselling,” Oxley said. “That got me curious about how we could start spreading the word and educating people about what types of materials might be worthwhile for the archives to hang on to … I wanted to set the foundation within those five weeks for a long-term relationship between the archives and the Boise music community and use the record exchange as a touch point and a locus for that communication.”

Oxley’s vision behind the collaboration doesn’t end with music recordings being integrated in a bigger way into the library archives, she hopes that music ed -

ucation courses can utilize the materials to enrich the learning experience.

“The biggest thing that I want to see happen is to have it be creative, not just a repository for student work, but a repository for students to integrate into their work as well,” Oxley said. “Some of the ideas that I have for that are using some of the raw audio files that are getting added to the archives in music production courses and potentially, encouraging students to participate in documenting local oral history of music for music history courses.”

The act of holding a record or cassette in your hands is one of the ways individuals feel connected to the music they consume. Oxley touched on this phenomenon and the benefits of having a physical catalog of music, although some of the collection is digitized.

“There is something really important and just kind of wonderful about holding something that somebody else made in your hands,” Oxley said. “The digital consumption of music in some really particular way is disconnected from the conversations around music and human connection around music and the humans who are creating the music, when you hold a record in your hand, you can see and feel all of the other hands that went into it.”

With Idaho’s ever-changing music scene, Oxley discussed why music documentation in Idaho is important to her, and how the collaboration supports this concept.

“For me, that’s part of the importance is respecting the real people behind this [music scene],” Oxley said. “And then also adding fuel to a really good fire that’s already going and has been burn -

ing for a long time.”

While the collection focuses on Idaho musicians, if the connection to said musician is established, they can donate other artists’ work to the archive as well.

“They [the archive] have multiple kinds of collections in their possession where the person who collected all of those materials over the course of their life or career is from Idaho, but maybe the materials and documents that they have are not related to Idaho,” Oxley said. “My best friend, her dad was a pretty prominent musician in the Boise punk scene, if she were to donate his entire collection of his records, he is an Idaho musician, he has those ties and he may have records from elsewhere, but the connection is established.”

Cheryl Oestreicher, head of special collections and university archivist for the Albertsons Library, shared her perspective on the future of music archiving and preservation.

“I like to think it’s always going to be a mix because there are some people who say that digital never sounds as good as vinyl,” Oestriecher said. “For archives, we will always have physical aspects because people will save things. With music, I think both for the archive but also going forward, it’d be interesting to see what the balance is between the physical and the digital.”

Oestreicher highlighted the many underrated artists from Idaho whose work should be preserved for future generations.

“Idaho is so overlooked in so many ways,” Oestreicher said. “We have musicians and artists who have become nationally known or internationally known, Curtis Staggers and jazz Josh

Ritter Built to Spill alternative, Rosalie Sorrels. It’s not always about national, it’s about local, and we have this culture, we have things and appreciating what we have just around us.”

This collaboration will impact the future of music lovers in Idaho, both by exposing future Idahoans to music history and also by allowing artists to document their music catalog over time. Students like Oxley and archivists like Oestreicher play an integral role in preserving Idaho’s musical legacy and have created a collection that will inspire years of music research to come.

Illustration of a girl reading in front of a record player.

Illustration by Sydney Smith

‘Madame Web’ is a superhero stumble that fails to spin a good story

Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff suffers from a subpar script and shallow performances

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

Speaking about her leading role in “Madame Web” on Saturday Night Live, star Dakota Johnson said “It’s kind of like if AI generated your boyfriend’s perfect movie.”

If you’ve followed superhero films over the past few years, you’re likely familiar with Sony’s much-memed “morbillion”-dollar trainwreck “Morbius”, an incoherent vampire slugfest starring Jared Leto and Matt Smith that bombed at the box office in 2022.

“Madame Web”, the latest film in Sony’s shared Spider-Man universe, doesn’t fare much better than its predecessor — it tries to satisfy longtime Spider-fans and newcomers from the “Spider-Verse” animated films, and succeeds at neither.

If you take away one thing from this article, let it be this – “Madame Web” isn’t worth your time, even if you’re a diehard Spider-Fan.

The movie manages to be the antithesis of what made Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” so effortlessly appealing. Gone are carefully crafted character arcs and brilliantly choreographed ensemble action sequences, as they are replaced by flat, static characterization and jittery, nauseating chase scenes.

Dakota Johnson, most known for her role in the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series, stars as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic who, try as she might, can’t resuscitate this film. After a near-death experience during a disaster response, Webb unlocks the power to briefly glimpse the future and stop accidents before they happen. Fraught with lens flares and choppy editing, these visions are often disorienting and difficult to look at.

Adam Scott of “Succession” portrays a young version of Peter Parker’s uncle Ben whose sister is expecting a child implied to be the nascent Peter Parker/ Spider-Man himself. Johnson and Scott’s uneven chemistry in their fleeting scenes

together are “Madame Web”’s most enjoyable moments.

The other performances are stilted at best and painfully awkward at worst. Johnson is joined by Sydney Sweeney best known for her role as Cassie in“Euphoria”, Isabel Merced and Celeste O’Connor, who all play teenagers that Webb must protect from an evil version of Spider-Man – Ezekiel Sims, a millionaire tyrant played by Tahar Rahim. Gifted with a similar ability to see the future, Sims tries to kill the three girls because he sees them doing the same to him in the future.

Each girl is fated to become a “Spider-person”, part of a super-team led by Webb that will bring Ezekiel’s downfall. Using powers of premonition, Webb protects the three girls from Sims by counteracting his attacks with her future knowledge.

Webb’s divination effectively eradicates nearly all the film’s action scenes –– abridged versions of fights play out in her head, rarely actually occurring because she prevents them, creating glorified chase scenes. This is a spectacle superhero movie where the protagonist’s power is to stop spectacles from occurring.

Fans seeking the allure of an “evil Spider-Man” will leave disappointed, as the idea is never utilized to its full potential; Sims is rarely seen clearly in costume on screen using his Spider-powers. And the future three “Spider-people” are only seen in vision sequences; aside from Webb, this is a superhero movie without superheroes.

Rahim’s menacing performance as Ezekiel is woefully undercut by repetitive lines delivered with a gravelly, oddly pitched tone that is clearly dubbed over his original delivery. Sweeney, Merced and Celeste are let down by a script injecting awkward tension into all their scenes together.

There are redeeming qualities under the mess. “Madame Web”’s core messaging is emotionally intelligent — “When you take on responsibility, great power will come”, a twist on Spider-Man’s “with great power comes great responsibility”, emphasizes the empowerment and empathy that can be gained through parenthood or guardianship.

Webb’s powers are appealing and interesting when they’re not visually disorienting, and the maternal “found family” relationship between Webb and the teenagers could have been deeply heartfelt if executed correctly. The problem is that all these redeeming elements are buried under a messy plot and cringeworthy script.

I wanted “Madame Web” to be “so bad it’s good,” but it isn’t. Because the movie takes its mediocrity seriously, it’s

difficult to watch and won’t go over well at sleepovers.

In the wake of the “Spider-Verse” films’ explosive popularity and bubbly creativity, “Madame Web” could have been a course correction rekindling goodwill with fans by producing a truly phenomenal live action Spider-Man spinoff. Instead, it’s a derivative hodgepodge of half-hearted modern superhero motifs that aren’t executed well.

I wish I had Webb’s powers of clairvoyance; I wouldn’t have spent money on a ticket.

Sony’s next Spider-Man adjacent movie, “Kraven the Hunter”, releases this August, and if “Madame Web” is any indication, Kraven will be a film to avoid.

Image from newly released movie Madame Web. Photo courtsey of Marvel.

CULTURE

Local

advocates fight for the

Snake

River salmon Native communities seek to restore local land and resources as the species faces the threat of extinction

Harllie Stevenson | Staff Writer | culture@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Despite warnings from local tribes, scientists and community members about the potential impact on the local salmon population, the construction of four dams along the Snake River took place with the intent of clean and cheap energy in the 1960s and ‘70s. However, the dams have caused irreversible damage to the fish population, killing between 40 and 92 percent of migrating salmon.

The Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation (USRT) is dedicated to ensuring the “protection, enhancement, and restoration of natural and cultural resources.”

Danny Stone, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock tribes, is the environmental program director for USRT. For the last 15 years, Stone has spent his time working with the Upper Snake River Tribes. Stone manages and develops adaptive responses to climate change for his tribe and complex resource management projects for Idaho’s salmon that are listed on the Endangered Species Act.

Stone shared how the dams have altered the Snake River.

“It’s way too hot. It’s got invasive species in it now,” Stone said. “If we could get the river to a normal or functional condition, where it’s swimmable, fishable and drinkable, that would be awesome. That’s what we are striving for.”

Helina Alvarez is a Ph.D. student with a Bachelor of Science in wildlife management and conservation and a Master of Science in conservation leadership. Alvarez is currently working with the Fort Hall Reservation to conduct her dissertation with them. As part of her research, Alvarez is examining how colonialism and climate change have impacted the water complex on the Fort Hall Reservation.

“The best type of ecosystem is its most natural state. When you put in a structure that changes that state, there are going to be impacts. You’re changing the river system, therefore you are changing the

flow, the temperature and the habitat,” said Alvarez.

Another group advocating for salmon and the Snake River is the Youth Salmon Protectors. Lily Wilson, a member of the group and the Youth Engagement Assistant for the University Outreach at the Idaho Conservation League, says the Youth Salmon Protectors are fighting for salmon because of how vital they are to the ecosystem.

“Salmon are considered a keystone species. 176 species in the Pacific Northwest rely directly on salmon,” Wilson said.

The Youth Salmon Protectors’ main goal is to breach the four lower Snake River dams.

“These four dams we choose because they produce only 4% of the region’s power. 100% of that can be replaced with solar and wind. It’s the only way to effectively save the salmon,” Wilson said.

The destruction of the Snake River is not only affecting the local salmon, it is affecting the local tribal communities.

Stone stated how the Owyhee River used to bring salmon right to the doorsteps of those on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. Once the dams were constructed, the tribes lost direct access to the fish.

“[The Snake River] is the river that ties us all together, wherever you are from or what community you come from,” Stone said. “The Shoshone-Bannock people, the Paiute people, they have relied on salmon as a natural resource. Everything the tribes relied on was touched by the salmon. So the loss of that fish had a cascading effect through our ecology. It affected the tribes on a fundamental level, but it also contributed to ecological dysphoria that we are experiencing today in contemporary society.”

Alvarez explained how fish play a part in the culture and lifestyle of the Shoshone-Bannock people. If you affect the habitat the fish rely on, you also affect

them.

“It’s a cycle. If you throw a rock in the water, there’s going to be a ripple effect. You put a dam in the river, there’s going to be an effect to that too,” Alvarez said. Wilson shared that many tribes in the Pacific Northwest consider themselves salmon people. The Umatilla Nation, whom Wilson has worked with in the past, is passionate about salmon conservation.

“Salmon was the first food their people had; it sustained their culture. They promised the salmon to always use their voice to protect them, which is why they are such big advocates for Salmon restoration,” Wilson said. “They get most of their food, income, and culture from salmon.”

Alvarez explained that there is an intersection between colonialism and envi-

ronmental destruction that leaves tribal communities without vital resources.

“When you put a dam on a river system, that is a colonial structure. And therefore, you’re alternating the natural flow regime. We’re seeing less snowfall, therefore we are seeing less snow melt, and therefore less water in a river system,” said Alvarez. “There are a lot of communities around the world that have been impacted by climate change. Frontline communities that depend on their resources and where they get their food and water; those are the communities that have been really affected by climate change.”

Together with their communities, Stone, Alvarez and Wilson continue to fight for the Snake River and the local salmon population. “Even a fish needs an attorney these days,” Stone joked.

Photo of a lawn sign reading “SNAKE RIVER DAMS” with a red X over top.

Photo courtesy of Dana Lyons

How the portrayal of the Percy Jackson main characters vary in each depiction

The characterization of main characters differ in the show, the movies and the books

The “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” Disney+ series has received a much more positive reception than the film adaptations did, which are pretty much universally hated by fans of the books. While both make changes from the source material, the key to the series success, and the movie’s failure, may lie in the characterization of the main trio: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood.

Percy is played by Logan Lerman in the 2010 movie “Percy Jackson and The Lighting Thief”, and Percy’s portrayal is the most true to the books out of the trio in the movies. Whether book, movie or show, Percy Jackson is a mama’s boy.

The movies preserve Percy’s general attitude, anger at his father and ability to cluelessly stumble his way, with a little luck and talent, to the top. The movie

even keeps some of the book’s chaotic teen and preteen humor, with Percy repeating to himself, “I should be on medication” in a panic after seeing Mrs. Dodds in the museum.

One of the main differences is in Percy’s humor. While in the books, Percy is known for his sass and, the Percy in the movie tends to have more direct insults and aggression, without the same wit, like he calls Smelly Gabe a “bald headed freak” to his face.

The show however, keeps the punch up humor the books are famous for. Percy, played by Walker Scobell, still has an attitude, but his jokes tend to be a little more clever and less direct.

Percy’s sarcasm is on full display when he selects Annabeth for his quest, saying “If the mission required someone to push me down a flight of stairs for it to succeed,

you’d want someone who won’t hesitate when they do it”.

The show nearly perfectly captures Percy’s personality, keeping the humor and loyalty to his loved ones that many original fans loved.

Movie Grover Underwood, played by Brandon T. Jackson, is the first serious deviation from a book-accurate character description in the movie. In the books, Grover is a shy, nervous and weepy young satyr who loves nature.

In the movie, Grover transforms from a sweet and caring character, to a playboy womanizer and an affinity for gambling. In the movies, Grover is a lot more traditionally masculine, and more physically capable than the Grover in the books, who mostly fights by playing reed-pipes.

The Grover in the movies lacks the unique character traits and heart that made him popular with fans of the books. Virtually the only thing that the movies did well was Grover’s unwavering loyalty to his friend, and his love of food.

The show does a much better job of portraying Grover Underwood, and when changes are made, they serve the story and format of a T.V. show. Grover, played by Aryan Simhadri, isn’t as nervous or weepy in the show as he is in the books, but he isn’t loud and extroverted like the movies.

Grover still has the key parts of his character, his love for the god Pan and his gentle nature. Simhadri’s Grover is much funnier, with his “consensus song” bringing a moment of brevity and humor to the show in a way that still feels true to the character.

Perhaps the most egregious deviation from the source material is the movie’s portrayal of Annabeth Chase, played by Alexandra Daddario. The movie strips the character of nearly everything that makes Annabeth a compelling and complex character.

True to the books, Annabeth is a fierce and well trained warrior. The movie also

depicts Annabeth as the only one of the three having knowledge of Greek myths, where she explains the hydra and the Lotus Casino to Percy and Grover.

Unfortunately, both of these classic Annabeth traits are undercut by how easily Percy beats her in the battle by the river, and by the fact that any mythological knowledge from Annabeth usually comes after the challenge, meaning it had little, if any, impact on the plot.

Her love of architecture and her complex relationship with Luke and her family are left out, essentially reducing her to an attractive plot device.

In the show, Annabeth, played by Leah Jeffries, can come across as overbearing or rude, whether it’s stalking Percy or shoving him in the water, but it is clear that Annabeth isn’t being mean for the sake of being mean.

Everything she does is a direct byproduct of either her goals or upbringing. Her relationship with Luke, her issues with her father and her need to make her mother proud are all key aspects of her character that the show keeps in.

While Annabeth does appear to lack the nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the Greek world she has in the books, her battle strategy and cleverness still shine through, both in her strategy to win capture the flag, and when she uses her invisibility cap to help defeat Medusa.

Percy still has his humor and sass, Grover still cares deeply for his friends and nature, and Annabeth feels like she walked right off the page. In the movies, while Percy may be more accurate, Grover and Annabeth are unrecognizable as the characters Rick Riordan created.

While the show may have made changes, the spirit of characters that drew fans to the series in the first place is still there, making it a more enjoyable watch for fans.

Photo of the two on-screen portrayals of Percy Jackson, Walker Scobell (left) and Logan Lerman (right). Photo courtesy of the Everett Collection

SPORTS & REC

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

The culture of skiing and snowboarding: Sharing a passion on the Mountain

The subtle differences of the two winter sports that come together to foster a tight-knit community

Natalie Whitfield | Staff Writer | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Boise State University’s local non-profit mountain Bogus Basin is the highlight of the spring semester for both skiers and snowboarders. Students have completely sold out the student winter season passes, and the non-profit returns 100% of the earnings back into improving the on-mountain experience.

The culture behind both skiing and snowboarding is arguably one of the most thrilling experiences. From the cold air, the beautiful connection to nature and the exhilarating highs and speed, skiing and snowboarding is easily considered a fan favorite winter activity.

Skiing and snowboarding have together cultivated a collective group of dedicated enthusiasts who share a passion for the mountain that holds a both spoken and unspoken friendly showdown with one another. Nonetheless, the two come together to foster a tight-knit community that values camaraderie, adventure and overall a profound connection to the slopes.

Sawyer Newhouse, vice president of the Boise State Ski & Snowboard Club, a sophomore studying humanities and cultural studies, gave insight on the club and his experience with the sports.

“Skiing is rooted in tradition from its origins in ski racing and downhill skiing,” Newhouse said. “Whereas snowboarding is more rooted in its park culture of doing tricks and all kinds of expression.”

Boise State’s Ski and Snowboard Club has an even split between the two sports with approximately 280 members in total. The club prioritizes connecting members to keeping Bogus’s wish of always having someone to carpool with,

hosting social events and more. The club is inviting new members to reach out and join their club to grow their connection for the sport, make friends and try something new.

While up to personal preference, there is a huge debate on which of the winter sports is easier. Junior criminal justice student, Anna Lucas, a member of the Ski & Snowboard Club chimed in with a popular opinion.

“Snowboarding is harder to learn and easier to get good at,” Lucas said. “Whereas skiing is easier to learn but harder to get good at.”

Skiers are equipped with boots, skis and poles. Ski boots are known to be uncomfortable to walk in due to their stiff build, but their equipment allows for an easy release if they end up in a predicament on the hill.

Though it is a quick release, you run the risk of the classic “Yard Sale” yell, a joke coined for the skiers having to chase down their equipment after a wipeout from a nearby snowboarder.

Skiing is the original snow sport and has been around for centuries with some “ski-only” resorts still existing today. Snowboarding comes from surfing, with origins of originally being known as “Snurfing”.

Snowboarders have only boots and a snowboard. Once strapped in, there’s no leaving the board until manually releasing themselves. Despite being strapped in, snowboarders are much more injury prone when catching an edge.

Skiers don’t have to wait to go down the mountain after they get off the lifts, whereas snowboarders must glide off the lift with their dominant foot, regular or goofy, and sit off to the side to strap in

before heading down the slopes.

Cat-tracks or flat trails on the mountain can make it or break it for a snowboarder if they do not go into them with enough speed, causing them to hop like the pixar lamp until gaining enough speed. Ski poles allow skiers to create enough momentum for whatever trails are to come their way. Bonus points for skiers that pull their snowboard friends with their poles to get them out of a cat-track.

Generally speaking, the fashion sense between the two sports, although interchangeable, usually is distinct from one another. Skiers tend to wear more slim fitting outerwear to support their more aerodynamic form, while snowboarding pants and bibs tend to be looser for bending, crouching and various leg movements.

While up to preference, snowboarders are typically known for wearing mittens while bringing the surfer and skater look, as they are often associated with caring more about getting noticed for style points. Skiing on the other hand is focused on speed and practicality with their moves noted for grace and elegance.

“We don’t have access to exact statistics,” Jacqueline Klingler, rental associate at Boise State’s Outdoor Rental Center, said. “But from working here, I’d say our rentals are 60% for ski equipment and 40% for snowboarding equipment.”

At the Boise State Outdoor Rental Center members can rent full snowboard or full ski equipment starting at $24 for 24 hours.

On the road up to Bogus Basin, skiers and snowboarders share the tale of opening and closing their car doors to let in

“trolls” while going over the cattle grate at mile four. In doing so, legend has it you’re guaranteed a good day on the slopes, but don’t forget to let them out on your way back down.

“When you’re up on the mountain, nothing else matters,” Nick Harris, ski and snowboard tuning and rental associate, from McU sports said. “It’s the perfect mix of individuality and friendship. You’re on your own forming your own connection with nature but still get to celebrate your friends when they land a sick trick.”

Regardless of amusing differences that make each sport unique on their own, skiers and snowboarders at Boise State highlighted their love and dedication for the sport from the thrill and the adrenaline rush to feeling in touch with nature — it is a great way to escape from the world to spend time with friends.

Photo of a shadow of two snowboarders on a ski lift.

Photo by Natalie Whitefield

Running Back University: How Boise State has become a powerhouse for running backs

Here’s a fun/short history of running backs who launched from Boise State to the NFL

Alec Simeone | Sports & Rec. Reporter | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

Along time ago on a Blue Turf not so far away, resided a thousand yard season, record breaking games, double-digit touchdowns — all from Boise State running backs.

Over the years, many great running backs have stepped on the blue turf at Boise State University, and many of them have also graduated to the National Football League (NFL).

From first round draft pick Doug Martin, to Super Bowl champion Jay Ajayi, here’s a list of the great running backs that launched from the blue turf to the NFL grass

Over the years, Boise State University has been the home to many great running backs, most recently with Ashton Jeanty and George Holani.

IAN JOHNSON (2005-2008)

Ian Johnson, perhaps the most important running back to the Broncos in recent memory, played on one of the most historic Boise State football teams of all time.

After four seasons on the Blue, he accumulated 4,183 rushing yards and 58 rushing touchdowns, with a highlight season in 2006 where he had 1,713 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns, helping bring home a Fiesta Bowl victory to Boise State.

Shortly after the game, Johnson proposed to girlfriend Chrissy Popadics, head cheerleader at Boise State, cementing a great Cinderella story for Boise.

Johnson is tied at 15th all time in career rushing touchdowns with 58 and 27th for single season touchdowns with 25 in all of college football.

When the NFL draft came around, things looked pretty bright for the young running back. He ran the fastest 40 yard dash time of any running back in the 2009 NFL combine with a 4.46.

Johnson unfortunately did not get drafted, however, he was signed as a free agent to the Minnesota Vikings, where he played a preseason game, scoring two touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys.

The following season, he was waived and signed to the practice squad. He would bounce around as a practice squad player from there to the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions and finally the Miami Dolphins.

After football, Johnson became a State Farm agent in Boise, where he lives now. He and his wife have one daughter, Johannah.

DOUG MARTIN (2007-2011)

Nicknamed “The Bowling Ball” by the media and “Muscle Hamster” by his

teammates, Martin was part of the iconic 50-3 Boise State football team, where he accumulated two 1,200 yard seasons and 43 career touchdowns.

As great as he was for the Broncos, he doesn’t hold many records for stats like rushing yards or touchdowns. How could this be? Oh right, Kellen Moore.

The timeless quarterback/running back duo spent four seasons on the Blue, and together they brought home three bowl victories, including a Fiesta Bowl, in Boise State’s golden age of football.

Martin went on to the 2012 NFL draft and was taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round, pick No. 31.

He went on to have a great career, notching two 1,400 yard seasons, which put him at the 2nd and 3rd place in all time Buccaneer single season rushers. He also made two appearances in the Pro Bowl in 2012 and 2015.

His all-time NFL stats come out to 5,356 rushing yards, 30 rushing touchdowns, 1,207 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

JAY AJAYI (2012-2014)

Ajayi’s journey to the blue turf wasn’t as straightforward compared to other backs on this list.

Born in London, England, Ajayi moved to Maryland at the age of seven, and later to Frisco, Texas during his high school years.

Ajayi took over for Martin seamlessly, and holds a place in Boise State’s record books with the most single season rushing yards, all purpose yards and touchdowns, all during the 2014 season.

At 21, the young back entered the 2015 NFL draft and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in round five, pick 149.

He went on to spend three seasons in south beach, notching a 1,200 yard season in 2016, before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017.

Ajayi’s role was progressively reduced as the seasons went on, but still found

himself in the backfield in Super Bowl LII.

He notched 57 yards on nine carries, averaging 6.3 yards per carry and joined a short list of Broncos turned Superbowl champions.

The following year, Ajayi tore his ACL in week five and struggled with injury until his eventual retirement in 2022.

In the final game of the regular season, the Eagles named him honorary captain in their game against the Dallas Cowboys.

JEREMY McNICHOLS (2014-2016)

McNichols, the second Tampa Bay draftee on this list, sort of takes on the ‘middle child’ role amongst recent Bronco running backs.

McNichols’ starting career at Boise State stretched through the 2015 and 2016 season as he racked up 1,337 yards, 20 touchdowns and 1,709 yards and 23 touchdowns respectively, while bulldozing the Broncos to Poinsettia and Cactus Bowl victories.

In 2017 he was taken by the Buccaneers in the fifth round, but was later released by the team in early September 2017.

Just two days later, the young back signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad and was elevated to the active roster late November 2017.

McNichols bounced around the league over the course of his NFL career. After his first stint with the 49ers, he moved to the Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, the Titans again, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers and most recently the 49ers again.

Read about Alexander Mattison, George Holani and Ashton Jeanty in our online version of the article at arbiteronline.com

Photo of BSU Football players #3 Riley Smith, and #2 Ashton Jeanty celebrating

Photo by Taya Power-Thornton

Ahmed Hassanein: From No. 1 in CrossFit to No. 1 in the Mountain West

Senior defensive end Ahmed Hassanein had a very successful 2023 season for the Broncos

Alec Simeone | Sports & Rec. Reporter | sports@stumedia.boisestate.edu

This year, senior defensive end Ahmed Hassanein enters his fourth year playing for Boise State, but only his sixth year of his football career.

The now veteran player hails from Cairo, Egypt, moving to Anaheim, California in 2019. Before his move, Hassanein was a great CrossFit athlete, ranking No. 1 overall in Egypt in the sport.

His half-brother, Cory Besch, helped him move from Egypt to California, where he played at Loara High School. Besch, an English teacher and a coach at the school, helped coach Hassanein both in the classroom and on the football field.

Now in 2024, the aspiring NFL talent and first team All-Mountain West defensive lineman has to follow up his historic 2023 season for the Broncos.

UNDERCLASSMEN YEARS

After two seasons playing defensive line in high school, Hassanein received his first offers from Northern Colorado, Fresno State University, the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Just a month later he received offers

from the University of Kansas and Duke, but didn’t hear anything from Boise State until Dec. 2, 2020.

Besch helped Hassanein make it to a scouting event where former Azusa Pacific University teammate, then Boise State defensive coordinator and now Bronco football head coach, Spencer Danielson, reached out and began the recruiting process.

Though the Broncos were a little late to Hassanein’s party, the then freshman bled blue from that moment forward, committing to Boise State 12 days later and signing on Dec. 16, 2020.

His development started immediately, but it wouldn’t be long before he saw his first bit of action in a game.

As a true freshman in 2021, he appeared in nine games, making his debut at Utah State University in week four. Over the 2021 season, he recorded five tackles and one quarterback pressure.

His sophomore year he played in another nine games and had a three week stretch as a starter. He garnered his first career sack against University of Tennessee at Martin in week 3, and finished with

two sacks and 12 tackles on the season.

BREAKOUT SEASON

2023 truly was Ahmed Hassanein’s ‘Jordan Year’.

“My goal is the NFL, my goal is to step into a role in the NFL,” Hassanein said before the 2023 season. “This year for me is huge because I want to prove to anybody that I can do it.”

The year started a bit slow for the junior lineman, only accumulating 1.5 sacks in the first four games.

He really flipped a switch during the loss against the University of Memphis as he notched another sack and a season high of six solo tackles.

This game marked the beginning of a sack streak that would continue all the way through the regular season.

He had a pair of highlight games in weeks 10 and 11, where he racked up two sacks against the University of New Mexico and another two against Utah State University, which marked the seventh straight week he’d take down a quarterback in the backfield.

The Utah State game was perhaps his best performance since week four in Memphis, and it happened to be Spencer Danielson’s first week as interim head coach.

“It was a big focus for us, just creating pressure on the QB, just creating some hits on him and just taking him out early. Hopefully he’s okay,” Hassanein said after defeating Utah State. “It was a big emphasis for us to get after the QB so we can help our secondary out.”

This game also marks the first time a Bronco has eclipsed double digit sacks since fifth round pick, Curtis Weaver, did it back in 2019.

The following week, in a must win matchup against Air Force, Hassanein notched another sack, marking the longest active streak in college football at the time with eight in a row.

The junior helped push a struggling

defense through one of the most controversial periods in Boise State football’s history and into the Mountain West Conference Championship.

“Great things happen when you put your head down and just work,” Hassanein said after the MWC Championship victory.

On the year, Hassanein notched the sixth most sacks in the nation with 12.5 and accumulated 30 solo tackles and two forced fumbles.

Hassanein is one of the most electric players for the Broncos as of that date, and should be a highly anticipated player in the 2024 season.

“My whole family are back in Egypt,” Hassanein said in a 2023 interview. “This is all I have, this is my family, this is my everything.”

THE FUTURE

Hassanein’s senior season is set up to be one for the ages. He’ll have a tough time following up his 2023 performance, but if his goal is the NFL, he’ll have to.

The good news is that his old defensive line coach Erik Chinander has been promoted to defensive coordinator. That in combination with Danielson’s defensive mind should spell great success for Hassanein.

The Broncos have a history of producing great defensive lineman to the NFL. From Demarcus Lawrence to Scott Matlock, Ahmed Hassanein would be another in a long line of great NFL talents from Boise State.

With that said, Hassanein would make history as a potential NFL prospect, as he’d be the first Egyptian to go to the NFL.

Only time will tell however, as the 2024 season is still seven months away. One thing is for sure, Hassanein, along with the rest of the Boise State football team will be hungrier than ever this year.

Photo of BSU Football player #91, Ahmed Hassanein, running through smoke.

Photo by Taya Power-Thornton

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