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Dance Marathon participants stayed on their for feet for 17 hours to raise more than $37,000.
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A is for ASBSU in the first installment of our A-Z club profiles.
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Kayla Reinhart helped the Broncos to a victory over Wyoming during her first start.
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March 3, 2014 • Issue no. 43 Volume 26
Boise, Idaho
Photos: Emily Peherson/THE ARBITER
V o i c e
First issue free
No law protects against mold Ryan Thorne @ryanthorne86
Each week, Boise State student Katy Hudson and her husband are forced to bleach and wipe down the walls of their apartment in order to prevent large pockets of mold from forming. “We just have mold everywhere,” Hudson said. “Now we have to use this special mold spray that doesn’t smell super great.” Hudson contacted her property management company about the problem, only to be told leaky windows and construction ma-
terial was to blame. “They said that since it’s a brick building, that’s how it’s going to be. We kind of think they are full of it,” Hudson said. After several failed phone calls to the property management company to have mold outbreaks addressed, Hudson and her husband decided to throw in the towel. “We were really aggressive about it at first and they kept telling us ‘Nope, that’s just how the windows work, that’s just how brick is,’” Hudson said. Unfortunately for Hud-
son and those facing similar circumstances, provisions requiring landlords and property management companies to address mold problems aren’t found in Idaho’s law books. “When it comes to things like toxic mold or a mold invasion, that’s not in there,” said Idaho Deputy Attorney General Stephanie Guyon. State laws require property owners to repair damages to basic infrastructure that threaten tenant safety. “The list in that statute is fairly specific, things like plumbing, wiring, tampering with smoke alarms, that
kind of stuff,” Guyon said. Tenants who feel landlords are not maintaining adequate living conditions can attempt to have their way in court. “The tenant certainly could try that. They could do the three day notice to the landlord and if the problem isn’t taken care of, then they can go to court,” Guyon said. “Whether or not they will be successful, that’s another matter.” Guyon said Idahoans frequently contact the Office of the Attorney General with questions regarding mold outbreak and damage, but
Scholarships don’t grow on trees Cassie Sullivan Staff Writer
News
The Arbiter
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‘Boise State Proud’ campaign. “The campaign will consist of a philanthropy week where we will recognize big donors and supporters of the university and end with a t-shirt drive, asking for $10 or more to the Students Helping Students
Features
scholarship fund,“ Bailey said. While $25,000 is the minimum amount needed to endow a scholarship at Boise State, Bailey hopes they raise even more than that over the next five years. Ali Johnson, a sophomore
“Both of us have been sick and have had coughs but it’s hard to say it’s definitely because of the mold,” Hudson said. As for now, Hudson is too busy and broke to take her property management company to court to have the mold issue fixed. Since Hudson and her husband have a few months left on their lease, they have decided to wait it out and prevent potential tenants from considering the space. “We might try to put up fliers to warn people not to rent from them,” Hudson said.
majoring in elementary education, participated in scholarship fundraising with her sorority, and supports the Boise State Proud campaign. “I personally think it is a really great thing, we should be helping other students gain the same opportunity we all have to be in school. Anything we can do to get more people here is a great idea,”
Johnson said. Understanding the endowment process is difficult, especially at the student level. Due to proactive students on campus, it is all becoming clearer. As Boise State begins its official campaign for scholarship fundraising, and students participate too, the endowment will grow—and Boise State will grow as well.
Endowment Money Spent
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Arts & Entertainment
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Sports
information gathered from Boise State University & Unuiversity of Idaho
In order to create a $5,000 endowed scholarship for a student at Boise State, a donor must donate $125,000. An individual donates the principal amount to the Boise State Foundation and the money is invested in a manner that allows four percent to be distributed for scholarships each year while the endowment fund continues to grow each year to cover inflation. Adam Goduto, senior director of annual giving at University Advancement, explained the situation. “The Foundation is a separate, non-profit part of the university, to ensure it is transparent. The Foundation’s board of directors are volunteers, they are local philanthropists and business owners. It is a prestigious position,” Goduto said. Endowments are important to universities and often mark the success of an institution. To put this into perspective, in 2012 Boise State’s endowment balance was $75,966,014. Uni-
versity of Idaho’s endowment was $188,510,902; Harvard University’s endowment was $30,745,534,000. Boise State’s endowment balance as of June 30, 2013 was $83,399,459. Kaitlyn Bailey, a senior majoring in social sciences, is the president of Boise State’s Student Foundation. The Student Foundation aims to raise awareness to students about endowed scholarship fundraising. In order to accomplish this, members of the Student Foundation are in the process of endowing a student-funded scholarship. “The endowment became active in December 2013, that is when the clock started and we have to now raise $25,000 over the next five years for the scholarship to become available,” Bailey said. The Student Foundation will raise awareness about the endowment process while also asking individuals to donate themselves. All funds support the Students Helping Students endowment, a scholarship that will be awarded by the financial aid office. They call this the
without laws to ensure the issue is addressed, tenants are left with few options. “It’s an unfortunate situation for a lot of Idahoans,” Guyon said. According to the Center for Disease Control’s website, there is “sufficient evidence to link indoor exposure to mold with upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough and wheeze in otherwise healthy people.” Hudson said she and her husband have experienced frequent coughing and respiratory issues but aren’t sure if indoor mold is to blame.
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