DESCRIPTION:
Arbiter Media is looking for creative, curious, agile and innovative students to serve as journalists in its newsroom. Arbiter Media is a student ran, award-winning multi-platform media outlet, publishing content in print, online, on the radio and television; and has an established reputation for its multi-media storytelling and innovative environment. For 76 years, Arbiter Media (The Arbiter) has served as the Independent Voice of Students at Boise State University and is a learning laboratory for aspiring media and business professionals. We will train you and give you the tools, support and encouragement you need to succeed. Journalists at Arbiter Media collaborate with a team of 7 journalists and editors charged with covering their specified beats in the production of interactive multi-platform media packages and stand alone content for arbiteronline.com and our newspaper, The Arbiter. Duties of a journalist include covering news events, meetings, writing features, analysis and producing multi-media segments. We are looking for reporters who can and will work a variety of subjects and understand the value of community journalism. Photography, audio, video, skills and comfort with WordPress and social media such as Twitter and Facebook are a plus. We do not expect you to have experience in journalism – but we expect you to come to us with a strong sense of journalistic values (including a serious grasp of ethics, news sense, commitment to our community, decision-making, working on deadline, etc.). You will work with the rest of our team (reporters, photographers, editors, designers, etc.) from across the newsroom on long-term and rapid deadline stories. You will be taught to conceptualize, design and produce stories that are told through print and online articles, various platforms of multimedia such as video and podcasts, microsites, interactive graphics, blogs, video and other platforms of media as they emerge.

Most importantly, we are looking for students who are quick learners with a lot of ideas and energy. Infectious enthusiasm is a bonus. Workaholic, overachieving, ambitious go-getters are highly encouraged to apply. Curious, inquisitive, story tellers with no fear of learning new technology, vastly expanding their knowledge of multi-platform media and pioneering the future of journalism would be absolutely batty not to apply. Journalism (and media in general) is not a job or a hobby, it is a passion. If that makes sense to you, we look forward to receiving your application.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Proven aptitude for quick creative thinking with acute attention to detail within demanding deadlines
• An eagerness to learn – and teach
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to articulate creative ideas
• An ability to manage multiple projects and meet both short-term and long-term deadlines
• An understanding of different media platforms including, but not limited to: print and online media, podcasts, photo slideshows and other forms of multi-media
• A healthy respect for Boise State University and its community
• Curiosity – particularly around media and a desire to understand the stories it can tell as well as the constraints it imposes
• Knowledge of social media and media aggregation sites such as Digg or ReadIt
• A love for writing and story telling.
• Minimum 2.5 GPA

HOURS and COMPENSATION:
This is an UNPAID internship. Students are REQUIRED to take a three credit internship during which they will complete a minimum of 150 hours of work over the course of a semester, producing media for The Arbiter and arbiteronline.com. The Editor-in-Chief will make exceptions on the internship requirement on a case by case basis under special circumstances.

HOW TO APPLY:
Email a letter to Editor-in-Chief, Shannon Morgan, expressing your interest in the internship to jobs@arbiteronline.com. Students can also send a resume but it is not required.

JOB DUTIES:
Arbiter Media is looking for creative, curious, agile and innovative students to serve as Online Interactive Journalists and help us tell stories and improve our users’ experience on arbiteronline.com. Arbiter Media is a student ran, award-winning multiplatform media outlet, publishing content in print, online, on the radio and television; and has an established reputation for its multi-media storytelling and innovative environment. For 76 years, Arbiter Media (The Arbiter) has served as the Independent Voice of Students at Boise State University and is a learning laboratory for aspiring media and business professionals. We will train you and give you the tools, support and encouragement you need to succeed. Online Interactive Journalists at Arbiter Media serve on a team of four journalists who serve directly under the Online Editor and Online Coordinator and are charged with producing content and maximizing the potential of arbiteronline.com. You will take the lead in developing new ways to engage and interact with our audience and lead them through our stories online and in print. We do not expect you to have experience in journalism – but we expect you to come to us with a strong sense of journalistic values (including a serious grasp of ethics, news sense, commitment to our community, decision-making, working on deadline, etc.). You will work with the rest of our team (reporters, photographers, editors, designers, etc.) from across the newsroom on long-term and rapid deadline stories. We are looking for students who are comfortable with both interaction/development of social media platforms (e.g., Twitter and Facebook) to foster a relationship with our audience in the production of media. You will also be taught to produce media to publish on arbiteronline.com and in our printed edition, The Arbiter. You will be taught to conceptualize, design and produce stories that are told through print and online articles, various platforms of multi-media such as video and podcasts, microsites, interactive graphics, blogs, video and other platforms of media as they emerge. We expect all employees to be self-motivated and to learn as much as possible, through their own means.

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who is a quick learner with a lot of ideas and energy. You will need to stay on top of emerging trends and find out how the website and the organization can evolve by adopting those trends. Infectious enthusiasm is a bonus. We will train you and give you the tools you need to succeed. Workaholic, overachieving, ambitious go-getters are highly encouraged to apply. Curious, inquisitive, story tellers with no fear of learning new technology, vastly expanding their knowledge of multi-platform media and pioneering the future of journalism would be absolutely batty not to apply. Journalism (and media in general) is not a job or a hobby, it is a passion. If that makes sense to you, we look forward to receiving your application.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Proven aptitude for quick creative thinking with acute attention to detail within demanding deadlines
• An eagerness to learn – and teach
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to articulate creative ideas
• An ability to manage multiple projects and meet both short-term and long-term deadlines
• An understanding of different platforms including, but not limited to: print and online media, podcasts, photo slideshows and other forms of multi-media
• A healthy respect for Boise State University and its community
• Curiosity – particularly around media and a desire to understand the stories it can tell as well as the constraints it imposes
• Knowledge of social media and media aggregation sites such as Digg or ReadIt
• A love for writing and story telling.
• Minimum 2.5 GPA

HOURS and COMPENSATION:
This is an   Students are REQUIRED to take a three credit internship during which they will complete a minimum of 150 hours of work over the course of a semester, producing media for The Arbiter and arbiteronline.com. The Editor-in-Chief will make exceptions on the internship requirement on a case by case basis under special circumstances.

HOW TO APPLY:
Email a letter to Editor-in-Chief, Shannon Morgan, expressing your interest in the internship to jobs@arbiteronline.com. Students can also send a resume but it’s not required.

DESCRIPTION:
Arbiter Media is looking for creative, curious, agile and innovative students to serve as photojournalists in our newsroom. Arbiter Media is a student ran, award-winning, multi-platform media outlet, publishing content in print, online, on the radio and television; and has an established reputation for its multi-media storytelling and innovative environment. For 76 years, Arbiter Media (The Arbiter) has served as the Independent Voice of Students at Boise State University and is a learning laboratory for aspiring media and business professionals. We will train you and give you the tools, support and encouragement you need to succeed. Photojournalists at Arbiter Media serve on a team of 5-7 journalists charged with covering their specified beats as well as producing interactive multi-platform media packages and stand along content for arbiteronline.com and our newspaper, The Arbiter.The position is responsible for capturing and editing images for Arbiter Media, produce Soundslides (photo slide shows with audio) and collaborate with fellow journalists on creating media on a variety of platforms, including in print. Duties also include covering news events, meetings, writing features, analysis and producing multi-media segments. We will train you and give you the tools, support and encouragement you need to succeed. We are looking for students who can and will work a variety of subjects and understand the value of community journalism. Audio, video, skills and comfort with WordPress and social media such as Twitter and Facebook are a plus. A love for writing or eagerness to learn is a must. We do not expect you to have experience in journalism – but we expect you to come to us with a strong sense of journalistic values (including a serious grasp of ethics, news sense, commitment to our community, decision-making, working on deadline, etc.). You will work with the rest of our team (journalists, producers, editors, designers, etc.) from across the newsroom on long-term and rapid deadline stories. You will be taught to conceptualize, design and produce story packages that are told through print and online articles, various platforms of multi-media such as video and podcasts, microsites, interactive graphics, blogs, video and other platforms of media as they emerge. We expect all employees to be self-motivated and to learn as much as possible, through their own means.

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1. Letters from the Editor
2. Letter from the Editor
3. Produce your own podcast show with The Arbiter

This is the face of an EVIL SOCIALIST! OOGA BOOGA BOOGA!

As you may well know, I fancy myself to be a tad bit liberal. Go figure, right? Well, because I enjoy fact-checking information that I receive via anonymous chain letters (read: I am a commy), I decided to look into this whole socialism thing. What I found was incredibly, well, reasonable.

Socialism isn’t the gateway system to communism or tyranny. In fact, many countries do it extremely well and seem to enjoy just as much personal freedom as any American does (potentially more, since they aren’t slaves to the insurance companies). The essence of socialism isn’t government control so much as a shared sense of community and common decency. Basically the way it works is that citizens pay into a pot by way of taxes and then that money is used to improve the quality of life for the rest of the country.

Socialist nations aren’t evil. Really, they aren’t, I promise. Nations such as the United Kingdom, most of the European Union and Canada (America’s hat), all have an integrated and mostly beloved socialist government. Perhaps you haven’t been overseas lately, but they seem to be doing just fine for themselves. They’ve replaced the conservative standard of “individual responsibility” (a.k.a. the philosophy of “MINE!”) with the radical idea of helping each other when one falls on hard times with medical care and welfare instead of casseroles.

As a result, most of the western world has higher literacy and life expectancy, but lower rates of poverty, crime, homelessness, unemployment, drug use and unnecessary death due to “pre-existing conditions.” After learning all this, I wondered why America doesn’t have more socialist policy around. Then I realized that we do.

Raise your hand if you’ve been to public schools. Okay, put it down, you probably look ridiculous. Have you ever called the police or fire department? Do you have a parent or grandparent on Medicare? Do you ever enjoy PBS or free local TV? Do you drive on roads? In Idaho this is sometimes arguable.

Congratulations! You’re a socialist.

America has a number of socialist services that most people take for granted. Why not take the ability to treat your “hand-gun misfire bullet wounds” for granted too? Can you think of a good reason not to have universal health care? If taxes are raised to do it, you’ll still save money compared to your insurance bill. The only legitimate fear of socialism is that it will be screwed up by the government.

Okay, fair enough. Look at public education. The problem for some with socialism is that it decreases inequality, which I’m sure certain members of corporate America and congress would find inconvenient.

America has a truly massive GDP. We should be able to afford to treat our sick and injured. Maybe if we stopped subsidizing successful corporations, spending $1,000,000,000 on housing potheads in prison and giving no-bid, cost-plus (we pay back whatever they spend plus a service fee) contracts to Halliburton, we could scrounge up the money. We might even have enough left over to create jobs via public works projects thereby stimulating the economy, reduce our debt to China and send our kids home with textbooks to do their homework.

Look, I know the Cold War was scary, but it’s been over for close to 20 years. We don’t need to be afraid of socialism. Would you rather see someone you vote for running things or a faceless corporate entity? Just because Michael Moore advocates socialism doesn’t mean you can’t. Trust me, I find him just as obnoxious as everyone else does, but socialism isn’t evil.

Richard Nixon is.

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3. Capitalism = Responsibility

GLENN LANDBERG/THE ARBITER There are plenty of bus stops right around campus and make it a popular option for students.

The Treasure Valley’s “ValleyRide” saw a record amount of usage in fiscal year 2009, with 1.4 million riders. This increase happened despite a national decrease in the use of public transportation due to lower gas prices and increased unemployment, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

“For (ValleyRide) to be seeing a ridership increase in these economic times is definitely bucking the national trend,” Mantill Williams, spokesperson for the APTA, said.

The Boise area saw a 14.7 percent increase this past year in ridership, the busiest route being route No. 9, which runs on State Street from downtown Boise to Glenwood/Gary Lane.  The route served over 200,000 people in the last year.

“People are realizing that the bus routes can work for them,” Larry Pew, operations supervisor for ValleyRide, said.  “They’re realizing that if they can ride transit even 2-3 times a week, it’ll help them save a lot of money and help the environment, not to mention the reduced stress levels of leaving their car at home.”

The Nampa/Caldwell area saw a larger increase, at 22.3 percent.

“With the new bus stop system, people realize they can ride the bus from their neighborhood, and it’s a much cheaper form of transportation,” General manager for the Nampa, Caldwell and Intercounty service area for Valley Regional Transit, Hollie Young said.

Young also attributes the rise in ridership to an increase in the student population.

“A lot of them (riders) are out of work, so they’re going back to school,” Young said.

ValleyRide allows students from Boise State, the College of Western Idaho, and Boise School District high schools to ride the bus free of charge, with a valid school ID.

BSU senior Brett Berning uses ValleyRide frequently.

“I commute either by bike or bus practically every day,” Berning said.

He claims ValleyRide would be much more convenient if buses ran later than 6:45 p.m.

“I have to plan out my days more time efficiently because I prefer to study at the library and often stay late so riding the bus is out of the question,” Berning said.

Bus fare for a single-use is $1. Passes can also be purchased for a full day’s use, 31 days, three months, six months or one year.

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1. Treasure Valley transit authorities invite public comment
2. Boise and the Treasure Valley find themselves at a crossroads
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Columnist Fawn Caveney

My children brought home their October 2009 newsletter from school and as I perused through the pages I found an article that I really appreciated; “Keep your child’s schedule in balance for school success”.  Thrilled to see in print what I have so often shared with other parents and told myself-We All Need Down Time.

The source of the article came from Kenneth R. Ginsburg and the Committee on Communications and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, via the American Academy of Pediatrics.  The article in brief shares how we tend to rush our children from school to soccer, to music practice, etc…. There is such a thing as too much of a “good thing”.  Kids need “down time” play is a central part of childhood and development.

I realize that this opinion piece I am writing is going out to college students, Professors, Administrators, etc…, so why am I wasting your time with such an article?  Well you may be “all grown up”, but your mind, body and spirit still craves and needs down time to maintain a healthy balance.

It is always a juggling act for this full time college student, mom and employee to niche out the “down time” for herself and with her family.  However, I can clearly tell when I am not succeeding in this for myself and when my children are in desperate need for some “hang time”.  It becomes clear when it is time to pull out the games, paints, movies, or clear the floor to dance.

The article points out how important free play is to children. It states, “This unstructured time is when she exercises her body and her imagination.” For all of us it is what helps us to remember why we are doing what we are doing. It also helps us to remember how to laugh and engage with one another.

Another point made in the article is, “Make family time a priority.  If you feel like you only see your child while you’re in the car, rethink your schedule.”  It saddens me when I watch families who are so driven that they miss the true grace of just being with one another.  My favorite memories of time with my family growing up and with my children today is the laid back hang time.  It is truly the simple things in life that touch our hearts, minds and souls.

I love it when I see on my son’s homework “What is one of your favorite things to do?  Play games with my mom”, or my daughter’s, “On vacation we got sick, but we had fun watching movies and playing games”.  While the big things in life are powerful and memorable, the awe comes from the simple pure sweet connection with the people we love.

We all know the impacts of stress on our health, so why do we do it?  Why do we accept the rush here, rush there mentality?  Remember to take your DOWN TIME, not just for your health, but also for the joy it can fill you with.  It may be hard to “make that time” however it is very important to “take that time”.

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ZACH GANSCHOW/THE ARBITER Dutta speaks with attendees at Mondays screening at the Visual Arts Collective.

On Monday night, the Visual Arts Collective hosted the showing of the film “Shadows of Tehri.” Anirban Dutta, a media educator, social activist and photographer based in Dehli, India, directed the film. He was brought to Boise State as part of the Art Department’s Visiting Artist and Scholars Program, and will be speaking in a free, public lecture Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Simplot Ballroom A.

The film “Shadows” is a documentary peering into the spirit of “Old Tehri.” The adjective “old” has been added because the government has attempted to recreate the town with “New Tehri,” located in a distant region, far removed from any water body. Anirban was originally requested by the Uttaranchal government to create a documentary of the construction the Tehri Dam, a movie to be used to promote the project.

“I did not make the film they wanted me to make. The government wanted to show how great their dam was,” Dutta said. “I made this film for the people losing their homes.”

“Shadows” is a visual journey carried by testimonies of various elders who lived there, as well as traditional folk music from the region. The audience is immersed in the environment of Old Tehri, with stunning scenes of musicians performing atop the ruins of their city. Their colorful instruments and clothes stand in stark contrast to the remnants of weakened towers and faded walls. The film was shot during the “deconstruction” of the city.

Bulldozers were brought into level structures, from homes to businesses and schools. The footage strolls through the ruined streets that appear obliterated as if by a great war or natural disaster. However, this damage was intentional and forced citizens to leave because there was little left.

“It was a window to a place I would never have seen in America, the imagery was amazing,” said Willow Socia, a fine arts major. “America is a small portion of the world, but so unaware of places like this.”

The premier of “Shadows” was first shown in New Tehri, where many “Old Tehri” residents were relocated.

“I felt connected, even though I have never been to this place,” Tudor Mitroi, art instructor said. “The atmosphere was beautiful, but scary.”

Anirban said about 600 people came out to watch the film and see their history.

“They were talking the whole time saying ‘that’s my house, there’s my shop!’ It was funny and painful,” he said. “They were asking me if I could get still photos from the movie for them to have one last picture of their home.”

Before he became interested in social activism, Dutta’s media background began with producing commercials and items for television.

“I wanted to do something more radical with my work, to focus on smaller communities. The people who usually make the noise are the ones with money and power,” Dutta said.

Currently, Dutta’s work is focusing on the drug use and H.I.V. problems in the north-eastern states of Nagaland and Manipur. He is collaborating with artists and media professionals to produce visual essays and documentaries. His past work is a catalog ranging from childrens’ rights to environmental issues and other topics of health and society.

All community members are welcome to attend Dutta’s lecture at 6 p.m. in the Simplot Ballroom in the SUB. For information on Duttas work, visit his Web site www.inmetamorphosis.com.

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Pedestrians walk past one of the city's best known landmarks, the futuristic Oriental Pearl TV tower. (COURTESY/MCT)

BEIJING – President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao met Tuesday to talk privately about issues ranging from North Korea’s nuclear threat to currency and trade disputes. U.S. policy advocates also expect the leaders to announce new joint projects on clean energy.

On the first full day of Obama’s visit to the world’s largest nation, the president mixed substance with fun stuff: a tour to the Forbidden City and a state dinner. He plans to see the Great Wall on Wednesday and visit officials and U.S. troops in South Korea on Thursday before returning home.

On Monday, Obama used his first public appearance in China – a town hall meeting in Shanghai – to court China’s Internet users and intellectuals, prodding the Chinese government to end its censorship policy.

“I’m a big supporter of noncensorship,” Obama said.

If Obama’s remarks made Hu uneasy, they appeared to fall short of creating a diplomatic setback.

Obama and Hu hoped to be able to announce some areas of mutual advancement Tuesday, scheduling a midday joint appearance. Other topics they were expected to discuss included terrorism and militarization, the global economic crisis, the U.S. war in Afghanistan, global warming, China’s control of Tibet, and human rights and democracy.

The motorcade from Obama’s hotel to the ornate Diaoyutai State Guesthouse took the American president along Chang An Jie, the Avenue Of Eternal Peace.

For Obama, who hadn’t been to China before, this meant a first-time in-person glimpse of Tiananmen Square on his left, 20 years after the student pro-democracy protests were put down by the government with deadly force; and, on his right, the gates to the Forbidden City, the palace of China’s emperors, built before Columbus discovered America.

Obama and Hu spoke informally over dinner about the histories of both countries and their evolving relationship, and touched on the economy and education, but saved the official agenda for Tuesday’s meetings, National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones said. Jones attended the dinner, which was closed to the news media.

At the town hall in Shanghai’s Science and Technology Museum, Obama took eight questions. The most politically edgy one, submitted to the U.S. Embassy via the Internet, asked whether he was familiar with the Chinese Internet firewall and whether he thought Chinese should have the right to use Twitter freely.

“I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can then hold their own governments accountable,” the president told the audience of about 400 hand-picked university students.

Obama hoped to reach a much broader audience of Chinese, who have the largest Internet population and the largest number of cell phone users of any nation. It wasn’t immediately clear, however, how many of China’s 1.3 billion people had access to his full remarks. The Chinese government agreed to broadcast the forum on Shanghai television but not nationally. The official state news agency, Xinhua, carried the text of Obama’s remarks on its Web site, including the portions related to censorship.

The Chinese government limits access to social networking sites, however, and has a history of cutting remarks it considers destabilizing from broadcasts or news accounts. A portion of Obama’s inaugural address last January was blocked in China. In addition, what’s known as “the great firewall of China” is a state system of tight Internet controls that block any number of sites and Web traffic.

“In the United States, the fact that we have unrestricted Internet access is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged,” Obama said.

He admitted to moments “where I wish information didn’t flow so freely, because then I wouldn’t have to listen to people criticize me all the time.” However, he said, “I actually think that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader, because it forces me to hear opinions that I don’t want to hear.”

Obama also told the Chinese that in modern times, power “is no longer a zero-sum game.”

“We do not seek to contain China’s rise,” he said

He said that the U.S. shouldn’t impose its own system of governance on other countries but that some values should be universal.

He recalled the past four decades of U.S.-China diplomacy: table tennis, President Richard Nixon’s historic visit, the establishment of formal relations during the Cold War 30 years ago and the evolution of the relationship in terms of trade and the economy in recent years.

Obama said that the greatest threats to national security today remained terrorist networks such as al-Qaida, and that it was important to stabilize Afghanistan.

(McClatchy Newspapers special correspondent Athena Zhao in Beijing and Renee Schoof in Washington contributed to this report.)

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The Boise State Broncos fell 7-1 to No. 3 UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Soccer Tournament in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday night. After the Broncos took an early lead on a Maureen Fitzgerald goal in the 7th minute, the Bruins rallied with a dominating performance to score seven unanswered goals to advance into the second round of the tournament.

Boise State opened the scoring early with a strike in the 7th minute. A long ball was played down field to Molly Hill who drove it into the box where she played a pass to Shannon Saxton on the right side. Saxton turned and  passed it back to the top where Fitzgerald was waiting. The freshman followed by launching a high arcing shot from 16 yards out into the upper left corner for the 1-0 lead.

However that score seemed to wake the third-ranked Bruins up. UCLA countered quickly with a pair of Sydney Leroux goals in the 13th and 16th minutes, on the day she would score four goals. The first UCLA score was the result of a series of perfect one touch passes that cumulated with Leroux volleying a cross in from eight yards out into the left side of the net. The second strike was a shot from the top of the box that found the inside of the right post.

UCLA extended its advantage in the 24th minute when Lauren Cheney was rewarded with another series of solid one touch passing resulting with her scoring from 11yards out. UCLA took the 3-1 lead into the half.

The second period was all UCLA as Leroux scored two quick goals to put an end to any doubt about the final outcome.

The Broncos played hard throughout the game but UCLA’s speed and experience was to much for Boise State today. The Bruins finished the game with three goals in the first half and four in the second. Held the Broncos to one shot in the final 45 minutes and out shot Boise State 13-to-2 in shots on goal throughout the 90 minutes of action.

The loss brings an end to Boise State’s best season in history as its finishes with 13-7-4 overall mark. The bulk of this squad will return next year with 21 of the 28 players being either freshmen or sophomores.

Broncos win then drop games during opening weekend

Despite having three Broncos score in double-figures, the Boise State men’s basketball team fell to Montana, 82-95, Saturday night as the Grizzlies proved to be deadly from 3-point range.

Senior Ike Okoye led the way for the Broncos with a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds, while La’Shard Anderson had another great offensive night with 16 points and five assists.

Play was close throughout most of the first half of as senior Kurt Cunningham led the Boise State offense with 13 points in just 12 minutes of play as he found himself on the bench with two fouls early on. It wasn’t until the three minute mark that Montana went on a 15-6 run, entering the half with a 52-42 lead over the Broncos.

Things open well for the Broncos Friday night in a victory over Loyola Marymount 90-87.

While the game was close throughout, the play of junior guard La’Shard Anderson clenched the win for the Broncos as he nailed nine consecutive free throws down the stretch en route to recording a career-high 26 points. Overall, Anderson was 13-14 from the line, and 6-10 from the floor.

As a team, Boise State made 50 percent of their shots from the floor and an incredible 83.3 percent from the line, as compared to 48.5 percent from the floor and 65.0 percent from the line by LMU.

Go online for the update from Montana on BSU’s Sunday game against North Dakota.

Cross country concludes season at regional championships

The Boise State men’s cross country team completed their 2009 campaign on Saturday morning racing in the NCAA West Region Championships hosted by the University of Oregon at the Springfield Country Club in Eugene, Ore. The Bronco men finished 15th out of 26 teams while Boise State’s sole women’s competitor, freshman Shannon Porter, placed 101st out of 184 runners.

Broncos’ volleyball spit to ends home season through weekend play

The Boise State volleyball team closed-out their 2009 home schedule on Saturday evening by capturing their seventh win of the season, defeating San Jose State, 3-1, in Bronco Gym. The Broncos (7-20, 7-8 WAC) downed the Spartans 25-22, 25-12, 19-25, 25-21.

Facing a tough No. 3-ranked Hawaii team, the Boise State volleyball team fell in straight sets, 25-16, 25-14, on Thursday evening in Bronco Gym. The Broncos (6-20, 6-8 WAC) fall to a 0-21 record all-time against the Rainbow Wahine (24-2, 14-0 WAC).

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I sat clammy and sweating caffeine bullets. I had drunk too much coffee and it only sharpened my already razor-tipped nerves. The notion of reading poetry to an audience outside of a classroom scared the hell out of me.

ZACH GANSCHOW/THE ARBITER J. Freeman DeJongh, a creative writing major and Arbiter journalist, produces poems and short stories from a brick closet known as "the Stratosphere."

I feel poetry is the most naked form of expression. There is no canvas to hide on, no diverse set of mediums, no instrument and no band for support. Only my voice, my words and of course, my tender little feelings. The microphone stand provided slight consolation, a hiding ground, though a device used to augment vocals can’t provide too much relief.

Being that this was my first poetry reading, I had no set routine or ritual for warm up. I read only a short bit, one poem. I thought to myself, “OK, if I can read this in two, maybe three breathes, I should be able to maintain stability.”

After a very minimal introduction, I read my single poem. It was fast and painless. I actually rather enjoyed it, to my surprise.

As for my actual writing process, I don’t really have one. I am really, very, lazy. I can never force creativity, I only write when I feel like, when the poem sort of just drops onto the paper. I do however make a minimal effort. I carry around a small leather-bound book. In it I write down my random thoughts, groovy lines and smooth words. I am an avid eavesdropper, I steal conversations from everyone around me.

I find myself writing mostly at night, late at night. My brain is dying, my stress has run out. As I begin to ponder sleep, fantastical thoughts creep up to greet the day’s experiences. This encounter produces my most desired content.

Poem: Untitled

You know when I lived as a catfish in the Nishnabotna
I would hold my breath as I swam past pipe fixtures
Even if they were just floating by
Lost limbs of the pesticide factory

My whiskers erect
There goes a threaded leg

Gasoline rainbows enshroud a 1912 T-model carcass
Coziest machine hosts a home collection of impaled worms

Catfish love crucifixions
I myself prefer funerals

Sharp dressed skeletons sway
Cinder blocks laced to their shiny black shoes

They say bridges are cliffs of hell
See their soggy faces
I chew their soggy eyes

A dead sex machine fell from one’s coat pocket

Rubber lust stuck in the mud
He always liked to deceive the people he loved

Poem assembles childhood summer

The tone is rather murky, it is set in a somewhat dark place, at the bottom of a murky river. You see broken fishing lines, baited hooks acting as worm crucifixions, a dead man who may have been an unsuccessful mobster, old automobiles, chemical pollution.

Despite these rather drab images, this poem hosts somewhat of a personal humor for me. As a kid, I spent my summer in the Iowa country side, My dad lives out there, outside of a little town, Red Oak. We lived pretty close to a river, the Nishnabotna, I spent much of my time down there on the sand bar, fishing, building sand castles, lighting off fireworks, cutting trees down, all the childood jazz.

One day while trekking around, my friend and I found a large battery-powered dildo stuck in the sand. I will mention I was probably thirteen years old at this time. We threw it in the four wheeler basket and drove back to his dad’s farm to prode him into an uncomfortable situation,we wanted to make him tell us what it was. Of Course we already knew, what thirteen year old in America doesn’t recognize the familiarity of such a device?

His dad was confused, he attempted to uttter a quick response. What he came up with was, “Yea, uh, that’s a, that’s an old fish trap, they used to use those back in the 80’s to catch fish, sorta an electro er shock kinda trap.”

It got thrown in the trash, end of tale. I forgot about this incident. Though one day recently while drinking coffee, by some odd influence this memory began to tickle me. I mean really? A dildo in a sandbar out in the middle of nowhere Iowa? How could it possibly get there? Of course, only vulgar conclusions come to mind, of which I wont elaborate on. But the poem is derived from this experience, writting from the perspective of a catfish, beneath the water.

I try to imply that the dead man was perhaps a nymphomaniac mobster who was murdered by design of cinder blocks being tied to his feet, being pushed off a bridge and drowned with his sexual device. With this I’ve attempted to view an odd situation from an even odder perspective. Do fish wonder why … why is this here?

Poem: Transient attraction

I’ve canned transient attraction.

Our loose palate roots will digest you with raw hunger. You stroke their bowels and ponder a million. Numbers are abysmal. You are forgotten without an orgy of tears.

Over indulgence has bred me anew and celibate. I thirst and lick at a casket of salt; rusted letters illustrate morbid reminiscence of when you swam like a fattened halibut in my belly. The salt cures this and I rest fulfilled.

I am a loose nut whose response to the wrench is un-mechanical.

I am surreal and chemical; my synthetic soul is wooed by overhead static of the trolley car cable. I wear suits of blackened styrofoam and spit transgender smirks at fee-line females. Mating calls in the form of jingling George’s sound from my palm. The steeply-priced cats only want green, I refuse to pay tiding and proceed to fillet their mannerisms.

Cannibalism, the opposite sex, feed “Transient Attraction”

Basically this poem is a statement about frustration with the opposite sex. In an absract sense, I attempt to present cannibalism, eating the opposite gender. Canning a woman, as if in a Campbell’s soup can and feeding her to children. Hence the digestion and bowels. The rest that follows, I suppose, is explanation of these undelightful feelings.

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   Reads at Hemingway Center

More than 75 students volunteered to serve on committees or become involved in other areas on campus.

GLENN LANDBERG /THE ARBITER

Sen. Laura Rogers spoke with students on how to improve their experience at Boise State.

“The one issue that keeps coming up repeatedly is about visitor parking on campus,” she said. “Many think a 20 minute parking area near the SUB would be a step in the right direction.”

Rogers began her day at 4:45 a.m. promoting the Hunger Bowl with weatherman Larry Gebert from KTVB, a local television station. The Idaho Foodbank, The Salvation Army and The Boise Rescue Mission work together to collect non-perishable food items every year at the Boise State- University of Idaho football game.

“This has been a busy week for me,” she said. “ I have written two bills to be introduced at the senate meeting this afternoon. One is a commendation and the other a resolution.”

Students spoke with senators about changes on campus affecting them.

Sen. Chase Johnson answered questions about the student grievance policy currently under revision. Details are available on the ASBSU Facebook page and he is asking for additional input before meeting with the academic standards committee Tuesday.

Several individuals expressed the desire for more interaction with student government.

Lucy Mercado is a first semester transfer student from Pennsylvania hoping to enter the athletic program in the spring.

“Free food is always good,” she said. “I didn’t know Boise State had a senate organization and now that I do, I would like to see more events like this.”

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Some of the winter season’s most intriguing titles play directly into this stark view of humanity. Others offer a break, and the promise of a laugh or two. Dates are subject to change.

COURTESY/WARNER BROTHERS In the true story of "The Blind Side" (Nov. 20), a rich housewife (Sandra Bullock) takes in a homeless teen (Quinton Aaron) with a promising future in football.

1. “Broken Embraces,” opens Nov. 20. The latest, lavishly good-looking melodrama from Pedro Almodovar, star­ring Penelope Cruz, his muse of choice. No one mixes and matches genres with the panache of Spain’s premier director.

2. “Everybody’s Fine,” opens Dec. 4. Robert De Niro takes over the Marcello Mastroianni role in this Americanized remake of the 1990 Italian film, about an uneasy family reunion. Wouldn’t it be swell if De Niro gave a really good performance in a really good movie again

3. “Invictus,” opens Dec. 11. The annual Clint Eastwood-directed Oscar bait arrives on schedule, with Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as rugby champ Francois Pienaar.

4. “The Lovely Bones,” opens Dec. 11. From the Alice Sebold best seller comes director Peter Jackson’s film adaptation, starring the exceptional young actress Saoirse Ronan (”Atonement”) as the murdered girl who keeps an eye on her grieving parents (Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg) and her killer (Stanley Tucci) from heaven.

5. “Up in the Air,” limited release Dec. 11, wide release Dec. 25. A monster critical and popular success at the Toronto International Film Festival, director Jason Reitman’s third feature follows on the heels of his “Thank You for Smoking” and “Juno,” which are pretty good films to be following. George Clooney plays an emotionally isolated downsizing expert in this adaptation of the Walter Kirn book. Vera Farmiga co-stars. Expect many Oscar nominations.

6. “Avatar,” opens Dec. 18. The long-gestating James Cameron fantasy arrives in 3-D. Whopping hit on the order of “Titanic,” or whopping “eh” on the order of “The Abyss?” We will know in the fullness of time.

7. “Nine,” opens Dec. 25. When he took on the musical “Chicago,” director and former chorus boy Rob Marshall struck it rich. Now he tackles the Broadway musical based on Fel­lini’s “8 1/ 2,” in which a Famous Italian Film Director (played and sung by Daniel Day-Lewis) sorts through various crises. Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard, among others, play the crises.

8. “It’s Complicated,” opens Dec. 25. Romantic comedy. Meryl Streep. Alec Baldwin. Steve Martin. Written and directed by Nancy Meyers. Here’s hoping it’s as sterling as its cast, or better than “The Holiday,” at least.

9. “Sherlock Holmes,” opens Dec. 25. If Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth can survive a World War II-era relocation (remember Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce fighting Nazis?), he can jolly well survive the “Rockn­Rolla” hands of director Guy Ritchie. The cast is rich: Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes; Jude Law as Watson; Rachel McAdams and Kelly Reilly as the dames.

10. “The White Ribbon,” limited release Dec. 30. In a northern German village on the brink of World War I, long-simmering tensions between the haves (the land barons and their social circle) and the have-nots (their serflike employees) turn violent, as unexplained acts of cruelty threaten to disrupt the lives of all concerned. Michael Haneke’s drama won the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival; shot in silvery, sinister black-and-white, the film is excellent and unsettling.

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