Universities such as University of Utah, University of Oregon and Portland State University have all moved toward a “cost- based linear system” for tuition.  Boise State will soon follow in that trend. A cost-based linear system means students will pay for each credit rather than paying a lump sum for full-time or part-time tuition. Provost Martin Schimpf highlighted the importance of such a structure. “In the past when the state of Idaho was paying 75 percent of the operating cost of the university, we could afford to have a lump sum cost,” Schimpf said. “We’ve grown without state funds and we feel that this is how we must accommodate for that growth.” Currently, enrollment is increasing and so are the programs at Boise State, but funding from the state has decreased.  The growth of the university is underfunded without state assistance. ASBSU President Ryan Gregg shared Schimpf’s opinion about the current model. “The tuition system we have now really only makes sense if we have money coming in from the state,” Gregg said.... ...

The recent bombings in Boston have proven how valuable security cameras can be to law enforcement. Using footage obtained from nearby cameras, local and federal police forces were able to identify the brothers allegedly responsible for planting and detonating the explosives at the finish line of the marathon. As a former FBI member, Boise State executive director of campus security Jon Uda understands how tools like video surveillance can aid law enforcement. Uda and colleagues have recently taken steps to install surveillance cameras campus wide in an attempt to prevent and prosecute crimes and prevent common illegal activity like bike theft. Forced to deal with an annually shrinking budget, Uda must rely on grants since a centralized closed circuit television (CCTV) system could cost the university thousands of dollars it doesn’t have. CCTV surveillance allows multiple camera feeds to be viewed in a single location by security personnel. It is  commonly used among security professionals and law enforcement. “I am a huge proponent of CCTV,” Uda said. “If I had... ...

“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” The news from Jason Collins shook the world Monday morning. Shook it so hard that the Twitter birds were stumbling over themselves to get out of their nests. Within 10 minutes of being posted on the Sports Illustrated website, the article had over 800 comments and Jason Collins was a trending topic. Collins, who just finished his twelfth season in the NBA, became the first active male player to be openly gay in any of the four major American sports. Yet two weeks ago on April 18, when the number one WNBA draft pick Brittney Griner came out as lesbian, there was hardly a ripple. Are expectations different for men and women in sports? Whereas Griner had practically been labeled a lesbian already, many assumed Collins to be the perfect example of a virile, heterosexual man. People often worry that looking up to athletes affects the way we look at alcohol, safe sex and drug use. However, less attention is... ...

The Boise State’s Talkin’ Broncos have won the National Title for the past two consecutive championships. Though  the Speech and Debate Team has had much success, students get much more from the program than just winning. “In five years when most people are asked about college they will answer ‘I went to Boise State University.’ In five years when someone asks me where I went to college I will answer ‘I did forensics at Boise State University,’” said Howie Long, a three-year-member of the Speech and Debate Team. “It’s not where you went to college necessarily; it’s what you did in college,” Long said. The Pi Kappa Delta Speech and Debate National Championship is a biennial event- meaning it occurs every two years. The Talkin’ Broncos Team that won the championship three years ago does not have the benefit of continuity—few of the members that won that year are with the team now. “We went into this year knowing that we are graduating ten people, we also had eight people... ...

The idea came to Mark Rudin, Vice President for Research and Economic Development, one night when he ran into senior art student Marshall Sinclair at a metal pouring event. Sinclair talked about his desire to open a foundry, a workshop for casting metal, in Boise after graduation. Boise State, through the Office of University and Industry Ventures, has long offered services to their faculty to help them market and commercialize their ideas. However after his talk with Sinclair, Rudin questioned why they weren’t offering this opportunity to students as well. “We provide that service to our faculty but there may be as much if not more, I tend to think more, innovation occurring with the students,” Rudin said. What is Venture College?  Venture College is a new program that will enter it’s pilot year in fall 2013.   The name may seem misleading, but Venture College is not an academic program.  Students who participate do not receive credits toward their degree. Rather Venture College is an extracurricular activity for students that want... ...

With some demographics seeing unemployment rates into the 20 percent range, college graduates have every right to be nervous about finding a job after graduation. But despite daunting media coverage, the statistics are actually in favor of new entrants into the workforce: unemployment for recent grads is steady at 6.8 percent. Even better, it’s only 4.8 percent for all people in the work force with an undergraduate degree. Debbie Kaylor, director of the Career Center, agrees the job market is getting better, but admits, “Is it still tough? Absolutely.” Most commonly, she sees employers recruiting not specific degrees, but specific skills sets, with any degree being acceptable. That was true for recent graduate Nick Ricci, who graduated in May of 2012 with a bachelor of business administration in economics and chemistry minor. “I applied in every way you can apply, to around seventy positions I felt I would have excelled at, and received a call back from a total of two companies.” But it only took him two weeks after... ...

Out of a crowd of nearly 400 people, 40 raised their hands when Martin Hambalek asked, “For the people that are here in the room, whose companies are hiring?” “Getting a job in Idaho is not the issue. The issue is that we don’t have enough students to fill the jobs,” said Hambalek, vice chair of the IT Software Alliance and Chair of the Events Committee for the Idaho Technology Council (ITC). Hambalek was an organizer of the event on Friday, April 19, when Boise State hosted the third annual develop.idaho conference in the Stueckle Sky Center. The purpose of the annual conference is to promote the technology community of Boise and grow student awareness regarding the availability of jobs in the Boise area. According to Hambalek, Boise State only has about 25 computer science graduates each year. “From what I’ve heard, nearly every junior computer science major has an internship, and by the end of their junior year they’ve been offered a job after they graduate,” Hambalek said. “By... ...

Laura Coleman works in the Albertson’s Library on campus. Every day she helps students check out books and restocks shelves. Coleman obtained her student job through federal work study programs. As a freshman music education major, Coleman’s job at the library allows her to make ends meet. “This work study, it’s how I pay for my rent, my food and for extra stuff,” Coleman said. “I can’t get a job somewhere else because no one is hiring.” Fulfilling the role of a student does not allow for an open work schedule and Coleman needed work that would help pay bills and fit her erratic class schedule. Coleman and other Boise State students currently live off education programs that have experienced reductions as part of the recent $85 billion dollar federal budget sequestration. According to the Pew Charitable Trust website, Idaho is ranked among the top five states most reliant on federal funding for education spending and will be hit the hardest by the recent across-the-board federal cuts. Coleman isn’t happy... ...

Cars are quick and convenient. Cars are also expensive. The costs associated with driving a car go beyond the price of gas and insurance. There are also costs to the environment and personal health. In today’s fast-paced culture it can be hard to find time to get exercise. It’s easier to use a car instead of a bike or your feet. While quick errands are often made quicker through the convenience of a car, saving time can have negative effects. According to Central District Health Department (CDHD), around 80 percent of all errands are performed within three miles of home or work, with 60 percent conducted within one mile. CDHD also claims that cars are less efficient and create more pollution per mile during shorter trips as opposed to longer ones. The speed and convenience of cars can be a problem in relation to increasing obesity rates as well. Adults are supposed to get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, but they’re not. According to the Centers for... ...

Last November, students at Harvard University voted to restructure the investments of the school’s financial endowment in an effort to fight climate change. 72 percent of students who voted asked Harvard officials to refrain from investments in fossil fuel companies, but were rejected. Harvard would continue to invest in diverse financial markets, many of which contain fossil-fuel-related shares. According to the university web site, Harvard’s endowment was recently ranked the largest in the country at over $30 billion. Like Harvard, Boise State holds an endowment—of $80 million—and also like Harvard, Boise State invests in petroleum companies. Profits from the investment are used by the university to spend as it sees fit. In a fashion similar to Harvard, Boise State endowment officials do not plan to change their investment practices in regards to petroleum products. The Boise State endowment is comprised of donations from prominent community members and businesses that the university entrusts to a handful of financial firms for investment in global stock markets. “They (Boise State) have an external... ...

Imagine a class that required attendance every day of spring break—only instead of sitting at a desk studying, students are spending 10 days in Belize learning sustainability at a global level. CMGT 497 Social Responsibility in Construction Management involves not only class time and homework, but also a week-long trip to northern Belize for a cross-departmental collaborative development project. The trip this year was themed “healthy lifestyles,” a topic that isn’t widely discussed in a community that suffers from inadequate nutrition and water quality issues. The program is called a Peace Village, where multiple departments from universities go into communities and create long-term relationships. This is Boise State’s first collaborative effort in this direction. The colleges of Health Science, Engineering, Education and Honors have faculty leading this course, and the 22 students who attended the service trip represent a variety of disciplines. “It’s amazing when you have an engineering student working on developing a garden plan with a health sciences student, sitting next to an environmental sciences student. It really... ...

Dollars should follow students. Stacy Pearson, vice president of Finance and Administration has said as much and so has Ryan Gregg, Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU) president. The idea of state dollars following students—regardless of which four-year public institution they attend, seems sound; however, in the past few years Boise State lost out on $10.3 million dollars in Enrollment Workload Adjustment (EWA) funds. The EWA is money given to the State Board of Education (SBOE) by the state legislature. The money is intended to ease financial growing pains experienced by state universities from growing enrollment, although certain degrees and programs are taken into consideration before the funding is distributed. There are four state universities in Idaho: Boise State, Lewis and Clark State College, Idaho State University and University of Idaho. The four schools are each considered for a part of the financial pie which is distributed by the SBOE, but each school does not receive an equal amount. The EWA is calculated by using a 3-year rolling average... ...

Pairs of students professionally dressed in business attire circled around a well-lit room. Small sparsely filled rows of chairs faced two wooden podiums, each with its own microphone. Pupils in the front rows whispered and glanced around, smiling and gesturing to those behind them. Though no cameras flashed, and many chairs remained empty, Boise State students prepared to debate for the highest offices in student government. Prospective ASBSU candidates met Wednesday in the small Farnsworth Conference room on the second floor of the SUB. Candidates came to debate issues of importance at Boise State and outline individual qualifications and experience necessary for holding office. After everyone finished shaking hands and found seats, current ASBSU Vice President Nick Gaudioso gave a brief introduction before allowing non-presidential candidates to address the small crowd. “There is a disconnect between the students and the faculty at Boise State,” said Secretary of Academic Affairs candidate Rachel Byrne. “Many of us have gone in to talk to teachers about the issues we have in class and... ...