Boise State University Scholarworks
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Boise State University ScholarWorks Student Newspapers (UP 4.15) University Documents 11-20-1996 Arbiter, November 20 Students of Boise State University Although this file was scanned from the highest-quality microfilm held by Boise State University, it reveals the limitations of the source microfilm. It is possible to perform a text search of much of this material; however, there are sections where the source microfilm was too faint or unreadable to allow for text scanning. For assistance with this collection of student newspapers, please contact Special Collections and Archives at [email protected]. J 2,NSIDE --"-_--"- __ --"-.:..-...:.... --:.- -.....;.;...--- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1996 THEARBITER If failure to disclose the evaluations is due to ImD~@ concerns about privacy, as the U of I contends, then it should be the students' privacy it ought to be concerned about protecting. The students, after Facultv evaluations: all, are 'the ones filing the evaluations. The idea Flowery r~etoric can't that students shouldn't have access to student hide the stench of bullshit opinion about faculty is absurd. I hope I'm not ·._---F.iIiQl\.~-·i!i1l!t~&L:.L...···.·News shocking any professors with this news flash: stu. "AifiJliiJiYtstudent voter turnout dents talk about you! But notto worry, written evi- The University of Idaho's Faculty Handbook dence of student opinion will not leave the reeks with hypocrisy. Administration 'Building-at least not at BSU. ....... _ •• _·II"llnili!mrt~,~~~~~TjT.~~'~),:,:L,_~ According to that document, students at the U HBF You see, here at Boise State we consistently of I are supposed to have access to student-gener- . ..Wharshot in fashion? Suits? repress evaluations. No one has acces~ to them. ated faculty evaluations, yet the school's admin- Not now, not ever. stration wouldn't release them to the student paper. wpm.Kootenanny Evidently, it was OK for students to view the In all the flurry over questions of press freedom <~:.::: . and student access, the actual value of faculty cval- Hootic. and the Blowfish come to Boise. records at the vice provost's office, but not for the student paper to publish the same information. uations, to students and everyone else, has been overlooked. A student who works in advertising for the ..... If!1!!'2'~. :ftWfJ.'!;l:G'2·S .Sports paper, Travis Quast, decided that policy didn't Let's be brutally honest about evaluations. They , "Iriiercolll!igiateAthletics shares the winning smell' right (see The Arbiter, Oct. 9, p. 9). He took exist to make students feel like the administration experience. the U of I to court over the matter with $3,500 of cares about their opinion and to allow the adminis- his own money and won. The Oct. 16 ruling forced tration to say, "Look, we feel students' pain." As the university to distribute the evaluations to The many professors admit, evaluations are worth as Argonaut (the U of I student paper), which pub- much as bird cage liner when it comes to promo- lished them in a special 40-page section last tions and demotions of faculty. Tuesday, Nov. 12-all 4,000 of them. And why should they? Faculty evaluations are While The Argonaut deserves credit for sup- nothing more than popularity contests, worthless porting Quast, it was he who fought the battle in for educators and students using them to pick next the trenches which eventually forced the university year's classes. to live up to its word and provide media access to Professors who are hard graders, or not gregari- the evaluations. For striking a blow for press free- ous enough, seem bound to get the shaft during dom Quast deserves recognition as honorary 'Biter evaluations. Look around your class on evaluation of the Week. day. Would you really trust the opinion of a bunch Strangely enough, the gutless U of I student of haggard students, still bitter about final tests, to senate decided not to back Quast by a vote of 9-1, guide you into next semester? supposedly because many senators felt it was a "Like, this teacher sucks, huh-huh, he made us waste of money. think and stuff." They have a point. Making faculty evaluations Evaluations are all about perception. They open to students may not be' worth $3,500. But the make the administration and students feel like a issue begs the question: if students can't have two-way relationship flows between them. It's all access to faculty evaluations,then why should they just a warm and fuzzy waste of time, money and fill them out in the first place? trees, The Arbiter is the official student newspaper of Boise State University. Its mission is to provide a forUlI) for the discussion of issues impacting the campus and the community. The Arbiter's budget consists of fees paid by students of BSUand a~vertising sales. The paper is distributed to the campus and community on Wednesdays during the school year. The first copy is free. Additional copies cost $1 each, payable at The Arbiter offices. II• FIRST COPY'RFR~E ." - -- .- - . -_ .. C' -.- ·-----NAMED-BE~T-FOUR·YEAR NON~DAILY, TABLOID IN THE N~rloN 1910 University Drive, Boise,Idaho 83725 THE STAFF Phone -(208) 345-8204 Fax - (208) 385-3198 Editor in Chief Kate Neilly Bell Business Manager Chris Adams News Editor Asencion I. .' . ' Ramirez Hootenan.ny Editor Josh Casten Sports Editor Amy Butler E-mail- [email protected] Health/Beauty /Fashion Editor Ariel Spaeth Out-of-Doors Editor Rhett Tonner Opinion Editor Joe Relk Online Editor Mike Moore Art Director Jonathon H. Smith Sports: [email protected] Photo Editor John Tone Ad Designer Brenda Zipfel Advertising Manager Matt· Po~enger. Local Advertising Sales Sean P. Murphy Staff Writers David Augello, Robert News: [email protected] Ballsh, Enn Burden, Jarod J. Dick, Mary Doherty, Matthew Haynes, Mark Holladay, Seth Jaquith, Don Kelsay, Jim Klepocki, Clint Miller, Kelly Millington, John Sackman Susan Stroder, Mark Letters to the Editor:[email protected] Taylor, Jill Winje Columnists David Aguello, Damon Hunzeker J~nnifer Ledford Kevin A ..... ·...... £"'1'-., ..:..",1';"'. Arts@"ln"en i,ll,,,.. n,l .. Whitesides Phot?~raphers Kara Lynn Brown, Rick Kosarich, Sh'own Records Co~puter "IIOJ UIIU u "1 "IUY I.IUII-'U.,"UU Syste~s AdminIstrator Mork Holladay Circulation EnricFigueras, Uuis Figueras ReceptIon Yvette Bryant, Katy Pel1y Editorial Adviser Peter Wollheim Business Adviser William Hart .'Il.:,Il~um~ IBITER of the Week .~.:r1~:i.:r:J..C=: Thi~week's 'Biler of Ihe Week isSla.ffWriler Dan Kelsay, who cor.sislenlly produces aealive, well-wrilen ,For back issues visit us at: articles. People who posess such a high degree of lalenl are rare. Advertising Manager Mall Pollenger and ·····_:h#R:/l~:i~bsu.~dll/arbifer LocalAd~alesman Sean M~rphy, who've worked hard 10 bring our ad sales up, also deserve mention, as .r: does Busmess Manager Oms Adams, who gol four wisdom leelh pulled and then also managed to aack his , , , . ,:".::">.:> . '--'. -.;;'.,:,; head open aher passing oul. Doslilches in Ihe head hurt worse than holes in Ihe moulh? THEARBITER WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20,1996t -'-_------------------·OPINION 3 have to correspond to the ingredients. The precedent United Nations. Frosted Ross Flakes already exists. Have you ever tried Grape Nuts? There's Hey, I just got a good idea. We could get rid of the nothing grape about those nuts. It's just gravel. national debt by exploiting the popularity of cereal. Cereal is the only breakfast food with cartoon mas- We'd simplyhave to convince a wealthy individual to by Damon M. Hunzeker cots. You'll never see this commercial: "Hi, kids! I'm start manufacturing a cereal from which the profits Columnist the Sausage Monster. Grrrr! Give me some sausage! I'm would go to the Treasury Department. I mean. nobody crazy for sausage!" (Unless, of course, you consider wants to pay higher taxes to fix the debt, but everybody has a box or two of cereal on their kitchen shelves. How I have a friend who looks exactly like the Golden Jimmy Dean a monster.) about Budget Puffs? No,that sou nus like ;1 generic Crisp mascot. So the other day as I was playing a game I think my favorite cereal mascot is the Sugar Smacks brand. Nobody would buy it. of chess against the Sugar Bear, I began to think about frog. He's a little confusing, though, because he uses cereal. hippie language-"Dig 'em"-and Aha ... Ross Perot's always worried about the federal Occasionally, I'll buy a box of pushes a product with the word debt, and he seems to have a lot of free time. He should Horkin Fiber Chunks, or whatever, and "smack" in the title. That's like consider getting into the breakfast food industry. All the it sits on my shelf until rodents use it as Marion Barry saying, "Come on, profits would go to the government so it'd be an easy tax a home. I never eat it because healthy kids, try some delicious Crack write-off. But more importantly, Perot already looks like cereal sucks. I was never able to make Loops." a cereal mascot. the leap from kid cereal to adult cereal. Actually.Trn not sure if they still Imagine the commercials: a cartoon version of Ross It's hard to pretend you're enjoying use the "Dig 'em" frog, because I've Perot is seen hopping around in a jungle with a bunch of Kellogg's All-Bran when you'd rather detected a disturbing trend in the monkeys. They're all devouring bowls of Frosted Ross be getting loaded on Fruity Pebbles.