November 10, 2006 - College of Idaho

COYOTE
THE CAMPUS NEWSPAPER OF ALBERTSON COLLEGE
10 NOVEMBER 2006 - ISSUE #4
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Celebrities are royalty in America, so why not find out which one you
resemble? The Coyote uploaded pictures of ACI community members to
the website myheritage.com. Then, using super-secret James Bond-like facial recognition algorithms, the website compares your picture with its large
database of celebrities.
Apparently I don’t look like Ethan Hawk or Andy Roddick (damn you
Chris Rifer and Matt Weaver!). My highest rated match was Phillip Seymour
Hoffman (Capote in Copote) at 68%. I can grudgingly live with that comparison. But the Dakota Fanning (60%) and Michael Richards (Seinfeld’s
Kramer, 59%) matches hurt a little.
According to the website, Will Smith and I are a 64% match. Not too
shabby, but I always fancied myself more of a Brad Pitt look-alike. Right? —Stephen Lowman
Best
Match!
Dr. Steven
Maughan,
History
Chris Rifer,
ASACI President
Matt Weaver,
ASACI Vice President
66%...Ethan Hawk
54%...Barack Obama
52%...Jamie Foxx
51%...Danny DeVito
70%...Andy Roddick
66%...Ron Livingston
(Office Space)
59%...Ewan McGregor
55%...Matt Damon
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Stephen Lowman
FACULTY ADVISOR
Alan Minskoff
COPY EDITING AND
LAYOUT:
Stephen Lowman and
Patrick Watson
COVER:
Genevieve Gerke
2
Dr. Jasper LiCalzi,
Politics and Economics
57%...Jared Leto
56%...Chuck Norris
53%...Jason Lee (My Name is Earl)
52%...Johnny Depp
59%...
Engelbert
Humperdinck
55%...Dan
Quayle
54%...Adam
Carolla
49%...Patrick
Dempsey
Dr. Sara Heggland,
Biology
Paul Bennion,
Dean of Student Affairs
68%...Scarlett Johansson
68%...Prince Henry
56%...Nicole Kidman
55%...Joe Pesci
63%...Vin Diesel
60%...Cat Stevens
60%...Freddie Prinze Jr.
58%...Timothy Leary
ART
Allison Barber, Patrick Dougherty,
Zach Hagadone, Ali Straubhar
CONTRIBUTORS
Brad Baughman, Alex
Birmingham, Brandon Buck,
Jordan Drake, Ben Jarvis,
Stephen Lowman, Molly
Mooney, Kate Radford, Stephen
Reinschmidt, Aika Shima, Kim
Stiens, Daniel Thrasher, Lael
Uberuaga-Rodgers, Dustin
Wallace, Patrick Watson
About:
The Coyote is the student-run
campus publication of Albertson
College of Idaho. We provide a
forum for student, faculty, staff
and administrative voices. The
opinions presented here are not
necessarily those of The Coyote
or Albertson College.
Submissions and Letters:
The Coyote reserves the right
to edit all submissions for style,
length and grammar.
Articles should be submitted in
10 pt. Times New Roman, single
spaced and with paragraphs indented five spaces.
Articles may be submitted by
emailing them as a Microsoft
Word file to slowman@albertson.
edu or coyote@albertson.edu
Letters to the editor are welcomed
and will be printed as space allows. Letter may be edited for
grammar. Letters can be emailed
to slowman@albertson.edu or
sent to the address below:
The Coyote
Albertson College
2112 Cleveland Blvd.
Box 52
Caldwell, ID 83605
Payment:
The Coyote pays $0.03 per word,
$15 for an original piece of art,
$30 for an original cover and $5
per photograph.
Writers will be reimbursed for
costs pertaining to reporting at the
discretion of the editorial board.
Reimbursement must be sought
in advance.
Advertise and Anything Else:
Contact editor Stephen Lowman at
slowman@albertson.edu or (208)
761-9295. The Coyote office can
be reached at (208) 459-5509.
Subscriptions:
Anonymous letters will not be Subscriptions are availible for $25
per year.
printed.
10 NOVEMBER 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE COYOTE
ANSWER THIS
BY PATRICK WATSON
Q: The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson
foundation has recently increased ACI’s grant
by $5 million dollars per year for the next
three years. How should the money be spent?
“I think part of it should go to new science equipment in Boone, and the other
part needs to go to housing.”
Colin Burke, Sophomore
Back then it was a simpler time with simpler signs. Photo courtesy Jan Boles/Archives
“Get Terteling some new books, and
update the 70’s look.”
Daniel Grad, Sophomore
NEWS
Foundation Extends Grant
8 Albertson
By Stephen Lowman
We’re Getting One
8 Yearbook:
By Daniel Thrasher
Considers Crime Minor
9 College
by Patrick Watson
Sparks Debate
10 T-Shirt
by Ben Jarvis and Brandon Buck
Studies Canada
12 Professor
by Kate Radford
Sigmas Forced to Go Dry
13 Kapps
by Brad Baughman
Students Pull Pranks, Alarms
13 NNU
by Brad Baughman
History of The Hat
20 The
by Brad Baughman
OPINION
Consent?”
4 “Got
By Stephen Lowman
I Eat My Bagel?
4 Can
By Stephen Reinschmidt
to the Editor
5 Letters
by Isaak Stafford and Molly Mooney
6 We Not of the Faith
by Alex Birmingham
and Glamour
7 Lookism
by Kim Stiens
Killed the Radio Star
7 ACI
by Lael Uberuaga-Rodgers
ISSUE #4
ARTS &
LEISURE
Art of the Road Trip
14 The
by Jordan Drake
A with Jon Baker
15 QBy&Jordan
Drake
the Pub Work
15 Making
by Lael Uberuaga-Rodgers
16
The Rosenthal Gallery
by Dustin Wallace
Borat
17 Movie:
by Jordan Drake
“As a biology and psychology major, I believe that severe improvements are needed
for both of those departments.”
Ines Tucakovic, Senior
“I think they should use it to make tuition a
little cheaper than it is now.”
Sonnet Donohue, Freshman
Marie Antoinnette
17 Movie:
By Brad Baughman
The Decemberists
17 CD:
by Jordan Drake
Under Rated Songs
18 Six
By Kim Stiens
Recovery Memoirs
18 Vice:
by Molly Mooney
19 Horoscopes
“The school should update its facilities,
especially the athletic facilities, and fast track
the new dorm.”
Vicky Vail, Freshman
“Improved weight room equipment, new
washers and driers, and hot tubs in the
basement.”
Cameron Anderson, Freshman
3
OPINION
THE COYOTE
EDITORIAL BOARD
BRAD BAUGHMAN
STEPHEN LOWMAN
Editor-in-Chief
PATRICK WATSON
TAYLOR ST. JOHN
BRANDON BUCK
DOVE RAINBOW
The Center, Student Affairs
did disservice to community
with “Got Consent?”
It is in the best interest of the college that the Women’s and Men’s
Center’s “Got Consent?” workshop has been postponed until community
discussions can take place regarding it.
The event, which was billed as “mandatory” for freshmen, had
good intentions. Everyone wants ACI to be a safe community. Increasing
awareness of what constitutes consensual sex and informing students of
the resources available to them if a sex crime takes place is important. But
Student Affairs and the Center failed in properly executing an event that
concerns such a sensitive and critical issue to students.
Whether the issue is rape, binge drinking, mental health or violence
in the surrounding city, it is vital that these issues be discussed at
a community level. ACI is not immune to these problems, nor is it
disproportionately troubled by them. These problems are endemic to
society and can be magnified in the college environment. It will take the
entire college working together and engaging in honest dialogue in order
to alleviate these problems.
Center director Pamela Lassiter and Dean of Student Affairs Paul
Bennion chose to only consult with themselves. Not only was the rest
of the campus in the dark as to what would be presented in the “Got
Consent?” workshop, other staff members in Student Affairs had little to
no idea about the nature of the presentation or what would happen to a
freshman student if they failed to attend.
The Center (along with the Peer Counselors) bungled a presentation
on the same topic to last year’s freshmen. It should not have been a
surprise to Lassiter and Bennion that this year’s presentation would come
under close scrutiny, and more importantly, that the community would
expect the opportunity to give input on how such a serious matter would
be presented.
Further, the Center and Student Affairs repeatedly misinformed
students (either deliberately or through an incredible case of
miscommunication, or both) over a period of six days.
Lassiter and Bennion have repeatedly promised that the operations of
the Women’s and Men’s Center would become more transparent to the
rest of the College. The “Got Consent?” event demonstrates they have
not fulfilled this promise.
I would not presume to know how to solve the complex issues faced
by my friends and the rest of the world outside these 50-acres. The
Women’s and Men’s Center doesn’t have the final answer either. But
community issues require open and honest community dialogue. This is
fundamental to educating students in the classroom, and I believe it is
essential to keeping every member of this community safe.
—Stephen Lowman
4
Let Me Take My Damn
Bagel Bon Appetit!
And please consider the starving Africans
By STEPHEN REINSCHMIDT
After eating breakfast in the cafeteria the
other day I decided I would wrap up my
leftover bagel with cream cheese and take
it home for later. Initially, I was hesitant because I knew this was “technically” against
the rules, but then I remembered hearing
stories of ACI students furnishing their
entire home dining sets with Bon Appetit
silverware, plates, and cups, and so I figured
it was a relatively minor offense by comparison. As I was wrapping my bagel with
a sheet of plastic wrap, I was approached
by one of the Bon Appetit staff members.
She asked me if I was taking something
“to go” and I quickly considered whether I
should fib a little to avoid confrontation or
simply fess up as to my intentions. I knew
by choosing the latter I was headed down
the road to that all too familiar conversation—the issue of taking food out of the
cafeteria that most of us have encountered
at some point or another.
When I responded that I was indeed
planning to take the bagel home with me,
the staff member told me that I really was
not supposed to do that. Feeling a little
irritated at this point, I continued to engage the conversation and asked her if she
would rather I waste my bagel — to which
she shockingly replied “yes.” At this point
Ali Straubhar
I could have made the whole “starving kids
in Somalia” argument to her, but to be honest my reasons for griping are more selfserving. Basically, after all the money we
pay for an “all you can eat” meal plan, I am
upset that the staff of Bon Appetit raises
issue with someone trying to take a bagel to
go and condones wasting food rather than
satisfying its diners.
Now don’t get me wrong, I understand
that Bon Appetit is a business and certain
rules must be imposed. Either you eat in or
you get a box and get your food to go. That
is completely fair, but it leaves a huge grey
area concerning food that remains on one’s
plate following a meal. If something has
already been man-handled or chomped into
and is simply going to be thrown away, why
shouldn’t we be allowed to take it home (assuming it is something easily wrapped up)?
Unless the cook in the back is planning to
pick through the garbage for my leftover
bagel or management is planning to use
it as a “food model” to show prospective
students what a bagel looks like, I see no
reason why such an issue would be made.
So have a heart, Bon Appetit, and let me
take my damn bagel home with me. If for
nothing else, do it for the starving children
in Somalia…
OPINION
THE COYOTE
Letters to the Editor Catching Up with the
A less than amateur
analysis of our less than
amateur analysis
Stephen Lowman,
I write concerning the sports article
written in Issue #3 by Brandon Buck. I
offer my less than amateur opinion.
I know very little about soccer but I
think the author was unfair and incorrect
in his critical analysis of Coach Taylor. I
believe (again in my less than amateur
opinion) that the 0-0 tie despite a 28-5
shot advantage for the Lady ‘Yotes was
due more to factors such as bad luck and
Cascade’s game strategy (which seemed to
be put every player in the box on defense)
than it was due to any substitution strategy.
The author also failed to mention
the fact that the Lady ‘Yotes had played
a hard-fought game to one of the best
teams in the nation just the previous day. I
believe (again, less than amateur opinion)
that substitutions would be critical in
keeping players fresh, especially the day
after a hard-fought match.
I believe Coach Taylor and the whole
women’s soccer team is doing an excellent
job, in fact to quote the author, Saturday
they “earned their first winning league
record since the program began in 1989.” I
congratulate the coach and team on a fine
season and hope they can put this negative
“analysis” behind them and make a run at
the conference tourney! Keep up the good
work ACI soccer!
Isaak Stafford
Clearly this reader has
penis envy. Really, it’s just
crazy to call The Coyote
phallocentric...
I love The Coyote and have been
thrilled to see it on campus again this
year, having dearly missed it in its absence.
There is one thing that’s been nagging at
me, though. Music reviews are usually the
first thing I turn to when I open any book,
magazine, or newspaper — and if you put
it in front of me, chances are I will open
it. But The Coyote’s music reviews have
had a serious phallocentricity problem
for the past several issues. All the music
reviews have involved male-fronted bands,
with the exception of Yo La Tengo, who
are fronted by a husband-and-wife duo.
Even our illustrious editor’s own list of the
“11 Wussiest Songs” featured male artists
ISSUE #4
exclusively.
Now, if I were the sort of person
who created a lot of free time for myself,
I might peruse the reviewers respective
Facebook profiles. And if I were to do
that, I just might happen to notice that
their Favorite Musicians lists are also
predominantly comprised of male artists.
Only, though, if I were that sort of
person.
Isn’t a campus newspaper supposed to
reflect the culture of its campus? I wonder,
then, if our male reviewers aren’t doing
the largely female body of Albertson
College a disservice by focusing on these
so-called “rock gods” and neglecting the
women of the industry?
I am also curious to see a review that
comes from outside the requisite “liberalarts-indie-hipster-garage-rock-revivalistfloppy-haired-skinny-musician-witha-penis” genre. I’d like to see some art
music, or some folk, maybe some punk . .
. really, just something outside the general
taste spoon-fed to most college students
by the likes of Paste magazine.
So here is my challenge to The Coyote’s
male reviewers: Do some research. Find
an independent, female-dominated — not
just female-fronted — band, and write a
review. Whether you end up liking them
or not, it would be nice to see some
variety. (And before you ask, yes, I will be
submitting some of my own.)
Men of Sigma Chi
(and Their House)
Just a short walk from McCain, the white farmhouse with the green
shutters and the cross in the window is a sight that all ACI students have
passed at one time or another. For the past couple of years, it did not
have the cross in the window. However, now that the men of Sigma Chi
have gotten their house back after two years, that cross is displayed prominently in the window once more.
Currently living at 1718 E. Ash are: Leon Samuels, Mike Ridley, Jason
Cox, and Jake Fulcher. The best part of getting the house back according
to Samuels is “it has enhanced brotherhood in our fraternity. It allows us
to have a location that is truly our own. Plus, it’s fun to throw parties and
have people over just to hang out.”
Recently, the fraternity threw Top Gun and Miami Vice-themed parties.
—Aika Shima
Molly Mooney
Whether you’re an
expert or amateur,
have a vagina or penis,
The Coyote welcomes
your letters
Now that the Sigma Chi’s have a house, they can have formal dinners like this one.
Please email your letter to
Stephen Lowman (slowman@
albertson.edu) or send it to the
address below:
The Coyote
Albertson College of Idaho
2112 Cleveland Blvd.
Caldwell, ID 83605
The Coyote reserves to the
right to edit letters for grammar and clarity. Due to space
limitations, the writer may be
asked edit their their letter for
length. Anonymous letters will
not be printed.
5
OPINION
THE COYOTE
We Not of the Faith
By ALEX BIRMINGHAM
6
conversation:
C: I believe that Jesus Christ died to save
our sins.
A: Well, why do you believe that?
C: Because of (insert verse here) that
says so.
A: But why do you believe that verse?
C: Because of (insert verse here) that
says the bible was breathed into man from
So I found that in order to buy into any
part of the Christian faith I would have to
accept without question any other part of
it. Thus, the gates would open.
But wouldn’t I in the process have forgotten my original intent in this inquiry? I
began an ardent search for the truth, only to
find that in order to find ‘the truth,’ I would
have to believe in something that could be
God.
In essence, the bible has authority because the bible says it does. I believe the
Qur’an possesses a similar duality. Either
could be true. Neither, logically, is true simply because it claims to be.
I found that every conversation about
Christianity was predicated on the authority
of a biblical verse, and that verse was predicated on the authority of another biblical
verse, and so on and so on. In logic101, this
fallacy is known as ‘Begging the Question.’
a lie. Moreover, it seemed a lie. Suddenly I
realized that the leap of faith so gloriously
represented by many was merely a blind acceptance of a dubious truth which would
beget an entire context of dubious truth.
Furthermore, I realized that if I was going
to lay down reason for the dubious truth of
Christianity then why not the dubious truth
of any other religion? None held any validity to me, none held a context that wasn’t
circular.
This was depressing stuff, but it was
PATRICK DOUGHERTY
How to go about this article?
Do I speak of the apparent political ramifications of faith? That I see it as something inevitably corrosive in society? That
I see evidence of this spattered painfully
across the entire human timeline? That I
see it as especially apparent in the present
day US?
Do I take on the role of the atheist? Do
I attempt to articulate the significance of
spiritual inquiries, and then continue to debunk the idea that the vocabulary and ideology of religion are our most fitting context
for discussing such inquiries? I would have
to abandon the term ‘God,’ for something
simultaneously more and less definable like
‘The Universal Super-Ego.’
No to the first, because with a paradigm
of spiritual truth I could rationalize political unrest. Even now I can, though the exercise feels counterfeit.
No to the second, and for this I’m not
entirely sure. In part it is because I live in
a Judeo-Christian culture, and God still
sounds a bit more warm-blanket than ‘The
Universal Super-Ego.’ It is also in part
because I will lose not a few readers who
represent my target audience: those of the
faith. And lastly it is something more:
I am at the gates.
I’ve gone to church and mass, bible
study and Sunday School, and I’ve held
countless discussions with well-meaning,
genuinely good-hearted, and above-all intelligent Christians, because I want in. I’ve
done my homework and paid my dues because, like any other sane human being, I
want a coherent spiritual paradigm and the
peace that it would bring. I am at the gates
of a stronghold that seems to be locked
shut. Against almost everything I know
and comprehend I really do believe that the
voices I hear coming from within are filled
with actual joy.
I’ve been knocking.
I’m knocking now.
And I’m beginning to believe that you
are either on the boat or off the boat. Inside or outside the stronghold, as it were.
If you’re at the gates, you’ll always be just
at the gates. The plight of the agnostic is
this: that the Christian invitation towards
faith comes from inside a context so cyclical that every link’s authority is predicated
on the authority of the link prior, a chain
whose origin extends into the happy acceptance of childhood and the dubious luxury
of its forgetfulness. The circular logic can
be seen in any Agnostic(A) to Christian(C)
about to get worse.
I wanted to know how my Christian
friends had found themselves in that context in the first place, how they had surmounted the problem which now faced
me. The answer was obvious: they had
been raised to believe in it. For them one
tenet of faith simply gave rise to another,
in a long and beautiful terracing of truth
that had been under construction for so
long that the original tenet, the dubious
truth, was dwarfed by colossal ‘truths,’ the
ones that I saw and wanted in conversation.
But this wasn’t truth, this was socialization!
Surely they couldn’t deny that they would
have been Hindu had they been born in
Bombay? And was my being out of the
loop of truth merely a result of my being
improperly raised, IE socialized?
No, I thought, truth is more universal
than that.
Further. Truth is better than that.
But religion works, I thought. Isn’t that
enough? I’ve met twenty-somethings with
the psychology of 12-year olds, their maturation having been stunted by some painful
familial abuse. This broken paradigm isn’t
damage to them, it’s a defense mechanism; it allows them to function. It works.
No, ‘works’ couldn’t be enough.
I am aware of the born-again Christian.
I have never met one who has been faithful
to the God of logic. In other words, they
have not found a passage in the wall so
much as they have flung themselves over
the wall itself. This ‘leap of faith,’ seems to
the agnostic to be rooted in emotionalism,
or functionalism, to find its catalyst in the
power of religion to call upon the wouldbe believer’s yearning for truth. I am aware
of this yearning, and I believe in the pain
of being unable to fulfill it in the company
of those who are. I know that faith works
and feels good, but just because something
‘works,’ or ‘feels good’, doesn’t make it true.
The real plight of the agonistic is this, then,
that if we could at least believe that you,
of the faith, had entered into your context
because it is true, and not because it works,
and not because it feels good, and not because it was taught to you, then at least we
could believe in your faith. But I cannot see anyone on the inside that has entered in the
way we wish, loyal to both God and truth.
It seems most poignant to end with the
sentiments of one Fox Mulder, who understood the painful dissonance between human nature and reason, and that human nature is rarely reasonable: I want to believe.
10 NOVEMBER 2006
OPINION
THE COYOTE
awarding attractive women this prize. And,
of course, if those who decide who wins
this competition have a picture handy while
evaluating the candidates; they will pick the
more attractive people. Everyone does. We
all like the beautiful people.
Additionally, many of them are from really, really good schools. There is one Yale
junior, one Emory, one Wellesley, a Rutgers
girl, and one from Juilliard. College is a natural re-enforcer of socio-economic classes,
and the winners of this contest are almost
certainly in decent economic standing (one
very possible exception is a student from
Zambia studying at Wellesley), as evidenced
by appearance, school choice and status as
a college student.
Now I’m not saying that Glamour is opposed to picking poor college students for
this award, but the admittedly wonderful
and life-changing things these students
do would be impossible without at least
modest resources.
My point? This contest is totally winnable for many ACI students. We’re a
Lookism and Glamour:
The Top 10 College Women Competition
By KIM STIENS
Most of us have seen the flyers hanging
up in McCain: it’s Glamour Magazine’s Top
10 College Women Competition! I grabbed
the flyer and decided to take a look, and
was a little surprised by what I found.
Of course, I’m always suspicious of
women’s magazines. I’ve always felt that
the Cosmopolitans and Glamours
of America do more harm
to women than
any
other
kind of oppression. Take
this
snippet
from the Glamour website, on an
advertisement for
Glamour blogs on
the same page as the
Top College Women:
“Dating, fashion, beauty and gossip. Seriously.
What more do you need?”
So I was interested to see
exactly what kind of women
win this thing, and what my
(or any female at ACI’s) chances
are.
The 2006 crop of women are
inspirational indeed. One volunteered in an orphanage in Kenya and
drafted new rules for employees there. Five
ISSUE #4
of ten have founded or created non-profit
organizations, scholarships or programs
to help others in various fields. One has a
Shakira ringtone, one loves Grey’s Anatomy and one “can’t live without” her True
Religion jeans.
Of course, all are (in my estimation) above average looking.
I mean, you can’t put UGLY
people in a magazine. In fact,
one of the requirements
for the scholarship application is a picture, no
larger than 8” by 10”
supposedly “for identification purposes
only.” But let’s face
it: one of the winners of this contest is a former
model. None
could ever be
described as
ugly. Why
wo u l d
they ask for
a picture for “identification” purposes when
there are far better ways to confirm
identity?
The answer is that they have a vested interest, being a fashion magazine, in
fairly prestigious school with many goodlooking and well-off students. I don’t personally know of any non-profit organizations started by any local juniors, but I’m
sure someone here among us has done
something they could submit. Poor, ugly
kids, take heart: If Congress goes Democrat they might not reduce the amount we
get in Pell Grants. You beautiful, wonderful, middle to upper-class juniors: Grab
an application. It’s not YOUR fault you’re
pretty. Take every opportunity you can get.
God knows I would.
Why Have
They Killed
the Radio Star
at ACI?
By LAEL UBERUAGA-RODGERS
What happened to ACI.D radio?
“Wait, what?” you’re asking. “We have a
radio station?”
ACI.D Radio, or Albertson College of
Idaho Digital Radio, has slipped
through the cracks. You used to be
able to listen to it online by going
to the ACI.D page under “Campus
Life” on the Albertson website.
According to that outdated page,
the DJ’s are Seth Cole and Jeremy
Seick, neither of which attends
ACI anymore. Last spring sophomore Rich Hatch was a DJ a few nights a
week, but nothing is happening right now.
No one has contacted him to do it again. I
asked John Britschgi, the technical manager
of ACI.D Radio, but he admits he doesn’t
know what’s going on either.
“In fact, I need to get in contact with
Tech Committee about taking the ACI.D
link off the Albertson website,” Britschgi
added. So who is actually in charge of the
Radio? According to Britschgi, it’s Tech
Committee.
What’s going on, guys? Radio is becoming obsolete as mp3’s take over the music
scene. Fight back, Tech Committee, give
us some DJ’s and tunes, and help preserve,
like the name of a Josh Ritter song, “The
Golden Age of Radio.”
Who Wins This? A Profile
Straight From the Magazine
THE ADVOCATE
Rebecca Mitchell, 22, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
HER DEFINING MOMENT: Mitchell
volunteered at an orphanage in Kenya
in 2005, where she saw a caretaker
whipping young children. “They were on
the ground trembling,” she remembers.
HER NEXT STEPS: She lobbied to have
the caretaker removed and drafted new
discipline guidelines for all employees.
The biology major then founded the
Student Project Africa Network (SPAN),
a nonprofit organization (it started as a
blog) that’s sent 43 people to Africa to
continue her work. DREAM JOB: Director of the World Health Organization.
MOTTO: “Do something that scares you
every day.”
The old ACI.D Radio office is now “Meeting 1”
7
NEWS
THE COYOTE
Albertson Foundation Extends Grant
College receives $5 million per year for three years, plus a one time $5 million
donation to go toward a new residence hall or science hall update
By STEPHEN LOWMAN
“I didn’t know good news brought people out,” Albertson College president Bob
Hoover told a packed Langroise Recital
Hall on Monday, Nov. 6. “This is phenomenal.”
In his announcement, Hoover told the
crowd that the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson
Foundation chose to extend their challenge
grant in the form of an additional $5 million per year for three years. The way the
grant is structured, the foundation has the
option of renewing future funding in threeyear increments.
Additionally, the Foundation gave the
college a one-time $5 million grant to go
towards the construction of a new residence hall or a remodel and equipment
updates for the college’s science building,
Boone Hall. The foundation, with input
from ACI, will decide shortly which project
the money will go to.
In February 2005, the college received a
$17 million challenge grant from the foundation. Coming on the heels of a fiscal disaster that threatened to shutter the school,
the grant put ACI back on a steady financial
footing.
“The renewal of the grant gives the
college the stability to focus on long term
priorities,” Hoover said.
The college is attempting to become a
Top 100 Liberal Arts College. As part of
their original grant, the foundation set targets for the school to meet. ACI must increase the number of entering freshman, its
freshman to sophomore retention rate, and
revenue coming in from tuition and fundraising. The foundation also spotlighted the
education and business departments for reorganization.
While the retention rate is up and the
college narrowly met the requirement of increasing the alumni giving rate by two percent this year, enrollment numbers for the
entering freshman class were not as high as
the college wanted. Although ACI has 822
students — the third highest enrollment in
the past 35 years — the college had hoped
to have between 280 and 300 students in
this year’s freshman class. Approximately
250 freshmen were admitted.
Due to the lower than expected enrollment numbers, Hoover said the college
faced a revenue shortfall at the State of
Faculty Salary Presentation Given to Board
the College address in September. Budget
tightening resulted in faculty bonuses being cancelled. At Monday’s announcement,
Hoover said that he would ask the Board
of Trustees to reinstate the bonuses.
Hoover explained that the college had
requested the grant be renewed at this time
in order to better prepare for the upcoming
midterm accreditation report and the 2008
budget.
“We suggested that renewal now would
negate the problem of writing about financial stability in the accreditation report…we
also said that it was hard to put together the
’08 budget without knowing information
on the grant,” Hoover said.
The college’s proposal to the foundation argued that a longer time frame on the
grant would provide the college with better
budget continuity and the ability to make
more informed investments.
“This is a remarkable commitment by
the Albertson Foundation and it will make
a significant difference as the college seeks
to position itself as a Top 100 National
Liberal Arts College,” said ACI Board of
Trustees chairman Gerald Baur.
Yearbooks: We’re Getting One
By DANIEL THRASHER
$
At their Oct. 6 meeting the Board of Trustees were given a presentation on ways to promote scholarship among faculty, along with ways to attract and retain quality professors at
ACI. Faculty pay is important, especially in the latter. Whether or not the faculty will receive a
holiday bonus is still undecided. In order to reduce the budget shortfall bonuses were put on
hold by Trustees. That could change at their next meeting now that the Albertson Foundation
has extended their grant. The chart above compares ACI faculty salaries with their peers in the
mountain west region. The salary gap becomes even greater when ACI is compared to peer
schools in other regions. —Stephen Lowman
8
President Hoover addressing the
campus on Nov. 6
The yearbook at Albertson College has
been a heated issue for some time now. I sat
down with co-editors, Kim Kraft and Cherise Wetzel, to gain an understanding of the
yearbook situation and to find out what we
can expect for the future.
The fact is, the yearbook staff is currently trying to recover from a problem that
began before they even attended Albertson. Many years ago, an editor didn’t spend
much of the available funds on the actual
yearbook, and so the very next year, the
new editor felt she had to compensate for
the previous year’s book by making a perfect one. Perfect came at a price, however:
a big price. Yearbook fell into debt with the
publishing company.
Upperclassmen know that a yearbook
hasn’t been put out for the past couple of
years. The reason for this is that there was
an investigation, during which time they
were instructed not to write articles or take
pictures. Now, the publishing company
is working with the yearbook staff to get
them out of debt. Instead of a full year-
book for the 2004-2005 school year, they
made pamphlets, which are on slate to be
distributed by December.
What I got from the interview is that
the future is bright for the yearbook. They
have a dedicated staff of only five people
–– including Kim, Cherise, and three photographers –– who are not only making a
brand new yearbook for this year, but also
are trying to get out a prior yearbook and
get out of debt. The publishing company
reps are working with them to help them
get back on their feet.
This year, they are going to release a biannual yearbook that covers the 2005-2006
year and the 2006-2007 year. They are hoping to have the yearbooks available in May,
with the graduation inserts to be shipped
a few months later. If anyone has pictures
from last year that they can contribute, contact Kim or Cherise.
Remember that every year missed will
still have some sort of publication, and the
yearbook staff will be able to provide quality yearbooks in the future without having
to worry about debt. It looks like a good
year to be getting a yearbook.
10 NOVEMBER 2006
NEWS
THE COYOTE
College Considering “Crime in Society” Minor
By PATRICK WATSON
Across the nation, more and more colleges and universities are developing courses in the field of Criminal Justice. With the
popularity of television shows such as Law
and Order and CSI, it is clear that interest in
the subject is not limited to institutions of
higher education but is part of the general
public as well.
The United States currently leads the
world in prison population with nearly 25
percent of the world’s inmates within our
borders. Approximately 45 percent of
these inmates are incarcerated due to drug
charges, and some 7.3 million children have
one or both parents in prison or jail. As the
number of inmates in the U.S. continues to
increase, little is being done on the side of
the government to insure that rehabilitation is occurring in our prisons.
As the field of Criminal Justice, or
Criminology as it is often called, becomes a
more relevant, pressing issue, it is clear that
Albertson College of Idaho must, in some
way, respond to the trend.
Three years ago, President Hoover
proposed that the field of criminal justice
be considered as a possible area of study.
Since then, members of the ACI faculty
have been spearheading a movement to
create the Crime in Society minor.
Recently I had the opportunity to discuss
the proposed minor with the leaders of the
project: Robin Lorentzen of the Anthropology/Sociology department and Diane
Raptosh of the English Department. According to Raptosh, the Crime in Society
minor would be a liberal arts approach to
criminal justice. Lorentzen added that the
minor would be completely interdisciplinary and would not require the hiring of
new staff. There would be no cost to the
school. The Crime in Society minor would
focus heavily on writing and literature and
would, potentially, incorporate forensics
coursework down the road.
There appears to be significant student
interest in the subject at ACI. The College
has offered courses related to this subject in
the past. One of these is The Prison Experience, last offered in the winter of 2004.
In the course evaluation, much praise was
given. One student commented as follows:
“This class has served as the pinnacle
of my college experience @ ACI. I
have never been more moved and inspired by a class. I have found myself
talking about [it] outside of class and
people are really interested. Participating in this class has developed me as a
person. I have so much that I can give
back now. I would recommend this
class to anyone – regardless of their
major & minor. It should be offered
every year. ACI would gain immeasurably from more classes like it.”
8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 students reported that two vehicles at the Delta Tau Delta
house had their tires slashed
4:10 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25 there was a
fire alarm in Hayman Hall caused by burnt
popcorn
6:55 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27 Campus
Safety responded to a medical call at Hendren Hall
2:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29 a suspicious
person was reported in Hendren Hall
1:26 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30 Campus
Safety responded to a complaint about individuals racing a go-cart and motorcycle in
the Activities Center Parking Lot
3:10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30 Campus
Safety responded to skateboarders on the
steps of Strahorn Hall
5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2 a student reported
an item missing from her room
responded to a complaint at the Kappa
12:20 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4 Campus Sigma house
Safety responded to a medical assistance 3:15 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 15 there was a
call at the Activities Center gym
fire alarm in Hayman Hall caused by a dis2 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 7
charged fire extinguisher
two individuals visiting a
3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15
student were found exa car was reported burglartremely intoxicated in front IS WHO YOU ARE ized and burned in the JewGOING TO CALL ett Parking Lot
of Hayman Hall. The paramedics were called and one
2:10 a.m. Saturday, Oct.
was taken to the hospital for treatment of 28 smoke was reported at Anderson Hall
alcohol poisoning.
from hot coals that were not extinguished
11:25 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11 there was properly
a fire alarm in McCain caused by a faulty 12:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 2 there was a
smoke detector
fire alarm in Voorhees and Hayman hall.
8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13 there was a fire Both were caused by a false pull
alarm in Anderson Hall caused from burnt 11:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2 Campus
popcorn
Safety responded to a fire on the front
11:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13 Campus Safety porch of the Delta Tau Delta house
Here’s would another student had to say
about the course:
“This class has literally changed my
career path. I am excited to use what
I have learned in this class out in the
real world. My opinion[s] about prisoners & prisons have honestly flipped
and I can’t say that for any other class.
I have seen ever[y] perspective on prisons and that is what must happen to be
fully educated in something. I honestly
wish this class was a 1[2] week course.
The professors were amazing and I had
such an amazing time in this class. This
should be offered as a GGR so that everyone can understand the prison system & the role it plays with the crime
in society.”
It is clear that not only is the study of
crime in society important and necessary in
our day and age, it has a profound effect
on people and is a valuable learning experience.
The Crime in Society minor could become a reality as soon as the 2007-2008
school year. For this to happen, however,
the minor must be approved at a series of
meetings before the end of this current semester. These include the three divisions
meeting on Nov. 16, the curriculum council
meeting on Nov. 28, and the faculty assembly meeting on Dec. 7.
“The Crime in Society Minor must pass
at these three meetings in order to be in
catalogue for the next school year,” Lorentzen said.
Minor Crime at the College: Campus Safety Tidbits
Compiled by JoANN GILPIN
ISSUE #4
x5151
WATCH OUT!
Historically November is
a busy time for car burglars
at ACI. Campus Safety is asking for your help to make ACI
parking lots less inviting to
would be burglars. Please take
extra care to keep your valuables safe. Remember never
to leave your purse, CDs, jewelry, or other valuables in your
car and always take your stereo faceplate with you. If you
see anyone who looks suspicious report them to Campus
Safety immediately.
9
T-Shirt Sparks Debate on F
NEWS
An Email Fr
Mansfield to A
[October 25, 2006
Subject: coyote support]
By BEN JARVIS
The rivalry between Albertson College
of Idaho and Northwest Nazarene University has a long and glorious tradition. In
fact, it is the oldest athletic rivalry in the
state, dating back long before BSU and U
of I ever even knew what a basketball was,
let alone how to dribble one. This summer, ASACI President Chris Rifer created
the Fall Sports Challenge to help and fuel
our competitive nature, and bolster school
spirit.
To help aid the fight for dominance,
Rifer blanketed the campus with emails
wondering if people would be interested in
‘Sader Hater shirts. For 5 dollars a student
could get a T-shirt that would have ’Sader
Haters printed on the front, and the words
because a Coyote never committed genocide emblazoned on the back.
After a meeting with Vice President for
Student Affairs Mark Smith, however, Rifer
decided to change the wording to because
a coyote never slaughtered thousands of innocent
children, to make it more historically accurate. This would not to be the last change,
however.
As word spread around campus about
the shirts, some faculty began expressing
concern over the content on the back. One
of Rifer’s meetings with ACI President Bob
Hoover detailed complaints from NNU administration over the vulgarity of the shirts,
and included the possibility that the rivalry
could end. “Yeah, there were threats about
that. I heard that from a few people. As best
I could tell, that was never the case. If we
kept the shirts the same, that never would
have happened. NNU’s administration indicated to us that they wouldn’t mind that
much, especially after meeting with NNU
student leadership, who hasn’t had any
problems with the shirts at all” Rifer said.
In fact, rumor has it that NNU has cre-
10
ated its own shirts as well. “Yes. I’ve heard
that they have an Albertsons with a circle
crossed out, and super value below that”
Rifer explains. With that in mind, the shirt
order was placed on Monday, Oct. 23. The
Coup de Grais came midweek with the announcement that United Heritage, the primary sponsor of the game, threatened to
take their name off the deal and void the
contract they have with the College.
“It was told to me that United Heritage,
the sponsor, would threaten to cancel the
deal, which was worth 50,000 to the athletic
department… It’s my bet that it was a bluff
by [United Heritage], but it was not worth
the risk,” Rifer said.
Now, nearly two months after Rifer first
put in the request for students to buy the
shirts, the phrase on the back has been finalized. For all of you who bought a shirt,
you are now wearing the ‘Sader Hater shirts
with because we don’t censor our students, we just
intimidate them until we get what we want.
While Rifer’s original main complaint
was that the school has no authority to
dictate how students will be spending their
money, the threats from United Heritage
added a new dimension to the issue. And
as for United Heritage’s beef with our students, “I think this is a pretty bush league
move. It’s not surprising that a lot of United Heritage upper management are NNU
grads,” Rifer said.
Aside from United Heritage’s upset
administration, Rifer cannot really explain
their motivation for threatening to take
away our financial contract. “It’s something that perplexes me for a number of
reasons. It’s pretty unlikely that the media
would have latched onto them at all. Even
then, it would be quite a stretch to associate
United Heritage with the shits. Even if they
were associated, they just get more TV time
and press, which is probably good for them
anyway. I just think its ridiculous that United Heritage and our administration would
put us in a situation that dictated what we
did with our own money,” he said.
Fortunately, most of those who ordered the shirts have been sympathetic to
the situation that Rifer has been placed in.
“I’ve only received one real complaint, the
vast majority have been very supportive,”
he said. Either way, we will still have the rivalry, and NNU will just have to deal with
our genuine collegiate ingenuity. “I always
suspected that some NNU grads would be
offended by science and the arts, but it kind
of surprised me that they were offended by
history too. What’s next, math?” Rifer said.
Chris,
I’m writing, as Faculty
President, in response to some
news I recently received about tshirts that you are printing or have
printed. I understand that you are
making (or have made) t-shirts
that say “Sader hater” on front
and “Coyotes don’t kill babies” on
back. This is not in good taste and
has some folks, understandably,
upset. I’m going to give you my two
cents for what it’s worth.
First, if the saying on the
back is just in jest about the NNU
crusader mascot and ACI Coyote
mascot, then there are two relevant
items that argue that this is both
wrong and makes you look stupid.
Coyotes do, in fact, engage in
infanticide. Coyotes are known
to eat the pups of neighboring
groups. Further, the Presbyterian
and Nazarene traditions are both
“descendents” of the Crusaders and
neither NNU nor ACI can claim to
have more (or less) of their share
of the heritage of atrocities of the
crusades.
Second, I have heard that the
The Evolution of a T
Free Speech and Good Taste
THE COYOTE
rom Faculty President Don
ASACI President Chris Rifer
NNU administration is rather put off
by the news of the t-shirts. I think
that you are risking some potentially
serious consequences if the t-shirts
are worn at the game. Of course,
you are only trying to nurture some
good school rivalry, which is a great
idea, but if NNU or the sponsors of
the interdivision athletics don’t see
it that way, they may be unwilling to
participate in future competitions.
Not having NNU and ACI basketball
games in the future would be a big
loss for all of us. I have no idea just
how the NNU administration
or event sponsors might view the
shirts, but if there is a chance of
losing the possibility of future NNU/
ACI games, it doesn’t seem worth
provoking. Furthermore, if the
NNU faculty take offense and
wish to make a statement, there
is a collegial gathering of the
two faculties on 7 November
(when the two faculties meet,
socialize, and discuss ways in
which to promote the scholarly
life of both institutions), in which
they might choose to exercise
a protest. Again, I have no idea
whether their faculty would see
t-shirts as so offensive as to not
wish to associate with ACI faculty
(seems pretty petty to me), but I
don’t really want to risk it. Though
I’d rather not dissociate the ACI
faculty from the ACI students, I
will happily do so to preserve the
good professional relations that the
faculties of the two colleges now
share.
I’m all for free speech and,
honestly, don’t have much of a
problem with a bunch of t-shirts. I also think that having a healthy
sporting rivalry is a good thing, but
I thought that I’d point out that
it does make ACI students look
pretty stupid and is potentially quite
insulting, hence embarassing for the
college. And, if taken too seriously
by the NNU administration or the
United Heritage group (?--the group
that sponsors the Idaho Center
event), the result of wearing the tshirts could backfire and put an end
to the NNU/ACI rivalry. That would
be a very unfortunate effect. I’d
think that would be something that
you would not want to be associated
with your tenure as ACI student
body president. There you have it. That’s my
take. You’ll do what you do. Don
T-Shirt and a Controversy
An Angry Trustee? A
Pulled Sponsorship?
Someone is Lying
By BRANDON BUCK
The ‘Sader Hater t-shirt debacle raises
some interesting questions about the nature of a rivalry, the role of a student body
president, and censorship on behalf of administration. ASACI President Chris Rifer set out
to bolster support for the ACI vs. NNU
rivalry. He decided he could accomplish
said goal most efficiently by creating ‘Sader
Hater t-shirts which were originally to read
something to the effect of:
“Because Coyote never committed
genocide. . . .” (an allusion to the fact that a
Crusader has)
After his plans were made known, ACI’s
administration “strongly encouraged” Rifer to change the T-shirt design. But what
does “strongly encouraged” mean?
Rifer alleges that Board of Trustees
member, Don Deters, put pressure on ACI
Athletic Director Marty Holly to have Rifer
removed from the cross country team if he
went ahead with t-shirt production.
Holly, however, denied the accusation
saying that nothing of that nature was ever
proposed nor discussed.
“Deters is an old football
guy,” said Holly, “he knows
how a rivalry works. This
issue was of no concern to
him.”
Rifer also alleges that he
was told by administration
that The United Heritage
Foundation, who sponsors
the ACI/NNU basketball
game, threatened to not
sponsor future events and
would possibly revoke the
$50,000 scholarship which
goes to help ACI athletics.
Holly, however, adamantly dismissed these
charges as well.
“Absolutely not,” said
Holly, “The United Heritage Foundation wasn’t
even aware of the t-shirts;
I talked to the people there
this morning [Oct. 31], and
nothing about it was ever brought up.”
The point here is that someone is lying.
Regardless, Rifer, in the face of all the
pressure, perhaps wisely, yielded.
“I decided to change the shirts,” said
Rifer, “because it was not worth risking
$50,000. I didn’t want to hurt the students
over a t-shirt.”
Moreover, the NNU/ACI basketball
rivalry is fragile. NNU doesn’t have a real
reason to play ACI (being that they’re division two) and the t-shirts may very well
have been the final impetus for NNU to
suspend the rivalry.
“Whether or not [NNU] would have
ended [the rivalry] isn’t the issue,” said Rifer, “if there was even a remote risk of that
happening, it was a big enough risk to not
make the t-shirts.”
As for the game itself, Josh Owen (not
pictured) hit five second half threepointers as the Albertson College men’s
basketball team rallied from a 16-point
halftime deficit to defeat Northwest
Nazarene, 88-80, in the 4th-Annual
United Heritage TipOff before 4,852
fans at the Idaho Center.
11
NEWS
THE COYOTE
Professor Gets to Know
Our Neighbors to the North
By KATE RADFORD
The town square of Quebec City, Quebec. The quaint 400-year-old European-style city has been marked for preservation by the UN. Photos by Robin Lorentzen
Sociology professor Robin Lorentzen
spent her sabbatical last year studying and
visiting Canada. She gave her sabbatical
presentation Monday, November 6th. “I
have always been interested in Canada,” she
said. She even got married in Canada last
year. “Just in the last few years I’ve begun
focusing on Canadian studies.”
“It’s a paradox. It’s seemingly so like
the United States — the same continent,
language, diet, culture. But Canada so contrasts with the United States. They have
parliamentary government, national healthcare, official bilingualism, legal abortion,
gay marriage, and they banned capital punishment.”
“Canada is incredibly important to our
economy, and we know practically nothing
about it,” Lorentzen said. Most Canadians
live within 100 miles of the U.S. border
and tend to be highly aware of American
economics, politics, and culture. Canada
and the United States do more trade with
each other than either does with any other country. The Canadian market absorbs
more United States exports than the entire
European Union. Eighty-seven percent of
all Canadian exports come to the United
States. Trade between the two countries
has increased six percent annually since the
adoption of NAFTA. Canada is the largest
supplier of crude oil to the United States
and has the second largest proven oil reserves in the world. Canada supplies more
energy to the United States than any other
country, including 17 percent of our oil, 85
percent of our natural gas, and 96 percent
of our electricity imports. 39 states, including Idaho, export more to Canada than to
anywhere else. Canada supports 23,000 jobs
12
in Idaho. Lorentzen also said, “Ironically, Canada’s ten provinces. She has not yet visour impression of Canada is improving, ited any of the three territories, which are
but their impression of us is going down.” largely populated by First Nations peoples.
ACI, at Lorentzen’s urging, joined the
“I’m also doing ongoing research on
Pacific Northwest Canadian Studies Con- Canadians in Idaho,” she said. The 2000
sortium. She also began joining up with Census stated that 4,542 Canadians lived in
BSU’s Canada department. Every year they Idaho. Lorentzen said, “They’ve been really
hold a Canada Week in April, and she has hard to locate. There’s no directory, and
participated in it over the last few years. they look just like us.” She said that most
This year, ACI will be holding a Canada of the Canadians she has spoken with do
Day in conjunction
not know any other
with BSU’s Canada
Canadians in Idaho
Week, which will be
and wouldn’t recogApril 2-6 this coming
nize them if they met
spring. BSU will have
them. Seeking Canadithe Canadian Amans, she put ads in ten
bassador come from
papers, had a table at a
Washington, D.C. to
Steelheads game, and
speak. Kevin Cook,
wore a sandwich board
the academic advisor
at Ice World during the
at the Seattle ConsulState Hockey Playoffs.
ate, will be holding a
So far, she said, she has
luncheon for interestsent out about 250 sured faculty, along with
veys and has received
a First Nations film
96 back.
festival, and a round
She has learned that
table discussion on
75 percent of Idaho
Canadian issues.
Canadians are between
While on sab26-50 years old. 70 perbatical, Lorentzen atcent are married, and
tended three summer
few are divorced. They
institutes, one each in
tend to be very highly
Alberta, Quebec, and
educated; 75 percent
Nova Scotia. She also
have college degrees.
took two car tours,
Many came here for
one in British Columwork. 80 percent are
bia and one in Newfrom four provincfoundland, and vises: Alberta, Ontario,
ited eleven Canadian
Manitoba, and British
universities and six of A Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta Columbia. 80 percent
have been here for up to fifteen years, and
64 percent are permanent residents while
24 percent are dual citizens. Along with
their backgrounds, she is surveying Canadians about their political beliefs.
Andrew Brock is a transfer student this
fall from Vancouver. He is a psychology
major and plays baseball for the Coyotes.
“Canadians and Americans aren’t really that
different -- we’re exposed to the United
States every day.”
When asked about differences between
Canada and the United States, Brock replied, “I find the education is not that much
different. We have a little bit more tolerance for the visible and invisible minorities.
Handguns are illegal. I don’t pay anything
for healthcare. Thanksgiving is in October.
I actually celebrated it when I was home on
break. We have Canada Day on July 1st instead of Independence Day.”
Brock said that about half of the news
channels they receive in Canada are American, but that “United States news channels
are so biased. It’s all got a United States flavor to it. It’s how it affects America, not
what’s going on in other countries,” he
said. “Americans know nothing about Canada and deal more with it than any other
country. Americans don’t know, and the sad
thing is, they don’t want to know.”
This winter semester, Lorentzen is offering a Contemporary Canada course. It will
be a survey course focusing on the social
problems of Canada, healthcare, cultural
diversity, province issues, and environmental policy. “Ultimately, I’m interested in offering a Canadian Studies minor, although
that depends on the level of interest at
ACI,” she said.
10 NOVEMBER 2006
NEWS
Kappa Sigmas Forced to
Go Dry through January
By BRAD BAUGHMAN
The Lamda Chi chapter of Kappa
Sigma, founded April 28, 1979, is the oldest Greek Organization on campus. However, an anonymous complaint made this
last week to the national headquarters cast
doubt over its future here at Albertson. In
speaking with president Tim Garza, district
grand master Kelly Hagens, and faculty advisor Dr. Jasper LiCalzi, I learned about the
fraternity’s history of academic excellence,
its rocky relationship with the National
Charter, and why our premier party frat will
be on alcohol probation until the next national meeting in Mexico this January.
“It’s really nothing that we can’t handle,” said Garza, the current president, in
response to the alcoholic restrictions set
upon the house, “We are not a liability.”
Maybe not, but a dry fraternity means that
they will have to adapt their schedule by
cutting social events, most tragically, the
Toga. They are still considering participating in a Thanksgiving Social with one of
the campus sororities.
This fall, Garza’s responsibilities were
winding down, and he planned on devoting
most of his time to teaching the younger
brothers the ropes. He now has a new
workload as he faces the task of upgrading
standards to better comply with the Kappa
Sigma initiatives.
These initiatives were explained to me
over the phone by Hagens, the Idaho/Utah
Director, but amounted to little more than
catch-phrase goals and mission-statement
buzzwords. When asked what would influence the decision to lift the stipulations in
January, Hagens said that they were looking
for better communication and integration
with the National Charter, such as logging
the Community Service hours into the national database. Apparently our local brothers did their fair share of work; it was just a
matter of entering it into the computer.
But what actually happened? “The specific cause is that there was an anonymous
report by someone at the school that things
had been going on, very little of which could
be found out,” said Hagens. This report
came in the form a letter sent this summer
to headquarters. It included several specific
incidents and a number of general warnings. As Kappa Sigma HQ values feedback
and wishes to protect the source’s anonymity, no further specifics were given. Hagens
and the governing body then launched an
inquiry here at ACI early this school year,
asking both students and faculty, but did
ISSUE #4
not come up with anything substantial.
The Kappa Sigmas are known for partying hard, but they also study hard. The
chapter has the highest GPA in the Idaho/
Utah region and ranks very high nationally
as well. Apparently this doesn’t buy any leniency. According to Hagens, “If they are
caught drinking it will be seen as a violation
of a direct order from the governing body
and will result in an immediate suspension
of the charter, pending an investigation…
in all likelihood the chapter would not continue to exist at Albertson College.”
This probation is really just a slap on
the wrist compared to what happened in
November, 2003, when there was a policy
break concerning the ratio of brothers to
non-brothers at the Toga Party. The National Headquarters fined them 5000 dollars and fired all officers, pushing the chapter to consider going local.
The past is in the past, but is this current
group different? I spoke with faculty advisor Dr. Jasper LiCalzi, who described himself as a liaison between the fraternity and
the College. “In comparison to other years,
these are choirboys.” He went on to cite the
fact that within the twenty brothers there
are resident assistants, a hall director, senators, club presidents, and even last year’s
vice president. LiCalzi acknowledged the
presence of rumors but dismissed them as
baseless and irresponsible, especially when
propagated by fellow professors. “There is
a stereotype about them, and they let that
get perpetuated. They should work on being more visible to show the campus who
they really are.”
Who are they? According to Hagens
they are, “A great chapter full of guys who
really do embody the values of the fraternity.” But as that tells us nothing, I suggest
you go and meet them for yourself. They
are located on 1818 Oak St. behind the
gym. Grab a six pack of O’Doul’s and look
for the big house with the KΣ, where according to Garza, in a previous article this
year on this history of the house, “the door
is rarely closed.”
Community Service Events
Planned by the KΣs:
►Adopt a Highway (Clean a mile
stretch of Chinden)
►Ringing bells for the Salvation
Army
►Habitat for Humanity, (house
building)
►Baseball Clinics for handicapped
children
►Mentoring at area elementary
schools
►Canned food drive in association
with other organizations
►YMCA health awareness events
THE COYOTE
Intruders, Likely
From NNU,
Pull Pranks and
Alarms
And you can watch it on YouTube!
This dude even uses the Voorhees john!
Just after midnight on Wednesday, Nov.
1, Supplemental Resident Assistant Rich
Hatch made an off-the-clock call to Campus Safety that three hooded strangers were
loitering in Voorhees. One of them had
been spotted pressed flat against the wall
outside RA Maddison Harris’s room on the
second floor. The other two sat quietly on
the couches in the basement. During Rich’s
call, a downstairs fire alarm was pulled. A
few minutes later a Hayman fire alarm was
also pulled.
Though the three escaped, Voorhee’s
resident Hongmey Zhen Castillo caught
one of them with the video feature on her
Finepix F700. He glanced nervously at the
camera twice, once as he washed his hands
and once after he was followed out the door
by a crowd of angry residents carrying rakes
and table legs. This was after he had tried to
kill time by hiding in a bathroom stall. The
“lynch mob,” as they described themselves,
had formed and rallied as suspicion about
the strangers grew. Campus Safety Officers
Rolando DeLaCruz and John Duncombe
arrived on the scene shortly after the call.
The videos can be seen on Youtube by
searching “Lynch” or “ACI.” If you recognize this person or know any other details
about the incident, please contact campus
safety.
It is believed NNU students also put
soap in ACI’s fountains in the lead up to
the basketball game between the two on
Nov. 2.
Whether or not the students were from
NNU is still up in the air, but Campus Safety will be turning the video footage over to
the NNU Director of Security. According
to our Campus Safety Director Allan Laird,
if the suspects are caught, they could face
a misdemeanor with a fine of up to 1000
dollars and up to a year in jail.
—Brad Baughman
13
ARTS & LEISURE
Life in the Breakdown Lane:
The Delicate Art of the Road Trip
By JORDAN DRAKE
There was something not quite right with
the motel, but I’d been driving for almost ten
hours and was too tired to allow myself to succumb to paranoia. I switched off the ignition,
and Natalie and I climbed out of the car, making our way around the side of the building to
the night buzzer. The initial ring prompted no
response from behind the check-in counter,
and when we tried the door to the foyer we
found it unlocked.
My feeling of unease grew exponentially
once we entered the dingy, high-ceilinged
lobby. A dusty animal skull sat on the bookshelf behind the counter, amidst yellowing
travel pamphlets and brochures. Thick cobwebs hung from every corner of the room
and choked the potted plants. A stuffed owl
was perched on the wall behind the front desk,
wings outstretched as if ready to swoop down
upon its prey.
The bell on the desk also produced no
result, and after two
half-hearted
tries
neither of us could
stand it anymore.
Unease gave way to
Dread and pervaded
my every pore.
“We need to get
out of here,” I whispered to Natalie, but the
room’s acoustics caused
my voice to echo and
boom. Whoever was supposed to
be on duty may not have heard
the chime, but wherever he
was he most definitely
heard the fearful quaver in my voice. This
was his chance. If he
were going to attack,
he would do so now.
Shaken by this
realization
and
the sound of
my own voice,
I fled, Natalie close at my
heels. We dove
into the car and
as I fired it up
and shifted into
reverse, Natalie
realized what was
wrong with the motel.
14
“Oh my God, none of the rooms have
windows!” she cried. The side of the motel
featured only doors (each with only a vent and
doorknob) but no windows. There was nobody at the front desk because he was probably in one of the rooms, looming over the
bed of his next victim. We were both absolutely positive someone was being murdered
at that very moment, but that someone would
never receive our help because we couldn’t tell
in which room he or she struggled.
We sped out of the parking lot and back
onto the highway, leaving the motel and its
murderous proprietor behind. And though we
drove without speaking for the next five miles,
we both were thinking the same thing: this has
been the best road trip ever.
Okay, so (probably) no one was really killed
and I have no doubt that the Econo Inn in Cascade Locks, Oregon is
a perfectly wonderful establishment,
but it makes for
a good story. In
fact, any road trip
has the potential to
be filled with
the kinds
o f
e x periences you’ll
remember for the rest of
your life. The road trip is
a collegiate tradition, a
rite of passage, an art
form, if you will. However, don’t let such lofty
rhetoric sway you from
thinking you’re unworthy of partaking; if you’ve got
friends, a little
free time, and
access to a
vehicle
(preferably
THE COYOTE
ACI’s Deal
with Publisher
Keeps Idaho
History Texts
in Print
one whose dependability is somewhat quesBy COYOTE STAFF
tionable), you’re set.
So pack a toothbrush, grab a map, gas
ACI and Caxton Press have finalized a
up the car, and hit the highway. It’s road trip trade distribution agreement that secures
season.
the continued availability of some of the
Need ideas? Try some of these:
►Visit a nearby college: Curious how
your friends up at U of I are doing? Maybe
you wonder how students party up in Bozeman? Pay them a courtesy call and find
out! (As for Montana parties, there’s pretty
much nothing else to do up there, if you
catch my drift).
►Go see some live music: Boise’s music
scene is stagnant and Caldwell’s is non-existent, but Portland’s music scene? Legendary. Catch a show at a real concert venue.
An afternoon’s drive can put you in Salt
Lake City or Seattle just in time for the
opening band. Or, when the weather isn’t
so inclement, relax at an outdoor arena like
The Gorge in central Washington or the
Les Schwab Amphitheater in Bend, OR.
►Get caught in a tourist trap: Almost
every truck stop in the country offers some
sort of ‘exciting’ attraction. On I-84 just
outside of Twin Falls, for instance, is the
Garden of Eden, complete with a treebound serpent (Disclaimer: Eden, ID is
not where existence began. God isn’t that
ironic).
►Eat at an out-of-the-way diner: It’s
common knowledge that every small town
has at least one amazing greasy-spoon restaurant. Indulge.
►Take a scenic drive: Simply cruise in
whatever direction the road points you,
take in the beauty of the American West,
and bond with your friends. No goal is necessary.
Rules of the Road
Drive Responsibly: Always obey
local traffic laws. A ticket is a very
effective way to kill the fun.
Hold Your Flatulence: Or at least
provide ample time for the people
trapped in the backseat with you
to prepare themselves before you
let loose.
Pitch in for Gas: If it’s not your
car, then you are, by road trip law,
required to purchase at least one
tank.
most important books about the history
and culture of Idaho.
The College has assigned control of
the inventory and copyrights of books
published by Historic Idaho, Inc., a nonprofit publisher that recently donated its
assets to the college. Arthur A. Hart, author of some of the most beloved books
about the region published in the last 27
years, including Life in Old Boise, Wings
Over Idaho, and Basin of Gold worked
to affect the transfer. Hart taught at the
college from 1948 until 1953, and was
awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree by the school in 1985.
To him Albertson College was the logical
successor to Historic Idaho, Inc., because
of his personal love and admiration for
the school and because of Caxton’s close
relationship with the college and its ability to carry on distribution of the books.
“We were all volunteers at Historic Idaho,
and felt after all these years it was time
to donate our assets to a respected educational institution able to carry on the
work started in 1979.”
“Arthur wanted to step back from his
active participation in the publishing enterprise and was looking for a partner to
continue his work,” said Albertson College president Dr. Robert Hoover. “ ACI
was happy to help and honored that he
looked to us in this regard.”
Immediately after agreeing to work
with Mr. Hart, ACI looked to local publishing house Caxton Press to help the
college manage the new relationship.
What has emerged is a trade distribution agreement between ACI and Caxton
Press in which Caxton will represent the
Historic Idaho titles to the book trade on
behalf of the college.
“Caxton Press was an obvious choice,”
stated Hoover. “Their history, their reputation and their ability to access the book
market made it an easy decision. It is a
wonderful opportunity, Historic Idaho
and Arthur Hart’s years of scholarship
remain available to the public and Albertson College benefits from the association.”
Caxton Press is one of the oldest publishing houses in the West with an active
title list of over 300 books.
10 NOVEMBER 2006
ARTS & LEISURE
THE COYOTE
Question and Answer
Jon Baker on Music, Censorship and Girls
By JORDAN DRAKE
There is a certain mythology surrounding Jon Baker. While some things we know
for sure (he is a student at ACI, he dwells
in Anderson, he attends class on occasion,
and he makes music), the majority of Jon
Baker’s life is shrouded in mystery (“As the
story goes, poachers found him orphaned
in Siberia, being raised by tigers”; “I heard
that if you rub his belly he’ll grant you three
wishes”; “Did he really kill a man using
mind bullets?”).
I sat down with Jon Baker in hopes of
discerning fact from fiction, and by the end
of our interview it was clear that he is a
lot more ‘with it’ than he would have you
believe. I was left with one final, unsettling
question: How much of what Jon Baker
does is an act?
So, how would you describe your music?
Delicious. That’s how you would describe
my music. It’s very simple but catchy, with
strange lyrics sometimes.
rap music in high school. I also did some
Spanish-influenced stuff with a guy from
Ecuador who didn’t speak English. Hard
rock, softer rock. I did screaming. Screaming is fun.
You’ve been kicked off stage at the Pub
more than once. Do you have anything
to say about that?
People in the audiences usually want me
to play some dirty stuff at the shows. I’d
like to be able to play a lot of my offensive
rock stuff at the pub, because I think it’s
my most fun material, but that didn’t work
out too well. I don’t like censorship. I think
you should say what you want, and I think
that if people don’t want to listen to what
you have to say, they shouldn’t listen to it.
I don’t need to offend people who don’t
want to be offended.
Can you give me a brief history of your
musical career?
I’ve done just about everything. I played
Do experiences like this make you want
to change your style?
No. If anything, it makes my music better.
Having something to struggle with gives
me something to write about. I use music
to help me get over things, to deal with
things. They didn’t like my songs on the
Ahh, the pub. That little offshoot of
McCain with broken tables, an empty stage,
and goth window treatments. Besides its
desperate need for a décor revamping, the
Pub is a pathetically underused resource at
ACI. Right now, it serves as a room for occasional Program Council events or overflow seating at lunchtime.
One would think that a campus pub
would be a popular destination especially
with one dollar PBR on Wednesdays. However, the Pub is usually ignored on weeknights. Why? With wobbly tables, chairs
that break, and too much dead space, it is
not an inviting place. I tracked down Mc-
Cain Student Center Director Savala Smith
and discussed with her the future of the
pub in terms of new programming, interior
design, and big-screen entertainment.
First of all, there are fun technological improvements in the works. The Pub
is considering the addition a drop-down
projector screen that will be nearly the
width of the stage. It will be used for movies, sports games, presentations, and even
video gaming (life-size World of Warcraft,
anyone?) Smith would also like to see a free
weekly movie happen. In addition, a new
sound board will soon be added to give
more options to performance acts (aka
public drive, because some of them, like
“My Girlfriend’s Butthole,” were offensive, so I wrote this song about censorship
called “Censor My Haircut.” I got pulled
off stage playing this one in concert, too.
Kind of ironic. It probably had something
to do with the last verse, though. Also, I
think there were some prospective students
and their parents in the audience. Also, I
think they may have been Mormon…
You’re obviously the source of a lot of
controversy on this campus. Why do
you think that is?
I’ve had a few run-ins with judicial committee, and I’m pretty sure feminists really
don’t like me. I make some girls feel uncomfortable. I don’t try to make people feel
uncomfortable, but it’s alright. I’m used to
it. I figure if I act the way I want to act, then
I’ll end up with friends that I want to be
friends with. I like controversy. If you write
something controversial, people will want
to listen to it and talk about it and it’s a lot
more fun. There’s more interest in things
that are controversial.
Are you bothered by how others on
campus view you?
I got kicked out of a Delt party because I
‘was making some girls uncomfortable.’ It
bothered me then, but I’m okay with it now.
I have a bit of a reputation, but I guess
that’s good because then people know who
I am. I’m a pretty nice guy. It’s mostly my art
that’s pretty offensive. A lot of girls don’t
like that, and it causes a lot of trouble. But
I’m pretty sure a lot of people know who I
am. Even freshmen girls know me.
What does the future hold for Jon Baker?
I’m writing just about a song a day right
now, and I’ll be releasing two new albums
simultaneously on Jan. 23. Part of my plan
is to make some music videos and release
them onto YouTube. I’ve already got one
on there for “Psychosis.” I had Steve Snell
cut my hair for the “Censor My Haircut”
video. I also set myself on fire. I lost some
hair on my arm because of it.
You can find Jon Baker’s music on the
internet at myspace.com/jonbakerrock and
also on the public drive in the “Recorded
Rock Music” folder.
$1 PBR Isn’t Enough? Making the Pub Work
ISSUE #4
By LAEL UBERUAGA-RODGERS
you’ll be able to mic your voice and guitar,
at the same time!)
As far as décor goes, Smith would like
to give the Pub more of a coffeehouse atmosphere, with comfy chairs, better decorations, and maybe an area rug. Improving
the surroundings will draw more students
in. In addition, the Pub is looking at possible menu changes and a Beer-of-theMonth, to add variety.
If all goes as planned, the Pub will be
ready with its drop-down video projector
and fun new menu items when March Madness hits. Savala is also planning programs
for the spring. Although she gave no spe-
cifics, she promised that the programming
“will be legendary.”
Right now, sub-par furnishings and a
boring atmosphere do not exactly make the
Pub a fun and interesting place to hang out.
“The reason people don’t come in here is
because it’s ghetto,” Savala said. With the
addition of more entertainment, more inviting surroundings, and a variety of menu
items, the Pub will go from being a cafeteria
used occasionally for programming events
to a fun spot for ACI students to relax
and socialize—“a place to be,” according
to Smith. “We want students to make this
space their own.”
15
ARTS & LEISURE
THE COYOTE
The Rosenthal
Gallery
The Rosenthal Gallery, located adjacent to Blatchley Hall, contains a permanent
collection of art owned by Albertson College. Over 400 different pieces of artwork
rest in the gallery basement. They range dramatically in style, with works from
Picasso, Hogarth, hundreds of lithographs, and some student contributions too.
The Gallery Needs You!
What the gallery needs most is
volunteers. You can help out with shows,
which entails hanging pictures, guarding
the gallery, and making labels; or you
could volunteer to help with organization,
documentation and framing of the
permanent collection, just contact Dr.
Claassen. Only two of the six work study
positions are filled right now.
If you’re interested in appreciating some art
you can set up an appointment with professor
Garth Claassen and see the permanent
collection, or you can go to the gallery on a
weekday or Saturday afternoon (schedules
depend on availability of work study students)
and check out what’s hanging on the walls.
Right now, the gallery features pop art with
prints from Liechtenstein, Warhol, and others.
“The melody haunts my reverie” sings one of
the many blonde women of Lichetenstein’s
pulp-comic tracing phase. Created in 1965, you
can see this Benday dot covered print in the
Rosenthal Gallery. If traced pulp imagery isn’t
your cup of tea then you could take a gander
at the monochrome half-tone of Jacqueline
Kennedy’s portraits by Andy Warhol, too.
The gallery itself is a suitable space
for displaying artwork, with a central
column and a stage area, the space flows
elegantly. But as Claassen said, it’s hardly ideal for
art shows because it lacks security and features
old and inefficient lighting. When asked in what
direction he’d like the gallery to go Dr. Claassen
said, “What I’d really like is for the resources [of
the gallery] to be used more actively.”
For instance, when art professor Stephen
Fisher put together a small art show of prints
from the collection for the College of Southern Clockwise from
Idaho, it let other people in the community top left:
Chrisy, “Fight or
appreciate the artwork. —Dustin Wallace
Buy Bonds”; Lichtenstein, “Sweet
Dreams, Baby!”;
Warhol, “Jacqueline Kennedy III”;
Lebas, Untitled;
Motherwall, “One
of the Monsters
Series”
16
10 NOVEMBER 2006
ARTS & LEISURE
Immigrants. Who the hell do they think
they are invading our country? Don’t they
know we Americans already have enough
to worry about without them perpetuating
the shallow stereotypes we assign them?
While thoughts like this are depressingly common in the world, it’s exactly
what makes Sacha Baron Cohen’s fishout-of-water mockumentary Borat: Cultural
Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan razor sharp satire,
scathing social commentary, and absolutely
hilarious.
Realizing his country’s need to develop,
Kazakh journalist Borat (Cohen) travels to
America to document its cultural advances
in hopes of, well, “make benefit glorious
nation of Kazakhstan.” He also falls in
love with Pamela Anderson after watching
a syndicated late-night episode of Baywatch
and wants to maker her his wife.
Through his journeys, Borat encounters the best American culture has to offer
(elevators, rodeos, evangelism, Hummers,
frat boys, feminists, etc.), and at every turn
the audience is privy to the hilarity his ignorance in such subjects causes. However,
Borat uses that very ignorance to exploit
the unfair and ridiculous prejudices we
Americans have against just about every-
Borat!
one else on the planet. Borat travels with
a live hen in his luggage, mangles the English language, can’t quite grasp the subtlety
of American jokes, and misuses the toilet
in a number of ways; seeing as he comes
from a country so backward and primitive
as Kazakhstan, though, this behavior is to
be expected.
In one standout scene, a rodeo cowboy
tells Borat that his black hair and moustache make him look like a terrorist. Borat
is reassured when the cowboy tells him that
if he would only just shave his moustache
he may be able to at least “pass for an Italian.”
Borat deftly critiques American culture
and ideas by showing just how hypocritical
our nation can be. Perhaps it’s hearing a stadium full of people cheer in support of our
country’s “War of Terror” that causes one
to realize that racism and prejudice, after
years of civil rights, are still just as alive today as they were almost half a century ago.
Stereotypes will always exists, but Borat’s
willingness to acknowledge and poke fun at
those stereotypes, as well as those lessons
it offers in forgiveness, understanding, and
acceptance, shows faint glimmers of hope
for the future of tolerance in America.
High five! —Jordan Drake
THE COYOTE
The Best Flick You Missed
My criticism is not about the curt dia Marie Antoinette, directed by Sofia Ford
Coppola, sings with the soft sound of a logue or the lack of an explosive fight
moist finger traced around a crystal glass. scene. It’s not about the lack of screen time
This sensitively directed period piece de- for the Revolution (which was not the foserves a review even if it is a few weeks cus of the story) or even about the careafter its Oct. 21 release. This film is not fully selected rock singles that were spliced
for all; not even for most. It is a lavishly throughout the various montages. In truth,
detailed, stylized look into the story of a my only criticism is that this movie really
young Austrian princess who finds herself dragged in points. Sure, the cinematography
was stunning. Sure, the
ostracized by the customs
subtle glances between
and cliques of the 18thcharacters were shot with
century French Royal
sniper’s perfection. Sure,
Court. Not exactly Mission
the music was inventive
Impossible III.
and oddly fitting. But
In this movie, AntoiCoppola stretches every
nette’s friends are fickle
sunrise, every sunset, and
and her husband is curiously timid (especially The Guillotine Sounds Lovely! every over-exposed glowafter dark). She doesn’t actually even say ing summer shot into a minor work. She
the words, “Let them eat cake,” except in drowns us with too much of a good thing.
quoting the propaganda of the mob. His- There were points where I wanted Coptory has a way of sculpting people into cari- pola’s father to fly in with his choppers to
catures of certain stereotypes, and movies napalm the whole Rococo pastiche to the
often prey on these misconceptions. How- tune of “The Ride of the Valkyries.”
But that’s being harsh, and overly so, esever Coppola came out early and said that
this biopic was not meant to be historically pecially to such a sensitive film. The characters are both believable and touching. There
accurate.
The plot: Marie Antoinette, played by is a shot where Antoinette stands at the
Kirsten Dunst, comes to Versailles as a window of the palace as the camera zooms
young girl and is expected to fit in, keep re- out, leaving her stark, frail and alone, surlations smooth between the countries, and rounded by walls and windows of ornately
produce an heir. This last task is tougher carve stone. Maybe this film is too sensitive,
than it seems, due to the social and sexual and that’s why I could not thoroughly enawkwardness of King Louie XVI, played joy it as much as I expected to, or perhaps
by Jason Shwartzman (Coppola’s cousin). the climactic moments were just too quiet
The tensions are purely internal in the sense and refined for my tin ears, like the high,
that they have to do with the customs and soft humming of a finger on a crystal glass
power struggles of the royal court and very amidst the din of our action movie culture.
—Brad Baughman
little to do with the Revolution.
Do You Take Literature with Your Indie Rock?
By JORDAN DRAKE
Come, my friends, let me tell you a tale,
one of thieves and vagabonds, of love and
loss, of buccaneers and battleships. It is a
tale of murder, mayhem, and marauding. It
is a tale of destiny.
And it’s only track two on The Decemberists’ new album.
The Decemberists’ frontman, Colin
Meloy, doesn’t write songs so much as melodic novellas, his previous work concerning such topics as loneliness in the desert
sands (“The Legionnaire’s Lament,” from
2003’s Castaways and Cutouts) and whale
digestion and retribution on the high seas
(“The Mariner’s Revenge Song,” from
2005’s Picaresque). And The Crane Wife finds
him at the apex of his talents.
The jump from an independent record
label to a major one oftentimes signals the
beginning of the end for a critically adored
ISSUE #4
but relatively unflimsy backdrops to
known group like
Meloy’s complex storyThe Decemberists.
songs. However, with
But the band’s hythe larger budget afper-literate
indie
forded by a major label,
rock has weathered
the compositions on
the transition from
The Crane Wife are lush
Portland-based Kill
and fully orchestrated:
Rock Stars to the
the lyrics now tell only
much more widely
half the story. And this
distributed Capitol
is saying a lot, because
Records
(Radiothe lyrics of each song
head, Coldplay) partell one hell of a story.
ticularly well.
Not only are they riIt could be said
diculously fun to listen
The Decemberists Prepare a Russian Revolt
of The Decemto, but Meloy’s tales are
berists’ previous albums that their major poetic, sophisticated, and filled with litershortcomings were in the area of instru- ate twists; any one of these tracks would
mentation. Musically, they seemed a bit do O. Henry proud. Especially noteworthy
shallow and constructed only to serve as is the aforementioned number two (“The
Island”), a staggering four-part, twelve
minute indie-prog epic about a kidnapping
gone wrong. Other standouts include “The
Crane Wife (Parts 1, 2, & 3),” based on a
Japanese folk tale, the Romeo and Juliet-ish
“O Valencia!” and the chilling “Shankhill
Butchers,” the best song ever written about
baby killers.
The Decemberists have always been
meant to sound as they do here; they simply
needed the time and financial backing to
achieve such. To call The Crane Wife merely
‘epic’ would be doing it a grave disservice.
Settle in and make yourselves comfortable, dear audience, for the story has only
just begun.
Highlight: “The Island”
For fans of: Japanese mythology, 19th
century Russian novelists, pirates
17
ARTS & LEISURE
Six Under Rated Songs
THE COYOTE
Don’t Deny It. You Kind Of Like Them.
By KIM STIENS
probably one of the most moving
pop songs in recent history.
Lyrically mysterious and stirring,
a genuine listen gleans much
more than the sappy romance that
characterizes almost every other
boy band ballad. Additionally, it’s
a song that is showcased in the
perfect way: such lyrics demand
graceful and magnificent vocals,
and let’s face it: nobody does a
five-point harmony like the Boys.
Vanessa Carlton −
“White Houses”
“Love, or something ignites in my veins, and I
pray it never fades in white houses…”
I’m no big Vanessa Carlton fan, mostly
finding her songs to be trite and annoying,
but this is one glaring exception. It’s a
beautifully performed song she wrote
about the summer she lost her virginity, a
topic which comes through powerfully
in her lyrics. Far from being giddy and
silly, as her other singles have been, it’s
a serious song with an underlying drama
that is very easy to relate to. It’s definitely
underappreciated because this wonderful
song was lost in the “Thousand Miles”
afterglow, where Carlton was dismissed as a
frivolous pop star ala Michelle Branch, but
it’s definitely worth an objective listen.
Backstreet Boys − “Show Me
the Meaning of Being Lonely”
“So many words for the broken heart. It’s hard to
see in a crimson love…”
Ah, boy bands. We love to hate them, and
hate to love them. This song is
Almost Any Country Song
“Cotton was short and the weeds were tall, but
Mr. Roosevelt’s a gonna save us all.”
I wanted to stay away from artists and
genres in this piece, but Country music is
probably the most underappreciated genre
of them all. Sure, it has more than its fair
share of death, divorce and
alcohol, but it also has
more than it’s fair
share of genuine
songs from the
heart. Ranging from
the poppy and danceable to
the morose and moving, Country
has such variety that almost everyone
could find something they liked if they just
looked. Great songs to check out include:
“Song of the South” (quoted above) by
Alabama, “Neon Moon” by Brooks and
Dunn, “Should’ve been a Cowboy” by Toby
Keith, “No Time to Kill” by Clint Black,
“Independence Day” by Martina McBride,
and “Ol’ Red” by Blake Shelton.
Matchbox 20 − “Back 2 Good”
“Everyone here hides shades of shame, but
looking inside we’re the same, we’re the same…”
One of the best bands of the 90s,
Matchbox 20 has declined from the great
songs of Yourself or Someone
Like You to the solo
musings of Rob Thomas,
none of which I know
because
they
all sound the
same. A great
single
from
their
heyday
but perhaps
overshadowed
by the more
popular songs
of their next
18
album, this song is alternately haunting
and inspiring, and is somewhat less clear
and poppy. Definitely more “Push” than
“3 A.M.” at a time when the band was
becoming more and more average.
Outkast − “The Whole World”
“Pursuing all that’s pursuable; doing, God’s
willing, all things that are doable.”
Outkast is an incredibly unique band in
that they have two distinct types of music
they perform: Very good, danceable pop
tunes along the way of “Hey Ya” and “I
Like the Way you Move,” and completely
serious and intriguing hip-hop tunes
like “Bombs over Baghdad” and “Ms.
Jackson.” This song is one of the best
examples of the latter. It is perhaps at its
best when paired with its video, which
depicts the singers as circus performers
entertaining a crowd
of
mesmerized,
suited white men.
Very
easy
to
listen to, but still
absorbing lyrically,
this is one of the
least
appreciated
of a great group’s
songs.
Kid Rock − “Only God Knows
Why”
“I said it too many times and I still stand firm:
You get what you put in, and people get what
they deserve”
Ah, how I long for the days when I wasn’t
embarrassed to say that I like Kid Rock.
Best known for being a loudmouthed,
offensive white pseudo-rapper, this was
his introspective ballad (the kind that
rockers often feel the need to create).
While often verging on whiny, there are
a few lyrical gems in this piece that really
make you feel like you know what he’s
talking about. Additionally, unlike most of
his other pieces, it ends on an inspirational
note, reflecting not only his bemusement
of the plight life puts us all in, but the
thoughts we all have at times.
Bad Things For Good People
Recovery Memoirs
I am an addict. It’s not hard drugs, it’s not
booze, it’s not marijuana or even your bottleof-Nyquil high. It’s the memoirs of recovering
alcoholics that I am addicted to. I can’t pass
one by without at least picking it up to read the
back cover or the inside of the book jacket,
and more often than not I will buy one of
them based solely on the subject matter. It’s
unwise, getting into this sort of thing without
knowing what might happen. It all started in an
attempt to better understand my own family’s
genetic predisposition toward alcoholism, and,
somewhat ironically, I plunged into the depths
of addiction from there.
The first title I picked up was Caroline
Knapp’s Drinking: A Love Story, which, despite
the somewhat off-putting title, set me on a
quest to devour every recovery memoir I could
get my hands on. Knapp led me to Augusten
Burroughs, the man recently in the news for
being the man behind Running with Scissors. The
first book of his I read, Dry, was also a memoir, but it dealt less with his bizarre childhood
and almost exclusively with his adult alcoholism. Burroughs describes living in a threeroom apartment, empty bottles of booze covering the floor so completely that he eventually
resorted to putting them in his empty oven. All
this despite being one of the youngest, highest-paid advertising executives in the history
of his company.
I’m limiting myself to just two memoirs
here, but I have read several more (and am in
the middle of one as I type this). I am not sure
exactly what keeps me interested – the basic
storyline is always the same: suburban person
develops drinking problem, realizes problem,
struggles with problem, reforms, comes to
terms with an alcohol-free life and then continues to pontificate about its effects. I’d like
to say that it’s the resilience of the individuals writing that keeps me coming back to this
one particular genre, rather than the seemingly
constant supply of human tragedy. Maybe it’s
the self-deprecating wit that so many alcoholics develop and continue to possess throughout their lives. Whatever it is that drives this
addiction, I have no compulsion to stop it anytime soon. —Molly Mooney
10 NOVEMBER 2006
ARTS & LEISURE
THE COYOTE
Your
Horoscope
An ACI student who wishes to keep their astrological powers anonymous (but who is endorsed by Miss Cleo) has been charting the
movements of celestial bodies with scientific rigor. Here are the bleak results.
Scorpio (October 23- November
21): A drunken encounter or two (or
ten) may get you in trouble. Watch out.
However, you could always say it was
the alcohol, not you. Go on with life,
but have a massive hangover thereafter.
At least be sure to drink a little water.
Sagittarius (November 22- December 21): Your mouth has been running
away with you. In fact, I saw it at the
Acapulco the other day, enjoying a burrito bueno. Muy bien!
Capricorn (December 22- January
19): I heard a dirty little secret about
you. With someone. You know. About
that one night you don’t remember, but
your kind friends have so graciously
filled you in on. So, it’s like you remember, but you were so much happier in
your ignorance.
Aqarius (January 20- February 18):
To quote Todd from Wedding Crashers,
“I made you a painting.” You should
also follow that course that Todd took
and paint. Explore your creative side.
But, please, only make paintings that
are about Vince Vaughn and title them
“Celebration.”
Pisces (February 19-March 20): Joining that Facebook group titled “Holding in Farts Only Creates Shitty Ideas”
was probably not a good idea. In fact,
probably being the admin for that group
is a bad idea as well. However, joining
the group “Derek Erstad Is Better than
You Are,” is a good idea. As someone
once said, “Derek, show us your proteins!”
Aries (March 17- April 19): Too many
activities have got you on a short leash.
Oh wait, that’s your girlfriend. My bad.
Taurus (April 20-May 20): Taurus, it’s
your month to go on a safari and explore downtown Caldwell. Well, maybe
not. If you head downtown though,
at least be sure to poke your head into
Waldorf ’s and ask about Zippy.
Leo (July 23- August 22): Peeing on
the sofa is not an effective way to make
friends (or keeping the ones you do
have). However, in them giving you the
nickname “the Duke” it always helps to
make amends.
Gemini (May 21- June 21): I know
that watching a fat man walk across
campus always makes my day. Gemini,
don’t lose hope, one day you will see a
fat man walking across campus, too.
Virgo (August 23- September 22):
The bayroot gods are smiling down on
you. But only for a short period of time
because, after that, some townie is going to show up and start a fight. And
then all will be shot to hell. Cancer (June 22-July 22): As the food
in the caf is hit and miss, so will be your
social life. Sometimes you will be a hit
at parties, other times, not so much.
Like that one time at the Goose. Well,
going to the Goose is a miss in itself.
Never mind.
Libra (September 23-October 22):
You know that cute guy you’ve been
eyeing in your history class? The one
that doesn’t pay attention to you? Yeah,
him. Well, this month, he probably still
won’t pay attention to you either, so
give up.
But These Events Were Totally Predictable…
NatchraLeigh Wired closed
ISSUE #4
Dr. Jasper LiCalzi was on Channel
6 election night
Students, like Brent Houston,
dressed up and drank...hot cocoa...
on Halloween
19
NEWS
THE COYOTE
A Symbol of the Past, Updated for the Present
From the railway to the freeway, a look at the history of The Hat
By BRAD BAUGHMAN
The Hat, that Chinese-roofed,
four-legged structure on Cleveland
Boulevard at the end of the Sterry
Walk, has fallen into a state of disrepair. Discolored shingles, crumbling brick, and a fascia board with
peeling paint give it an unstable, unhealthy appearance.
The Hat (supposedly) is where
Joe Albertson proposed to Kathryn McCurry. It is the fourth oldest
structure on campus. And although
it has fallen off the campus radar in
recent years, during the first half of
the school’s existence it was a prominent symbol of the College.
It is also one of the last vestiges
of the interurban mass transit line
that ran through Caldwell.
Wait, mass transit in Caldwell?
For nearly 22 years, a 60 mile
electric trolley car loop circulated
through Boise, Eagle, Star, Middleton and Caldwell. In 1912, the Idaho Railway, Light & Power Company built College Station Heights,
which was basically The Hat with
walls. However when returning
World War I soldiers started lodging
in it, Idaho Railway took the walls
down. This left its appearance very
similar to what we have today, except for the brick legs. These were
added when students beautified it as
a monument in 1926. Then in 1933,
a passing car snagged the roof and
brought it down. The structure was
rebuilt, but placed just a bit farther
from the curb.
So what happened to the Interurban line? Prosperity killed it off
with new affordable Model Ts. With
more and more cars, the cities on
the loop upgraded their roads and
the train lost most of its passengers.
The Boise Valley Traction Company
20
1914
1933
1950s
1956
closed the line in 1928.
If you look across Cleveland
from Hayman Hall, there is a small
section of rail line embedded in the
sidewalk. Feel free to use this tidbit of trivia to impress your friends
next time you stumble across it on
your way to some house party or
Caldwell bar.
People still used College Station
Heights to wait for busses well into
the 1960s. Long-time Caldwell resident John Tietsort used to wait under The Hat with his friends so that
they could skate at the Rollerdrome
in Nampa. Then he would take the
bus back to Caldwell at night when
the Rollerdrome cleared the rink to
host concerts for local bands (Paul
Revere and the Raiders were just
starting in Boise at this point).
You can still catch busses from
under the Hat today, but according to the Valley Ride receptionist I
spoke with, you can also flag down
the bus from any point along the
boulevard.
The Hat’s use has waned over the
years, but it still serves as a reminder that this College is as old as our
state. In 2001, the Caldwell Historic
Preservation Commission appealed
to the Idaho Heritage Trust fund
for a 50-50 grant to raise $4,000
dollars to help restore The Hat. On
September 22, the Caldwell Board
of Realtors pledged their matching
funds. The check presentation ceremony was originally set to take place
on Nov. 1, but has been postponed.
Next time you are on a walk,
swing by the Hat. Maybe your kids
will ask you about it someday. Who
knows, your grand kids might even
wait under it for Caldwell’s next try
at mass transportation.
10 OCTOBER 2006