September 06, 2007

COYOTE
THE CAMPUS NEWSPAPER OF ALBERTSON COLLEGE
6 SEPTEMBER 2007 - ISSUE #1
EDITOR’S NOTE
DEAR STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, AND FRIENDS,
This year will be different.
The vibe is palpable. Change is thick and you can see it on the faces
of faculty, students, and staff. New Age voodoo-speak aside, this year
is going to stand in stark contrast to the dulled ennui of last year. The
energy is in the air.
Last year was characterized by a subdued
party scene, delayed critical announcements,
and controversies/scandals that ranged from
petty to pathetic (t-shirts, sexual harassment).
The Kappa Sigmas were put on probation early
and kept a dry profile (mostly… somewhat…).
The party houses were sparse and spread. There
were positive points, such as the challenge
grant renewal, the Capture the Moment exhibit
that brought thousands to the campus, and girls
volleyball knocking off 18 straight in-conference w’s. The Coyote also won first place in
general excellence (all hats off to the previous
editor). But overall, everyone agrees – last year
was apathetic, at best.
This year will be different.
School hasn’t even started and the freshmen
have already become intimately acquainted
with the legend of MWP. There are 292 freshmen, constituting one of the largest incoming
classes in ACI/C of I history, a total of 28 more
than last year. While they have the same GPA
as last year’s class, their top percentile students
performed far better on the standardized tests. We also have 17 transfer students, representing Ethiopia, Japan, China, Rwanda, Afghanistan,
Belarus, India, Swaziland, Nepal, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mongolia and Canada. Six of these students are Davis scholars. The scores,
size and diversity of this new class are all stunning (and sobering, for
hotshot upperclassmen who can’t locate Swaziland on a map―it’s alright, there’s always Ms. South Carolina).
This year will be different.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Brad Baughman
COVER:
Aimee Nicole Cartier
FACULTY ADVISOR
Alan Minskoff
COPY EDITING AND
LAYOUT:
Brad Baughman,
Aimee Nicole Cartier,
Jordan Drake, Kim
Stiens, Daniel Thrasher,
Lael Uberuaga-Rodgers,
Patrick Watson
2
CONTRIBUTORS
Wes Ashworth, Jessica Austin,
Brad Baughman, Howard Berger,
Sarah Beukelman, Kerry CostiganGaldes, Patrick Dougherty, Jordan
Drake, Griffin Hewitt, Ben Jarvis,
Kyle Kunkler, Emilie McDonagh,
B o b b y Po w e r s , K i m S t i e n s ,
Sam Suyehira, Daniel Thrasher,
Lael Uberuaga-Rodgers, Patrick
Watson
Hotshots and humble sophomores alike should have no problem shaking off sobriety. Party houses form a crescent around the village, from the
fraternities all the way down Oak row and out past the ASB president’s to
2011. For those of you who don’t drink, take heart – the dorms are so full
this year that singles are being used as doubles. Normally this would be
a bad thing, but at a college only two blocks
away from Farm City, located in town known
only for a murder that happened 100 years
ago and a man who supplied potatoes during
WII, a few extra faces around campus could
really spice up the mix.
Also, Berger is back at his bench, instead
of in Israel, and toting a clipping from the
U.S. News and World Report that lists merely basking in his presence under a tree as one
of the “Most popular cultural and campus
events.” This same magazine moved Albertson College up an entire tier, from fourth to
third (see page 11). Other professors who also
made a splash in recent news include Jasper
LiCalzi, whose expertise on Idaho politics
and bathroom etiquette landed him quotes locally and nationally, and even claims to have
heard his “drip drip drip” line ripped off by
other analysts and pundits.
Perhaps the biggest reason things are different is the looming Foundation decision.
The school has gathered close, put its nose to
the grindstone, and stayed calm under the magnifying glass-glare of professional evaluation. The State of the College address filled the Langroise
Recital Hall steps and balconies. President Hoover announced to an anxious crowd that negotiations are pending, and that big news is on the way
come November. Some good. Some bad.
With more energy than ever, some young, some experienced, some
anxious, some tense but confident, there is no doubt in anybody’s mind
― this year will be different.
Sincerely,
Brad Baughman
Editor
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 brad.baughman@
yotes.albertson.edu or coyote@
albertson.edu
Payment:
The Coyote pays $0.03 per word,
$15 for an original piece of art,
$30 for an original cover and $5
per photograph.
Letters to the editor are welcomed
and will be printed as space allows. Letter may be edited for
grammar. Letters can be emailed
to coyote@albertson.edu or sent
to the address below:
Writers will be reimbursed for
costs pertaining to reporting at the
discretion of the editorial board.
Reimbursement must be sought
in advance.
The Coyote
Albertson College
2112 Cleveland Blvd.
Box 52
Caldwell, ID 83605
Advertise and Anything Else:
Contact editor Brad Baughman at
brad.baughman@yotes.albertson.
edu.
Subscriptions:
Subscriptions are availible for $25
Anonymous letters will not be per year.
printed.
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE COYOTE
ANSWER THIS
By BRAD BAUGHMAN
Q: What has the Larry Craig scandal
At ACI, punctuality is an integral liberal arts value.
taught you about bathroom etiquette?
NEWS
Wars
6 Spam
By Kyle Kunkler
the Troops
7 Blame
By Kim Steins
17
17
Worth 11 Million to Caldwell
8 ACI
18
By Lael Uberuaga-Rodgers
Side Locos’ Latest Artwork
8 East
Coyote Staff
24
Evaluated by Pappas Group
9 ACI
By Coyote Staff
d’Albertson
9 Tour
By Brad Baughman
is a Lockdown
10 This
ACI’s New Emergency Plan
of the College Address
11 State
By Patrick Watson
Briefs
11 Sports
Ben Jarvis and Coyote Staff
Band Gets New Director
11 Concert
By Ben Jarvis
FEATURE
Creek Festival
12 Indian
By Patrick Watson
Sandwich
14 Club
By Kerry Costigan-Galdes
Low Prices and Double
16 Wal-Mart:
Standards
Real People Live in Kosovo
By Jessica Austin
A Migrating Understanding
By Daniel Thrasher
“If you maintained the proper distance and
kept one stall in between, you won’t have to
worry about it.”
Bobby Powers, junior
“Always check the quality of the turf before
stepping out onto the field.”
Andrew Griffin, sophomore
“Don’t go into a bathroom with Larry
Craig.”
Chantel Varland, sophomore
The Next Chapter for Spencer Cobrin
by Sarah Beukelman
Benching with Berger
by Howard Berger
ARTS &
ENTERTAINMENT
20
Music Review: Spoon’s “Ga Ga Ga Ga
Ga”
By Jordan Drake
20
Movie Review: Superbad
By Griffin Hewitt
21
New Professors on Campus
By Brad Baughman
22
September Calendar
By Daniel Thrasher
23
Horoscopes
“Not to pick up toilet paper off
of the bathroom floor. Who does
that?”
Ashley Carvalho, sophomore
“I’m struggling to find a phrase that
includes the word ‘glory hole.’”
Patrick Dougherty, senior
“Always remember to thoroughly wash your
hands ― especially after using them to solicit
sex.”
Brenden Hoffman, sophomore
By Wes Ashworth
ISSUE #1
3
OPINION
THE COYOTE
EDITORIAL BOARD
PATRICK WATSON
News Editor
KERRY
COSTIGAN-GALDES
BRAD BAUGHMAN
Editor-in-Chief
JORDAN DRAKE
LAEL
UBERUAGA-RODGERS
HATS OFF: BEER MILE DEUX
For the second time this year, the track and cross country team
ran the semi-annual Beer Mile. Six costume-clad runners ran four
laps around the block down on Oak and Wisconsin, a combined
distance of just under a mile. In between each lap, the runners
chugged a Coors Original Over fifty students (and two parents)
attended the event. The most ridiculous costume was worn by
Rich Thomas (RTom) who came as a shirtless mohawked Spartan,
complete with sword and shield, which he used to hack away at
his opponents. The most ridiculous non-costumes were not-worn
by Nick Schossow and Alex Goold. Upon losing they announced,
“We suck,” poured beers over there heads, stripped naked, and
took another lap.
My hat goes off to the team, for being a solid unit of friends
and athletes whose display of courage, dignity, and hilariously masochistic tendencies gave us all a great way to start the weekend, and
will continue to inspire us as a campus throughout the year. My
hat also goes off to this year’s winner, Rich Hatch, and his time
of 7:20, which only goes to show that a true athlete can drink four
beers and still run a mile several minutes faster than this writer can
while sober.
For more information on what a “Beer Mile” is, check our www.
beermile.com.
ACI Summer Update
Terteling got new computers...finally.
A peaceful recognition garden donated in honor of John W. Wagers ‘57 was
installed in that awkward gray area behind Strahorn.
Photos courtesy of Patrick Watson
4
ROAD RAGE
Construction? More like de-struction
You realize it’s September, right?
Oh, you did? You already knew? Okay, I just wanted to make sure. I could have sworn
it was, too, but when I woke up this morning and looked out my front window I saw the
construction on Blaine that was promised to be finished by late May, then mid June, then
early July, then sometime in August, remained incomplete. Thought I’d lost a few months
of my life for a moment there.
Perhaps because of a personal bias against the construction I’m not the best person to
write this. I tend to consider myself a pretty level-headed person, but this is one topic that,
no matter the time or place, gets me livid. Allow me to start at the beginning:
I moved into a house on Blaine Street at the beginning of June. At the time, both Blaine
and Cleveland had been torn up for several months, traffic restricted to one lane or the
other in either direction to accommodate renovation of both streets’ inconveniently high
curbs, surgery I considered, while cosmetic, practical.
I soon realized the house lacked air-conditioning, so it was necessary I leave the windows
open at all times to facilitate airflow; because of the nearby construction, however, every
surface in the house was coated in a fine layher of dust before long, a minor fault, though,
and one I was willing to overlook because it wouldn’t be for long.
June turned into July, and seemingly no progress had been made. Actually, I take that
back: at the beginning of July, crews came in to tear up the curb immediately in front of
the house, as well as the driveway leading to the garage, allowing access to parking only by
the back alley.
The heat got hotter, the dust got dustier, and I found myself becoming severely annoyed. Adding to my annoyance was the fact my summer internship was in Boise, and in
order to get to and from the city I had to brave further construction woes at the freeway
overpass at 21st Street and on the freeway itself, which was often closed to only one lane
moving both east and west. At evening rush hour it could take me upwards of two hours
to get home. My car, too, lacked air.
Only by mid August did the crews return to work. And what a return it was! Within
a week’s time, almost every single road between 10th and 22nd had been ripped apart,
blocked and inaccessible to both thru-traffic and residents alike. Towering piles of dirt languished by the wayside. After a week of heavy travel, veritable craters had formed where
thousands of tires had driven over sections of street that had been, for some reason or
other, I’m sure, peeled away in the middle of the thoroughfare.
And now it is September. The original plan, as I was informed early on, was to tear
up and finish first the north sides of Blaine then Cleveland, then the south sides of each
street. Only one chunk of block, only one block of street, only one street at a time. It’ll be
finished by late May, I was told, then mid June, then early July, then sometime in August.
A letter apologizing for the delays and inconvenience was delivered to the house last
week. Apparently, ‘unforeseen difficulties’ have been the cause. No further detail was
given, so what exactly those difficulties were we may never know. Too little. Too late.
I received in my inbox today a message that contained the following: “The road construction on Cleveland Boulevard is expected to have major traffic impacts between 10th
and 22nd (including in front of the College) over the next several weeks. Crews will be
removing the roadway down to the gravel base and will leave it that way for 4-6 weeks (or
more) until they repave it.”
That’s right, they will “leave it that way” until, you know, whenever.
The message continues: “This work is expected to be in front of the College during
the second week of October, but could happen earlier or later depending on the schedule.
There will likely be a time when the parking lots near Hayman, Voorhees and Finney will
be inaccessible.”
In other words, there is no end in sight, and it’s only going to get more arduous from
here. The delays experienced on these two roads, easily among the most heavily traveled in
the city, will probably continue indefinitely.
This entire operation has been a botched one, in timing, in scope, in execution, and likely
in completion. I will be very surprised if construction is finished before December, even
more so if the result is an effective one.
Your tax dollars at work.
-Jordan Drake
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
Letters to the Editor
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Wide World of
Technology
Dear Coyote,
As the summer comes to a close and
I start planning to make the big trip
back to Caldwell for another enthralling
school year, I think back on all that I have
accomplished in the past few months. For
all of you who don’t already know, my
most recent hobby/interest has become
technology and the role it plays in the
grand scheme of life. This summer was
not only a break from the hardships that
accrue as an Albertson College student
but also a chance for me to really invest
some quality time walking down the road
that I like to call Technology Way.
Although I would like to say that
technology is number one on my priority
list, I also have to be aware of my other
duty as a barista at the newly opened
Dutch Bros, corner of Overland and
Millennium way in Meridian, Open 5 a.m.
and 10 p.m. Sunday - Thursday, and 5:00
a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday-Saturday (Tips
welcome). When this summer started I
hadn’t realized what exactly I would be
getting myself into by opening the door
that is technology. After a conversation
with a good friend Courtney Maria
aka “Tech Court,” I had a realization,
though in her insightful words. She said
to me, “Look, we are living in an age of
technology….it is around every corner.”
This being said after a heated discussion
on the role technology will play in our
future, these words hit me like a pound a
bricks. It was then I knew that I needed
to dive head first and waist deep into
technology.
After endless hours of research, selfsearching, and pure thinking I came up
with what I like to call, “The 5 types of
technology,” technology of the past,
technology of the future, technology of
ISSUE #1
THE COYOTE
the present, celestial technology, and the
most important, technology of NASA.”
Now this is just the beginning of my
journey, it took many hours of deep
concentration to be able to sort through
and account for all technology that is
apart of the human race. Technology is
defined in many terms, as many different
things too many different people and
because of this is a very complicated
subject. To give you a little taste on what I
spent my summer doing here is an excerpt
from my journal “Technology; A Key to
the Past, Present and Future”
“…sitting here in the dark realizing
the grandeur that is technology I classify
the use of laser beams to destroy visible
age marks as technology of the present,
and the use of laser beams to destroy
future alien invaders as technology of the
future.”
This is only a small portion of what
I expect to be a few thousand page
overview of technology through out the
age of humans. After a five hour shift
of serving coffee I would go home and
spend most of the rest of my time on my
journal. This summer I worked countless
hours into the night preparing for what I
expect to be a truth breaking account of
the role of technology in my life.
I really have to give a straight up shout
out to all those involved in my journey
whether you knew it or not, my first grade
teacher Mrs. Truman for allowing us
computer lab time every Wednesday, My
mom Lynn Ward for always keeping me
up to date with the latest technology in
cell phones and of course Lael Ugooga
booga for all our many weekends spent
working out all the intricacies that are
technology.
KNOW SOMETHING WE DON’T?
HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT US
OR THE COLLEGE?
WANT A LITTLE FAME
& MONEY?
GET PUBLISHED!
Write or illustrate for
The Coyote.
Or submit a letter to the editor.
coyote@albertson.edu
From Jen Ward
5
OPINION
THE COYOTE
War Stories:
The Golden Age of Student_Official
By KYLE KUNKLER
Speech is so restricted in society today.
Of course you have the right to say almost
anything you want in the United States
and many other liberal nations, but the
fact of the matter is that people often don’t
say what’s on their mind. Fear of persecution, harassment, and otherwise dreading
a damaged reputation for violating some
the advent of internet blogs has given a
digital homeland to every crazy on the internet who wants to say whatever the hell
they want, whether it be about the need to
overthrow the US government so we can
truly achieve a perfect anarchical state, to
the need to send Lindsay Lohan and every
other doped-up, alcoholic movie star in
from the need to send Mexican immigrants
back to Mexico, to whether student government were being tools for backing the administration on a football team that virtually no students wanted, to whether or not
Ronald Reagan deserved to die. No topic
was sacred or off-limits! And some of the
e-mail threads got to be 60-70 e-mails long
ever-changing (and often ridiculous) politically-correct norm causes people to
cower from the prospect of truly expressing themselves. Hardly what I would call a
fertile ground for free speech.
But a new technology is removing
these socially-constructed barriers, if only
slowly, and believe it or not Albertson College had its own little niche in this free
speech market in the past. It’s called electronic discourse, and it’s changing the way
everyone, from idiots to intellectuals, can
exchange ideas on anything and everything
affecting their communities. For example,
Hollywood to an island so they can stop
contaminating our society. If you believe it
and want to tell the world about it, rest assured there are others just like you on the
internet that share your beliefs.
Well as I mentioned before, Albertson
College used to have its’ own little niche in
this crazy little world of digital discourse,
yet chose to throw it away three years ago
for the sake of practicality. Let me tell you
about spam wars. Slightly different from
blogs, spam wars gave every student access
to send a emails to the entire campus.
Spam wars were waged on everything
before they trailed off, clearly involving the
entire campus in the discussion process. A
bastion of free speech at it’s greatest!
But if things were so great back then,
why did spam wars go away? What could
have possibly prompted the abandonment
of such a miraculous tool at Albertson
College? Money. Back in the day, e-mail accounts were limited to 20 megabytes, and
these huge e-mail threads, being multiplied
800 times over after being sent to every student on campus, were eating up precious
server space. IT was posed with the decision of buying larger servers, or doing away
with spam wars. Regrettably the almighty
dollar won out. But the great news is that
this dilemma has dissipated in the last couple years. IT no longer even controls the
student e-mail servers; Microsoft does, the
limits on the accounts are over 2 gigabytes,
large enough for even the biggest spam
war! It seems as if the conditions might be
ripe for the reestablishment of freer
speech on the ACI campus.
But admittedly there are other
concerns opponents of spam wars
often cite. What about the students
that don’t want to participate in spam
wars? Why should they also receive
80 e-mails a day? Well in all honesty
folks, the delete button is just as easy
to press as the send button. A minor
inconvenience for the spreading of
freer communication. And secondly,
I even know a few people who, although regularly dreading spam wars,
throughout the year usually found one
or two topics interesting and chose to
join in. But if that tool wasn’t available
for them, sure they wouldn’t have had to
delete their e-mails as much, but they also
wouldn’t have had the chance to participate
in one of our most sacred civil liberties
when they wanted it.
You can’t be a fair-weather fan as far as
free speech is concerned. The need to protect it from never-ending threats is an obligation we must uphold, even if we don’t
agree with how everyone uses it. Because if
you let it slip away, the next time you want
to tell everyone that Lindsay Lohan should
be sent to a deserted island, you just might
not have that chance.
The Barracuda breakdown on digital
SPAM:
Courtesy of Barracuda Networks
6
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
Blame the Troops
OPINION
THE COYOTE
By KIM STIENS
Since the Iraq War started, there has
been dissent. It was only a simmer at
the beginning, with most of Congress
and the American people being swept
up in mistakes and ideals. Over the
years, however, the force behind this
dissent has raged to a boil and the clear
need for policy change is acknowledged
by almost all.
Dissent is healthy; it is the hallmark
of a successful democracy. It means
we’re doing enough to be noticed, and
we’re still allowing opposing points of
view. There is one area, however, concerning the war, where people refuse to
aim their blame, and that is the ground
troops.
The general sentiment in America
is that the soldiers are immune from
blame. This failed effort is the fault of
an administration; these proud men
and women are serving their country to
the best of their ability, and they would
seem to deserve nothing but praise.
“Support the Troops” has become a
hollow rallying phrase: it is taken as
universal that everyone supports the
troops, we just all support them in different ways.
But should the troops be immune
to the criticism? The answer to that
question is dependent largely on political ideology. The Bushies would
contend that to say a word against the
troops or their efforts is to materially
harm them, and is tantamount to aiding and abetting the enemy: treason. I
suspect that these are the same types
of people who would argue that the
soldiers of the Third Reich, feeling a
surge of nationalist empowerment and
a newfound sense of political efficacy,
were ordered to do the terrible, terrible
things they did and were merely “swept
up,” somehow, in the whole idea. Such
circumstances would seem to release
these soldiers from culpability.
Of course, I like to think the American military is a little different. More
ISSUE #1
than that, the Germans could definitely
be seen as victims of group think, given
that their new society involved a sort
of collectivism that placed the nation
above the individual in almost all cases.
America, however, is the country of
rugged individualism. More than any
other country in the world, we pride
our system in instilling in is citizens the
ability to be responsible for themselves,
to evaluate their actions in terms of
their effects on the collective and on
themselves, and to hold
their nation to the highest of standards.
So why should the
soldiers actually carrying
out the war be released
from responsibility? Because it is in “bad form”
to criticize soldiers in
harm’s way? These are
not people who are being forced to pull the
trigger by any means;
we have a volunteer
army. There are severe
penalties for insubordination in any army;
imprisonment, beating
and starving (yes, I’m
certain it happens), and
the dreaded “dishonorable discharge.” But
a recent poll of 2000
soldiers by the military
newspaper “Stars and
Stripes” showed that one out of three
soldiers felt the war had “no value” or
“little or no value.” One third. That’s
a huge amount of dissent within the
armed forces themselves.
What possible good could come of
blaming not only the ideologues but
also those responsible for executing
those ideologies? While the penalties
for refusing to go to Iraq or carry out
the orders that make the war are stiff,
imagine if one third of the army did
it. Not only would the penalties likely
lighten (due to strained prison resources and what I would anticipate to be a
lessening of the stigma of dishonorable discharge) for such revolt but the
orders would not be carried out, and
would eventually stop coming. The
men and women on the ground have a
power much stronger and much more
direct than Congress to stop the war.
While it is not unheard of globally for
an army to refuse to carry out orders
their Prius’. These are hardcore people
who got into the army due to a genuine
sense of responsibility or need. From
what I understand, the soldiers who
want to get out of Iraq aren’t running
scared, they would just love to be in a
part of the military that they think is
worth their time and lives. Iraq? Not so
much. Afghanistan? Gung-ho!
Perhaps feeling a real backlash from
the American people for their personal
roles in this awful war would get the ball
and these actions changing what orders
came down (the Israeli army in Lebanon serves as a good example of this),
it has never really applied to the United
States army.
But would the long-term consequences of these soldiers doing what
they think is right by themselves and
their country be worth ending this war?
Absolutely. The armed forces are not
replete with surly teenagers eager to
get out of the army and smoke pot in
rolling. As long as we refuse to criticize
or blame the troops for the wars they
carry out, we reinforce the idea that
they have no choice but to carry out orders they disagree with to further a war
that they, most of Congress and most
of Americans, want to end. These aren’t
brain dead automatons here; these are
people that were told all through childhood and adolescence that dissent is
the highest form of patriotism; maybe
they just need to be reminded of that.
7
NEWS
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF
ACI ON CALDWELL:
(2005-2006)
THE COYOTE
ACI Worth Over 11 million Dollars to Caldwell
What exactly does it mean to be a “college town?” I tend to think of towns like Moscow, Idaho, where the University is the lifeblood of the entire surrounding community. Or
Cambridge, Massachusetts, a town whose name would ring few bells if it weren’t for a nice
little college a few people have heard about, and whose law school was mentioned in Legally
Estimated direct econom- Blonde I and II. And while for me, ACI is pretty much the only reason I’m in Caldwell, I’m
ic impact from all types
not so elitist as to think that the entire town would come crashing down if it weren’t for ACI.
However, you’d be surprised at the impact we have on our little Farm City.
of ACI spending:
Last spring, ACI students Rachel Burkett, Rachel Odio, Tom Patchin, and Jennifer Shrum
$6,349,026
conducted a study on the economic impact of ACI on Caldwell. Their findings landed them
an article in the Idaho Press Tribune and no doubt, lauds from their project advisor, Jim
Estimated indirect ecoAngresano, and distribution of the report by the Hoov-dawg himself. What they found was
nomic impact from all
pretty significant: During the 2005-2006 academic year, ACI had an economic impact of than
$11 million on the Caldwell economy. Furthermore, the college created over 300 jobs, kicktypes of ACI spending:
started the social scene, and was responsible for boosting the Caldwell economy via student
$4,825,260
and faculty spending outside the college.
To be consistent, the study intentionally omitted from its
Estimated total economic
results the boost to Caldwell banks by the ACI community.
impact from all types of
During a given academic year, the total balance of ACI-related accounts in Caldwell banks is between $3 million and $10
ACI spending:
million, giving banks lending power, which fosters economic
$11,174,286
growth in the area of consumer spending.
Though the report focused on the economic impact
Number of jobs directly
of
ACI
on Caldwell, in their report, Burkett, Odio, Patchin
A Caldwell Fine Arts’ performance of The
created by ACI:
Nutcracker in Jewett draws crowds from
and Shrum also pointed out that ACI offers non-economic
the Caldwell Community.
benefits to the town as well. ACI athletics drew crowds to
238
Caldwell, and visiting teams and fans spent an estimated $129,000. ACI hosts many cultural
events, including concerts, operas, plays, and art exhibitions (many of you may remember
Estimated number of
Capture the Moment, the collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning photography that visited ACI
indirect jobs created due last spring). Our clubs, sports teams and Greek Organizations have contributed to commuto ACI:
nity-wide fundraising efforts, from running soccer camps, to Indian Creek cleanup, to raising
money for CASA.
60
If ACI weren’t around, what would happen to Caldwell? Well, I don’t think the entire city
would
declare bankruptcy (wait, can cities even do that?) But it’s good to know that we’re
*Results: ACI – CALDWELL
having
a positive impact on our local community, and besides, when we’re getting kicked out
2005-2006 ECONOMIC IMof
Burke’s
Valley Bowl for being too rowdy, we can yell out these stats as we’re being escorted
PACT STUDY, by Shrum,
to
the
door.
―Lael Uberuaga-Rodgers
Patchin, Odio, and Burkett
Jennie Shrum,08
Tom Patchin, ‘07
Rachel Odio, ‘08
Rachel Burkett, ‘08
*To read the full report, contact the Coyote at coyote@albertson.edu
East Side Locos & Co. Paint to Show Campus Pride
On July 4th, the Caldwell Police recieved over 75 reports of
graffiti. The college was tagged in several places. “This happens
every two or three years,” Campus safety director Allan Laird.
“We’re in no more danger than any other time. The school is
just as safe as before.”
Left - ESL x 3 on the back of the softball scoreboard
Middle - ESL in permanent marker on the steps of McCain
Bottom Right - This small pink tagging (outlined in photoshop) is bearly visible in black
and white, but sits subtly on the corner of Oak and Wisconsin, and has been attributed
to the polemical group known as Alto Cinco.
8
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
NEWS
THE COYOTE
Taylor St. John’s
Tour d’Albertson
Marshal Scholar gives perspective on the group that evaluated the ACI
ACI Evaluated by Pappas Consulting Group
Last January, the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation hired the Pappas Consulting Group, based out of Connecticut,
to evaluate the college with two questions
in mind:
1. Is Albertson College of Idaho a viable
institution worth continued support?
2. What are the cost parameters and operating expenses that need to be met in order for the college to be on a solid financial
footing, able to operate without continued
financial support from the foundation?
From March 20 to 22, the Pappas Group
toured the college. They conducted over
fifty interviews with students, faculty and
staff. Over 224 individual documents, including 59 board meeting minutes, were
placed into a special online file for study.
They were also given a tour of the campus
by Taylor St. John, ‘07. (see far right, “The
Tour d’ACI”)
On May 15th, Hoover and the Chair
of the ACI Board of Trustees, Jerry Baur,
met with four of the Albertson Foundation
members to receive the Pappas Group report, which emphasized a number of things
ISSUE #1
about the college:
• An unusual sense of community and
collegiality enhances the educational experience of students, sustains and attracts
faculty and staff morale in the face of low
salaries.
• An extraordinary positive faculty-student relationship.
• The college operates in a generally effective and efficient manner.
• Strong leadership, especially in Academic and Student Affairs and Business
and Finance.
• Effective and knowledgeable trustees.
• Shared vision of Top 100 liberal arts
colleges even as that has constrained enrollment.
• Positive town and gown relationship.
• Faces significant deferred maintenance
and new facility issues.
▪ Concluded that the college’s vision
is probably a much greater challenge
than the college has realized and maybe impossible to achieve―would require very significant increase in ACI’s
endowment.
―Brad Baughman
Coyote - What was your impression of Dr.
Alceste Pappas?
Taylor - My first impression was “wow, Alceste
is a firecracker.” She assimilated information
incredibly fast and asked well-designed questions to get the information she wanted, yet
she was really friendly and had an army of wry
comments ready for any occasion. I actually
gave the tour to the entire Pappas group, which
included two men and two women, and I had
a very positive, personable impression of all. C - How long was your tour? T - About an hour and a half.
C - Who all did you happen to run into during the tour?
T - We peeked into a few classrooms and
talked with almost everyone we ran into,
but I had also arranged with Chris Rifer,
Ben Thomas, Derek Erstad, Stephen Lowman and several others to talk about their
experience with specific programs or places
at ACI. But my favorite run-in was totally
spontaneous- we happened upon Berger
holding court on his bench, and the Pappas
Group loved it!
C – In your opinion, did Dr. Pappas seem
genuinely impressed?
T - Definitely- they all made many positive
comments about the energy and the talent
of the people on our campus, and seemed to
really like the atmosphere. That said, they
were definitely not impressed with Hayman’s
bathrooms or Boone’s laboratories-they actually looked pretty horrified!
C - Did Dr. Pappas make any comments, or
ask questions, about other areas of the college?
T - I was impressed with how many details
she and the entire group already knew about
the school. They mainly asked questions
about being a student here and about how
we used our facilities. T - How were you selected?
C - That is classified information. Actually,
I have no idea, but I was really honored and
excited to be asked to lead their first tour. C - How did you select who you “ran into”?
T - That’s classified too! Dr. Hoover and
I thought they deserved a wider range of
opinions and better, more specific information than I alone could provide, so I had arranged with students and faculty who could
talk personally about certain areas of the
college. I remember Dr. Maughan was a hit
with the group, and one of the consultants
shared his specialty, which almost turned my
tour of ACI into a tour of the British Empire, but . . .
C - Were there any surprises, or simply unforeseen developments along the way? How
did you handle them?
T - The plan was for me to drive Dr.
Hoover’s Cadillac golf cart during the tour,
and understandably, I was pretty excited. On the way to the cart, I told Alceste and
the group about my experience driving a
golf cart into a tree when I was nine, and
they suddenly decided to walk during the
tour. They kindly told me it was because
the campus was so compact-and in the end
it was probably better to walk because we
met more people. Other than that, the tour
was pretty relaxed and low-key, but when
we stopped at Berger’s bench, I was steeling
myself in case they got treated with some
vintage Berger verbal shock therapy.
―Brad Baughman
9
NEWS
THIS IS A LOCKD WN
Chemical spills, hostage situations... nothing your Dean of Students can’t handle
In the case of a disaster at
ACI ― a bomb threat, chemical
spill, earthquake, fire, influenza
pandemic, disruptive student,
inclement weather, or hostage
situation ― dean of students
Paul Bennion has done a lot of
thinking so that all you have to
worry about is… well… freaking out.
This summer Bennion typed
out a 24 page document called
Emergency Procedures Guidelines, which outlines everything
from which administrator gets
called first if a student dies to
the code for snapping the campus into lockdown mode. Most
of the procedures are about as
generic as the FBI terms of
usage blue screen before your
Friday night DVD rental, but
a few of them might just make
you duck and cover.
1. The Emergency Protocols section mentions
the possible use of a siren to initiate a lockdown situation. Will ACI use a siren?
We have proposed the use of a siren
that is loud enough to cover the entire
campus. The Governance Committee
is discussing the funding of this, which
would cost approximately $10,000. I
believe the proposed location would be
on top of Sterry, but it could be located
atop any centrally located building. 2. The Protocols section also mentions a mass
text/email to initiate a lockdown. How will
this work and will it be effective?
The experts suggest that a mass voice
and text messaging system is one of
the most effective ways to communicate a lock down, evacuation or some
other message of high importance. The system we are exploring is known
as PENN (Personal Emergency Notification Network) Alert. The Governance Committee is discussing this,
as well. It is very reasonably priced,
approximately $1200. As you suggest,
the next step would be to obtain all
student, faculty and staff cell phone
or other primary phone number to
make sure we reach as many students
as possible. This will undoubtedly be
a challenge. mittee some guidelines in which to follow or questions to discuss should that
specific crisis happen. Section IV (Life
Threatening Behaviors) was probably
the one area that was drafted in large
part in direct response to the VT and
ACI incident you mention.
Modulator Siren
Signal Description: The
Modulator Siren Series
controller provides a flat
frequency response from
200 to 2000 Hz for excellent voice reproduction
and with the MCP Controller produces warning
signals such as:
•
WAIL (ATTACK)
•
STEADY (ALERT)
•
FAST WAIL
•
ALTERNATING
STEADY
3. Section VIII deals with Disruptive Students. How much of this section is a response
to the incident last year at Virginia Tech?
Also, last year ACI had an off-campus incident involving Russian roulette. How did
ACI handle the situation?
•
PULSED WAIL
•
PULSED STEADY
•
WESTMINSTER
CHIMES
The recommended approach for any
emergency planning document is referred to as “All Hazards”. This means
that no matter what the cause is, you
have a general procedure to deal with
the consequence. Sections II & III
are meant to meet the intent of this
“All Hazards” approach. W
e
then decided to specifically mention potential crisis with the
intent of giving
the Emergency
Response Com-
•
Custom tones can
be purchased upon
special request.
*not to scale
Student most likely to fret
about disaster, by Major –
Life threatening behaviors – Psychology
Influenza Pandemic – Biology
Hostage Situation – Creative Writing
Death of Student – Philosophy
Injury to Students – Exercise Science
Bomb Threat – Political Economics
Inclement Weather - … New Orleans?
10
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
NEWS
THE COYOTE
STATE OF THE COLLEGE ADDRESS
On Thursday, Aug 30, Albertson College of Idaho president Bob Hoover delivered his annual state of the college address to a packed Langroise recital hall.
Students, faculty, administrators, trustees
and other members of the ACI community were in attendance. Subjects addressed
included the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson
Foundation decision following the Pappas Group recommendation, the college’s
new U.S. News and World Report ranking,
and the college’s enrollment status.
The address began with an update on
the Albertson College board of trustees.
Hoover announced that trustee Jack Lemley has completed his two terms on the
board. Lemley, as well as current chair of
the board Jerry Baur, received honorary
degrees at the Convocation on Sunday
Sept 2.
Four new trustees were also announced
including Candy Dale, Tim Hopkins, Ray
Melville and Paul Street. Dale, Melville and
Street are alumni of the college. President
Hoover also mentioned that there is the
possibility of the board gaining a fifth new
member by its meeting in October.
Hoover, along with respective department heads, went on to announce new
faculty and staff. New hires include staff
members in the development office, admissions, physical plant, athletics, student
life and campus safety. New faculty include
assistant and visiting professors in English,
biology, chemistry, music and psychology.
(See page 21 for profiles on new faculty)
President Hoover went on to discuss the
Pappas Report and the J.A. and Kathryn
Albertson Foundation’s potential decision
to adjust ACI’s funding plan in reaction to
it. (See page 9 for more information on the Pappas
Report.)
“Frankly, I don’t have much to report,”
Hoover said of the Foundation’s decision. In
early July, the college submitted a response
to the Pappas Report to the Foundation. It
contained several corrections to the report
as well as a proposed funding plan for the
college. The Foundation is currently in discussion over the matter.
“The [Foundation’s] announcement when
it comes will surprise all concerned,” Hoover
said. “Good and bad in some ways.”
The president added that he will probably have something to announce about the
future of the college’s funding in November
after the Foundation meets again in October.
President Hoover then went on to discuss the U.S. News and World Report Top 100
American liberal arts colleges. Despite controversy about the rating system such as concerns that it does not fully reflect the quality of the schools it evaluates, the potential
of Albertson College entering the top 100
remains an important part of the J.A. and
Kathryn Albertson foundation grant.
In the revised ranking, ACI moved up
from the fourth tier to the third tier reflecting a four-year average freshman retention
SPORTSBRIEFS
Men’s Tennis team in works for ACI
The addition of a Women’s Varsity Tennis team last year looks to be a first step in
improving tennis at ACI. Athletic Director
Marty Holly told the paper that the school
is in the process of raising money for new
courts, allowing our current women’s team
to compete here at the school. Also, once
the money is raised and the courts finished, it is expected that the addition of
a Men’s varsity team would not be far behind, hopefully as soon as September of
2008. Keep your eyes open for fast flying
fluorescent yellow balls in the near future! --Ben Jarvis
ISSUE #1
Women’s Soccer
The Albertson College of Idaho women’s soccer team received its first-ever regional ranking in the 19 years of the program this afternoon, as the NAIA released
the first Region I Top-5 poll of the season.
The Lady Yotes (2-2) sat in the No. 4 spot,
thanks to road wins over Rocky Mountain
and Great Falls, and a tough 1-0 loss at
Carroll. Concordia holds the top spot in
the regional poll, followed by Carroll, Simon Fraser, ACI, and Rocky Mountain.
rate increase from 68 percent
to 78 percent as well as a 10
percent increase in graduation rate. The average rate
does not include the 2006
freshman retention rate of 86
percent.
Other statistics from the
2006 freshman included that
40 percent of the students
were in the top 10 percent of
their high school class and 25
percent were in the top 7 percent of the national SAT and
ACT pools.
The U.S. News also reported that Alumni giving
has increased over the past
several years. This is another
important consideration in
the ranking system.
President Hoover continued his address with a
description of Albertson
College’s current enrollment
situation. As of Aug 30, the
college had 292 new students
up from 264 at the same time
the previous year. Of these
students, 60 percent are female and 40 percent are male.
Also, 15 are heritage scholars
and 17 are international students from
such countries as Nepal, India, Ethiopia,
Rwanda and China.
Although the number of new students
changes daily this time of year, Hoover assured that it is very likely the college will
be exceeding the budgeted number of 797
full-time students. This means that the college will likely receive a tuition profit for
the upcoming school year. Hoover thanked
Vice President for Enrollment Management John Klockentager for his efforts on
this front.
President Hoover continued on to discuss how several college initiatives such as
the possible addition of a new residence
hall are on hold until November when
more information is known about the Albertson Foundation’s decision.
Hoover ended the state of the college
address on a hopeful note, reassuring that
the efforts put forward by the college and
its staff may still pay off in the near future.
“The best can be around the corner if
we keep doing what we’re doing,” he said.
--Patrick Watson
Concert Band
Gets New Director
The retirement of Concert Band director and music historian Terry Stone last year meant that there were two
very large shoes to fill in the music department this Fall.
Luckily, that’s where Sandon Mayhew steps in. Sandon,
one of Boise’s most acclaimed Jazz musicians, will replace Terry as director of the concert band, and is looking to make this year into an extremely productive and fun foray into new styles that he draws inspiration from. If you
have the inclination, feel free to strike up a conversation with him about Frank Zappa,
and you might get an idea of just one of the legitimate composers Sandon has considered adding to the repertoire of the 2007-2008 concert band. Don’t let that intimidate
you from dusting off your horn and signing up, the band is always looking for new
members who play any instrument (yes, even percussion), and you can register the first
week of school. If you aren’t interested in large ensemble playing, but are still musically
inclined, don’t forget about the recoding studio, and make sure to check out the public
drive for recorded music from ACI students. --Ben Jarvis
11
NEWS
THE COYOTE
Caldwell Festival to
in Downtown R
An uncovered Indian Creek, refurbished stree
By PATRICK WATSON
The creek demonstration site near Avenue Avenue.
On Saturday September 15,
the city of Caldwell will be holding
its fifth annual Indian Creek Festival. From 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., classic
cars, military vehicles and vendors
will occupy city blocks along what
is expected to be a significantly revitalized Indian Creek.
Last April, the Caldwell city
council passed resolution 52-07
requiring all downtown public
buildings to comply with LEED
sustainability standards. The adoption of these state-of-the-art development standards is part of a
continuing effort by the City of
Caldwell to revitalize the economy
and cityscape of its downtown.
LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a nationally
accepted rating system which establishes benchmarks for environmentally friendly building designs.
Caldwell’s consideration of the
environment as it pursues building
projects represents an important
step in the redevelopment of its
downtown.
A primary aspect of Caldwell’s
downtown redevelopment is the
redesign of streetscape and park-
ing configuration. In June, the city
hired HDR — a national architecture and engineering firm with an
office in Boise — for consultation
and design services in the redevelopment.
HDR, whose recent work includes Boise’s environmentally
friendly Banner Bank Building,
was hired to provide a variety of
services including the assessment
of existing streetscape layouts and
working with the city to develop
guidelines for its vision of sustainable design for the downtown.
Among the various aspects of
sustainable design are cost-saving
measures such as energy efficiency,
water efficiency and eco-friendly
building materials.
In early August, HDR submitted to the City of Caldwell a first
draft response including graphic
renderings that depict potential
street scenes incorporating particular architecture, colors and materials. HDR is now in the revision
process of tailoring their recommendations to fit Caldwell’s design
guidelines more specifically.
In addition to streetscape upgrades, the construction of a
mixed-use, LEED certified city
hall is envisioned as part of down-
town Ca
structure
town Cal
would in
governm
restauran
seat audi
also inclu
Cald
for quali
the city h
The RFQ
couraged
ing conc
desired
the struc
The
four dev
design s
proposal
process,
decide w
city hall p
see publi
garding t
in the we
The
which ha
for sever
icant pro
rently, a
ing from
between
Street is
Indian C
Septemb
An artist’s rendering of a future Caldwell streetscape.
12
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
NEWS
THE COYOTE
Mark Turning Point
Redevelopment
etscapes and a new city hall are in the city’s near future.
aldwell’s redevelopment. The
e would be located in downldwell along Indian Creek and
ncorporate — in addition to
mental offices — retail shops,
nts, office space and a 300itorium. Plans for the city hall
ude residential housing units.
dwell issued an RFQ (request
ifications) to contractors for
hall project over the summer.
Q outlined the project and end developers to submit buildcept proposals meeting the
functional specifications of
cture.
city received proposals from
velopers each with compelling
suggestions. While the four
ls are still in the evaluation
the Caldwell city council may
which developer to hire for the
project by Sept 17. Expect to
ic informational meetings rethe downtown redevelopment
eeks and months to come.
day-lighting of Indian Creek,
as been on the city’s agenda
ral years, has also made signifogress over the summer. Curdemonstration site stretchm Tenth to Ninth Avenues
Cleveland Blvd. and Arthur
s unearthed and landscaped.
Although it is behind the original
schedule of being fully uncovered
and landscaped between Kimball
and fifth streets by Sept 15, there is
still a chance the creek project can
be completed by mid-November assuming several design aspects move
forward.
According to redevelopment
coordinator Dennis Cannon, this
year is an important milestone in
Caldwell’s downtown redevelopment process. “By the end of the
summer, the downtown will see its
biggest change in decades and will
be ready for the next big step in its
redevelopment,” he said.
With numerous intended events
and activities, the Indian Creek Festival is expected to attract over 3,000
individuals this year. The day will
begin with a pancake breakfast at
8 a.m. and end with a street dance
starting at 4:30 p.m.
Attendees will encounter new
events to the Festival such as a cardboard kayak race sponsored by Saint
Alphonsus West Valley Medical
Center. Old standby events such as
the rubber duck race and tug-of-war
across the creek are also planned.
There will also be a kids’ activities
area for younger Festival-goers.
Although downtown Caldwell
and Indian Creek still have a long
way to go before being fully revitalized, the expected community
involvement at the Indian Creek
Festival provides great hope for
the future of the project. As the
redevelopment’s motto suggests,
downtown Caldwell should —
and very likely will — be an excellent place to “Live, work, play
and shop.”
An aerial view of the revitalized creek.
Creek Festival
ber 15, 2007
A section of the creek located at Kimball and Blaine.
ISSUE #1
13
FEATURE
THE COYOTE
Club Sandwich
By KERRY COSTIGAN-GLADES
Get the skinny on a few clubs at ACI
Some people were just no fun in high
school. They joined too many clubs and
took on too many responsibilities: sports,
student body positions, academic clubs,
volunteer work. Actually, there is a good
chance you were one of them: most of
those kids were working hard to get into a
great college and, well, here you are.
There is no rule that says you have to
continue to be a no-fun killjoy in college
though. You’re already here, so it’s time
to find one thing you really love to do and
focus. Organizations at Albertson range
from pre-professional clubs and honor societies to political and religious groups so
there is no shortage of opportunities for
the savvy student. It can be difficult to
find a group that is perfect for you though,
especially when there are upwards of fifty
at ACI. Even if you made a checklist and
tried a new club every week, you wouldn’t
be anywhere near the end by the time summer rolls around again.
Of course, there are ways to scope
out your options without investing quite
as much time and energy into the search.
Gossip; er, word of mouth, is always a
good place to start if you’re looking to find
people like you who already get together
on a regular basis and publish a newsletter.
An even better place to start your search is
the Coyote Bazaar, an event held annually
at Albertson to help introduce students to
all that college club life has to offer. Or, it
would be a better place to start if it were
attended by more than a smattering of students and club representatives each year.
Unfortunately, most of us will be, once
again, too preoccupied with new roommates, new classes, and new hookup opportunities to hotfoot it to the Bazaar this
year. So unless you’re planning to cart a
checklist of ACI club names around with
you for the next nine months, you have
only one place to turn: your friendly neigh-
borhood Coyote. (You did at least know it
was coming, didn’t you?)
We’ve submitted questions to all the
current club and organization leaders asking about past successes and future plans
for their respective clubs. From those who
responded by deadline, we have chosen the
best, most interesting replies (and maybe
one that made us laugh…) to reprint here.
The following six groups represent a pretty
diverse cross section of Albertson’s ‘club
scene’ but if, after reading the following
interviews, you still don’t see what you’re
looking for, remember, there’s always the
checklist.
Our Questions and Their Answers
1. What’s the point?
2. How many active members did your
group have last year?
3. Are there any special requirements that
must be met for people to join?
4. What was the most exciting thing the
club did last year?
5. How many events did you put on last
year? What were they?
6. What are the perks?
7. If an anonymous donor gave the group
one million dollars, what would you do with
the money?
8. What’s the cost?
9. Anything else you’d like to add?
Who: Rebecca Holmes for Gay-Straight
Campus Alliance
How: Contact rholmes@albertson.edu for
more information.
1. ...Homos are fun. Straight people are
fun. Put the two together and a WHOLE
LOTTA fun happens! Seriously, our club
is all about making ACI a safe place to be
no matter what your gender or sex identity.
We are open to all conversations including
just talking about life in general. Questioning? Come on into our office in McCain
and we’ll be happy to have a chat!
2. Oh, I’d say about twenty people are se-
14
riously involved in our group. Yes, more
sign up and occasionally come to meetings but really a good core of about twenty
people work hard together to put on shows,
events, and activities like Same-Gender
Hand-Holding Day and the National Day
of Silence last year. Consequently, I have
about twenty best friends whom I can rely
on for anything. I hope they all feel the
same way!
3. Besides the “no hate” rule, (don’t bring
hate into our meetings; only support) there
are no requirements. Be as little or as much
involved as you want! We encourage our
members to participate in any way that they
would like. People have different talents
and those talents should be used differently!
4. I’d have to say, hands down, the drag
show at the end of the Day of Silence. We
held a ceremony at the end of the day, 5:00
pm, to thank everyone for their involvement. Then the drag kings involved in
our club dressed it up for a few numbers
and solos! We had awesome guest speakers who really made us think about life
and how some people have to live it a little
harder. We had amazing Grecian catering
and the whole show was just a party.
5. Same-Gender Hand-Holding Day: Selfexplanatory. Held twice a school year, once
per semester, this day includes wearing the
rainbow and holding hands with the same
gender visibly.
Day of Silence: Day to protest the silence
felt by those bullied because of their gender status in schools. Purple ribbons and
an oath of silence until 5:00 pm.
Drag Show: Just for fun at the end of the
Day of Silence. Gotta lighten it up a bit!
October/November protests all over Boise
regarding the HJR2 bill (constitutional marriage amendment). . . . Okay, we were kinda
slacking last year. This year, we need more
help. We’re doing a whole bunch more.
Speaking of which… ROCKY HORROR
PICTURE SHOW LIVE PARTICIPATION show will be THIS OCTOBER!
Admission is $5... So get your corset on,
guys, and get ready to do the TIME WARP
AGAIN!!! Props (toast, rice, etc.) will be
provided.
6. As I mentioned above, we’re a pretty
tight-knit group. I’m pretty sure that everyone involved in GSCA is comfortable talking to anyone else within the group about
pretty much anything. We are support for
each other. We care about each other. We
are active in the GLBT community and that
is impressive on a resume…and we have
the most fabulous pizza at our meetings.
7. Have a lube-wrestling contest/Olympics
on the quad. And a band. And bring in a
drag troop from Portland or Seattle… and
DONATE to help others suffering from
discrimination. We’d make a lot more fun
activities available for FREE to students
and the people in our community… OR,
whatever the club voted on. Those are just
my ideas!
8. The best things in life are free, brothers
and sisters. We do request donations for
membership fees but we as an organization realize that not everyone is made of
money. Whatever you want to put in, you
can. We’re working on t-shirts but usually
every year we make the shirts together as a
club. (This year, tie-dye!)
9. We rock the Kasbah. We work because
we know that we have each other and that
we are powerful people; we have the ability
not to even worry about the person sitting
next to us-- all people are people and deserve respect just the same.
Who: Joe Hilby for Albertson Kendo
Club
How: Contact joseph.hilby@yotes.albertson.edu for more information.
1. The Kendo Club was created to allow
those people who are interested in learning about the art of Japanese fencing the
opportunity to do so at little to no cost.
Once a member of the Kendo Club you
will be able to attend lessons in Boise free
of charge. Our club provides limited transportation (four spots) to the Idaho Kendo
Kai (I.K.K.) Dojo on a regular basis three
times a week. Our goal is to provide a fun
and friendly environment in which to learn
this incredible martial art.
2. Unfortunately, Kendo Club membership was low last year due to the fact that it
was started late in the year. However, the
I.K.K. has a membership of about ten students and three sensei.
3. There are only two requirements. The
first is that you maintain a friendly and respectful attitude toward your teachers and
peers, and the second is that you join the
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
FEATURE
club.
4. Our club was present at a Shimpan
(Kendo Referee) seminar as well as an Iaido
(Sword Drawing) seminar. Both were twoday seminars and were run by some of the
most high-ranking sensei in the US.
5. Membership in Albertson Kendo Club
will allow you free lessons at our local Kendo Dojo as well as transportation to those
lessons.
6. It may sound boring but such a large
sum of money would do little to change
this club. Kendo is a relatively cheap activity, where the people and their attitudes are
the most important factors. But a trip to
Japan comes to mind.
7. As I have said, lessons are free, but gear
is not. The most immediate cost will be
your Shinai (bamboo sword), which costs
around $20. I am unsure if our club will
have the funds to help you with this but we
remain hopeful that we will be able to provide some financial help.
8. This next year we are planning to be
more noticeable on campus. This will include on-campus practices, seminars, and
hopefully we will be able to hold tournaments on campus.
Who: Rachel Odio for the Alliance for
Community Transformation (ACT)
How: Contact rodio@albertson.edu for
more information.
1. The point: Humanity-- human rights,
welfare, quality of life, that sort of thing.
We’re open to environmental activism, too
but that’s really TERRA’s domain. ACT
currently participates with Amnesty International and STAND (Students Take Action Now: Darfur), which is why you will
see lots of invitations to write letters or
call your senators about prisoners of conscience and Darfur, among other topics.
But ACT was founded as an independent
group so that it could participate in a variety of organizations as well as organize
its own activities. Our goal is to increase
awareness and encourage action in local,
national, and global issues. I hope people
will join because they realize how much
need there is for someone to both care and
act-- and I hope they will stay because ACT
helps them do just that.
2. Although ACT received the New Organization of the Year Award, we were a
small group, with an average of at least five
people showing up at events on a rotating
basis.
3. All are welcome but hopefully with an
actual interest in participation (not just resume fillers)!
ISSUE #1
4. My personal favorite was the meal fundraiser. Something about driving down the
road with so much food packed into my
van that I had a wall of cardboard behind
and beside me felt very satisfying.
awesome pictures, write GOOD articles
for the yearbook, attend tons of events,
and dedication since it’s a small group and
you get paid for it. Interviews will most
likely be required since it’s a full year job.
5. At least seven: Several letter-writing
meetings (maybe three or four throughout
the year?), Blood Diamond invitation, Lord
of War showing, Global Economy Dinner/International Rescue Committee fundraiser, HJR2 (Idaho constitutional marriage
amendment) speeches, Darfur documentary showing, and $3,747 in food raised
through extra meals for the local Western
Idaho Community Action Partnership food
bank.
4. Most exciting thing the club did? Built
the book. Being published is always exciting.
6. Sometimes there’s food… But seriously, in addition to hopefully feeling like
you’re doing a little bit of something for the
world, there is A LOT of leadership opportunitys! You can help with events or design
your own with other members’ help-- plus,
four of last year’s officers graduated…
7. How many stamps and envelopes will
a million dollars buy? Assuming the donor gave us the liberty to choose, we would
probably research projects and charities to
donate it. Personal pick off the top of my
head: microfinance!
8. So far: $0.
9. This year’s agenda includes continued
participation with Amnesty and STAND, as
well as a mosquito net awareness campaign
and fundraiser project. Even if you don’t
feel like you have the time to help organize,
let us know what events, topics, or activities
you’d like us to see. Better yet, let us help
you organize it yourself!
Who: Brittney Nelson for the Trail Yearbook
How: Contact bnelson@albertson.edu for
more information.
5. We don’t put on events normally. We
attend all the events other people put on so
they can be documented.
6. Perks? Let’s just be honest. It’s the
money people are after. Also, being able to
have some control over what goes into the
yearbook is nice. Free food might also be
an option if we’re hitting a deadline.
7. If someone gave our group a million
dollars, I’d pay every student to get his or
her mug shot taken so we could have a real
mugs section. Then I would buy some
amazing lenses for the cameras, some new
cameras while we’re at it, and more computers with software updates. The rest…
pay the staff more, use all the expensive
colors in the book, and have one of those
covers that costs so much.
8. The cost is nothing. Unless you count
time, in which case the cost could be close
to your life when deadlines approach. But
you get into events…
Who: Lael Uberuaga-Rodgers for the Outdoor Program (OP)
How: Contact luberuagarodgers@albertson.edu for more information.
1. Idaho has fantastic outdoor opportunities out there for the taking, and OP has
the funds, gear, leaders, and education to
get you out there into nature. Plus, the
people that go on OP trips together have
some pretty special bonds (ask anyone
from Spring Break in Moab last year).
1. Why stay? Because you’re getting paid,
my friend. And because we have to have a
staff to put a yearbook together. The point
is rather obvious. Put together a kick-ass
yearbook so you can look back many years
from now and remember all those nights
you forgot due to Jungle Juice consumption. (An added perk: you can make fun of
all the other people whose forgotten nights
are also pictured.)
2. Since OP isn’t exactly a club with members or membership, it’s kinda hard to estimate numbers. There were probably 20
people really involved but I’d say 50 to
75 unique people did at least one OP trip
throughout the year.
2. I believe there were five people last year.
Most of them graduated. We currently
have two lined up for this year. I know…
hold back the crowds.
4. As far as sheer excitement goes, I remember standing on the 10 foot wide section of a 200 foot high or so sandstone
arch in Utah. The South Fork raft trip was
also a blast.
3. People need to have some kind of yearbook skill to join. We’re in need of photographers in particular. Yearbook skills
include being able to write captions, take
3. We love to see new faces all the time-no experience is required! But please don’t
whine.
5. Fall Break-- City of Rocks climbing trip,
hotsprings trip to Atlanta, ponderosa State
Park Yurt/Snowshoe trip, stargazing at the
THE COYOTE
Bruneau Sand Dunes
Spring Break trip to Moab, Utah and
Arches and Canyonlands National Park,
Banff Film Festival, and probably at least
two more I can’t remember since I wasn’t
director last year.
6. If you get into it and like it, you can run
for OP director and get valuable leadership
experience, which never hurts your resume.
And yes, friendship and camaraderie, yadda
yadda yadda.
7. Take everyone on the eco-trip of their
choice.
8. If you just want to rent gear, the prices
are excruciatingly cheap (see our webpage
on the main ACI site for a rental list). Trips
are all-inclusive, with transportation, food,
and accommodations (the ground is free)
all paid for as part of the trip cost. And the
trip costs are pretty cheap too, often FREE
(which never hurts).
Who: Griffin Hewitt for the Crazy 88’s
Film Critics Association
How: Contact griffin.hewitt@yotes.albert
griffin.hewitt@yotes.albertson.edu for more information.
1. The ultimate goal of the Crazy 88’s
Film Critics Association is to seek out and
destroy bad movies, or at least rate these
bad films very poorly with condescending
comments. Joining this club will also allow members the luxury of dressing up like
gorillas and tap dancing in a large bowl of
potato salad.
2. Last year, we were not a club; this year,
we are one.
3. In order to join the club, a potential
member must despise the movie Wolf
Creek and the drunken queen of blow,
Lindsey Lohan.
4,5,6. The club is currently starting it’s first
year.
7. If the Crazy 88’s received one million
dollars, we would build a series of sculptures from elbow macaroni depicting
scenes from The Never-Ending Story and
place them all over the ACI campus for
everyone’s enjoyment.
8. Joining up is free but a new member is
more than welcome to pledge his or her immortal soul to the club.
*Replies may have some minor editing.
So there you have it people. Corsets, sword
dancing, helping people in need, a little
green for your pocket, breathtaking views,
potato salad, and friendship and camaraderie, yadda, yadda, yadda. Now get out there
and overexert yourself!
15
SUMMER ESSAY
THE COYOTE
: Low Prices and Double Standards
By WES ASHWORTH
They are arguably the most polarizing multimillion dollar company of
the present day. Despite their love/hate status, millions enjoy low prices
and convenience at Wal-Mart’s super centers. I, too, shop there routinely
and originally thought they would be a solution to my employment problem. They eventually became more problematic than I could have possibly
imagined. The situation was this; I needed a summer job and wanted to
work somewhere with minimal customer interaction. Why not work as a
freight unloader for Wal-Mart? I could mindlessly muscle boxes all day in some sequestered backroom without worrying about customers and their sometimes agonizing,
insistent whims, all at a place I often shop. What
a great deal! Well, three months of experience
opened my eyes to what a raw deal that really
was.
Spoiler alert…being a Wal-Mart employee sucked, don’t work there. Before
I elaborate, let me clarify: The job duties and general requirements themselves
were not too bad. I worked 2-11 pm
Thursday through Monday. I could sleep
in and still had time to relax after work. I
also received a 10% discount card good
on general (non-food) merchandise. The
unloading crew I worked with was laid back
and often entertaining; a few co-workers had
a couple bolts loose, but those stories are for another day. The position involved unloading freight
off trucks and loading them onto departmentalized
pallets. If time permitted, we stocked shelves until the evening, when we pulled the pallets onto the sales floor. We also did
random tasks like bringing in carts, bagging groceries, or other “special
projects” when time permitted. For the first month, the job breezed along
until a couple of huge problems popped up.
First of all, the atmosphere was incredibly depressing. During breaks in
the lounge, nearly every associate I saw complained about their job or the
company. One cashier even referred to the checkout registers as a “Twi-
16
light Zone.” The ‘Associates Only’ areas around the store’s outer edges
reminded me of a Nazi camp with Sam Walton as our Führer. Training modules on the computer “re-educated” associates to the Wal-Mart
way, while propaganda posters of the ever-smiling Sam Walton, posted
everywhere, reminded them of Wal-Mart’s core beliefs. Communication
meetings—a.k.a. wastes of time—emphasized sales numbers, stock prices, and were followed with a Wal-Mart cheer to keep the troops’ morale
up—an epic failure on their part. Several managers worked
like mindless Wal-Mart zombies, working their way up
the corporate ladder with good behavior and strong
sales, albeit disregarding employer-employee
courtesy. Instead, their focus was set on their
ultimate dream, the self-designated pinnacle
of their fruitless lives. “Maybe twenty five
years from now, I can own my own store!”
Of all the companies I’ve worked for,
this was the most depressing and most
filled with self-serving employees.
Secondly (and most importantly),
the management is naïve, hypocritical,
and shoddy. They bring double standards
to a whole new level, asking one thing
and demanding something completely different. For instance, the company was vehemently intolerant of overtime. You must
leave when your shift ends, or kill the overtime
on another day. However, many times our crew
was too small to unload all of the freight in the allotted time, especially when utilizing an inefficient unloading
method. Added to this were numerous errands we were forced
to do that served only to waste our time. Even when we asked for help,
the managers ignored us until we were so far behind, the whole store
would suffer and they could not bury their heads in the sand any longer.
At the end of the day, one manager tells us to go home at our scheduled
shift completion; another says to stay until all of the new freight is out.
If we stay, we get yelled at for having overtime. If we go, we get yelled
at for not finishing. It is a lose-lose situation. The managers also have
no idea what goes on in the backroom, yet behave like they know it all.
The freight trucks varied in size and number, from 1300 pieces up to
almost 3000 pieces each. Yet they said each needed to be done in the
same amount of time, regardless of size and number of unloaders. We
objected and were shot down. How does that work? Oh I get it, unloaders are brain-dead grunts. But wait, that condescension violated a core
Wal-Mart belief, respect for the individual! Hypocrites.
In summation, I’m sick of retail and glad my tenure at WalMart is over. I’m tired of the daily hypocrisy and disrespect. Sadly, one of my co-workers planned on working there for the rest of
his life. An experience like that, and the prospect of such a hopeless future, really makes one appreciate the benefits of an education.
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
SUMMER ESSAY
THE COYOTE
Real People
A Migrating Understanding
Kosovo
By DANIEL THRASHER
Live in
By JESSICA AUSTIN
I sat down next to a lady, middle aged
but pretty. We were waiting for the train
to arrive at Bergamo’s station and take us
to Venice. My four years of Italian language in high school came back to me
in fleeting soap-bubble form as she tried
to ask me very simple questions. Words
popped up and then burst just as I had
almost grasped how to form a sentence.
But I understood her when she slowed
down and spoke about herself. She was
in her thirties, from Kosovo; a very tornup place, she reminded me. She had just
finished working for a year in Italy, away
from her three brothers, their children,
and the rest of her family. She wasn’t
married and had to travel away from
home to make any money. She showed
me the gifts she had bought for cheap at
a market. I repeated ‘Bella’ to her, and she
smiled.
Who knew? Real people live in Kosovo.
It may sound ignorant of me to be
so astounded by a ten minute almost-conversation with a lady from Kosovo. But it
was real. And later, as my trip continued
I sought out more real experiences in the
streets of the ancient and highly “touristed” cities. Venice. Florence. Rome.
Living as a transient out of a suitcase
for three weeks was hard enough on my
enthusiasm, but I became sobered by the
ease with which real life could elude me,
the ease with which every aspect of life
could be mass-marketed. Take Catholicism for one Euro! Take a guided tour
for ten! My resistance seemed futile. I
had been bound and gagged and tossed
on the ‘Tourist Ride’ as soon as my plane
had touched down in Milan.
But I found ways to ignore it all and
get lost on a walk from the Coliseum to
Termini Train Station. Get blessed by
a Buddhist monk in a high end fashion
mall. Get introduced to a clothes-artist
and his wife off a back-street in Amalfi and listen to why they hate ‘Made In
China’. Or simply get caught off guard
in the Piazza Signoria of Florence when
the performer-pretending-to-be-a-statue
argued with the gelato-stand-man.
Real people live in Italy too. And I
knew that before I went, but I didn’t tell
anyone that while I was excited to “see
the sights,” I was more excited to see the
people.
ISSUE #1
If anyone’s ever worked fast
food before, you probably know
that it can get a bit monotonous
once you’ve gotten the hang of it.
It’s mostly taking an order among
items that change only occasionally,
putting items in a bag, and collecting money. Naturally, I tried to find
other ways to occupy myself during the unending long hours. And
I turned to an unlikely source for
that.
We all hear stories about Mexicans, aliens, and immigration.
Heck, we go to school in Caldwell.
Since I’d taken Spanish for four
years, I decided to try to talk to
the enigmatic “wizards of oz,” the
ones who always cooked the food
but otherwise hid out of sight and
did their own thing. At first it was
rare–– just a “como estas” and
“bien y tu”. As they realized that I
knew more Spanish than the average gringo, they began to start conversations with me.
A Mexican man that worked
there told me about how he found
a wife and learned to speak English
through tapes, and how it’s nearly
impossible to learn a language unless you work at it every day. He
told me he’d had to do it to talk
to his wife, and she learned Spanish so she could speak to him as
well. I began to look at learning a
foreign language in a wholly new
way. After four years learning this
language, I had never really considered just how human it was.
That element is surprisingly
missing. It’s a class on grammar,
vocabulary, and conventions, but
not on humanity. You know that hilarious joke you heard? You can tell
it in Spanish and it evokes a laugh.
That awesome part of that movie?
Yep, you can appreciate it in Span-
ish. Instead of just looking at it as a
language to put on a resume, it became as real as my own native language, something a textbook has
never conveyed to me. One of my
closest Spanish-speaking friends
there nicknamed an overweight girl
that worked with me “la gorda” because she couldn’t pronounce her
name. They are people with wonderful senses of humor, and they
use Spanish to convey them. Something about that just gets lost in
translation from foreign language
classes.
More than just nuances of the
language jumped out at me over
the summer there. All of these
Mexicans lived in a trailer park not
too far from the restaurant. Even
though they lived in the same city
as so many of us, they were practically self-contained and ostracized,
with their own culture and their
own language. One bragged to me
about how much she had saved
up, despite the fact that she sent
half of her earnings home to her
mother so that her mother could
survive in Mexico. She wanted to
be able to go back to Mexico, but
she couldn’t until she saved up a
certain amount, and she was only
halfway there. They all earned the
same paycheck as I did, if not a
little more, but they were trying to
feed their entire families both here
and abroad off of that money.
When all you hear is how the
Mexicans are trying to steal our
jobs, you don’t stop to think just
how hard it must be for them. Most
told me they hate it here. There was
a book I skimmed through that one
of them owned––which translates
to “English for Immigrants”–– that
highlighted the sorts of conversations that they would need to know
to do things in the United States.
Even after all the years I’ve taken, I
would be incredibly uncomfortable
trying to conduct myself in a foreign language, in a foreign country.
Although it evokes every cliché
in the book, I feel that the lessons
I learned this summer are greater
than anything I ever learned in
school. Rather than list them, I’ll
let you draw your own conclusions.
But I formed a bond with many
people that I’m not sure I would
have thought likely before, despite
the language and culture differences we possess. We learned from
each other just how alike our differences are.
17
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THE COYOTE
THE
NEXT CHAPTER
FOR
Spencer Cobrin
By SARAH BEUKELMAN
Hit nineties drummer spills all on sensitivities, glory days, and varied plans
Spencer Cobrin supplied the beats for
one of the best, and most controversial,
Irish rock albums of the early nineties.
Cobrin was a member of Morrissey’s
band from 1991 – joining the group at
the age of 22 – until he left in 1998.
Many fans consider him to be the best
drummer Morrissey has ever worked
with. And who could forget the way he
licked his way around an ice cream in
the video for “We Hate It When Our
Friends Become Successful”?
A couple years after Cobrin left
Morrissey’s band, he formed Elva
Snow with Australian singer Scott Matthew. (Elva Snow’s self-titled album is
available on CD Baby’s website and I
highly recommend it. Get it while you
can.) Elva Snow has since dissolved
and Cobrin has left the world of bands
and live gigs to focus on composing for
film, which he is exceedingly good at.
Credits include music for the documentary My Child: Mothers of War and the
film Send in the Clown. Samples of his
work are available for listening at his
MySpace page (http://www.myspace.
com/spencercobrin). Cobrin’s page
features songs he co-wrote with Mor-
rissey, Elva Snow tracks, and compositions for film. As a guitarist, pianist,
and drummer, his music is noteworthy
for its range and emotionality.
Cobrin and I recently discussed
what it was like recording Your Arsenal
and what life is like post-Morrissey. I
discovered an artist who is funny, intelligent, and yes, a little bit sweet.
Your Arsenal is one of my essential
albums. What are a few of your essential albums?
Art Blakey’s Indestructible, Joni Mitchell’s
Blue, and Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet
Overture.
What is your favorite song on Your
Arsenal?
“The National Front Disco”.
How was it in the recording studio
when you were recording? Had you
become comfortable working with
Morrissey and your other bandmates by this point?
It was exciting but overshadowed by
my lack of skill and confidence on the
drums, and within myself, I was very
insecure and had no
self-esteem whatsoever. I had to try
very hard; I was the
least talented in the
band and had to really dig deep.
Have you found
self-esteem? Is the
present day Spen-
18
cer Cobrin more secure in his abilities than ’91-’92 Spencer Cobrin?
Looking back and comparing myself
then and now, I’ve grown a lot. I also
challenged myself to do things I would
never have done.
Morrissey fans are known for being particularly enthusiastic. Was it
overwhelming or did you embrace
(pardon me for saying it) the rock
and roll lifestyle?
I loved life on the road. I didn’t set out
to be a rock and roll cliché, nor did I
become one, thankfully, but I did my
share of partying (and still do!) It was a
joyous time. Coming off the road was
very hard though – living on adrenaline
for months at a time – it’s not surprising people turn to paraphernalia to
keep the high going; it can be quite a
comedown.
How did you manage to stay away
from “paraphernalia” as you put it?
Loaded question!
Do you still keep in touch with any
of your former bandmates?
A couple of them wrote me recently. It
has been 10 years since I’ve heard from
them.
How did you make the decision to
get into scoring? Do you long for the
days of touring and live gigs?
I thought it would be a great creative
outlet for me, something to explore and
see if I actually had a proclivity for it. I
started to meet filmmakers and test the
waters. Of course I always throw myself into the deep end, but real life experience is better than books. It hasn’t
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
COBRIN Cont’d
been easy but I’m doing something that
I never thought I could do. What else
lies beneath!?
I haven’t
missed the touring at all, which
is strange. Maybe I just had
enough of it. It
would be fun to
play live again
but I don’t pine
for the days of
old. That was a
rich chapter of
my life and I’ve
moved onto the
next.
Are you working on anything currently?
Most recently I
scored a heist/
feature
film,
Daylight Robbery
and am writing
cello arrangements for Scott
Matthew’s debut
album.
Do you write a lot of music for yourself on the side? If so, are you interested in working with lyricists? Just
for fun?
I’ve been pretty busy with film and other projects recently that that is all I’ve
had time for, but maybe when things
calm down again, which they invariably
will.
What plans do you have for the
months ahead?
I would really like to travel for a while
and get away from this damn laptop!
Your location is listed as both London and New York. In an interview
you said that London doesn’t feel
like home. Has this changed for
you?
Yes, definitely, having been living in
NY for 10 years I love going back to
London. I see it through new eyes. I
love that everything is so green, that’s
the first impression one gets immediately departing the airport, green everywhere. It was shocking having not seen
ISSUE #1
it for so long.
In an interview for MorrisseyTour.
com you described yourself/your
music as “romantic, emotional, and
THE COYOTE
departed from my personal feelings of
musical expression, except for working on projects where you are fulfilling someone else’s vision. Of course, I
can assimilate that
too, but I still lean
towards the tragic
romantic nature
of art, or being,
unrequited love
namely.
What is your
philosophy on
love?
Oh boy, I’m not
one to really expound on this but
I suppose love is
like an all-consuming sickness,
if you’ve got it
bad, it’s bad, but
if you’ve got it
good, you’re lucky,
and if you’ve had
it but lost it, it’ll
screw you up, it’s
a crazy thing.
sad”. Would you still describe yourself that way? Also referring to the
interview: [the author claims that there
is a Good Spencer Cobrin who is approachable and easygoing and “other”
Spencer Cobrin who is a bit standoffish] are there two Spencer Cobrins?
Which one is answering my questions?
No, not two, just confused, lost! I haven’t
On a fan site
from 1995 someone described
you as “so painfully sweet, it was untrue” when
you autographed a fanzine. Do you
think of yourself as sweet?
No! Ha. I’m just not a bastard.
Are you a reader? What books do
you enjoy?
I’m currently going through my Greek
mythology phase, but I’m kinda picky,
if it doesn’t grab me then forget it.
Live Earth took place recently. Did
you catch any of it? Do you think an
event like this will produce any significant lasting changes?
My TV has about four channels and I
don’t really watch TV that much anyway. And not unless there was a shift on
a global scale by big business and government now. There is obviously much
more awareness and talk on the subject
but how much change do you really see
taking place? It’s way too slow to have
any lasting effect. It’s pathetic. America
being the leading power is so far behind
the eight ball on this, it has the resources and power to make a significant impact almost overnight, which is needed
right now, but is leading us down a road
to disaster.
What’s the deal with the ice cream in
the “We Hate It When Our Friends
Become Successful” video? How do
things like that get into videos? Do
you laugh about it now?
It was improvised. They gave me an ice
cream and I just went with it – it’s called
being a ham! Plus I’m pretty self-deprecating. I really didn’t care what people
thought, seems like a lot of people
took it way too seriously. They seem
to get really defensive or attack me for
it. That’s been my experience, it’s very
odd. But one has to have a laugh and I
just couldn’t resist it.
One silly question: who do you allow to call you Spenny? Second silly
question: Can I call you Spenny?
I don’t allow, people just take advantage
of me. [I read this imagining Cobrin
saying this with the deepest of sighs. Oh
the bother of being called Spenny!]
You can call me Shirley.
WATCH IT ON YOU TUBE!
Sure, most of you were four when
Morrissey’s, Your Arsenal, topped
billboards charts, but that doesn’t
mean you catch the old videos on
the world wide web.
Search “Morrissey,” and “We Hate
It When Our Friends Become Successful.”
It’s really “laughable.”
19
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THE COYOTE
Spoon: They’re Ga Ga-Great!
By JORDAN DRAKE
After ten years together it can be difficult for a successful rock band to keep its
focus. Maybe your songwriting has lost its
freshness. Maybe the group’s chemistry is
feeling strained. Maybe a bumper crop of
followers has driven the sound you pioneered into the ground, making it tired and
stale. Maybe it’s time to call it quits, burn
out instead of fade away.
Then again, maybe the band you’re in
is Spoon, in which case none of the above
will ever be applicable.
That’s right, ten years and six albums
into their career Britt Daniel and company
have crafted a masterpiece in Ga Ga Ga Ga
Ga.
I use the word ‘crafted’ for a reason:
every bit of Ga Ga has been meticulously
planned. From the stray bass notes that
begin the record to the thirty or so seconds
of silence that end it, it’s clear the whole
package has been treated with painstaking
care, ultimately carved into its lean thirtysix minute running time by the most obsessive of obsessors.
“Hyperbole!” you shout.
Not so, I reply. It certainly sounds
like a Spoon album, but to say it skirts the
line between one and the next (say 2001’s
funky Girls Can Tell and 2002’s fantastically
brusque Kill the Moonlight) would be cutting
it short. Though they employ the same basic minimalist tenets of Spoon’s previous
albums, trimmed and pared and snipped
to perfection, the songs here are far more
dense and rich. Indeed, the band borrows
heavily from its catalog, and certain tracks
(namely “Rhthm and Soul” and “My Little
Japanese Cigarette Case”) sound like they
might fit perfectly on previous releases, but
Ga Ga, equally nostalgic and groundbreaking, is far more than the sum of its parts.
Take, for instance, piano-driven centerpiece “The Ghost of you Lingers,” which
brings to mind Moonlight’s ghostly, ethereal “Paper Tiger” while simultaneously
abandoning its familiarity and accessibility.
Then there’s “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb,”
far and away the best song Spoon has ever
released. Despite Daniel’s downer tale
about a failing relationship, the music itself
sparkles: tambourines ring loud and clear
atop Jim Eno’s crisp, expressive drumming
and a horn section adds a soulful punch
to the procession, but when every other
sound drops out of the mix and Daniel
uses the bridge to proclaim, “Life can be
so fair, let it go on and on” accompanied
solely by hand claps and chimes, the effect
is nothing short of thrilling.
Ga Ga’s production is immaculate, from
the curt, staccato pulse of “Eddie’s Ragga,”
the jazzy horns of Billy Joel-ish (and Jon
Brion produced) “The Underdog.” Every
song here is a winner, and by the time things
wind down on “Black Like Me,” another
piano ditty vaguely akin to Moonlight’s “Vittorio E,” the realization hits: this is a turning point in the evolution of music.
“Don’t make me a target!” Britt Daniel yowls on Ga Ga’s opening track, but it
would be in our best interest to ignore his
plea. No other band on the planet is more
deserving of the attention.
You need look no further. Spoon has
delivered the album of the year.
Superbad: Get Ready for Mc “Laughin’”
By GRIFFIN HEWITT
Having survived a summer full of
scurvy-ridden seafarers, a web-slinging
vigilante, an aging Bruce Willis with a cast
of a thousand explosions and two warring
robotic factions causing millions of dollars
worth of computerized collateral damage,
it’s a comforting thought in the minds of
filmgoers that the end of the summer does
not necessarily spell out the demise of entertaining cinema.
Superbad is the new film in question reteaming the current kings of comedic happenstance -- Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old
Virgin, Knocked Up) and writer/actor Seth
Rogen. Arriving just in time to rinse the
Hollywood-ized, effects-drenched blockbusters from recent memory, Superbad is a
movie centering on the lives of three high
schoolers: Evan, Seth, and Fogell a.k.a.
McLovin. This particular trio is an atypical version of the variety of adolescent
geeks that writer and director John Hughes
dreamed up in his widely popular and cliché-creating 80’s comedies. Superbad veers
away from the all-too-familiar trite labeling
of its characters as “unpopular losers,” and
rather offers the audience a multi-faceted
glimpse into the layers that make each of
these young men unique.
Early in the film, it is abundantly clear
20
what one member of the trio’s main objective is by a lament from Evan: he openly admits he wished that girls didn’t get so
freaked out by boners. From this point
forth, the story glides seamlessly from one
vulgarity-rich discussion to the next, never
missing an opportunity to make any reference to male camel-toes or dry-humping
a leg.
Like most movies, Superbad moves forward like a self-confident teenager, striding boldly from joke to joke, never missing an intended target. The only drawback in such a fool-proof construction
comes in the form of the actual execution
of the story. The first third of the film
lays the groundwork for what promises to
be an uproarious comedy but quickly mutates into an endearing misadventure with
minor points of hilarity serving more as
punctuation marks to a consistent and often-times authentic-feeling plot. Despite
shifts in comic tone, this film still works
and delivers at an even pace.
The true moments showcasing Superbad’s charm come in the form of two of
the most irresponsible police officer characters in recent media history played with
pitch-perfect momentum by Bill Hader
and Seth Rogen. Despite being inept at
their chosen profession, they can be heard
drunkenly spouting dialogue like “I assume
you all have guns and crack” or “Prepare
to get fucked by the long dick of the law!”
As stealing of scenes goes in most works
of cinema, Hader and Rogen have developed their own specific brand of snapping
to attention the focus of their viewers with
ridiculous efficiency.
Superbad is just the latest example of
how a well-written film with truly dynamic
characters as the focal point of the story
can adeptly resuscitate the institution of
low-brow humor with a renewed appeal.
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
THE COYOTE
New Professors on Campus
Gilbert ‘Gib’ Nelson
Scott Knickerbocker
has never been on facebook so he doesn’t know
what “status” means.
Updated 19 minutes ago
Hometown:Most recently, Eugene, Oregon (hometown: Ashland, Oregon)
Activities:Playing acoustic roots music (guitar, banjo, fiddle), running
marathons, rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, telemark and
Nordic skiing, cycling, backpacking
Interests:See above. Also: Poetry, ecological literary criticism, foxes and
salamanders, mountains, baking pies.
Music:Old-time Appalachian, blues, Hot Club jazz and swing, jugband,
alt-country, Gillian Welch, Doc Watson, Grateful Dead, Ella
Fitzgerald, some indie rock, The Pixies, Bach’s cello suites, late
Beethoven, Erik Satie, Mole in the Ground (my band)
T.V. Shows:Kill your television! (okay, okay, I confess: sometimes “King of
the Hill”)
Movies:I *Heart* Huckabees, Little Miss Sunshine, Bagdad Cafe, Wings
of Desire, Amelie, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Muppet
Movie, Kitchen Stories, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
Books:Too many to mention. Good books. Right now I’m reading
_The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan’s Basement
Tapes_ by Greil Marcus, and _Wanderlust: A Natural History of
Quotes:Walking_ by Rebecca Solnit
“Don’t squat with your spurs on.” --Will Rogers
Education“I am at two with nature.” --Woody Allen
Info:BA (1998) Principia College, MA (2002) and PhD (2006)
Subjects:University of Oregon. I taught previously at Principia College
and University of Oregon
English, Writing, and Environmental Studies
John Thurston
is a graduated cylinder.
Updated 8 hours ago
Hometown:Louisiana
Activities:Fencing, rock climbing and mountain biking
Interests:German, carpentry, cooking
Music:most recently: The Black Keys and Junior Kimbrough
T.V. Shows:Shows? no, not really
Books:I am trying to read everything by Albert Camus. I am also a fan
of Douglas Adams
EducationUndergrad at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport,
Info:Louisiana, Graduate work at Rice University in Houston, Texas,
Postdoctoral work at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. I
taught for almost three years at The University of Iowa.
Subject:chemistry
ISSUE #1
is a commuter.
Updated 3 days ago
Hometown:Boise. I went to Roosevelt Grade School, Meridian High School
and BSU.
Activities:I am the minister for a small Church of Christ in Marsing,
Idaho. I provide legal representation for a couple of Religious/
Charitable organizations.
Interests:I enjoy strumming the guitar (mostly where no one else
can hear). My wife and I enjoy traveling, staying at bed and
breakfasts and taking in local sites. Theatre.
Music:My iPod indicates Sons of the Pioneers, Grateful Dead and
Sondheim musicals -- in that order.
T.V. Shows:Serenity
Movies:Old science fiction and horror movies.
Books:Old Testament Studies and Theology
Quotes: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
EducationBS, Boise State University (Chemistry); M.Div., Abilene Christian
Info:University; MS, Abilene Christian University (Chemistry); JD,
University of Idaho, College of Law. I spent 10 years as a
research chemist for The Dow Chemical Company in Houston,
Texas. I attended Law up at the University of Idaho and
have a solo law practice here in Caldwell. I have been teaching
chemistry courses for Treasure Valley Community College for
several years (this quarter I’m teaching Organic Chemistry and
Business Law there)
Subjects:chemistry
Paul Moulton
is unloading boxes from his move to Caldwell.
Updated last week
Activities:teaching, researching, running, backpacking, x-country skiing,
gardening, playing with my children, playing the piano.
Interests:eighteenth- and nineteenth-century music, Navajo culture,
Scottish culture, popular music, my wife (this list is not in order
of priority), my children, church.
Music:Yes, all. T.V. Shows:What’s T.V.?
Movies:Children of Heaven (Iranian) Books:Yes, I’ve read some. Most recent favorite is the John Adams
biography by David McCullough.
Quotes:“Mankind [is] your business.” adapted from Dicken’s Christmas
Carol.
EducationB.A. in humanities and music at Brigham Young University,
Info:M.M. and Ph.D. studies in musicology at Florida State
University. 21
September Calendar
CALENDAR
THE COYOTE
By DANIEL THRASHER
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
5
• Delta Tau Delta
Book Swap
12 PM
McCain
Thursday
6
• Classes begin
Friday
7
• Delta Tau Delta
BBQ
3 PM- 7PM
Hayman Porch
Saturday
Sunday
8
• Volleyball vs
Oregon Tech
7 PM - 9 PM
JAAC
9
• Volleyball vs.
Southern Oregon
7 PM - 9 PM
JAAC
10
11
12
• Greek Council
• Guitar Hero
11:30 AM- 1 PM
McCain
13
14
15
16
• Volunter Fair
• Coyote Soccer
• Coyote Soccer
11:30 AM- 1 PM
6 PM- 12 AM
McCain and Boone McCain
• Coyote Bazaar
11:30 AM - 1 PM
McCain
• Late Night
9 PM- 10PM
KAIC
17
24
19
20
21
18
• First Year Program • Foam Party
• Greek Council
• Bowling Night
11:30 AM- 1 PM
McCain
• Late Night
9 PM- 10PM
KAIC
Burke’s Bowl
Reading byAuthor
Joy Passanante
7:30 PM- 9:30 PM
McCain
25
26
27
• Greek Council
11:30 AM- 1 PM
McCain
• Late Night
9 PM- 10PM
KAIC
22
Vs. Corban
vs. Northwest
Christian
4-6 PM
• LadyYote Soccer 2 PM- 4 PM
Vs. Northwest
• OP Raft Trip
2- 4 PM
12 PM
• Phreakin’ Phrenzie OP office
• Registration Closed
• Indian Creek
1 PM
Festival
• OP Bonfire/
Campout
Quad
22
• Langroise Trio
23
07-08
7:30 PM
Langroise Recital
Hall
28
29
• LadyYote Soccer
Vs. Corban
4 PM- 6 PM
Grounds
• Lady Yote Soccer
vs. Warner Pacific
2 PM- 4 PM
• Vollyeball
vs.Northwest
• Volleyball vs.
Evergreen State
7 PM- 9 PM
JAAC
• Movie in the
Pool
30
• Weiser River Trail
6 SEPTEMBER 2007
Your Horoscope
Annoying FAQs. Annoying garage bands. Annoying couples. Another annoying set of horoscopes for your pleasure. Our
astrologer takes her usually caustic tone for the last issue of the year, but we know she (yes, our anonymous astrologer has
lady parts), along with the rest of the staff, wishes you a very merry September.
Libra (September 23-October Capricorn (December 22- January 19):
23): Libra, starting off the year on Although you may have spent the entire sum-
a high note doesn’t need to be taken mer trying to work on your figure, you still
have a long way to go, Capricorn.
literally.
Scorpio (October 24- Novem- Aquarius (January 20- February 18):
ber 21): Your need to spend cash Like a large tree being cut down, your luck will
will only be hindered by the fact
that you have no cash because
you have already spent it all
on things that don’t
need to be mentioned; like alcohol, for example.
Sagittarius (November 22- December 21): Your spe-
soon run out. Watch out for false friends.
Pisces
(February 19March 20): Your
one night encounter may leave you
burning like the
sun. There is a
medication available
for that, Pisces.
Aries (March 21- April
cial someone will leave you
19): Like a former NFL star
with a mark soon. It is highly
pleading guilty to dogfighting charges,
advisable to buy a scarf and wrap it
your
temperament will also be a cause of
around your neck.
scandal for you. Be wary of losing your temper. If found, however, please return it to the
rightful owner.
Taurus (April 20-May 20): Just like people
from Australia speak Australian, your stupidity
will only dig you into deeper holes, Taurus.
Damn it. The CIA’s been
texting me all weekend.
ISSUE #1
Gemini (May 21- June 21): A windfall
may land in your lap this month, Gemini.
The size is unknown. However, walking
through doorways backwards in public
places will increase your luck dramatically.
Cancer (June 22-July 22):
This month, you may want
to spend some time alone
and some time with friends.
Just make sure that your
friends are not all in your
head, Cancer.
Leo (July 23- August 22):
You will suffer from a bad hair
day this month, Leo. So bad that
someone will
want to take
a lawnmower
to your head
and hack off all
your hair.
Virgo (August
23- September 22): You may think
that your leadership skills are highly effective this month, Virgo. However, that
is
because you’re only listening to yourself and
avoiding the grumblings
all around you.
23
BENCHING WITH BERGER
THE COYOTE
From Jerusalem to Caldwell,
With Anticipation!
By HOWARD BERGER
Every time my plane pulls back
from the gate at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, I get weepy.
Every time the plane starts to taxi
down the runway, I get teary. I do
hate leaving Jerusalem and Israel as
I never know if I will be back. You
just don’t know what the year will
hold: possible problems with health,
with finances, or with friends or
family, COULD prevent my hopeful return to Eretz Yisrael--The
Land of Israel. So as the plane takes
off for that very long flight back to
Boise, Idaho, I look away from the
window and say a quick prayer for
my return. BUT, as the hours pass-so painfully slowly-- and the little
map on the back of the seat in front
of me shows our plane over Canada, my mood changes. Sadness gives
way to expectation and anticipation.
As our plane passes over Hudson’s
Bay, my mood becomes more and
more excited. Images in my mind
about the hills and buildings that
are Jerusalem dissolve and are replaced by images of that cluster of
buildings that are our campus. A
new academic year is about to begin
and I look forward to it as much as
I looked forward to my summer in
24
Jerusalem. To me, that is a good life: I loved taxi-ing at the Boise airport
in June and I loved landing in Boise
in August. A new academic year is
about to begin and I look forward to
it immensely--especially because the
school year begins in the Hebrew
month of Ellul.
The month of Ellul runs from August 14th until the beginning of the
High Holy Days, Rosh Hashannah,
which begin this year at sundown,
Sept 12th. The month of Ellul is
THE month of anticipation as it precedes the holiest days of the Jewish
year--the days when each Jew confronts God and gives an accounting
of her/his life. The month of Ellul is preparation. As it is stated in
the Jewish tradition: “All the month
of Ellul, before eating and sleeping,
let every person look into their soul
and search their deeds.” Note--it
does not say, look into your life and
see ALL, and ONLY, the blemishes
and failures!! One is commanded to
examine all of one’s life-to ascertain
what is working in one’s life and what
is not; to determine what was done
well and what was done not so well;
to figure out, in one’s life this year,
what needs to be perpetuated, what
needs to be enhanced, what needs
to be transformed, what needs to
be amended etc. By the time Brad
Baughman has published this in the
Coyote, my personal accounting of
the past year will have begun.
In modern Israeli Hebrew, the word
for “accounting” is “Heshbone.” It
is the same word for a bill or check
at the end of a meal. At any restaurant in Israel, someone will ask the
server for the heshbone--for the
bill so you can pay and leave. It is
an end and a beginning. You pay for
what you ordered, and enjoyed, and
then get on with the day or with the
evening. So it is at this time of year.
One does not have to accept the existence of God, to understand that
one should pay for what one did
and didn’t do. In the month of Ellul, however, it is I, Howard Berger,
who must assess my past year--it
is up to me to honestly and courageously say: “This is what I ordered
this year--what is my heshbone?”
But once confronted and accepted,
the event is over, and like the heshbone at the end of a meal, it is time
to get on with the day or the evening. At nightime, September 22nd,
I will have paid the heshbone, and
I will prepare to face the new year
with intense passion.
The year, 2006-2007 has been a
very good year. My health has been
solid; I maintain great friendships
with old friends and made a host
of new ones at the college; my car
has required a minimum of maintanence; I was able to return to Jerusalem this past summer; and Albertson College grew and flourished.
I expect no less of this upcoming
year--2007-2008!!
So as my very long plane ride
came to an end, the sadness I experienced leaving Israel was in the
past. I looked foward--to what I am
now doing--engaging in that sacred,
majestic period of self-study; awaiting to pay my heshbone for the past
year; and eagerly anticipating the
wonders and joys and adventures,
(and some disappointments, to be
sure) that are in store for me this
coming year--which will be my 25th
year at this marvelous college! To all
of you who are lucky enough to be
returning to Albertson College and
to all of you who are lucky enough to
be beginning at Albertson College, I
pray that God “renew for each of us
a very good year.” Amen.
6 SEPTEMBER 2007