The Arbiter • arbiteronline.com

I S S U E

08 Volume 23First Issue F R E E

SepTember 9, 2010 ArbITerONLINe.COm

WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS 1–2 SPORTS 4–5OPINION 3 CULTURE 7–8

The Independent Student Voice of Boise State Since 1933

Broncos pass big test, what's next? Has construction constricted parking? Bronco fans roll into Hokie-ville!

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ASBSU hopes to upgrade perception, availability

DaviD ReeDJournalist

A bill created to help hold Associated Students of Boise State University members ac-countable to work -- includ-ing a minimum of two office hours per week and a series of reports based off meetings with administrators -- is cur-rently being evaluated by the student Senate.

"Late last year several stu-dents came to the senate committee here on campus, and questioned the job that the senators have done," Pro Tem. Mark Gehrke said. "It really helped us realize that maybe the student body wasn't being heard enough."

The accountability bill is

to put senators into a more defined role, according to College of Business and Eco-nomics Sen. Dan Fusselman.

The main point in the ac-countability bill is to allowed students to find senators at set times.

"We want to hear from ev-eryone, but students need to remember we are students too," Fusselman said.

"Overall it's a good thing because it allows for the students to have a more proactive voice, and forces the senators to have a more proactive approach to how they handle certain issues," Jordan Mitzel, a 17-year-old material science engineering major said.

Dakota Thorgren, an

18-year-old business admin-istration major thinks the student government becom-ing more proactive is a good thing.

"In the end I don't know how much more they will be able to better themselves, be-cause they aren't going and speaking with every student, which therefore will lack a student voice," he said.

Students can ask questions about the bill in the Forum Friday at 4:30 p.m. on the first floor of the Student Union Building near the Special Events Center gallery.aSBSU Senators Sarah Tatistcheff, Josh Haines and

Steven Mercado are part of the Weights and Means committee that will be amending the new aSBSU ac-countability bill. The bill, if passed, will require senators to be more accountable to constituents.

mITCh eSpLIN/The ArbITer

Secular Students Alliance examine religion, morals

MiTcH eSplinNews Producer

The Secular Student Al-liance is an organization created on campus for stu-dents who don’t believe in God or organized religion. Daniel Fusselman, officer of SSA said it was founded as an alternative for students who didn’t associate with or believe in religion.

“It’s largely educational,” he said. “It provides a com-munity for students who don’t believe in God who wish to discuss religion and theology.”

Fusselman said students

can discuss religion within a critical context where they can be open with their opinions without fear of ret-ribution. The meetings are primarily focused on learn-ing. One recent meeting was a debate regarding phi-losophy and moral thinking among members.

Events are learning-ori-ented too, according to Fus-selman. The alliance brings in speakers to discuss re-ligious and moral topics. The group plans to host a former Latter-Day Saints bishop and the president of the Idaho Humanist As-sociation.

Although the group is small, they have a very broad support base with more than 140 Facebook followers and more than 100 people on their e-mail list. The group is supported by many non-students who help coordinate events and involvement with the secu-lar community.

“Our name is definitely out there," Fusselman said. "A lot of people have heard of us.”

The SSA stirs up contro-versy with the way they view religion.

The group has Facebook “trolls,” leaving negative

comments, and receives negative e-mails, and sometimes members are harassed in public.

Fusselman said that the SSA doesn’t exist to be anti-religion, but to provide an environment for students to discuss religious and moral topics in a comfortable en-vironment.

The group doesn't hold regular meetings, but spon-sors regular events on and off campus. You can get more information by visit-ing the group's Facebook page -- Boise State Uni-versity Secular Students Alliance.

Transit Center to open

next springMaRina HUnley

Journalist

A new Transit Center will provide easier access to the bus routes and serve as a central bus and public transportation center by the Student Union Build-ing spring 2012.

The million dollar project, completely funded by grants, will make its finished appearance early next spring semester. The ultimate purpose of the project is to get the current bus stops off the main streets and to a safer destination.

Currently the bus stops are stationed outside the Administration Building on University Drive.

“This new transit center will be much larger, which will fix the congestion outside the current stops,” as-sistant at Parking and Transportation services Tyler Johnson said.

The university provides free public transportation to all students, faculty and staff through ValleyRide, so safety is a primary concern. The transit center will provide a safer environment for pedestrians travel-ing around campus, according to Johnson.

Cars will not be allowed in the new center, with the new area for bus and shuttle use only. The latest technology to reach our university is individual GPS tracking, allowing riders to know the exact time and place of each stop.

“We’re hoping to include GPS screens in the Transit Center in a way so students can track exact-ly where the bus is en route,” Assistant Director of Parking and Transportation Services JC Porter said.

The information is helpful when planning on-time arrival to classes and events on campus. To access the system, visit the website, boisestatebus.com. The website shows the direct route of the shuttles.

Johnson hopes for an upgrade in safety as well as the opportunity to give students a chance to be green on campus.

Porter said until construction is completed, to bare with all of the construction, watch signs and don’t walk in the street.

Entering the SUB from the games center entrance, special events center or east entrances in recom-

construction is underway on the new SUB Transit center that is expected to open next spring. it will serve as an easy access hub for busses and shuttles.

mITCh eSpLIN/The ArbITer

reNderINg COurTeSy Of A&e ServICeS

The complete bill:Accountability StatementI ___________ will honor all conditions put forth in this

statement and hold myself to them to the best of my ability:I will hold myself to Boise State’s Statement of Shared

Values. (See attachment)I will hold myself to the ASBSU Code of Ethics. (See at-

tachment)I will set aside a minimum of two hours of office time per

week in which I am available for students, faculty, admin-istrators, or employees to come talk with me. This time and location is to be posted on the ASBSU website.

I will turn in a “Constituency Report” to the Senate Pro Tempore once a month to share what I have accomplished with other senators as well as the students of Boise State University.

Committees I am a part of will submit a written report of the actions or discussions that have taken place to the Sen-ate Pro Tempore once a month in addition to the minutes taken by the scribe.

I will participate in the University Outreach Program by which I will meet with Boise State administrators once a month to help maintain the ASBSU Senate’s awareness of issues as well as widening the scope of ASBSU’s network.

If I am a college senator, I will meet with my college’s dean once a month to discuss issues facing students in my college.

If I violate any of the terms above I will be held account-able by my peers within the ASBSU Senate and will be subject to their judgment.

Contact your senator:Sarah Tatistcheff, College

of Arts and Sciences, sarah.tatistcheff@gmail.com

Ken Fukumoto, Col-lege of Engineering, Ken.R.Fukumoto@gmail.com

Contact information is not listed for: Justine Knudson, Health Sciences; Dan Fussel-man, Business and Econom-ics; Josh Haines, Education; and Evan Bashir, Social Sci-ences and Public affairs.

For information, visit the ASBSU website, ASBSU.boi-sestate.edu

CAMPUSRIME September 4, 2010AuguSt 23, 2010

Aug. 31, 9 A.m.: theft inSide the Student union building; bAckpAck left unAttended And tAken.Aug. 31, 4 p.m.: bike Stolen from At mAnor ApArtmentS. bike lock wAS cut, bike tAken from rAck.

Sept. 1, 5 p.m.: urinAting in public on the northeASt Side of bronco StAdium. Subject wAS cAught urinAting And wAS cited.

The Arbiter • arbiteronline.com

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 ARBITERONLINE.COM news2

BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY

Student Union Fine Arts

Study: Oil from Gulf spill will not create ‘dead zones’

Pastor plans to burn Islamic holy book

Curtis MorganMcClatchy Newspapers

The report is the lat-est to suggest chemically dispersed oil suspended near the sea floor did not become the drifting cloud of death some doomsay-ers had predicted. Instead, currents and oil-eating microbes appear to have steadily dissipated and de-graded the crude in the two months since BP capped its well, said Steven Murawski, chief fisheries scientists for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-tion and leader of a team of scientists that produced the report.

Plumes once stretching miles from the belching well have broken into dis-connected pieces that are "harder and harder" to find, he said, as the concentra-tions fade to levels barely detectable by the most so-phisticated instruments.

The oil, Murawski said, has become "like a shadow out there."

Though the "sag" in levels of life-giving oxygen, cre-ated by an explosion of bac-teria feasting on the surge in food, posed no problem for marine life, Murawski cautioned it will take much more data and time before scientists can pronounce the threats over for the Gulf's fragile food web.

Oil-eating bacteria, for instance, eat the lightest of the dozens of compounds comprising crude oil, leav-ing behind the heaviest and most toxic pollutants, including dozens of PAHs (poly-aromatic hydrocar-bons) that can cause cancer or genetic mutations. Even minute amounts could po-tentially damage tiny plank-ton and fish larvae, the vulnerable base of the food web, Murawski said.

"Are we going to skip a generation on things like bluefin tuna?" he asked. "That's another question we will try to answer."

Still, the data offered the latest evidence that the Gulf

was showing considerable natural resilience to the ef-fects of the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

When the plumes were first detected between 3,300 and 4,300 feet below the surface in May by scientists from the University of Geor-gia and then confirmed by researchers from the Uni-versity of South Florida, the unprecedented discovery raised concerns that a mis-tlike mass of oil combined with chemical dispersant could be worse for ma-rine life than crude itself -- either proving outright toxic or triggering a frenzy of blooming bacteria that would consume all the oxy-gen from the deep zone.

A subsequent series of reports produced largely by government agencies have been far more upbeat. The latest report on oxygen data, based on May-to-August sampling from 419 spots as far as 60 miles from BP's well, found average levels down only about 20 per-cent. Murawski said levels would have to drop another 70 percent to reach the ox-ygen-starved hypoxic range that defines a dead zone.

The Gulf is already pep-pered with them, includ-ing one of the largest in the world that forms every sum-mer from pesticides, fertil-izers and other chemicals pouring out of the Missis-sippi River.

The 95-page report, pro-duced by the Joint Analysis Group, which is comprised mainly of government sci-entists with some academic input, also appeared to vali-date the unprecedented and controversial use of disper-sants on the leak some 5,000 feet down.

In a move opposed by many environmental groups and scientists, the federal government al-lowed BP to pump nearly 800,000 gallons of chemical dispersants into the flow-ing oil. The tactic may have contributed to the plumes, producing fine droplets that remained suspended deep

beneath the sea, but it also did what it was intended to do, Murawski said.

"The whole theory of us-ing dispersants was, you would make the droplets small enough so that they would be rapidly consumed by bacteria," he said. "That is what is happening."

The report follows a study published by another team of federal scientists in the journal Science late last month that described a newly identified microbe doing much of the cleanup work underwater.

Lead author Terry Ha-zen, a microbiologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, had predicted bacteria would make quick work of the spill and contin-ued monitoring has con-firmed that, he said. Hazen goes further than the joint group's study, pronouncing the plume "gone."

"If there is anything there, it is in very low concentra-tions," he said during an in-terview last month.

Other recent studies by academic groups, however, suggest the potential for continuing impacts. Tests last month by a University of South Florida team, which returned from the Gulf this week, produced prelimi-nary results showing water samples collected far from the well caused damage to exposed plankton.

The group also found oil in bottom sediments. In a blog post Sunday, Uni-versity of Georgia marine scientist Samantha Joye, leader of the team that first discovered the plumes, re-ported finding oil in bottom sediments 16 miles from the well during an ongoing voy-age.

Richard Camilli, an as-sociate scientist of ocean physics and engineering at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, said there was little question that time, ocean currents and the Gulf's microbes would render much of the remaining oil undetectable.

stephen hudakMcClatchy Newspapers

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The pas-tor of a tiny Gainesville, Fla., church refused to heed pleas Tuesday from the U.S. Com-mander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, and religious leaders to abandon plans to mark Saturday's anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a bonfire fueled by 200 cop-ies of the Quran, the Islamic holy book.

Known for his fiery anti-Islam diatribes, Pastor Terry Jones of the 50-member Dove World Center Outreach told The Associated Press he was praying over his deci-sion, though other church members said they be-lieved the burning would be destroying evil.

"What we're trying to do is get people to wake up to what Islam is," said Fran Ingram, a member of Dove World Center Outreach who posted "Ten Reasons to Burn a Koran" on a church-spon-sored blog. "We're acting in obedience to God."

Ingram added: "As far as we know, we're going for it."

Petraeus warned in an e-mail to The Associated Press that "images of the burning of a Quran would undoubt-edly be used by extremists in Afghanistan -- and around the world -- to inflame public opinion and incite violence." He said the book burning would imperil U.S. soldiers and civilians and the war ef-fort in the Islamic nation.

Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe issued a public state-ment condemning the church's plan, describing it as "a tiny fringe group and an embarrassment to our

community."Muslims consider the

Quran, sometimes called the Koran, to be the final word of God and insist that it be treated with deep reverence, said Imam Muhammad Mus-ri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida in Orlando.Also, a coalition of Muslim, Christian and Jew-ish leaders held a news con-ference in Washington on Tuesday to condemn Jones' statements and other slurs aimed at Muslims nation-wide. However, Ingram said the church believes "Islam is of the devil," which is not only the title of Jones' recent-ly co-published book but a slogan stamped on $14.99 coffee mugs and $15.99 T-shirts available through the church's website.

Ingram, who answered the phone nonstop at the church office, said Jones was not available for an interview Tuesday as he was "totally booked" for the day, meeting with television crews from national news programs.

Jones, 58, posts sermons and other teachings on You-Tube under the heading, "The Braveheart Show," and announced the burning of the Islamic holy text in a vid-eo, saying, "This book is not a book of peace; this book is responsible for 9/11."

Dove World's Facebook page was peppered Tues-day with opposition mes-sages, many pleading for the outspoken pastor with the bushy, white mustache to abandon his event, some echoing Petraeus' concerns.

Others branded his planned bonfire as "un-Christian" and "un-American."

Musri said he and other Muslims have remained si-lent but plan to participate in peaceful interdenomina-tional services in Gainesville with Christians and Jews that are intended to blunt Jones and his message.

"We are ignoring him," Musri said of Jones. "All the Christians I know are not like him."

Since Jones first an-nounced his plan to mark the ninth anniversary of the ter-rorist attacks by burning the Quran, he has received more than 200 copies of the holy book and intends to set them ablaze on church grounds, though he lacks a city per-mit to do so. The church's application for a permit was rejected because it failed to meet guidelines for an open-air burning, which do not specifically address books, but forbid burning of office paper, Gainesville spokes-man Robert Woods said. He said the city will weigh op-tions if the fire is lit. First of-fenders of the city ordinance usually receive a warning.

Gainesville is the home of the University of Florida and is usually in the spot-light for its beloved Gators football team, who will play host Saturday afternoon to South Florida before the book-burning event, set for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For more content related to Islam and America, see "My First Ramadan in the US," by BSU student Adil Bentahar of Morocco, "Where has all the love gone?" by Dick Pol-man, "The Weekly Buzz Kill: American Extremists" by col-umnist Josh Gamble, or our video interview with BSU student Zayed Alnefaia.

one of the four kemp's ridley sea turtles that were released by the institute for Marine Mammal studies in the Mississippi sound Monday morning near ocean springs, Mississippi, on august 30, 2010.

MCT CAMPuS

The Arbiter • arbiteronline.com

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 ARBITERONLINE.COM

OpiniOn3

Josh GambleOnline Editer

By now we're all sick of hearing about the “Ground Zero Mosque,” but there are plenty of other proposed mosques around the coun-try that aren’t on any sort of hallowed ground. (Is there such thing as hallowed ground in Wisconsin?) Three such mosques that are encountering community backlash are in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Temecula, Calif., and Sheboygan, Wis.

In Murfreesboro, local politicians have ac-tually made opposing the proposed mosque part of their political platform. Hundreds showed up at a county meeting to protest the mosque.

In California, some of the protesters brought dogs with them to an Islamic prayer meeting, knowing that dogs are considered ritually unclean by Islam. That’s like throwing pork sausages at a Jewish synagogue in the middle of worship. After reading about the event, I was about to shout “Who does that?!” and then I remembered who does that. Sur-prise, surprise, the protest was lead by Tea Partiers.

Obviously the Dove World Outreach Cen-ter, a non-denominational church of about 50 members, heard about the dogs, because they plan on upping the ante on Saturday. On the ninth anniversary of the World Trade Center attack, Pastor Terry Jones is leading his congregation in a Qur’an burning.

Did I mention that this is a church called The Dove World Outreach Center? What kind of outreach is this? Reach out and slap 1.5 bil-lion people in the face? The church was de-nied a burning permit by the city of Gaines-ville, Fla. and was also denounced by The National Association of Evangelicals and The National Council of Churches.

Even General David Petraeus, head of the Afghanistan war effort, wants Jones to call off the event, saying, "Images of the burning of a Qur'an would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan -- and around the world -- to inflame public opinion and in-cite violence. Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy...."

When the General of the US Army thinks what you’re doing something stupid, you’d better sit up and pay attention.

Jones is also the author of the book “Islam is of the Devil.” He believes that the goal of every Muslim is to impose Shariah Law, i.e. Islamic Holy Law, on America and overthrow the entire western world.

Incidentally, this sentiment is shared by many of the mosque protesters around the country, such as one woman who told The New York Times, “I learned that in 20 years with the rate of the birth population, we will be overtaken by Islam, and their goal is to get people in Congress and the Supreme Court to see that Shariah is implemented. My children and grandchildren will have to live under that.”

With nearly 20 percent of Americans claim-ing that our President is secretly Muslim, it makes me wonder how many marginally more sane Americans share this sentiment.

Right now, Americans are afraid. They’re afraid because of war, world unrest and eco-nomic uncertainty. So why are these luna-tics fanning the flames?! Next time you hear someone going on about Muslim extremists undermining America and how mosques are terrorism monuments, tell them to shut the hell up! Things are hard enough for Ameri-cans right now. Things are even harder for the majority of the Muslim world. The last thing they need is to feel hated and reviled in a country that stands for freedom, justice and religious liberty.

So do America a favor this Saturday. Burn a Tea Party pamphlet.

An endangered speciesThis year, 4,029 general permits were sold, despite 1,932 general parking spaces being available.

JESSICA SWIDER/THE ARBITER

Lack of general parking leads to more stress for students, less money in the bankKarey hoKe

Journalist

Last year, Boise State had multiple parking lots across campus dedicated to those with a general parking permit. Stu-dents unwilling to pay outra-geous permit prices could find decent parking spots near prac-tically any building.

This year, if students have a class in, say, the Education Building, and are unwilling to fork over nearly $300 for a re-served permit, they have a long walk to look forward to every day. The general parking lots located on the west side of cam-pus have been demolished and there are no plans to build more general parking areas.

Instead, BSU will be con-structing more reserved park-ing garages and lots. Obviously, the prices will be either the same or more than the current reserved prices. But to the cur-

rent students who are already paying thousands of dollars to attend BSU and are unwilling or unable to purchase a pricey permit, the lack of parking for a reasonable expense is outra-geous.

“Last year it was $90 [to buy a general permit] and this year it was $106. It’s horrible. I can’t af-ford a pass for the garages. They have left us with minimal use-ful parking spots,” said junior Abbie Haynes, a psychology and pre-occupational therapy major. “Most classes are on the opposite side of campus from the stadium, where most gen-eral parking is. To get to class on time, you have to get there 30 minutes early just to park and walk across campus.”

A fact to remember: BSU is still a commuter school. For students who don’t live within biking or walking distance, in-creased permit prices -- on top of taking away affordable park-

ing and on top of gas prices be-ing through the roof -- are ex-tremely inconvenient.

BSU currently boasts eight general parking lots. This year, 4,029 general permits were sold. Conversely, only 1,932 general parking spaces are available. In other words, BSU vastly oversold general parking permits.

For the two garages and vari-ous reserved parking areas, the number of permits sold is monitored very closely so those who buy them are 100 percent guaranteed a space each day. However, the sky is apparently the limit where general permits are concerned.

Ideally, half the student pop-ulation would attend morning classes and the other half would have afternoon and night class-es. However, the majority of students attending BSU are on campus for significant amounts of time every day of the week.

General permit holders are also screwed if there happens to be an event on campus on a day where those who are paying for said permits are attending class. According to the Trans-portation and Parking Services website, permit holders may be asked not to park in the BSU lots when events are scheduled. People attending events on campus can pay a small fee to park in practically any lot.

“Not only are we paying more, but there are less spots. I don’t understand how this works whatsoever,” said BSU sophomore and psychology major Moriah Smith, regarding event parking.

It is commendable to be look-ing to the future and for ways to improve our university. How-ever, current students who are already paying an arm and a leg to attend BSU deserve prior-ity over potential students and event spectators.

on september 11, protesters plan to burn 200 copies of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, ignoring pleas from the U.s. com-mander in afghanistan to stop.

JESSICA SWIDER/THE ARBITER

Where has all the love gone?McClatchy News

With so many opportunists in high dudgeon about Muslims in our midst, perhaps it'd be wise to quote a notably tolerant Re-publican:

"America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incred-ibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doc-tors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entre-preneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads. And they need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fel-low Americans must treat each other with respect. ... They love America just as much as I do."

On Sept. 17, 2001, so said

President George W. Bush.Hey, I'm starting to miss the

guy. Notwithstanding all the disastrous aspects of his presi-dency, his generous, inclusive attitude toward immigrants of color -- particularly Muslim-Americans in the wake of 9/11 -- was always in the finest American tradition. We could use a sustained dose of his tone today. Unfortunately, the con-servative movement that he twice led to victory now seems to have shelved that pluralis-tic tradition, preferring instead to sow fear to reap short-term political gain. And not a single prominent Republican politi-cian has had the courage -- heck, it's not even courage, it's a duty -- to step forward and de-

nounce the roiling irrationality that currently infects our politi-cal discourse.

So we're stuck with the faux issue of a "ground zero mosque" that's actually not just a mosque (it's a proposed community center with an interfaith board of directors) and not at ground zero; with Newt Gingrich equat-ing all Muslims with Nazis; with myriad attacks on mosques in Florida (pipe bombs, bullets); with Sarah Palin Twittering her simplicities; with an evangeli-cal pastor who plans to mark the 9/11 anniversary by burning copies of the Quran.

Go to arbiteronline.com to read the full article

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Christine Ritchie, Daniel Priddy, Edina Macic, Eva Hart, Gabbi Brandini, Gabriel Iacoboni, Jana Hoffman, Jessica Cope-land, Joe Sook, Justin Dalme, Lance Moore, Lauren Hooker, Marshell Martinez, Nikki Hanson, Sam Royce, Sherika Mar-tinez, Stephanie Sheibe, Tony Madonna, Tony Rogers, Wyatt Martin

The Weekly Buzzkill

American Extremists

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SportSSEPTEMBER 9, 2010 ARBITERONLINE.COM

4

Pop the clutchBroncos complete first test in potentially historic 2010 season

KirK BellManaging Editor

LANDOVER, Md. -- The Boise State Broncos consis-tently come through in the moments that count most. In a game where many fans and media view as setting the stage for what only seems the next step for the Broncos -- a shot at a na-tional title -- they knocked down a wall, seem-ingly destined to make history.

In BSU’s 33-30 vic-tory against Virginia Tech Monday at FedEx Field, the Broncos proved to be clutch in the heaviest of situations.

VT was a short pass away on third and eight, fail-ing to execute and close out the game. They didn’t come through thanks to a solid BSU defense. Clutch.

Junior quarterback Kel-len Moore performed un-der pressure to continue yet another clutch per-formance with the help of other clutch players, namely senior wide receiv-er Austin Pettis.

“There’s not a more clutch player in the coun-try than Austin Pettis,” BSU head coach Chris Petersen said. “He’s spectacular. He’s just going to make plays whether he’s on spe-cial teams or at wide re-ceiver. He’s as good as they come.”

Pettis' two touchdowns on six receptions against VT helped to further sharp-en the knife that could cut straight to the heart of what the BCS system does, try to keep BSU and any other non-automatic qual-ifier out of the BCS bowls. He scored 14 touchdowns last season despite suffer-ing an injury against Ne-vada that kept him limited in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl. He caught a pass on a fourth down -- still limited be-cause of injury -- that led to a field goal to extend an early lead. Clutch.

BSU’s youngest players contributed to the final drive in a way that can only be ingrained by the coach-ing staff. Sophomore wide receiver Mitch Burroughs and redshirt freshman tight end Gabe Linehan were two key components to the Broncos’ game win-ning drive. Burroughs struck with the final punt return for 25 yards to the BSU 44 yard line, which set up Moore and company to masterfully dissect the Hokie defense. Linehan caught his first collegiate

pass for 11 yards and a first down to stop the clock, al-lowing the BSU offense to move to the line and catch VT defenders off bal-ance and in the process of exchanging players. Bur-roughs caught another pass on the sideline for five yards to set up the veterans to find the end zone and a victory. Clutch.

“It’s great for those young kids to step up,” Pe-tersen said of Linehan and Burroughs. “We’ve liked those kids for a long time.”

Junior defensive end Shea McClellin displayed the same tenacity against the Hokies as he did in the Broncos’ final spring game. He pinned his ears back and gunned for VT’s senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor, recording 2.5 sacks and four tackles for loss -- one sack which came on the second down of VT’s final drive. McClellin provided insurmountable amounts of pressure on

the Hokie running backs and Taylor, forcing them to look uncomfortable when trying to run around him.

Finally, senior corner-back Brandyn Thompson made a spectacular leap on a long ball to Hokie wide receiver Dyrell Rob-erts that would have all but closed the deal on a VT win. Thompson tipped the ball from Roberts' grasp and swiped a crucial down from the Hokies. Clutch.

Petersen, staff and play-ers don’t just have a phi-losophy the Broncos play by. It’s more something they live by. The commit-ment to avoid discussing the possibility of a nation-al championship allows them to focus on simply playing the game the way they do every day in prac-tice.

“Philosophy is so much mumbo jumbo most of the time,” Petersen said in a press conference prior to Monday’s game. “It’s words

on paper that everybody has in business, in football and sports. A lot of times people get derailed from living those words. One of the things I think gives us some traction and some direction is the philoso-phy in terms of the types of kids we want here, the type of coaches we want here, how we’re going to coach them, how we’re going to treat them, our standards, our goals, all those type of things. And we talk about them all the time. And our coaches, you know it might start with me, but those are the guys that really in-doctrinate our players into how we do things. And they’re genuinely good guys. And I think when you work as hard as we do of trying to get good players who are great kids that buy into this, and we spend a lot of time talking about it, hopefully it goes semi how we want it to go.”

Clutch.

Boise State tight end Tommy Gallarda was clutch for the Broncos Monday night, pulling in a one-handed touchdown from Kellen Moore in the first half.

NIk BjuRSTROM/THE ARBITER

JuSTin DalMeJournalist

Sweep. That’s what the vol-leyball team did to Utah Val-ley last night, taking down the Wolverines 3-0.

The energy was electric be-fore the start of the game. The Blue Thunder Pep Band was playing in the background as the volleyball team huddled together, getting pumped for their match against Utah Val-ley.

The girls started their eve-ning strong, compiling three service aces and three team blocks. Two of those blocks came back-to-back when sophomore outside hitter Fiona Jones denied the Utah Valley offense. The Bron-cos took the lead and held it throughout the first set.

Senior Alisha Young’s spike put the first set away in style as the broncos took it 25-17.

In the second set, the Bron-cos had to stare adversity in the eye. The girls got out to a slow start, falling behind 1-4.

“Keep it up Broncos,” soph-omore Kersti Whitney yelled, encouraging her teammates. The team stayed three or four points down for most of the set, before tying it up 14-14. They then fell behind again, looking at a 22-19 deficit. With time running out in the second set, they went on a tear, scoring six out of the fi-nal seven points to come back and take the game 25-23.

“We all helped each other along the way, and just came back,” Jones said. “We had to

focus as a team, and do our parts.”

While Utah Valley could have given up after their col-lapse in the second set, they did not. The third set was back and forth as the teams traded points. But, in the end, the Broncos edged out the Wolverines 25-23, taking the game 3-0.

“Utah Valley is a good team," head coach Shawn Garus said. "They’re a scrap-py team. They have a good outside hitter. It’s a good win for us. That’s a team that beat us twice last year, so it’s good for us to get a win against them.”

“We played a little safe early in that game and Utah Valley started doing some things really well," Garus said. "We needed to be more aggres-sive, and that’s what we did at the end of the game.”

Boise State brought the heat on their serves, getting five service aces. The team also had nine total team blocks.

The two top scorers of the night were Young for Boise State, and Kayli Doxey of Utah Valley, both netting 14.5 .

Boise State now goes on the road, playing its next nine games away from Bronco Gym, but they ended their home stand in style.

“It feels great," Jones said. "It’s gonna be a long week, and I hope it carries through.”

“This is a really long road trip, the longest road trip of the year," Garus said. "I have a good feeling about it.

Volleyball takes down Utah Valley

BSu volleyball swept utah Valley 3-0 on Tuesday night.ROBBI MILO/THE ARBITER

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 ARBITERONLINE.COM CULTURE B

The Arbiter • arbiteronline.com

SPORTS 5

Cowboys a trap

game for BSU

Joey McculloughSports Producer

Since January 2010, Bronco Nation counted down the days until Boise State trekked to the nation's capital to face the Virginia Tech Hokies. In-side the football facility hung a clock counting down the day of the game.

Bronco fans all over-held their breath for four quarters of the game and now can let out a deep exhale. The Bron-cos looked as if they were go-ing to run over the Hokies. Due to self-inflicted wounds and Tyrod Taylor, who is a version of Michael Vick, the game turned into a nail-biter. The Broncos, in typical fash-ion, put together a well-exe-cuted drive to win the game. As ESPN’s Joe Schad put it via his Twitter account, “Boise won again and I didn't see any hooks, ladders or statues on FedEx Field.”

So Bronco Nation can breath easily for a week, but the season continues Satur-day, Sept. 18 against the Wyo-ming Cowboys in Laramie, Wyo.

Just a side note, Wyoming might have one of the tough-est schedules in the country because by week seven they will have played No. 5 Texas, No. 3 Boise State, No. 4 TCU and No. 20 Utah.

Anyway, Wyoming can be seen as a trap game for the Broncos, which means you don’t have to hold your breath, just don’t get careless. BSU earned the huge victory and now gets a week off. A team like Wyoming can easily be overlooked, but the Bron-cos are a team that won’t look any further than the Cowboys.

The Pokes are a passing team. Sophomore quarter-back Austyn Carta-Samuels completed 26 of 32 passes for 312 yards. What makes a team like Wyoming dangerous is that they have nothing to lose against a team like BSU.

The Cowboys were project-ed to go 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference this season and to upset a top 25 team would make their year. This is not insinuating that Wyo-ming is going to beat BSU, but no team should ever be over-looked. A team like Wyoming beat Fresno State last season in New Mexico.

The Cowboys played im-pressively in that bowl and in a game against the Broncos, it will take their best efforts.

Freshmen strikers emergeBroncos soccer team rely on freshmen players to supply an offensive spark early in the seaon

Nikki haNsoN Journalist

The Boise State women’s soccer team found its rhythm after a 3-1 win against Colo-rado College Aug. 29.

Gabby Garcia, Tylyn Hughes and Katy Ohering were responsible for the Broncos' three goals, creating a freshman powerhouse. The new additions to the team scored their first career goals as Broncos during the heated match with the Tigers.

“Well, since it was my first college goal it felt amazing," Garcia said. "So it was actu-ally kind of shocking in a way. I kind of just went out of it smiling and laughing."

“It’s exciting for them to do what they did," head coach Steve Lucas said. "Those girls have been doing a good job. We brought them in to do that and when we sent them in and made those substitu-tions on Sunday we told them that they needed to keep the level up.”

It is essential to stay fo-

cused, and the players realize it as they make a balancing act of school and soccer.

“It’s tough," junior goal-keeper Liz Ruiz said. " A lot of the time you get the free time and you use that to study or do your homework, every second that you get."

Ruiz played a large role in the team’s success against Colorado. She made 13 cru-cial saves during the game, tying for third most in a match at Boise State. In addi-tion, Ruiz has been a pivotal player for the Broncos. She was named top goalkeeper of

the Western Athletic Confer-ence Tournament last year, an excellent finish to her sophomore season.

“It was a good accomplish-ment for me to be rewarded for how hard I worked all sea-son in the tournament,” Ruiz said.

In preparation for this sea-son, Ruiz hopes to continue to improve from her success last year.

“During the summer I played in Colorado on a semi-pro team, so that really helped me coming in and I only took two weeks off be-

fore we started pre-season. So for me personally, that was the best thing I could have done," Lucas said. “We are pretty much into our rhythm now, and know that we have to keep making progress in practice to get to where we want to be.

The women's soccer team feels this is the breakout season the team has been for which it has been waiting.jOSh RASMuSSEN/ThE ARBITER

The Arbiter • arbiteronline.com

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 ARBITERONLINE.COM

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today’s birthday (9/9/10) your favorite person faces big chal-lenges this year. get ideas from all group members for problem solv-ing. your attitude helps to lift spirits and maintain a more optimistic perspective. you still have time to pursue your own goals with flair.to get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

aries (march 21-april 19) today is a 6 - someone close to you experiences a depressing moment. to shift the mood, offer alternative plans of action that they are blind to. taurus (april 20-may 20) today is a 7 - someone begins the day in a funk. you can shift that by providing independent activities that emphasize personal strengths. Gemini (may 21-June 21) today is a 7 - today’s actions take place in your mind’s eye. the vari-ety of possibilities seems endless. Come down to earth tomorrow after a night of dreams. cancer (June 22-July 22) today is a 6 - your imagination carries you away, and that’s all right. today you hatch new plans and wait until later to put them into action. enjoy the process. leo (July 23-aug. 22) today is a 9 - recall a dream or create one today as you seek excite-ment in a relationship. doubt falls away as you move closer. generate and amplify the energy to build it up.

Virgo (aug. 23-Sept. 22) today is a 6 - where relationships are concerned, you’re on a roll this week. Continue that trend by working to balance your urge for independence with passion. libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) today is a 9 - you begin to wonder what you were thinking when you started out. don’t be disheartened: just re-examine the logic to get back on track. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) today is a 6 - if you worry by your-self, you won’t get your questions answered. say what’s on your mind out loud. then listen. this provides an entirely new outlook. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) today is a 7 - emails or calls leave you wondering if you want to be part of the group. define the struc-ture and plan first. then make your decisions. capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) today is a 6 - your imagination has been working overtime. you may have felt a bit depressed, but now your thoughts move ahead toward logical, harmonious outcomes. aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) today is a 7 - urgent travel requires multiple changes of plans. act with compassion, and take care of business. handle crucial details yourself. Pisces (Feb. 19-march 20) today is a 5 - after a few moments of pondering financial news, you shift into an imaginative sphere to create more expansive possibilities. tell your partner. ___(c) 2009, tribune media services inc.distributed by mcClatchy-tribune information services.

Sud

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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

ACROSS1 Bit of cat chat5 Phobia

10 Cell signalstrengthindicators

14 __ mater15 Unconventional16 Atty.-to-be’s

challenge17 Indian princess18 Flightless birds19 Where some

descents start20 Elite socialite22 Place for a

finance major24 Dick and Harry’s

leader?25 __ name:

computer ID26 “__ size fits all”27 Delivery method31 Russian coins33 Grinders34 1960s Canadian

prime ministerPearson

36 Pound of poetry37 Planned attack

times38 Middle __42 Ironic tales’ tails44 Sharapova of

tennis45 Low parts48 Online investing50 Bambi’s aunt51 “Baseball

Tonight” channel53 Like some

stocks, for short54 Camera lens

ratio56 Bare wear60 Wasatch

Mountains skiresort

61 Body-care brandnamed from theLatin for “snow-white”

63 Sch. withRiverside andIrvine campuses

64 Soup vegetable65 Stunning weapon66 Tableland67 __ majesty68 Like some bars69 Pitt in films

DOWN1 Kate of “We Are

Marshall”2 Airline to Ben-

Gurion3 Prefix with bus4 Oxford vests5 Moola6 German coal

valley7 Riviera season8 Emirate natives,

mostly9 Menu heading

10 Not at allscintillating

11 Comparable to acucumber

12 Punk rock iconJoey

13 Inscribed slabs21 Young ‘uns23 Rock’s Mötley __25 Yet to be had27 Revolutionary

Guevara28 “Oh yeah? __

who?”29 Misjudge30 Auto pioneer32 Bit of a fairy tale

trail35 Process: Abbr.

37 Begs to differ39 Jackie’s “O”40 Sloth, for one41 Price indicator43 Hall of Fame

NFL coachEwbank

44 Dillon of “There’sSomething AboutMary”

45 Happen to46 Shakers founder

47 Pan-fries49 Prayer beads52 Trojan War king55 Brand56 Computer nerd57 “Happy birthday”

writer, perhaps58 Org. that

reaches for thestars?

59 “I’m __ it’s over”62 Brandy letters

Tuesday’s Puzzle SolvedBy Mangesh Sakharam Ghogre 9/8/10

(c)2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc. 9/8/10

Crossword

It’s easy!There are four ways to do it:

1. go to www.arbiteronline.comand click on the link to the classifieds section and place your ad online, 24-7.

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3. stop by our office across the street from the suB (the one with the big ramp in the front).

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The Arbiter • arbiteronline.com

Culture7

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 ARBITERONLINE.COM

College football fans often take their allegiance seriouslyDaniel PriDDy

Journalist

In this country, college foot-ball can be more than just a game.

Be it at home, in a bar or a stadium, college football can alter minds. It can turn the normal into the fanatical, the stoic into the emotional, the depressed into the joyous. It fulfills the dreams of a com-munity that lives vicariously through young men in pads and cleats.

It often elicits passionate and communal aspects hu-man beings possess. Monday night's game against Virginia Tech was no different. It's not that college football turns good people into bad people. It's just in that moment, when it's third and one and the ene-my is in the “red zone,” an oth-erwise “nice” man can come to lash out against opposing players as if he wants them to fail horribly.

“Make it hurt,” you hear him scream. “I want to see him on a stretcher!”

What is it about the sport that creates this?

Mark Turner, Ph.D., a game attendee and Boise State alumnus who now lives in Se-attle, attributes people's hys-terical actions to the madness of crowds.

“An individual person thinks before he acts," Turner said. "But a crowd does not think. It simply reacts.”

A question posed to several local fans and game attendees was: "Why do you 'hate' VA Tech players?"

“It's not that I hate them,” John Rosco, a Boise native, said. “I hate what they rep-

resent. They come from a big school in the East coast. Everybody knows that East coasters look down on people from states like Idaho.”

In truth, it is unlikely that the average Virginian has spent more than one minute of his life giving thought one way or another to the state of Idaho. But Monday, it was them versus us.

“Where is Boise, Idaho?” asked a VA Tech fan smelling of alcohol. “Is it near Iowa?"

Big school, small school; famous state, obscure state. That's what it all comes down to.

College football is a provin-cial and regionalized sport-ing event in this country. And though it does not draw the same attention as the FIFA World Cup or the NFL Super Bowl, it still hits people on a personal level. Save basket-ball’s “Final Four,” there is rarely such extreme national media coverage in places like Eugene or Boise.

In college football, small cities field big time programs. It's common for a stadium to seat more people than a small Idaho town's entire popula-tion. This is also perhaps what makes it so personal.

“Idahoans are a proud people, but we are also a little short on self-esteem,” said Nampa native Ryan Ro-driguez. "We love our city, we love our school, we love our state, but get outside of the Northwest and all people know about us is potatoes. I have never seen a large po-tato farm. But that's all people used to talk about. Now when you say, 'I am from Idaho,' they say 'Oh yeah, Idaho. The Blue Turf right? It's not much, but it's something."

The victory against Virginia Tech came after a relentless six months of speculation by

national sportscasters and fans. After months of anxious-ly awaiting a prime time event and after enduring endless flight cancellations and travel problems caused by Hurri-cane Earl, fan expectations became insatiable.

"In all honesty I really don't know what I would have done if we had lost," Boise native Luke Watson said. "The game meant more to me than I real-ized."

When asked how he felt about the win, Watson re-plied, "This is the best day of my life, except for maybe when I got married."

aDil BentaharGuest writer

Living in the States as an international stu-dent has made me see my own culture through other people’s eyes, especially while I am ob-serving Ramadan beyond the borders of Morocco for the first time in my life.

Attending the variety of activities at Boise State Uni-versity, my new American and international friends often kindly offer ice cream, cookies or even invite me out for lunch or a drink. However, I have to decline the invitation -- it is Rama-dan.

In fact, in such a situa-tion, one might feel embar-rassed, guilty or torn be-tween following a religious duty and satisfying people who are merely trying to be nice and be friendly. From my experiences, it seems that many students know very little about this holy month.

Ramadan is the ninth month of Muslims’ lunar calendar. In fact, more than one billion

Muslims around the globe fast during Rama-dan from sunrise to sunset every day. Actually, no food or water is ingested during fasting. Also, sexual intercourse between husband and wife is only allowed at night, according to the Holy Book, The Qur'an.

It is with full conviction and strong belief that fasting is first and foremost a religious duty that leads Muslims to spiritual purification and self sacrifice. Ramadan is one of the five pil-lars of Islam. Even though our religion has two major sects (Sunni and Shiite), all Muslims fulfill the pillar of Ramadan, just as they do the others, such as praying and giving alms. They also go to Al Hajj, a pilgrimage -- if it's possible -- and shahada, a statement professing mono-theism and Muhammad as the messenger of Allah (God).

Ramadan is also notable for two religious events. The first is

usually on the 27th day of Ramadan. In fact, 14 centuries ago, the last 10 days of Ramadan wit-nessed an important night -- Lailat alqadr (the

My first Ramadan in the U.S.

It's 'us' agaInst 'them'

Sherika MartinezColumnist

You’ll be shocked to know that I engage in the occa-sional bad habit. And by “engage” I mean “unabash-edly revel in the awesome-ness of” said bad habit. But then again, I suppose that depends heavily on your definition of a “bad habit.”. I think a savvy girl (or guy) understands that there are three different types of hab-its, and that bad is just the beginning.

The first type of habit is the good habit, easily rec-ognized by the fact that you know you should do it, but you don’t. Examples of good habits are eating well, exer-cising regularly, eliminat-ing substance abuse, taking your birth control pill on time (or taking birth con-trol period), tolerating your family weirdo (we all have one) and avoiding signifi-cant others who would rival the Antichrist in their soul-sucking abilities. All of these are amazingly healthy and wholesome habits to have, too bad none of us care enough about the quality of our lives to do most of these with any real consistency. And I say that as a compli-ment.

The second type of habit is what I call the good bad habit -- the “guilty pleasure.” These are things we’re told aren’t good for us, maybe we even know they’re not good for us, but damn it all, there’s just nothing quite as satisfying as being bad, in a good way. The first example that springs to mind are re-ality TV shows. They aren’t a guilty pleasure of mine -- as I haven’t mastered control over my gag reflex enough to allow me to watch one all the way through -- but, as I understand from my baffled interrogations of reality TV viewers, there is satisfaction and even optimism to be found in one’s own shitty life if one can compare it to the trainwrecks who grace real-ity TV.

This brings me to the last type of habit, the truly bad habit. The heinous habit. Habits that can get you killed, beaten up, shot, im-pregnated, broke or con-ferring with WebMD on whether you can get the herp twice. Swearing, road rage, gambling, tithing to a church and sleeping with inappropriate people are all examples of heinous habits.

We’ve all done it. We’ve all woken up next to some-one and, upon seeing them, wished we hadn’t woken up at all. Ever. For me, it’s my guy friends. Terrified of commitment and lack-ing the motivation to try to find a quality shmuck from the Pool of Tool-ery that is the Boise male population, I instead mess around with dudes who, once a friend, morph into fiend.

I can blame it on the wine, on my youth or on my hor-mones, but the facts remain the same. A heinous habit is one that needs be changed, to be single and horny is a dangerous game and it is supremely lame to screw a friendship. Literally.

The savvy girl’s guide to:Habitual

happiness

See RAMADAN I next page

Eric Wilderson, business major:"My roommate's slogan was, 'If it’s yellow, keep it mellow.'He was always holding new roommate meetings that were supposed to teach us

to be more ‘gentle’ with the Earth, but he took the stereotypical granola-muncher to a whole other level. Not only did he have a full wardrobe consisting of hemp, he reeked of patchouli and absolutely refused to shower. He seriously sat in a tree continuously for 12 hours one day. Enough said.”

It's 10 o’clock on a Tuesday night. You’re dead tired and ready for some snoozing. And that’s when you hear it.

One story up and three rooms over, you hear a high-pitched laugh. You’ve got nowhere to run. The door opens as you squea-mishly pull the covers over your head when your roommate walks through the door and screams three ghastly words, “Beer pong tournament!”

Because not all students at Boise State know what it means to live with a less-than-desirable roommate, this is BSU's Horrific Room-mates 101. Topics include basic level threats, advanced thievery and intermediate trickery. Class is now in session.

STories

Room-mate

Boise State fans cheer unabashedly in a sea of hokie fans Monday at Fed ex Field in the nation's capital.

The Saucy MiSadvenTureS

Visit arbiteronline.com to see a video reenactment of this week's Roommate Horror Story.

AdIL BENTAhAR/COuRTESy

a Moroccan breakfast table is set for a family to break their fast as part of ramadan.

adil Bentahar

NIk BjuRSTROM/ThE ARBITER

The Arbiter • arbiteronline.com

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 ARBITERONLINE.COM CULTURE8

Rita abRaham Journalist

The "tramp stamp?" Or the "arm band?" Maybe the flower on the ankle?

Thinking of getting a tat-too? There are some things to keep in mind when out shopping for ink.

There are several tattoo shops within walking dis-tance of Boise State. The number and availability isn’t surprising, as tattoos are becoming more social-ly and culturally accepted, especially among college students, according to a re-cent study by Boston Uni-versity.

Tattoos can be beautiful expressions of culture and great works of art. While technology has altered the permanence of tattoos, the pain of getting one inked on coupled with the greater pain of having one removed can give some doubts. There is still a stig-ma attached to tattoos in some job markets. For ex-ample, in order to join the military, one can only have a certain percentage of the body tattooed and no tat-toos above the neck or be-low the elbow are allowed.

Tattoos use needles to drive ink into the dermis of the skin. Because this cre-ates an open wound, it’s very important to research the tattoo artist first.

“Figure out what you like," said Jon Morse, owner of Devotion Tattoo. "Find an artist … and their artwork that you like. And don’t pick out a tattoo by the price.”

There are some safety tips to follow in choosing an artist.

1) Ask to see their auto-clave, the pressurized ster-ilization machine used to clean the tattoo gun.

2) Make sure the artists use sanitary gloves.

3) Have the artists open a new package of sterilized needles in front of you be-fore starting the tattoo.

Safety in tattoo aftercare is equally important. Local tattoo artists and owners of tattoo parlors say wash-ing the tattoo with mild antibacterial soap cleans the area of leftover ink, ointment and any blood or plasma that may be seep-ing out of the new tattoo. It’s important to clean the area and pat it dry before applying another light lay-er of ointment. The idea behind this is to prevent the tattoo from scabbing which can lead to scarring and loss of color in the tat-too. If the tattoo does scab up, don’t scratch it; after a few days, you can switch to an unscented lotion af-ter cleaning. Avoid swim-ming or hot tubs for at least two weeks. After that, it’s a

good idea to put sunscreen on the tattoo when going into the sun because UV radiation can fade a tattoo very quickly.

The cost of a tattoo can vary greatly depending on the artist and what you want done. Most shop min-imums start at $50, but the cost of tattoo removal can run from between $75 and $500 per session and can take anywhere from six to eight sessions spaced at least six weeks apart for re-moval to be effective.

There are fewer experts on tattoo removal in Boise than there are tattoo shops, but Loree Nugent, adult nurse practioner of Visual Effects Salon and Spa in Garden City, advised it's still important to research doctors and their prices.

“Some doctors will charge $200 or $2,500 for a tattoo removal, and many

require the payment up front,” Nugent said.

The most common pro-cedure for tattoo removal involves lasers that break up the ink under your skin so the ink can be absorbed by the lymphatic system of the body. The sensation is said to feel like having a rubber band snapped

against your skin repeated-ly, although topical creams or ice can numb the area beforehand. The important thing to do when under-going tattoo removal is to drink plenty of water.

“I’ve seen miraculous re-sults,” Nugent said. “Drink-ing water makes a huge dif-ference.”

So you're thinking of getting a tattoo Night of Destiny/Power). Its

significance in Islam lies in the fact that the Qur'an was revealed from the Lord of the Universe, Allah, to His Mes-senger and servant: Prophet Mohammed (Peace be Upon Him). Along with the com-pletion of this sacred month, Muslims all over the world celebrate Eid al Fitr (literally referred to as the "Feast of Breaking the Fast"). In Mo-rocco, just like in many other Islamic countries, families wake up early, have a bath, get dressed (usually their best clothes) and head for the Masjid (mosque). At the Masjid, thousands of wor-shipers stand in straight and neat rows before the Imam (the religious guide and ora-tor). They all then whole-heartedly supplicate and give praise and thanks to the Almighty God.

By the dawn of this day, Muslims are expected to give alms and charity (Zakat) to the poor. This day is also fun for the children, who get new clothes. After gathering around the breakfast table, families visit each other and some seek forgiveness for perceived or actual wrong-doings in a practice called "the Eid."

Ramadan is also ben-

eficial for health. Often, we hear doctors advising their patients to skip meals for many hours or even days be-fore prescribing a new diet or treatment. Furthermore, we believe that fasting dur-ing Ramadan could also heal some psychological or emotional problems. This is evident when people avoid quarrels, firm up their will, give up smoking (which is also forbidden during the fast) and cultivate and refine their tastes and manners. In fact, one of the lessons peo-ple would take in Ramadan is to feel what others, such as orphans, endure every day throughout the year. Such sympathy softens peoples' hearts and encourages them to be kind and good to oth-ers.

This year Ramadan, in most Islamic countries, start-ed Aug. 11 and ended Sept. 9. Notably, this is also my first month living in Boise. For me, this has been a time of fasting and feasting on the opportunity that brought me to Boise State.

Adil Bentahar is an inter-national graduate student in the Department of Curricu-lum, Instruction and Foun-dational Studies at Boise State University.

Ramadan [from page 7]

aliki Doufas had a caricature of her hard-rocking husband, Denny Spinks, tat-tooed by Kevin blamire on the right side of her torso.

A MINdS EyE TATTOO/COuRTESy

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