ISU Bengal

Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Cody Fowers Pocatello citizens prepare to cast their votes for the Holt Arena Bond initiative.

Editors note: This new section of the Bengal is meant to present the views of the editorial staff of the ISU Bengal newspaper. It is not meant to be a statement of the views of ISU, its students or its administration. It is, however, intended to stimulate discussion on important topics facing the University as a whole. Comments and responses are encouraged and will be printed in the Letters to the Editor section of the newspaper.



Last Tuesday (Feb. 5) was a historic moment for Pocatello and ISU for two reasons. On one hand, ISU hosted what Idaho legislator Edgar Malepeai called, "By far the biggest and most enthusiastic caucus we've ever had in Bannock County." The event took place in the ISU Pond Student Union Building Ballroom where over 1,400 participants rallied overwhelmingly in favor of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

On the other hand, with more immediate and profound ramifications for Pocatello and its surrounding communities, was the Holt Arena Bond initiative held in both Pocatello and Chubbuck that same day. The purpose of the bond vote was to approve the issuing of $24 million - $20 million in Pocatello and $3.84 million in Chubbuck - to be used for renovations to Holt Arena. The funds would have been raised through property tax increases in both Pocatello and Chubbuck in the amounts of about $7 and $6.40 per $100,000 of assessed taxable value per month, respectively. The bond, however, was soundly defeated by over two-thirds of voters in both cities.

Tuesday was indeed a sad day for Pocatello and for ISU. Instead of seeing the support of the community that it has called home for over 100 years, ISU was met with contempt. Citizens were asked to support an integral part of this community, and they refused out of concerns over $7 a month.

Now that the community has refused to pay upkeep costs on the most iconic structure in the region, the students of ISU, who have seen some of the sharpest fee increases in the state over the past decade, will likely be asked to foot the bill. If this happens, it would mean a fee increase of about $100 for every full-time student.

What is ironic about this situation is that many students don't pay their own fees; their parents do, and many of those parents live right here in Pocatello. They will still end up paying for the renovations one way or the other, regardless of how (or if) they voted on the bond initiative.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools