OCTOBER 24, 2019
UIARGONAUT.COM
STUDENT LIFE
Courtesy UIdaho Memes for Scott’s Tots | Ethan Dale
The student-run UI memes page provides laughs and free expression Nicole Hindberg
ARGONAUT
It used to be UIdaho Memes for Spuddy Teens, now it’s UIdaho Memes for Scott’s Tots. The recent name change came with the announcement of President C. Scott Green, University of Idaho’s newest president. Even though the name has changed, the purpose for this page has remained the same. According to the meme Wikipedia page, a meme is “an idea behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture, often with the aim of conveying a particular phenomenon, theme or meaning represented by the meme.” Current admin and fourth-year student, Ethan Dale, designed the new banner students recognize as soon as they see it. The banner previously depicted former UI President Chuck Staben, but once Green was announced as president, they needed a new banner and a new name. The name of the page ends in the phrase “Scott’s Tots” and because of this, Dale said he decided to incorporate a tater tot in the banner. With this in mind, Dale said he used his creative liberty to make the new banner. The Facebook meme page, which is not officially associated with the university, started in 2017 and currently has almost 4,000 members, the majority of
which are students or alumni from UI. These members can post memes and share them with other students, but all posts must be approved by admins. One of the current admins, Dawson Hill, third-year student at UI, knew the students who originally started the page and has been an admin since the end of his first year. Along with approving the posts submitted by students, admins monitor those who want to join the group. This makes sure all members in the group are students or are affiliated with UI in some way. While the current admins have a group chat where they vote on questionable posts submitted to the page, not all of the admins have met each other because each of the current admins were added by a graduating admin, Hill said. Hill said he believes the page gives students a platform to discuss what’s currently going on at the university. “I think it gives students an opportunity to have a way to openly express themselves,” Hill said. “Not necessarily criticize, but poke fun at some of the things the university chooses to do and it’s not all about that.” Some of those other posts include topics such as the gnats that flooded campus last week, which made student’s trips to class more difficult than it usually is, at least according to the memes posted on that day. Dale said he enjoys being an admin because it allows him to see all the different memes students create in response to things going on at the university, allowing SEE MEMES, PAGE 4
Courtesy UIdaho Memes for Scott’s Tots | Annika Essau
ADMINISTR ATION
ASUI
Student enrollment sees slight increase Resolution aims to 11,372 - 2015
11,780 - 2016
12,072 - 2017
11,841 - 2018
11,926 - 2019
662 - 2016
710 - 2017
747 - 2018
652 - 2019
766 - 2015
discontinue fireworks Homecoming committee members oppose resolution Rachele Catt
ARGONAUT
Total enrollment
International enrollment
Increase comes from firsttime freshmen, non-degree and graduate student enrollment for 2019 Ellen Dennis
ARGONAUT
UI enrollment numbers for fall 2019 increased slightly to 11,926 students, up 85 students since fall 2018. The increase comes from firsttime freshmen, non-degree and graduate students, according to a report by UI Director of Communications Jodi Walker. Total undergraduate enrollment dropped 4% from 2018 to 2019 due to a decline in retention, or the continuing student population. Idaho
resident undergraduate enrollment is down 4.2% (full-time and part-time) from fall 2018, off-set by a slight increase in non-resident undergraduate enrollment, Walker said. The overall first-time, full-time student retention rate for fall 20182019 is 77.3%, down from 80.7% in 2017-2018. International student enrollment declined this fall, down 95 students since last fall, due to challenges in federal immigration processes, Walker said. The university continues to implement strategies to improve retention, including enhancing student financial support and the implementation of VandalStar, a webbased advising tool which functions
as a streamlined communication platform to offer faculty and staff support to all students. “Given national demographic challenges, we are pleased with the enrollment increase in our freshman class,” said University of Idaho President Scott Green in a news release. “We recognize that unmet financial need is an issue with our continuing student population and are committed to addressing this over time through Vandal Promise Scholarships as our fundraising priority.” Ellen Dennis can be reached at arg-news@uidaho.edu or on Twitter @edennis37 IN THIS ISSUE
News, 1
Life, 5
Sports, 7
Homecoming committee members rallied at Wednesday’s ASUI meeting to oppose a recent resolution regarding the discontinuation of the long-standing tradition of Homecoming fireworks. ASUI presented a resolution Wednesday to discontinue the Homecoming fireworks show over health and environtmental concerns. Marie Duncan, co-advisor to the Homecoming committee, spoke during the meeting’s open forum on her and her committee’s disappointment in the ASUI resolution to discontinuing fireworks. Duncan said she felt the
fireworks helped make Homecoming the success it has been for years. She said before the first fireworks show in 2007, both Serpentine and the bonfire did not require the crowd control, road closures or police escorts currently needed. Although she thanked everyone for their work and updated the ASUI Senate on the increased participation in homecoming events, Duncan said she felt “disillusioned” about the amount of effort put in by the committee only to be met with opposition to the fireworks. “Students put a lot of work into the whole week, a lot of even and safety planning,” Duncan said in an interview after Wednesday’s meeting. SEE FIREWORKS, PAGE 4
Soil Stewards gives students the opportunity to find their green thumb.
Idaho volleyball builds around freshman talent Kyra Palmbush.
Memes at UI are not a phase — they are a lifestyle. Read our view.
LIFE, 5
SPORTS, 7
OPINION, 9
Opinion, 9
University of Idaho
Volume 121, Issue no. 42
Recyclable