Student Life in Idaho

The term "Thin Blue Line" is used to stress the fact that it can be broken with a lack of support from us, our representatives, and education. Just last year, a lack of support during the volatile anarchy left precincts abandoned and crippled around the country.

From the article:

"Fendley’s reasons for supporting law enforcement officials were likely not considered by BSU student leaders, who characterized the Big City Coffee shop as a haven of harm for students of color. Boise State University student government member Ryann Banks assumes as much in her complaints about the coffee shop. 

Banks is the vice president of inclusive excellence for the Associated Students of BSU. The Sept. 28 ASBSU meeting minutes show how Banks wrongly wages war on Fendley and her shop. When asked if Big City Coffee supports the pro-police Thin Blue Line movement, Banks responds, “Yes, they support Blue Lives Matter, which was created after Black Lives Matter as a counter movement.” 

Minutes from a Sept. 9 ASBSU meeting detail more of Banks’ falsehoods that led to the cancelation of Big City Coffee’s BSU contract. In that meeting, Banks said:

This company is going to encourage this type of behavior on campus and attract those types of people to our campus. It should not be up to marginalized students to fix this. It is up to the administrators to fix this and allow for students to have a voice. We have known for half a decade that they [the coffee shop] support Thin Blue Line and this is unacceptable and should have never happened.

The minutes do not show that Banks ever substantiated the claim that Big City Coffee would “encourage” any sort of behavior on campus. 

Banks kept charging at the company. She told Leslie Webb, BSU vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, “Bringing this company on campus is silencing our students and if there is a way to end this now we need to do it. Leslie, please pass this on because there will be a demonstration and actions taken against this because it is not okay.”

Amanda Hawks, another ASBSU member, joined Banks’ campaign to shut down the coffee shop. Said Hawks in the Sept. 9 student government meeting, “With Chick-Fil-A, BPD, and now Big City Coffee, [BSU] has sent a message that the campus does not support Black Lives Matter. If there is a way to reverse this decision it should be done. If they come to campus it is sending a very harmful message.”

Lest anyone think this type of social justice activism remains solely with students, one high-ranking BSU employee sees this incident as an opportunity. 

Francisco Salinas, assistant to the vice president for equity initiatives, told students at the Sept. 9 student government meeting this type of left-wing, cancel culture activism could expand to secure what he sees as desirable behavior. 

Salinas stated, “This could be the beginning of a revolution where we say that we have a standard for corporate partnerships that we have. ”He added, “I believe we should have a standard that says we will not accept companies who act in certain ways because that will have a more lasting impact to protect students. It may be difficult but I think we should explore it.”

It’s unclear why Salinas believes students need protection from vendors who sell coffee and chicken sandwiches. 

According to one source, Fendley invested tens of thousands of dollars on equipment for the campus location. It’s unclear if Boise State will compensate Fendley for her losses. 

BSU officials did not return a call and several emails requesting a comment on the story."