news - The Western Front

Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Issue 5 | Summer 2008
westernfrontonline.net
the Western Front
An independent student newspaper serving Western Washington University since 1970.
Western Libraries make changes
after student suggestions PG. 3
Bellingham Slam win
championship PG. 10
Return of the
Nightlight PG. 7
Western's scholarly journal collection in jeopardy
by Zack Hale
The Western Front
“Scholarly communication is in crisis,” Western Dean of Libraries Chris Cox
said.
Drastic price increases for scholarly
journal subscriptions are impeding universities and scholars from purchasing publications necessary for research and learning, he said. As a result, university libraries
including Western’s are being forced to
increase budget requests to keep pace with
rising costs, trim marginal journals from
their collections and pursue new ways to
achieve unfettered scholarly communication.
According to Western's 2009-2011
budget request, Western Libraries would require a $431,000 funding increase over the
next two years to maintain its current level
of journal subscriptions. Without an influx
of money, approximately 225 journal titles
in business and economics, humanities, so-
cial sciences, education and sciences and
technology could potentially be cancelled,
according to the budget report.
A number of driving factors have led
to this predicament, Cox said. Because disciplines have fragmented and become more
specialized, a greater number of journals
are being published, he said. In addition,
many journal companies have merged under the auspices of reduced costs to consumers, only to implement continued price
hikes as publishing power is consolidated,
2008 Bivalve Bash and Low Tide Mud Run
photo by Jon Bergman THE WESTERN FRONT
Kai Vansickle, 13, or Mt. Vernon collapses after the Low Tide Mud Run as part of the 6th annual Samish Bay Bivalve Bash on July
19 at Taylor Shelfish Farms. Vansickle finished in 14th place.
See story on page 11, multimedia presentation at Westernfrontonline.net
Four alcohol related violations over 24 months and
establishments can lose their liquor license for good
by Shana Keen
The Western Front
Bartender Chris Balph preps for the
night’s customer by slicing dozens of
limes. A little after 6 p.m., a customer orders a beer and heads to one of the pool
tables. After five years of serving drinks
at The Royal Inn, Balph knows by the end
of the night he will have to cut off about
five people for drinking too much.
Overservice in bars, taverns, clubs
and grocery stores is one of the biggest
concerns for the Washington State Liquor
Control Board. The board, establishment
owners and employees all work together
to make sure intoxicated people do not
get served drinks, said Susan Reams,
communications consultant for the liquor
board.
Any person who is apparently under
the influence cannot be sold any alcohol,
according to Revised Code of Washington
66.44.200. Selling alcohol to an intoxicated person results in a violation from the
liquor board. Four violations of any kind
from the liquor board in a 24-month period terminate the establishment’s liquor
license. Establishments can also receive
see Overserved page 4
see Journals page 5
Parking opposite
Ridgeway Commons
reduced significantly
Mud run
Overserved and shut down
he said. In essence, many commercial journal publishers have a monopoly over information that academic disciplines depend
on, he said.
Book and journal costs to North
American libraries have risen 227 percent
between 1986 and 2002, according to Create Change, an organization whose founders include the Association of College and
Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Asso-
Bellingham liquor violations
over the last 24 months
The Royal Inn- no charged citations in the
past 24 months
Cap Hansen’s Tavern- no charged citation
in the past 24 months
The Fairhaven Martini Bar- one
overservice violation in Feb. 2007
Downtown Johnny’s Restaurant and
Nightclub- three violations total, one for
overservice allegedly resulting in fatality
in June 2007
The Smart Shop- three violations for
overservice; one in May 2007 and two in
March 2008
The Horseshoe Café- one violation for
overservice in June 2007, under review
Information provided by the
Washington State Liquor Control Board
by Jory M. Mickelson
The Western Front
The steep section of Highland Drive behind
Ridgeway Commons will soon be safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The city of Bellingham will begin construction on Highland Drive, from Morey Avenue to
West College Way near the former water tower
during the month of July.
The proposed project includes removing the
angled parking along this stretch of road and replacing it with parallel parking, a bike lane and a
graveled pedestrian path.
The project will result in the loss of approximately 50 parking spaces near campus.
When the project is completed it will provide
a safer, gravel walkway for pedestrians that is because it will be buffered from the road by parallel
parking spots.
Clark Williams, superintendent of transportation and communication for the City of Bellingham, said that before the city went ahead with
the project, there were a series of meetings with
campus officials including Carol Berry, Western’s
manager of sustainable transportation; Tim Wynn,
Western’s director of facilities management and
Randy Stegmeier, Western’s director of public
safety.
“I thought it was quite courteous of the city to
ask the university, who is the most impacted, for
input on a project on city property,” Carol Berry
said.
Berry said there are not a large number of bicyclists on Highland Drive, but pedestrians need
access to homes and community resources in the
neighborhood such as the Shalom Center.
The new plan reduces the dangers caused by
angled parking, Berry said. Some larger vehicles
protrude into the roadway causing bicyclists already traveling up a steep hill to swerve into traffic, she said.
Williams said that the longer vehicles in angled parking spaces also cause problems for busses that have to maneuver around the cars on bus
routes to and from Western’s campus.
News
See more online at
www.westernfrontonline.net
page Want to learn more about...
...the Bellingham Gay Pride Celebration?
...the Mt. Baker summit?
...Relay for Life?
...the Baja BBQ?
...Bike Polo?
...then check out
westernfrontonline.net for exclusive multimedia content
Corrections
In the Friday July 11 issue, the story titled "Helpful services on
Western's campus" stated that the Wade King Student Recreation Center offered free massages. This information is incorrect.
The Western Front regrets this and any other errors.
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The Western Front is published twice weekly in the fall, winter, and spring quarters and once a week in the summer
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news |
westernfrontonline.net | Tuesday • July 22, 2008
Students voice their opinions
on Western's libraries
Noise, laptop late fines and group study space
among students top concerns after May survey
by Jeff Ehrhardt
The western Front
What do students want out of their library?
This was the question behind the Western library “14 Days to Have Your Say”
blog last May. During the period between
May 7 and May 21, students and faculty
voiced their suggestions on what could be
done to improve the library.
“We wanted to see what students
wanted to talk about,” Rick Osen, head
of Library Administrative Services, said.
“We had no idea what to expect with the
responses.”
The library staff is now in the process
of going through the 600 responses to blog
discussions to determine which policies to
implement. The topics that received the
most replies included reinforcing noise
policies, setting up group study areas available by reserve, installing a south campus
book-drop and changing the laptop late return fee.
The issues with library noise and the
laptop fees are the first changes being made
because they generated the most responses
during the 14-day period, with 52 posts being made for noise alone. Osen said other
issues will be addressed as responses are
sorted out.
Currently the laptop overdue fee is $10
per hour and does not have a maximum
limit. Blog posters complained that, because there is no warning of when the twohour checkout time was up, it’s easy to go
over the time limit without realizing it.
The issue with the laptops was being
discussed between the Associated Students
Board of Directors and library staff. The
current proposal is to lower the fee to $5,
said Andrea Goddard, AS vice president of
academics.
Another issue that came up in the blog
was the use of group study rooms. Groups
of students who were trying to find a place
to study often found that lone students took
the study rooms up for themselves, Osen
said. These study groups then ended up in
open areas and the noise they made distracted other students, Osen said.
The solution being put forth for the
study area problem was to allow groups of
students to reserve the study rooms ahead
of time, Osen said.
Finding a solution to the study area
problem was especially important since
new technology will be installed in the
study rooms next year, Goddard said. Interactive whiteboards, which can project im-
photo by Mark Malijan THE WESTERN FRONT
Western senior Jamie Shepherd works on his political science project in a group study
room on the fourth floor of Wilson Library, June 20, 2008. Groups can now reserve
rooms by contacting Circulation Services.
ages from computer monitors for students
to interact with, will be placed in study
room areas throughout the library, Goddard
said.
“The new policies will ensure these areas will be available to all,” Goddard said.
“Not just to first-come, first-serve.”
Study rooms are now marked with
signs informing students that they can be
reserved said Martha Mautino, a reference librarian. Reservations must be made
at one of the library desks a day before a
group wants to use it in advance.
Another issue was the lack of quiet
zones outside the study rooms. Western
junior Shayla Urie said she wanted to see
more quiet areas for groups to study in to
keep them from disturbing the other students in the library.
A new book-drop location in the
south campus area was also in discussion
to make it easier to return books, Osen
said. At this time most of the buildings in
the south campus areas were open for the
possibility of a book-drop, although no
solid decision had been made by library
administrators.
Osen said changes to the laptop fee,
the noise policies and study room policies
will be decided and implemented before
the start of fall quarter.
“We want to show the people coming
back that we’re doing something with the
blog,” Osen said.
| NEWS
Tuesday • July 22, 2008 | The Western Front
Juried competition to determine new
addition to outdoor sculpture collection
by Aaron Weinberg
The Western Front
photo by Mark Malijan THE WESTERN FRONT
"Bigger Big Chair," a sculpture on South Campus was chosen
by a similar competition in 2007.
The Western Art gallery sent
out approximately 100 invitations
to artists to participate in its juried
competition for a new sculpture on
campus. The artists must submit
their previous works to the Washington State Arts Commission by
Sept. 1 to be included in the competition.
In late September or early October, a select group of the outdoor
sculpture advisory board and two
people from the community will
select the winner of the competition.
Western Art Gallery director
Sarah Clark-Langager said that the
board will choose and artist and
allow them to propose what they
want to build and where they would
want to put it on campus.
Clark-Langager said she predicts an artist to be chosen by November and a new sculpture on
campus by 2009.
The last sculpture chosen by a
juried competition was “Bigger Big
Chair” by Bellingham native David
Ireland. The 8 foot tall sculpture,
installed in September 2007, sits
atop a hill adjacent to South Campus Drive.
The outdoor sculpture advisory board is made up of ClarkLangager, Dean of College of Fine
and Performing Arts Ron Riggins,
art department chair Madge Gleeson, facilities management director Tim Wynn, art patron Virginia
Wright and art professor Sebastian
Mendes.
Two community members are
chosen to join the board based on
their art knowledge and their interest in the outdoor sculpture collection.
Western also receives sculptures through donation. The Wright
Fund has brought the last five donated sculptures to campus, such
as “Two-Part Chairs, Right Angle
Version (a Pair),” located in the Wilson Library. The sculpture consists
of two granite chairs sitting on opposite sides of the doorway leading
into the Wilson Library from beneath the sky bridge.
Western has 28 sculptures on
campus, ranking it among the top
ten universities in the nation in
terms of sculpture collections. The
top ten includes prestigious universities such as Stanford and Yale.
OVERSERVED: Downtown
Johnny's, Smart Stop
among those with high
number of violations
from 1
goes out with her friends to have a good time,
socialize and maybe have a drink or two. For
her, being able to talk and actually hear each
other is more important so she goes out to
low-key bars when it is not busy.
Shields said she feels bartenders should
keep an eye on the number of drinks people
have, but in the big picture, it is up to each
individual to take responsibility for his or
her actions.
The line where Howard cuts someone
off varies with every situation and person, he
said. Everyone’s alcohol tolerance is different. Weight, height and drinking experience
all play into it, Howard said. Sometimes it is
violations for selling to an underage person
and other offenses.
The establishment gets different fines
or liquor license suspensions depending on
whether it has had any violations in the past
24 months. The intoxicated person can face
photo illustration by Mark Malijan THE WESTERN FRONT
a $1,025 fine.
Over service in bars, taverns, clubs and grocery stores is one of the biggest concerns for
The Smart Shop on Holly Street rethe Washington State Liquor Control Board. Intoxicated persons can face a $1,025 fine,
ceived two violations for selling alcohol to
and if establishments are caught over serving, or violate any other liquor board regulation,
an intoxicated person in March, Reams said.
more than four times in 24 months, they face revocation of their liquor license.
These violations resulted in a 15-day liquor
license suspension from May 9 through 24.
some people can hold their liquor better and ferent set of difficulties than other smaller
In May 2007, the store received a citation
do not show the obvious signs.
places, he said. When one bartender nofor the same violation.
The liquor board’s officers tices something, Balph said that bartender
Multiple attempts to
along with local police go in makes the round upstairs and downstairs
speak to the owner of The “If they can't say it, they can't have it. But we try not to
places and look for obvious to make certain that everyone knows.
Smart Shop were denied.
signs of intoxication exhibited
Someone ordering drinks for other
get to that point. People are in here drinking and we're
Downtown
Johnny’s not. So we always have that unique prespective."
by the patrons, Reams said. people is a red flag for the bartender to
Restaurant and Nightclub also
-Brad Howard, bartender at Cap Hansen's They perform some of the same keep an eye on the group, Howard said.
has three various violations
tests police use when determin- Cap Hansen's is small enough so Howard
in the last 24 months, Reams
ing drunken driving, she said. can see every seat in the place. This alsaid. One of these violations, alleged over- hard to tell while other times it is obvious, If the officers decide that an intoxicated lows him and the other bartenders to keep
service resulting in a fatality, is under review he said.
person has been served, the establishment a closer eye on the patrons, Howard said.
pending a hearing.
“If they can’t say it, they can’t have it,” and the intoxicated person can get written
Another thing Howard looks out for
Multiple calls to the nightclub went un- Howard said. “But we try not to get to that up.
at the tavern is people on their “21 run.”
answered.
point. People are in here drinking, and we’re
The Royal and Cap Hansen’s Tavern Howard said an urban myth exists that evBrad Howard has been a bartender at not. So we always have that unique perspec- have not received any violations in the last eryone on their 21st birthday needs to go
Cap Hansen’s Tavern for four years. Cutting tive.”
24 months, Reams said. Communication to as many bars as possible and drinks as
people off is part of the job, he said. That
Howard said most people know the between the door staff and all the bartend- many shots as possible. This situation puts
requires keeping an eye on customers and obvious signs of intoxication. Staggering, ers at the Royal helps keep intoxicated the bartenders on high alert to make sure
noticing changes in them, he said.
slurring words and tripping over things are people from getting a drink, Balph said. everyone is being safe in the levels of alcoWestern senior Lindsey Shields said she signs everyone can pick up on, he said, but As a two-story bar, the Royal has a dif- hol consumption, he said.
news |
westernfrontonline.net | Tuesday • July 22, 2008
JOURNALS: Western Libraries searching for alternative
methods in acquisition of peer reviewed materials
access others’ work will require a multipronged approach. Grassroots movements
and cooperative practices have emerged as
ciation of Research Libraries (ARL). On prices continue to rise, most with the goal
average, book and journal prices have been of streamlining scholarly communication
rising approximately 7 percent each year, while making it more accessible and afoutpacing the rate of inflation by roughly 4 fordable.
percent, according to the group.
Firstly the Open Access movement adWestern gave its libraries and addition- vocates free online access to peer-reviewed
al $50,000 last year, and another $10,000 journal articles. In addition to universal acthis year in order to address this problem, cess, this would allow aspiring researchers’
Cox said.
findings to reach an audience of unprece“That’s pretty generous,” Cox said. dented size, and expedite what is currently
“Granted it’s a drop in the bucket as it relates a tedious publishing process, Cox said.
to our problem, but
S e c o n d l y,
they [Western] are
Copyright
pracshowing that they “We [can't] maintain the status quo
tices are also an
understand.”
area of concern.
for scholarship and research that is
Because it is
Karla Hahn, diunlikely Western happening on this campus without
rector of the Ofwill award the li- some sort of new solution.”
fice for Scholarly
brary
$431,000,
-Donna Packer, C o m m u n i c a t i o n
the library will be
Head technical services at the ARL, said
working
closely
copyright practices
Coordinator should promote a
with faculty members to pare down
system where reits journal collecsearchers, scholars
tion, Cox said.
and students have the broadest and easiest
“We have to continue to work with possible access to new findings.
faculty to look at the journal lists and ask,
“It’s important that we move out of
‘what are you working with your students a lot of the boxes that have been keeping
to use, what do you need for your research research and scholarship in a contained
and what don’t you need?’ because we can’t mode,” Hahn said.
continue to buy all of these things. It’s just
When faculty members fully transfer
not feasible,” Cox said.
their copyrights to publishers, they relinWestern junior Brooke Higgins, a sci- quish control over the dissemination of their
ence major, said having access to a variety work, she said. A different approach would
of journal articles is important.
give publishers the right to first publication,
“Last quarter I had a class that required while authors of the work retain rights to
eight journal articles for a project and I publish after a specified date, she said.
would find ones that I needed to use, but
Hahn pointed to Harvard University as
we didn’t subscribe to them,” she said.
a school that has taken the lead. Harvard
Removing the stumbling blocks that faculty members recently decided to allow
faculty members and students encounter Harvard to keep a copy of their work afwhen they try to publish their findings or ter publication and to make their findings
from 1
The Scholarly Journal Problem:
By the numbers
227 - The percentage book and journal costs have risen
from 1986 to 2002
7-
The percentage book and journal costs have risen per
year, outpacing inflation rates by 4 percent.
431,000 -
The amount of money Western libraries
needs over the next two years to maintain current journal
subscriptions.
60,000 - The amount of money Western gave to cam-
pus libraries over the last two years to address the rising
cost of scholarly journals.
numbers provided by Create Change and Western Libraries
available, free of charge on the Internet.
Cox said he would like the library to
begin engaging in discussions with faculty
about entering into a similar arrangement,
where an institutional research repository
containing research drafts and finished
products are kept. Currently, when faculty
members are published in journals their
university is not subscribed to, the university can not access their own faculty members’ work without subscribing to the journal or buying the article, Cox said.
A third approach is for libraries to
enter into consortiums to increase their
purchasing power, Cox said. Western is a
member of the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a
grouping of 35 universities, colleges and
community colleges that exists to facilitate the free flow of scholarly materials be-
Biolife
(3x5)
FILL (3x1)
tween member libraries. Orbis membership
allows Western to maximize its purchasing
power by allowing the library and other
Orbis members access to discounted bulk
packages from the publisher.
Consortium membership also means
more sharing. Last year Western faculty
and students received more than 30,000
items from other libraries free of charge.
Head technical services coordinator
Donna Packer said that despite the promise of these emerging movements, the high
price of journal subscriptions means something will have to give in the future.
“The key point to remember here is
that there is no way we can maintain the
status quo for scholarship and research that
is happening on this campus without some
sort of new solution,” she said.
ART
| Tuesday • July 22, 2008 | The Western Front
L
A
U
H
H
LIFE
story by Sarah Gordon
photo by Kathryn Bachen
THE WESTERN FRONT
PLA
ome resembled sparkling works of art with vibrant pinks, yellows and blues with vinyl tape
twisted around their shapes. Some had glitter.
Others were hoops of black PVC pipe.
S
Families and college students swung their hips
to the steady rhythm of reggae music with a hula
hoop circling around them, dancing the night away
in the summer weather at DJ Yogoman’s Wild Rumpus at Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro Wednesday
night.
Yogoman’s Wild Rumpus, the family-oriented
part of the night, takes place from 8-10 p.m. After 10
the event becomes 21-and-over until midnight. The
event started up again this year in the second week of
May and will continue through September.
Later in the night the event turned into the 21
and over Reggae Night as families left. More than
100 people filled the packed outdoor beer garden and
picked up any leftover hoops or even brought their
own.
The high turnout is not unusual for the event,
said DJ Jordan Rain, also known as DJ Yogoman.
The popularity of Reggae Night has grown to the
point that hoops have to be put away later in the night
due to the over-crowding, and many have started to
make the art of hooping a culture of its own in the
Bellingham community, he said.
“People dancing to me is the most important because it’s having freedom of expression,” Rain said.
“But I also think it’s awesome how people have taken hooping to a higher level and turned it into an art
form. It’s taken a leap into our culture.”
The idea of using hula hoops was sparked when
Rain used to DJ at the 3B Tavern in Bellingham nine
years ago and noticed that people were hesitant to
dance, he said.
“I noticed people were stiff and didn’t want to
get on the dance floor,” Rain said. “So I used the
hoops as an icebreaker and eventually people started
bringing their own. It’s a novelty because it gives
people a reason to get up and dance and do something ridiculous.”
Eventually a version of the 3B hula event came
to Boundary Bay as Reggae Night, and the brewery
has held the event for about five years.
Rain plays reggae and general music from the
50s to the present, though he specializes in Jamaican
music from the 60s. Over time he realized that the
natural rhythm of the hula hoop matches that of a
reggae beat, he said.
Western senior Christine Tabert said she has
come to the reggae hula hoop night almost every
week and feels it has become a tradition for her and
her friends.
“It’s a lot of fun to hula hoop to reggae music,”
and
westernfrontonline.net | Tuesday • July 22, 2008
Tabert said as she continued to circle her hips with a
hoop. “It’s a little bit different than dancing, and it’s
a different place. Good music and a good summer
time.”
Coming every week has improved her hooping
skills, she said.
John Smith and his family sold hoops from their
hula hoop making business, HoopSmith, at the event
and lent hoops to some of the participants. Smith and
his family have been making hoops for about four
years. It takes about 20 to 40 minutes to make them,
depending on the size and decoration of the hoop,
and they cost anywhere from $25-35 to buy.
Fairhaven Fun-To-Shop owner, hula hoop performer and instructor Jamie Berg, also known as Ms.
B Hooping Allure, also sells hula hoops through the
Smith family business and teaches private hula-hoop
classes.
Berg said she comes to the reggae event regu-
TURN
THE
NIGHT
LIGHT
BACK
ON!
by Marisa Willis
photo by Kathryn Bachen THE WESTERN FRONT
The Nightlight Lounge, located at 211 E. Chestnut St., has been closed since January of this year.
photo by Kathryn Bachen THE WESTERN FRONT
Bill Burtchett of Bellingham hula hoops with a lighted hoop at Boundary Bay's Reggae Night June 25.
“I can keep it up for longer periods of time,”
Tabert said. “I never used to hula hoop before, and
I’ve improved quite a bit. I’m even trying to learn
some tricks.”
Western graduate and Boundary Bay waitress
Samantha Ring took a break in between waiting tables to hoop for a couple minutes. Ring said she has
placed second in hula hoop contests at the 3B Tavern
and Broken Spoke Festival, an event celebrating bicycling and more, and she feels the hooping is lighthearted and fun to keep around, she said.
“I love the way it brings out the young at heart,”
Ring said. “It’s really laid-back. You can make a fool
out of yourself and it’s all good. People need a venue
where they can dance and just let loose.”
larly and recommends that people try to hula hoop
because it is good for their health.
“It’s so good for you and your posture if you
take a moment out of your busy day,” Berg said. “I
can do it anywhere and it truly makes me happy. I
love how I can share it with everyone and I love what
it does for my body.”
Western senior Latasha Nix said she purchased
a hula hoop at the Bellingham Farmers Market.
Though she has only seen a hula hoop dance event
at the Boundary Bay, she said she believes it will get
more popular and catch on.
“The whole community comes together, and it’s
a fun night,” Nix said. “It brings me back to when I
was little and it makes me feel like a kid again.”
A Portland-based rock band will help reopen the
doors of Bellingham’s Nightlight Lounge for the first
time since it closed in January, bringing the club one
step closer to its rumored September comeback.
Conquest, a local promotions company, will be
working with the club’s owner, Matt Feigenbaum, to
host an all-ages show July 24 featuring Menomena,
Conquest founding member Sergio Colón said.
“Everything is so undefined with the Nightlight,”
Colón said. “The space is there, the sound system is
there, it has the same owner, just the alcohol is gone.
Why isn’t this space being used?”
Proceeds from the Menomena show, along with
four other all-ages shows Conquest has confirmed for
the summer featuring the likes of Idiot Pilot, No-Fi
Soul Rebellion, Mirah, JFK from Grayskul, Grieves,
Grynch and Lucky Brown, will help to reopen The
Nightlight, Colón said.
Without a specific amount in mind, Colón said his
company wants to raise money for The Nightlight and
take advantage of a venue he considers one of the best
in Bellingham, all while throwing quality shows.
“This is all so the club can get started on the right
foot,” Colón said.
The Nightlight is currently being wasted, Colón
said. The Menomena show is about having the opportunity to walk back through the doors and into the 550person capacity space of the club, he said.
“The all-ages factor is huge,” he said. “We’re allowing everyone to experience the magic of The Night-
light. This has never been done before.”
And it is not just minors who are excited for the
Menomena show. Students of all ages are looking forward to seeing the group in Bellingham.
“I really do love [Menomena’s] song ‘Muscle ‘N
Flo,’ Western senior Angela Snedker said. “I can’t wait
to see them perform it live.”
Snedker said she went to shows at The Nightlight
before it closed and thought it was a great venue with a
“The space is there, the sound system is
there, it has the same owner, just the alcohol
is gone. Why isn't this space being used?.”
- Sergio Colón,
Conquest founding member
lot of space for the audience to see the bands perform.
When it closed down in January after three-anda-half years, The Nightlight joined the ranks of out-ofcommission clubs such as the 3B Tavern, The Factory
and Chiribin’s.
For some, it may best be remembered for its weekly ‘80s Night. Western senior Callie Moore remembers
Thursday nights at The Nightlight fondly.
“You would go and the line would be wrapped
around the block,” Moore said. “Then you’d get inside,
and it would all be completely worth it.”
In owner Feigenbaum’s formal announcement
of the reason for The Nightlight’s closure, he wrote:
THE WESTERN FRONT
“Money. Ultimately, not enough of it. That’s why this
decision had to be made.”
Colón, setting the record straight, said any rumors
that had surfaced about The Nightlight reopening in
July or August were the shows Conquest had planned.
He said the rumored time frame that Feigenbaum has
released is for The Nightlight to be up and running its
normal business hours by the end of September.
For some, September cannot come soon enough.
Recent Western graduate Ryan Leacy said he is practically counting down the days until The Nightlight is
once again open for business.
“The drinks were hard and the party was harder,”
Leacy said. “It’s a place that produced great music
and at the end of the night it always resulted in a good
time.”
Colón said he was disappointed with the closing of
many prominent venues in Bellingham.
“Anytime there is something great, it gets taken
away from us,” Colón said. “The town has taken a hit
[with The Nightlight closing.] We’re trying to fill the
void that Bellingham has been lacking.”
Places like Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro and
Callaloo Caribbean Kitchen have done a great job stepping up to bring in great show, Colón said.
But it is going to take everyone working together
to give Bellingham the unique and diverse musical culture it deserves, he said.
“The people here want it. It’s almost a necessity,”
Colón said.
|
| art and life
Tuesday • July 22, 2008 | The Western Front
CAROL GUESS: The write stuff
by Jory Mickelson
THE WESTERN FRONT
Carol Guess is small and compact.
Her shoulder-length, blond hair frames the
delicate features of her round face. She
might be mistaken for a graduate student,
but Guess, 40, is actually an associate English professor at Western and the author of
a new book.
Guess’s book “Tinderbox Lawn,”
which will be released Oct. 1, is a collection
of prose poems—a kind of poetry printed
as prose. Prose poems are compact and use
striking images and figures of speech.
“The new book represents a hybrid of
the novel and poetic forms,” Guess said.
“Each poem functions separately, but as
a whole they act as a fragmented sort of
novel.”
Guess’s new book stems from three
years of writing. Part of putting “Tinderbox
Lawn” together was sorting through hundreds of pages of work and trying to decide
what it would all become, she said. Guess
said she began to see small blocks of text
that fit together and began trimming down
the material.
Kathleen Rooney is co-publisher of
Rose Metal Press, the publishing company
for “Tinderbox Lawn.” Rose Metal wants
to discover and promote work that may
not be marketable with the big publishing
houses, she said.
Rooney said she was struck by the
poetric voice in “Tinderbox Lawn” This is
Rose Metal Press’s first book with Guess.
“I love the music in Carol’s writing,
the sound and rhythms and the rhyme in
it,” Rooney said.
Guess said she writes fiction, essays,
poems and novels. She said she likes writing novels, but teaching takes time, and so
she has switched to shorter genres. Guess
started writing poetry when she began
teaching at Western 10 years ago.
Initially, Guess was responsible for
five creative writing classes and one queer
studies class at Western. Then, two years
ago, she went from teaching full-time to
half-time so she could spend more time on
her writing. Guess now teaches two creative writing classes and one queer studies
class.
Guess excels at giving individual attention and personal time to students, Western alumni Amelia Bowler said.
Bowler took two writing classes taught
by Guess. In the 400-level fiction writing
class she took, Bowler said two out of the
three days were devoted to working independently.
Guess encourages her students with
her willingness to pay attention to their
needs, Bowler said. Guess also focuses on
students’ personal development is something she really appreciates, she added.
“The classes I took from her were the
best classes I took at Western,” Bowler
said.
When Western hired Guess, she said
she made it clear that teaching queer studies was something she wanted to do. Guess
never took a queer studies class when she
was in school and had to translate her own
experiences into academic courses. She
said she feels teaching queer studies is a
calling.
“The political situation for queer people has improved enormously in the decade
that I have taught,” she said. “But there
is still a long way to go. Teaching these
classes is a form of activism.”
Being a lesbian has given Guess an
outsider’s perspective as a writer, she said.
She said it gives her an opportunity to see
things in new ways.
“Academically, my sexuality can be an
obstacle,” she said. “Queer studies aren’t
always seen as an accepted area of inquiry.”
Guess said she has been pegged as both
a “woman writer” and a “lesbian writer.”
She said if these labels provoke someone
to pick up her work, then it is a good thing,
but if not, it is a shame.
With her new book, she said she feels
these categories do not apply. She said she
wrote the book to express the feeling of
falling in and out of love, something everyone has experienced.
Guess said she believes gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender literature is at a
turning point. Queer writers and queer culture are being assimilated and the category
of queer literature is very permeable, she
said.
Queer writers do not see themselves
pegged as such and heterosexual writers
can pick up queer themes, she said.
Guess says unfortunately the readership for queer writing has not been broadened.
“The categories of woman and lesbian
still apply commercially,” she said. “As a
writer, I have to think about that.”
opinion
Tuesday • July 22, 2008 | The Western Front
Got food waste? Donate to charities
Opinion of the editorial board
Western has prided itself in
being a green campus.
The philosophy of sustainability has been placed into many
aspects of campus life from the
buildings around the university
and the greenery in the area to
our dining services, such as student dining halls and retail food
outlets like the Miller Market
and the Arntzen Hall Atrium.
In an attempt to be more sustainable, effort has been made to
eliminate food waste in the student
dining halls and, to a lesser extent,
in those retail food outlets.
However, food waste from
Western’s retail eateries, specifically the Atrium, was incredibly
high in the fall and winter, according to food waste logs obtained by the Front.
Large amounts of products
such as sandwiches, salads and
soups were thrown out. For instance, on October 18, 54 deli
sandwiches, 31 bagels, 17 salads
and 8 gallons of soup were all
discarded. On October 26, only
one week later, 33 bagels, 46 deli
sandwiches, 25 salads and 23 subs
were all trashed. In one day alone,
on October 29, the Atrium had to
discard 72 deli sandwiches.
This is unacceptable.
Employees at the Atrium indicated that the reason waste was
so high in the fall was because of
a “first-in-first-out” method that
was used to keep product as fresh
and plentiful as possible, regardless if it was the middle of the day
or the end of operating hours.
Because of this method, and
several other factors, predicting
food production became difficult
during the school year.
Weather, foot traffic, class
schedules and events on campus
all affect each retail store’s food
sales and catering to the needs of
the students each day becomes
much more difficult.
Thus, food could be vastly
over-produced, resulting in large
amounts of waste.
Fortunately, changes have
been made over the course of the
last year. Due to pressure from
students and employees, food
waste at the Atrium has almost
halved, sources say.
Ira Simon, director of dining
services, attributed the change to
a closer observation of purchasing and preparation.
Additionally, dining services donates large amounts of
food to local charities during
periods where production will
be shutting down for a long period of time, such as the breaks
between different academic
quarters.
Leftover food is also taken
to dining halls after retail food
outlets close for the evening.
Although Simon indicated
that this has helped with waste,
he was vague about the specif-
ics and unable to indicate how
much food waste was saved and
given to the dining halls or how
often.
Sources said in the Atrium
this might have occurred one
or two days a week but not often.
For food that is thrown out,
composting has been implemented to at least create something usable out of the waste.
But despite these efforts, it
still seems there will be a large
amount of food wasted if not given to dining halls or saved until
the end of a quarter to be donated
in a lump sum.
If the rates from the fall are
indicative of anything, a large
amount of waste is still coming
out of the Atrium and, presumably, the other retail food outlets
on campus.
What should be done about
this?
As Western progresses in its
efforts to become a sustainable
campus it seems Sodexho’s waste
management is falling behind.
One option is simple: donate
it all.
Rather than composting
waste, donate it. Rather than
sending old food to dining halls,
where it can again be left alone
and wasted, donate it. Food Not
Bombs, for instance, is a fine
non-profit for the food waste to
be sent.
Any concern about the food
being a few days old should not
bother Sodexho. Under the Bill
Emerson Good Samaritan Donation Act, institutions such as
Western are exempt from responsibility for food that is old
or expired if it is donated in good
faith except for instances of gross
negligence or intentional misconduct.
This being said, the food that
goes to waste could be put to better use by donating to local charities.
Sodexho should at least assure students that it is doing everything it can to contribute to the
entire sustainability of campus.
The editorial board is comprised of Editor-in-Chief Colin
Simpson, Managing editor Brett
Williams, Opinion editor Jesse
Amorratanasuchad and Arts and
Life editor Kaleb Gubernick.
page Viking Voices
Opinions from around campus
What do
you use the
Western library
for?
Jolie Bender-Rubio
Senior
"I check out foreign and big
release movies. It's a good place
to nap, too."
Let your voice be
heard!
Send letters to the
editor that are no
longer than 250
words to
opinion
@
westernfrontonline.net
Vanessa Trippel
Senior
"I use the library for text books.
The reserved section is handy."
Government subsidizing hurts tuition
Stephen Nichols
Columnist
In 1965, President Johnson
signed the Higher Education Act
which allocated billions of tax
dollars for low-interest student
loans.
The goal was to make college more affordable, but since
1965 tuitions have skyrocketed.
But instead of making college
more affordable, the increase in
financial aid by the federal government has – in a perverse inversion – actually caused a great deal
of the rise in cost of tuition.
It may sound counter-intuitive that the government could
cause something to become
more expensive by subsidizing
it, but the correlation between
increases in financial aid and
increases in tuition is worth examining.
As a result of federal aid,
universities have absolutely no
incentive to keep tuition down
and every incentive to raise tuition. Why shouldn’t the university raise tuitions? The government has deep pockets and has
shown its commitment to the nation’s universities by handing out
more tax dollars to them every
year. All a university has to do to
get more money from the feds is
raise tuition.
Of course, the university still
has to show that it can somehow
justify its costs. So the universities’ administrations spend extravagant amounts of money on
projects of dubious academic
value. They build new buildings,
put high-tech computers in every
classroom, and commission expensive works of public art (see
man humping bear in front of the
Wilson library).
The abundance of federal
dollars has also led to a general lack of focus on academic
goals at the university. The
university can afford to indulge itself in a variety of academically unsound classes and
departments.
The proliferation of departments such as Canadian-American studies, Women’s studies
and classes such as, well, almost
anything offered in Fairhaven’s
course catalog is evidence enough
of rampant academic self-indulgence. The abundance of funds
made available by the government to universities has made it
unnecessary for universities to
limit their expenditures to more
essential fields of study.
In fact, the continual influx of
new money from the government
makes it unnecessary for universities to limit their expenditures
on anything at all. It should come
as no surprise that administrations at campuses across America
have swelled in size of faculty
and budget with each increase of
federal aid.
Even the teachers have become remarkably inefficient as a
result of the federal governments
generosity with taxpayer dollars.
Professors with tenure can
get away with teaching fewer
classes without any resulting decrease in their salaries because
the university can always hire
more teachers and pay for their
salaries with yet another increase
in tuition.
At the same time, federal aid
has also protected universities
from any significant market pressure from prospective students to
lower costs.
The only circumstance in
which universities would ever
have the incentive to lower its
prices is if enrollment is shrinking as a result of high tuition.
The government’s willingness to continually raise the
amounts of financial aid distributed to match the rising price
makes it unlikely that universities will ever face this pressure
to lower costs.
So while students and their
parents are building ever larger
mountains of debt to pay the cost
of college, the universities get
richer and then raise tuition yet
again to get even more rich. This
vicious cycle ensures that the cost
next year will be even higher than
it is now.
As long as the federal government continues to increase
the amount of federal aid that it
distributes, tuition inflation will
continue.
It may be time to send Johnson’s Higher Education Act to an
ash heap in history.
Doug Ober
Graduate Student
"For Tibetan-English dictionaries"
Kayla Brogden
Senior
"I meet with study groups in the
Sky Bridge."
Compiled by Stephanie Castillo
page 10
Tuesday • July 22, 2008 | The Western Front
sports
Slam defeat Express in IBL Championship
118-111 victory seals first championship in 61 years for Bellingham-based basketball team
by Jeff Twining
THE WESTERN FRONT
The championship would not be decided by last second heroics – there would
be no miraculous buzzer-beating shot. Instead, the game would ultimately be decided by two free throws with 5.4 seconds
left.
In front of a boisterous, sold-out crowd
of more than 1,100 people at the Whatcom
Pavilion, Paul Hafford stepped to the line
hoping to add to a five-point lead, which
would ensure the Bellingham Slam their
first International Basketball League (IBL)
championship.
Hafford calmly gathered himself as
the Slam dance team continued to hand out
celebratory confetti. As the crowd quieted
in anticipation, Hafford effortlessly drained
both free throws.
The Bellingham Slam had just upset
the defending champion Elkhart Express
118-111 in a physical game that would not
be decided until the last few minutes.
“With about 15 seconds left we finally
knew we had the game won,” Hafford said.
“I just went to the line and focused on the
free throws, knowing the game was in the
bag.”
The Slam capped off their first year
in the IBL with a hard-fought, seven-point
victory. Hafford and Tyler Amaya shared
the honor of co-MVP and IBL Commissioner Mikal Duilio was on-hand to present
the championship trophy to team captain
Brandon Hartley.
In only their third year of operation,
photo by Jon Bergman THE WESTERN FRONT
The Bellingham Slam pose after winning the International Basketball League Championship
in their first year in the league. The Slam defeated the Elkhart Express 118-111.
the Bellingham Slam brought the city of
Bellingham its first professional basketball championship since the Bellingham
Fircrests won the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League title in 1947.
General manager Bob Hofstetter said the
Fircrests didn’t play on a national level
and their championship didn’t really compare with the Slam’s.
Hafford led the Slam with a career
high 30 points and 10 rebounds, while
Amaya had 20 points, 13 rebounds and six
assists coming off the bench. Jacob Stevenson added 24 points and Ryan Diggs
had 19 for the Slam.
To open the game, the Express quickly
jumped out to an 18-4 lead, the largest for
either team. The Express led 22-11 halfway through the first quarter when Slam
head coach Rob Ridnour called his first
timeout.
“They started fast and hit a bunch of
shots early,” Ridnour said. “We knew that
wasn’t going to last the whole game, and
we just had to fight through it.”
After the timeout, tournament co-MVP
and former Western basketball player Tyler
Amaya entered the game for the first time,
and the Slam quickly turned the 11-point
deficit into a 30-28 lead – outscoring the
Express 19-6 through the final six minutes
of the quarter.
The Slam held the lead from that
point until the Express finally tied it up at
70 points each midway through the third
quarter.
With 13 lead changes throughout the
game, the Slam were able to regain the lead
for good near the end of the third quarter
when former Western standout Ryan Diggs
scored seven consecutive points.
The Slam maintained a two-point lead,
at 83-81, going into the fourth quarter.
The Express missed six free throws in
the fourth quarter while Hartley, Jacob Stevenson, Diggs and Hafford all made pairs
of free throws in the final 1:20 to lock up
the championship.
photo by Jon Bergman THE WESTERN FRONT
Former Western student Ryan Diggs of the
Bellingham Slam charges the basket against
Byron Allen of the Elkhart Express.
“I’ve never won a championship in my
life before,” Hafford said. “I know some
guys out here have won league titles but
not all of us. It’s an incredible feeling.”
Ridnour coached the 1999 and 2000
Blaine High School basketball teams to
Washington state high school championships – teams that included NBA player
and son Luke Ridnour, who was in attendance Friday night.
“It’s an awesome feeling to bring home
a championship,” Ridnour said. “I give a lot
of credit to these guys because they have so
much team chemistry. It’s different than my
Blaine championship teams because there is
so much camaraderie here.”
The Slam are comprised primarily of
former Division-II players. Paul Hafford,
who attended Portland State, is the one exsee Slam page 12
sports |
westernfrontonline.net | Tuesday • July 22, 2008
11
photo by Jon Bergman THE WESTERN FRONT
Matt Roetcisoender, 21, leads the pack to the finish line of the Low Tide Mud Run. The Mt. Vernon native posted a record time of 58.75 seconds in the adult leg of the mud run and was
one of nearly 200 participants this year.
Stuck in the mud
photo by Jon Bergman THE WESTERN FRONT
Dan Angel, 8, reacts to a shower
of cold water after the Kids' Mud
Run during the sixth annual Bivalve
Bash. Angel was one of 61 children who participated in this year's
event.
by Christy Thacker
THE WESTERN FRONT
Cool, slimy goop splattered
through the overcast bay air.
More than 200 bodies slogged
their way through the shin-deep,
oyster-filled muck of Samish Bay
Saturday.
The 250-yard, low-tide mud
run was the feature event of the
sixth annual Bivalve Bash. More
than 1,000 people gathered at
Taylor Shellfish Farms for oysterthemed fun, food and education.
Activities ranged from an oyster
shell sculpture competition and
crab races to the strenuous children- and adult-division mud
runs.
“I don’t know how many
low-tide mud runs there are or
how often we get to play in the
mud,” Bivalve Bash manager and
promoter Kate McDermott said.
“This is a day that your inner
child can really shine through.”
MudUp, one of the event’s
key sponsors, was also among
the crowd at the bash. MudUp
representatives educated spectators about clean water awareness,
restoration and practices through
an informational booth and their
costumed promoter called the
Mud Monster.
“This is a great way to bring
people out, have a good time and
teach them about the clean water
link,” said Bill Dewey, Taylor
Shellfish Farm public affairs representative. “Instead of always
doom and gloom, let’s have some
fun.”
Bill Taylor, president of Taylor
United, hosted the run. Taylor created the event with the company’s
promotion and events coordinator Jon Rowley in 2003. The men
wanted to find a way to spread the
importance of clean water in the
Getting dirty while learning at
the Bivalve Bash and Mud Run
Pacific Northwest in a fun and entertaining way, Taylor said.
“We wanted to do something
that was intriguing and brought attention to water quality,” Taylor said.
Before the race, runners
made a trip to the first-ever duct
tape tent, put on by Super Jock ‘n
Jill, a Seattle-based fitness clothing and shoe store. Aside from
duct taping shoes to legs, glasses
to heads and anything else that
might fall off during the run, the
company provided prizes for the
top three winners in each division, Super Jock ‘n Jill manager
Ty Whitten said. First place runners received new shoes while
second and third were awarded
gift certificates to the store.
At 12:23 p.m., when the tide
was at its lowest, competitors set
off trudging through the cool bay
mud course. Exhausted runners
battled against the sinking grip of
the sludge with every stride while
they fought to cross the finish line.
Taking just one step into another
competitor’s footprint or losing
pace for a split second could lead
to knee-deep immobility or even
worse—a mouth full of mud.
Western junior Katie Moore
was signed up for the race by a
friend only a few days before the
event. Moore went into the race
knowing nothing except to use a
lot of duct tape, she said.
“If I could have stayed faster
and kept my shoe on that would
have changed everything for me,”
she said at the finish line.
The race was also the first for
winner Matt Roetcisoender, a 21year-old Central Washington University student. Roetcisoender currently
holds the fastest time in mud run history at 58.75 seconds.
see Mud run page 12
12 |
Tuesday • July 22, 2008 | The Western Front
SLAM: Hafford leads Bellingham Slam with career-high 30 points, 10 rebounds
from 10
ception. In contrast, the Express roster is
filled with 11 players who played basketball for Division-I schools. Ridnour said
he never thought of his players as former
Division-II athletes.
“I think all of our guys had the ability to play Division-I – they’re that good,”
Ridnour said. “Most of them have played
professionally overseas so they have that
experience.”
One reason the Slam has such good
chemistry is because they have six former Western basketball players, including
brothers Jared and Jacob Stevenson and
one former WCC player, guard Charlie
Vann, Hofstetter said.
“It’s awesome being able to play with
my older brother,” Jacob Stevenson said.
“We only played together one year at Western, and he was the competitive one trying
to outscore me. Now we’re just two teammates. There still is some sibling rivalry
though."
Hofstetter, who helped start the Slam
organization, said he wants it known the
Slam are not just another semi-pro team;
in fact, they are not considered semi-pro at
all.
“I usually compare the level we’re on
with Double-A baseball,” Hofstetter said.
“Most people understand the baseball levels. We’re right below the NBA Developmental League so they could be considered
the Triple-A of basketball.”
The IBL was founded a few years ago
and is on the rise, Hofstetter said.
Some of the IBL rules include teams
only getting one timeout per quarter – without the timeouts carrying over between
quarters – a 22-second shot-clock, sevenseconds to advance the ball past half court
and quicker inbounds to keep the flow going.
“It’s definitely a run-and-gun
league,” Amaya said, “It’s a lot of fun
being able to score a lot of points, but
you still have to focus on playing defense on your man. It isn’t just about
outscoring opponents.”
Another unique trait to the IBL is the
physicality of the game in which referees
generally ‘let the guys play,’ Ridnour said.
The championship was that type
of game, very physical with the refs
constantly hounded by fans after every
call.
As the season comes to a close, Hofstetter said most players will begin to look
to play on other teams during the traditional
winter basketball season. By the time the
new year comes, the Bellingham Slam will
begin offering contracts to players.
MUD RUN: Water preservation and care are major efforts for Bivalve sponsors
from 11
“It’s hard to bring up your
legs,” Roetcisoender said. “When
you get to the end, they feel like
Jell-o.”
At the end of the race, dirty
runners filed in line for a gold
painted oyster shell medal and a
turn to wash off. Taking the mud
with them, they headed for hot
food, beer and grilled oysters.
The mud run is a major fundraiser for the Skagit Conservation Education Alliance (SCEA),
one of the event’s main sponsors.
Everyone except runners and
children under six paid a general admittance fee of $5 at the
door. Adult runners paid $13 for
online registration or $23 on-site
registration to participate in the
mud run. Part of the proceeds go
toward SCEA to help promote
clean water awareness programs
throughout Washington.
MudUp also benefited from
the bash, advancing and promoting its campaign to clean up the
water and surrounding shorelines of the Puget Sound, MudUp
spokesperson Sian Wu said.
Three environmental groups
— The Trust for Public Land, The
Nature Conservatory and People
For Puget Sound—came together
to form the Alliance for Puget
Sound shorelines in May 2007.
MudUp.org is the centralized place
where the Alliance posts events,
activities and opportunities for individuals and groups to help clean
up the Sound, Wu said.
The effort also sends out the
Mud Monster, a mascot who tells
children his story of having to
leave his home in the Puget Sound
due to toxic waste and pollution.
“Because [the Puget Sound]
looks so beautiful on the surface,
[people] don’t see the troubles
below,” Wu said.
According to MudUp.org,
the Puget Sound is one of the
most contaminated and damaged
channels in the United States.
MudUp.org stated that storm water run-off, rapid development
and toxic chemicals contribute to
much of the pollution.
photo by Jon Bergman THE WESTERN FRONT
Bellingham local Keri Bennett, 29, builds a replica of Stonehenge out of
oysters called "Oysterhenge."