Western Front - 1985 October 22

              WESTERN FRONT
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1985 WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, BELLINGHAM, WA VOL. 77, NO. 46 KUGS
Antenna takes
another topple
Vandalism
not blamed
But mysteries
still remain
By David Wasson
Things haven't been humming
alongtoowellatKUGS-FMthis
quarter.
The campus radio station's
100-watt signal tower, which
reportedly was toppled by van­dals
over a week ago, was on its
side again this weekend, station
employees said. ' " : " "''
But this time wind, not van­dals,
is being blamed, said cam­pus
authorities.
The week, however, did not
pass without one report of van­dalism
to . the controversial
tower.
"Someone removed the (sup­port
wire) turnbuckles," said
KUGS Operations Coordinator
Doug Bostrom. "I don't know
why the tower didn't fall over
then. It literally was just standing
there without support."
The antenna, mounted above
Kappa residence hall, has caused
broadcast reception disturbance
for Kappa residents, police have
noted.
It's a problem that led police to
consider the disturbances as a
possible motive to the vandalism
to the tower. ^
But authorities said they still
have no suspects in the toppled-tower
mystery.
Friday, KUGS engineers
mounted the replacement tower
and reconnected the turnbuck­les,
Bostrom said.
Saturday morning, though,
the tower was bent over and the
support lines were still con­nected.
Both police and KUGS
officials believe wind was
reponsible.
The antenna should be
straightened within two weeks,
say KUGS employees. A damage
estimate was unavailable.
"It makes me wonder if it
wasn't wind the last time," said
Kappa President Susan McDo­nald.
McDonald said she
remembers hearing the tower fall
about 3 a.m. Saturday, and
recalls the wind was blowing very
hard.
She was critical of how quickly
police labeled the first tower
toppling, Oct. 11, as vandalism.
KUGS employees have said
they hope to move the antenna
from atop Kappa Hall to
Sehome Hill, but are awaiting
permission from the Federal
Communications Commission.
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Pizza sparks weekend violence
Four students beaten,
police arrest visitor
By David Wasson
Sparked by a dispute over
pizza, a weekend path of violence
injured four Western students
and sent a 22-year-old magazine
salesman to jail, police said.
The suspect, who identified
himself to campus authorities as
Wjlliam Caper of Dearborn,
Mich., was arrested early Satur­day
morning, said University
Police Lt. Dave Doughty. Caper
was charged with two counts of
simple assault and taken to
Whatcom County Jail. He was
being held on $500 bail.
Three of the victims are West­ern
students, Doughty said, one
is a student at Pacific Lutheran
University in Tacoma and was
visiting friends here. Police
would not disclose the victim's
identities. But none required
hospitalization.
According to police reports,
Caper was selling magazine sub­scriptions
on campus Friday and
missed his ride back to Seattle
with four other salesmen. He
befriended some female Nash
residents, the report said, and
hoped to spend the night there so
he could catch a morning bus to
Sea-Tac airport.
After ordering a pizza about
1:30 a.m., Caper left the room,
Doughty said. When he
returned, a male friend of the
women was eating a piece of
pizza, according to the report.
Caper allegedly hit the pizza-eating
friend three times in the
face and kicked him before leav­ing,
Doughty said.
Police would not disclose the
identities of the victims. But
none required hospitalization.
The second victim was struck a
few minutes later outside Nash
Hall, Doughty said. According
to the report, the second victim
was cut above his eye and the eye
swelled shut.
A student campus patrolman
witnessed the fight, Doughty
said, and contacted the Univer­sity
Police office. Nash residence
hall staff members also notified
police, he said.
The second victim reportedly
was a friend of the first victim
who witnessed the altercation in
the Nash dorm room.
The suspect reportedly struck
two more people, Doughty said,
before disappearing into Mathes
Hall.
"At this point it is a little
unclear when the last two people
were struck," Doughty said.
"That is why we charged him just
with the first two."
Caper was discovered in a
fifth-floor Mathes Hall study
room Doughty said. He did not
have any proper identification
and said he sold magazines for
Summit Publishing, a company
based in Houston, Texas.
After questioning Caper,
police said they believed he was
the suspect.
Caper gave a different spelling
of his name to jail officials,
Doughty said, and a different
street address. A Michigan driv­er's
license check under both
spellings of the suspect's name
"turned up negative," Doughty
said.
Nash residence staff were
u n a v a i l a b l e Monday for
comment.
In other campus crime, a $300
picture window was reported
broken out of Highland resi­dence
hall shortly before 3 a.m.
Sunday.
According to police reports,
Highland residents said they
heard two men and one woman
fighting near the window and
speculated one of the people was
pushed against it. Police said
they have no suspects.