Western Front - 1988 October 14

              Spikers sweep SFU
Vikings serve up three straight wins
Sports p. 4
Yippidee!
Nightmares in spider hell
Accent p. 1
The Western Front
VOL. 80, NO. 47 WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, BELLINGHAM, WA FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14,1988
ByTJon Hunger
of The Western Front
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seeGP, p. 3
Bellingham police
net campus drivers
By Molly Krogstadt
of The Western Front
Bellingham police staged a shake­down
Tuesday night, issuing $423 in
traffic tickets in 30 minutes to driv­ers
passing through the closed por­tion
of High Street on campus.
Officers gave nine $47 citations
for moving violations between 8:15
and 8:45 p.m. when drivers entered
the campus, ignoring chained gates
and "do not enter" signs.
Three cars were dispatched but
only two issued tickets near Wilson
Library and the Viking Union. De­spite
the flash of patrol car lights,
motorists continued to drive through
the campus's main thoroughfare.
"It's my guess that the students
think there is not as much enforce­ment
by the Bellingham police,"
campus security officer John Browne
said.
"When we were commissioned
officers there were at least two men
patrolling most nights and we could
include more traffic enforcement. We
usually handed out one or two tickets
a week," he said.
Browne ticketed several parked
cars with $10 city and campus park­ing
fines, some of which were parked
without permits in the lot by Haggard
Hall.
The section of High Street is
closed from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday
through Friday, but Browne said more
people have been ignoring the closed
signs.
Western student Wayne Rose-berry
said he supports upgraded traf­fic
enforcement.
"lithe police are bold and direct
about everything then the policies
are clear," he said. "Before, nothing
was done about it so people ignored
the signs."
A group of students in Wilson
Library said police acted justly in the
ticket sweep but disagreed with the 9
p.m. closure policy.
One student who suggested the
street only be closed during working
hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. said,
"Classes are out then and there
shouldn't be any problems."
Former student Kent Jepson, who
twice received tickets of $47 while at
Western, said the street should be
closed at 7 p.m. after dinner hours.
'It's a good decision to charge a
student who tries to go through the
road, but I think the $47 fine is way
too much," he said. "They have to
remember they're dealing with kids
on a college budget."
The standard ticket for any moving
violation is $47, but Jepson said they
should make an exception to the stan­dard
on campus. He suggested offi­cers
give warnings to first-time of­fenders.
Browne said students who re­ceive
moving violation tickets have
the option of appealing in court.
"There is nothing they can do
about the parking tickets, but the
courts will very often lower the traf­fic
tickets," he said.
Students grill Mortimer at fireside chat
Parking, security key issues
for Birnam Wood residents
By Gretchen Hafterson
of The Western Front
Parking and campus security were
among the top issues raised by Birnam
Wood residents Tuesday night as they
spoke with Western President Kenneth
Mortimer.
Residents had the chance to meet
informally with Mortimer, who said he
didn't have a prepared speech and he
would talk about anything they wanted.
He began by saying he wouldn't dodge
any questions.
"If I'm not smart enough to avoid
answering questions I don't want to, I
shouldn't have this job," Mortimer said.
For about an hour, Mortimer tried to
address student concerns, although he
admitted he didn't have an answer for
every problem.
Parking was a top issue on students'
minds, but Mortimer warned the resi­dents
that a quick solution may not be
the best solution.
"Every time you look at parking,
you raise the rates," he said.
He asked for suggestions on the
parking problem from the students, but
opposed the idea of a multi-level garage
next to Parks Hall because he feels rec­reational
and green space is more impor­tant.
Not granting permits to freshmen
was another option.
"We really ought to look at who
should have cars," Mortimer said. "What
do you care? There aren't any freshmen
here,"
Campus security apparently was an
uncomfortable issue for Mortimer. He
said the decision to decommission the
police force was already made when he
took office, so he will stand by the Board
of Trustees' decision.
see PRESIDENT, p. 3 Western President Kenneth Mortimer chatted with Birnam Wood residents Tuesd) Jaeys:s e Tlnsley/tneprom