Western Front - 2001 June 28

              THURSDAY, June 28, 2001
The Western Front Western Washington University Volume 117 Issue 1 Bellingham, Washington
New budget increase
By Jessica Sparks
THE WESTERN FRONT
The Washington State
Legislature's budget for state
colleges and universities means
higher tuition for Western stu­dents
next fall, faculty pay rais­es
and lower admission num­bers.
How and where Western's
budgeted money will be used
has yet to be determined, but
Western's Board of Trustees
hopes to have an allocation plan
by August, said Jack Cooley,
executive director of University
Planning and Analysis.
The Board of Trustees autho­rized
the maximum increase of
6.7 percent for tuition next
year, Cooley said.
In-state, undergraduate
tuition is $2,833 per year, but it
will increase $185 to $3,018 in
the fall, Cooley said.
"These are unofficial num­bers
until. Gov. Gary Locke
signs the appropriation bill
(which disperses funds), but we
don't anticipate any changes in
those numbers," Cooley said.
The budget does not fund all
faculty pay raises, which leaves
Western with some problems to
address.
The Legislature mandated a
3.7 percent raise for faculty and
staff members for the first year,
but the state will only cover 83
percent of the cost, Cooley said.
Western will be required to
cover the remaining 17 percent
in order to meet the legisla­ture's
demand.
"This leaves Western in a dif­ficult
situation," Cooley said.
Western must come up with
the additional money for faculty
pay raises while dealing with
the projected increase of utility
rates, Cooley said.
According to the Energy
Conservation Task Force
release, Western's utility rates
are projected to take more than
$1 million from Western's oper­ating
budget in 2001-2003
school years than 1999-2001.
Cooley said the budget does
not provide for the rate increas­es.
The budget also set aside $31
million to increase full-time
student enrollment.
Before the new budget,
Western was committed to
reducing the number of new
students to be in-line with fac­ulty
and Western's accommoda­tions,
because Western over
enrolled last year, Director of
Admissions Karen Copetas
said.
Last year 2,480 freshmen and
981 transfer students were
accepted. This fall, the target
number for new freshmen is
2,250 and 950 for transfer stu­dents.
County seeks lake's mercury source
By Mary Flynn
THE WESTERN FRONT
In an effort to protect
Bellingham's drinking water
and Lake Whatcom, officials
from the City of Bellingham,
Whatcom County, and Water
District No. 10 are looking for
a way to pinpoint the source of
mercury in the lake.
"We are looking for a consul­tant
to be looking for potential
sources," said Erika Stroebel,
resources planner for the
Whatcom County Water
Resources Division.
Stroebel said, the county
requested proposals from con­sultants
on how to find the
source.
"The request for proposals
described the type of work so
that the applicants can
describe how they will do the
research," she said.
Eight contractors have
applied, Stroebel said.
"I imagine that we would
start the project in two to three
months at the earliest; maybe
the late summer," said Chris
Sudden Valley
resident David
Burmham
sport fishes
three to four
times a week
in Lake
Whatcom near
Basin Three,
which tested
to have the
highest levels
of mercury.
Burmham
regularly
catches small-mouth
bass
from the lake.
See MERCURY, Page 2
Students receive new e-mail
By Christina Schrum
THE WESTERN FRONT
Soon Western students will be
able to access their e-mail
accounts, get campus news and
enjoy other student resources
from MyWestern.com.
"MyWestern.com converts
information that students need
so they don't have to go all over
the place for it," said Jerry
Boles, vice provost for informa­tion
and telecommunication ser­vices,
The MyWestern.com Web site
will serve as a gateway site for
checking e-mail, getting and
receiving information on stu­dent
courses and campus events
and also links to student
accounts, Boles said.
Director of Academic
Technology and User Services
See MYWESTERN, Page 8
Chris Goodenow/ The Western Front
Western junior Matt Jennings e-mails uses
Titan, Western's current e-mail service,
which will be replaced by MyWestern.com
2001 utilities
up $1 million
By Bryn Johnson
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western's Energy Task Force has been coming
up with new ideas to lower utility costs.
The cost of utilities at Western will exceed the
budgeted level by about $600,000 for the 2000-
2001 fiscal year, which ends June 30, said Jack
Cooley, executive director for University Planning
and Analysis.
The Washington state Legislature has not pro­vided
budget increases to match increasing utili­ties
prices, which means Western is not receiving
additional state funding for the expected $1.5 mil­lion
dollar increase in utility costs over the next
two years, Cooley said.
In response to rising costs, Western President
Karen Morse appointed an all-campus task force
to devise ways of reducing energy use on campus.
Ideas from the 22-member Energy Conservation
Task Force have been combined in gram called
See UTILITIES, Page 8
Chris
Goodenow/ The
Western Front
IN THIS ISSUE
Underage Driving?
Greg Woehler explores the
benefits of a new law that
will influence underage
driving.
See commentary, Page 7.
Getting dirty at the
Outback Farm
Camp counselors at a day
camp help
children to
enjoy the
environment
while having
fun.
See story, Page 4.
For news tips, call (360) 650-3162 or e-mail the Western Front at wfront@cc.wwu.edu http://westernfrontonline.com