Western Front - 2001 July 31

              TUESDAY, July 31, 2001
The Western Front
Western Washington University Volume 117 Issue 6 Bellingham, Washington
Vehicle Research Institute to display Viking 30
By Maureen McGraw
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western's Vehicle Research
Institute will display the Viking
30, its most recent experimental
hybrid car, at the American Le
Mans Series in Portland, Ore.
"It's the most work-intensive,
most ambitious car we've ever
built," VRI founder Michael
Seal said.
The American Le Mans Series
is the North American version
of the 24 hour race in Le Mans,
France, which dates back to
1923. The event is three days
long with the Grand Prix of
Portland race on the third day.
Jason Nelson, a recent
Western graduate, said the trip
is important to him because he
is looking for a job, and compa­nies
have a lot of recruiters at
events like the Le Mans Series.
Working in the VRI is a "real
world experience," Nelson said.
Going to Portland is good
experience and gathers publici­ty
for the VRI and its workers.
The VRI team has been work­ing
on the Viking 30 for about
two years, Seal said.
The Viking 30 has "extensive
use of carbon fiber," he said. The
transmission is also made out of
carbon fiber to keep the weight
of the car down. Transmissions
have traditionally been made
from iron, or more recently,
from aluminum, Seal said.
The jet black viking 30 is nine
feet long, four feet high, and
weighs 429 pounds.
Co-captains Nelson and Jai
Prasad and club members Ben
Erickson, Graham Fothering-ham,
Rob Goivenale, Richard
Lawton, Chris Small and Mike
Zaccardo will be displaying the
Viking 30 August 3-5 in
Portland, Ore. at the Portland
International Raceway.
The VRI members will be dis­playing
the Viking 30 in the
paddock area of the raceway. A
booth will be set up in front of
the car for participants to get
information about Western's
one-of-a-kind vehicle, said
Western junior Chris Small.
High schoolers flock to Western for Business Week
High school
students
from across
Washington '
came to
Western to
attend
Business
Week, a sem­inar
for busi­ness-
minded
high school
students that
continues
through
Saturday.
Seminar
attendees are
residing in
the Edens
North and
Mathes Hall
residences.
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Taber Streur/
The Western
Front
Insurance plans
may be required
to cover most
contraceptives
By Jessica Sparks
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western's Student Health
Center will not be changing its
birth control prices if the
Washington State Insurance
Commissioner's proposal to
require all insurance plans to
cover prescription contraception
is approved.
"We're glad more women will
have the option to get contracep­tion,"
said Emily Gibson, Student
Health Center medical director.
Students who don't want to
have their birth control paid by
insurance will still be able to pur­chase
pills for $12 per cycle,
See HEALTH, Page 3
Dorm to be built by 2005
Taber Streur/ The Western Front
Ridgeway Gamma stands above the area where
the new dorm will be built. Site drainage of the
wetland has begun, and a new pump house that
will feed the new dorm and other Ridgeway
dorms is soon to be constructed.
By Taber Streur
THE WESTERN FRONT
Rumors that Western will be receiving a
new dorm are true.
By 2005, Western should have a new
dorm located below Ridgeway Gamma.
The dorm will accommodate the
increase in freshmen .admittances to
Western.
"We will need another couple hundred
sets of beds by 2005," Hart said. "We
obtained building and wetland permits in
February."
Construction of a new dorm was post­poned
from previous plans for construc­tion
in 1995.
"We resurrected (the idea) two years
ago, but it has since been abandoned
because the design would be 12 years old
by time of completion," Hart said.
There are plans underway to hire a new
architect to design the new dorm, he said.
Hart said last year Western had a prob-
See DORM, Page 3
Editor, student
Scott A. Keys
dead at age 24
By Levi Pulkkinen
THE WESTERN FRONT .
On July 24 the Western com­munity
lost one of its finest.
Scott Alexander Keys, a 24-
year-old Western senior, died of a
self-inflicted gunshot wound
early Tuesday afternoon, leaving
behind his mother, Elizabeth M.
Moya, his sister, Dee Dee Keys, as
well as innumerable family and
friends in Bellingham and
Bremerton, Wash., his home
town.
Services for
Keys took place
Monday at Lewis
Funeral Chapel
in Bremerton,
where his friends
and family came
together to
remember the
young man's life Scott Keys
and grieve at his
passing. Photographs from Keys'
youth were displayed for mourn­ers,
many if not all of whom were
shocked at his untimely passing
and missing the man dearly.
"(Keys' death) was so crazy
because we talked about every­thing,"
said James Neal, Western
alumnus. "He was such an
upbeat guy."
Keys was a manager at Costco
Wholesale in Bellingham and the
accent/features section editor for
The Western Front.
IN THIS ISSUE
Boxing beauty goes
for the glove
Western Alum prepares for
her shot at the Golden
Glove in August.
See story, Page 8.
The 'Rainbow Maker'
shines in Blaine
Fred Stern showed off his
rainbow
making skills
July 20 at the
International
Art Festival
at Peace Arch
Park.
See story, Page 5.
For news tips, call (360) 650-3162 or e-mail t h e Western Front at wfront@cc.wwu.edu This issue is dedicated in memory of Scott Keys