Western Front - 2002 January 11

              FRIDAY, January 11, 2002
Western Washington University Volume 120 Issue 1 Bellingham, Washington
• studentsup^ «pjt» protesters demand trial by jury by SHC request
for proof of
immunization
By Heather June Olah
THE WESTERN FRONT . •
Twenty percent of Western
students received notifications
demanding proof of measles
immunity during winter break.
If students fail to provide proof
of immunization by Feb. 15,
they will not be allowed to regis­ter
for classes spring quarter.
Dr. Emily Gibson, Medical
Director at the Student Health
Center, said these students were
previously waived for the vacci­nation,
many out of convenience.
The urgent need for proof of
immunization comes from a
close call several weeks ago
when a student appeared to
have measles, Gibson said. It
was a false alarm, but it shed
light on the impact a potential
outbreak could have, she said.
Western student Bryan
Schuman said he questions the
legality of the required testing
and innoculations.
"The waiver I signed said to
the extent that 'if an outbreak
were to occur,' not if there were
a scare I'd have to at least get
See MEASLES, Page 4
Heather Trimm/ The Western Front
Heath Haggerty, 4, is one of many Bellingham residents
who would like to see a park built downtown.
By Lisa Mandt
THE WESTERN FRONT
Charged with conspiracy to
commit disorderly conduct dur­ing
a city council meeting this
summer, three protesters from
the "pit park" movement
appeared before the Bellingham
Municipal Court Wednesday.
One week after the June 4,
2001 sit-in, the three defen­dants,
David Sansone, Tim
Talley and Joann Ernst, were
arrested publicly and required
to- post bail, defense* witness
Ellen Murphy said.
After being offered diversion
sentences, the three defendants
entered a plea of not guilty and
requested a jury trial, prosecu­tor
Jeffrey Lustick said.
Defense attorney David
Hunter will represent Sansone
and Talley, while Ernst will rep­resent
herself.
The verdict should be handed
down this Friday. If found guilty
by the six-person jury, the
accused may face up to 180 days
in jail and $1000 in fines,
Lustick said.
"The charges seem extreme to
me," said Rob Baxter, a friend of
the defendants. "I could under­stand
community service, but
conspiracy seems extreme."
A rally took place in front of
the court building prior to the
trial to gain support for the
defendants.
The city council sit-in
occurred when the city council
met to discuss future plans for
the "pit," a vacant lot at the cor­ner
of Holly Street and Railroad
Avenue. A crowd of protesters,
who felt the "pit" should be con­verted
to a park, entered the
council chambers complaining
that the council proceeded with­out
the public's input.
Then, as a sign of protest,
Ernst and three other protesters
chained themselves together
with bicycle chains.
Despite their protests, the city
council meeting continued until
Alex Cummings' microphone
was turned off while addressing
the council, and that's when it
got chaotic, Murphy said.
"I didn't want to yell, but they
shut my microphone off,"
Cummings said after being
questioned by the police
Tuesday.
Following the city council
meeting, the protesters
remained in the meeting hall to
discuss and reflect on the issue,
Murphy said.
"The detective told them, if
they left peacefully when it was
time to close, no charges would
~ See TRIALS, Page 4
Decreased funding threatens WTA bus route schedules
By Lisa Mandt
THE WESTERN FRONT
With the second highest rider-ship
in the state, Whatcom
Transportation Authority may
be forced to reduce bus service
by nearly 50 percent by mid-
2003, drastically impacting bus
service to Western's campus and
the community.
The potential reduction
stems from the Nov. 2, 1999
passage of Initiative 695. 1-695
proposed the elimination of the
Motor Vehicle Tax (MVET),
Clean Air Tax, Travel Trailer
and Camper Excise Tax, and
called for a standard $30 car
license tab fee.
Exploring possible alterna­tives,
WTA proposed an initia­tive
to increase sales tax in
Whatcom County.from 7.9 to
8.2 percent in order to maintain
normal service.
The initiative will be on the
ballot March 12.
If this initiative does not
pass, WTA will eliminate 12 out
of 37 routes, reduce the service
of 18 routes and leave only
seven routes '_ unchanged,
according to the; Conceptual
Service Reduction Plan.
However, the Civic Field route,
which transports students from
a parking area off-campus to
campus, will hot change because
Western funds part of its service,
transportation service specialist
Rick Nicholson said. '-,.•
"There is no way these cuts
could' happen without leaving
people at their stops everyday,"
said WTA Director of Service
Development Rick Gordon.
"The: students are going to
have to be flexible if the funds
are cut," he said.
The cutbacks could increase
ridership oh the Civic Field bus,
which may enlist more buses for
peak hours.
"We can't have all the costs of
Civic Field without increasing
parking and the express pass,"
said Jim Shaw, Western's
Director of Public Safety.
See ROUTES, Page 4
Students endure inconveniences due to continued construction
By Amber Blondin
THE WESTERN; FRONT
Students are familiar with the
sight of backed-up cars, traffic
controllers and closed streets
due to construction. According to
new information from campus
officials, students will continue
to see construction for at least
another two years.
"We're about one-third of the
way done with major projects on
south campus," project manager
Dave Willett said. "And we still
have many more projects
planned to begin construction
soon."
Current construction projects
include building the Campus
Service Facility on the corner of
Bill McDonald Parkway and
21st Street, roadway improve­ments
and underground utility
work on the intersection of Bill
McDonald Parkway and West
College Way.
A student recreation center
south of the track, a new com­munications
facility and an aca­demic
instructional center are
construction plans for the
future.
Scheduled road work
includes improving the service
road east of the track and the
parking lot 21 „C by making it a
more efficient spatial layout.
Plans also call for widening Bill
McDonald Parkway (from the
streetlight to the intersection
at West College Way) 30 to 35.
feet by inserting a median,
bicycle lanes, sidewalk and new
car lanes, Willett said:
"The C lots are only; tempo­rary
lots," University Police
Chief James Shaw said. "In the
near future they are going to be
playfields when the parking
garages are built."
"Though future projects may
entail construction to be around
longer still, students need to
Candace Nelson/ The Western Front
Traffic controller Cindy Adams directs vehicles at the
intersection of East College Way and South College Drive.
have a lot of patience and should
not expect to come in without
disruptions," Shaw said.
"Construction has to continue." :
Western sophomore Jeff
Morris said he is losing patience
for the ongoing construction.
"It?s annoying because they
always have people directing
traffic and there's always a
huge pile up," Morris said. "I
think if they didn't have any-one
out here doing traffic work
See PLANS, Page 4
IN THIS ISSUE
Western Women's
Basketball
Viking women won at
Koine 74-63 against
Humbolt State, Thursday
night . . " " _'
See Story, Page 8.
Boozin' and Brawlin'
in Bellingham
Downtown bar workers
share
experiences in
dealing with
drunk and
disorderly
patrons due
to recent
incidents.
See Story, Page 6.
For news tips, call (360). 650-3162 or e-mail the Western Front at wfront@cc.wwu.edu http://westernfrontonline.com