Western Front - 2002 May 3

              Taste of Japan
Asia University students share
culture with Western students.
See Story, Page 3.
Drink beer for charity
A microbrew fund-raising event
benefits a recreation center.
See Story, Page 8.
The Western Front Western Washington University Volume 121 Issue 9 Bellingham, Washington
No more smoking in the residence halls
By Juli Robinson
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western junior T.J. Thornton
said when it comes to living in
residence halls, her options are
limited because she has asthma
and is highly sensitive to smoke.
Starting next fall, Western
will institute a no smoking poli­cy
in all of the residence halls,
including Birnam Wood.
Director of University
Residences Kay Rich said the
major motivation behind imple­menting
the policy is to protect
staff and students' health.
She recently received increas­ing
amounts of information on
second-hand smoke.
"I think it's about time (they
have a no smoking policy),"
Thornton said. "I'm from Oregon
and all of the universities, to my
knowledge, are smoke-free."
The current policy allows stu­dents
to smoke in their own
rooms, including balconies, pro­vided
that they do not live on a
substance-free floor.
The new residence hall policy
See SMOKING, Page 4
Juli Robinson/ The Western Front
From left freshman Rob Splinter, sophomore Brooke Callihan and freshman Carrie
Moisey take a break for a smoke on a Fairhaven balcony.
Alexander pleads not guilty, bail set at $1 million
By Valerie Bauman
THE WESTERN FRONT
Ryan Alexander, the 16-year-old
accused of murdering his 8-
year-old neighbor, pleaded not
guilty to aggravated first-degree
murder and kidnapping Thursday
morning.
The prosecuting attorney, Mac
Setter, filed the charges against
Alexander on April 24.
Judge Steve Mura set bail at
$1 million. Setter requested that
Alexander continue to be held
without bail.
Alexander's lawyer, Eric
Weight, - senior deputy at the
public defenders office, moved
that some bail should be set for
Alexander.
Alexander had violated the
terms of his probation for an
offense prior to this case. For
that reason, Mura said he decid­ed
if Alexander can post bail, he
cannot come within one mile of
his own home for neighborhood
safety.
Weight also moved that
Alexander be protected from giv­ing
any statements or interviews
without an attorney present.
"He is a 16-year-old man
charged with a very serious
crime," Weight said.
Initially, Setter said Alexander
should be allowed to speak with­out
his lawyer present, because
he had already been adequately
informed of his rights.
Weight said Alexander is enti­tled
to representation at all
times because he is a minor and
might have undiagnosed mental
disorders.
"Juveniles are more inclined
to admit to things they have not
done or submit under pressure,"
Weight said.
After some discussion, Mura
instructed Weight and Setter to
work out the details of the
motion. The judge will approve
the agreement.
Weight said he plans to file a
motion for Alexander to be tried
as a juvenile.
Putting Alexander in a facility
with adults may cause him
harm, because he is emotionally
much younger than most 16-
year-olds, Weight said.
'Td like to see Ryan put in a
juvenile facility (for now)," Weight
said, "He's 16 — would you let a
16-year-old go to war or drink?"
According to state law, if
Alexander is convicted as an
adult he would face life in
prison. If tried as a minor he
See MURDER, Page 4
Researchers
find swans
dead; lead
poisoning
may be cause
By Bobbie Egan
THE WESTERN FRONT
Researchers are closer to
finding answers to the cause of
202 deaths of trumpeter swans
in Whatcom County between
December and March.
Avian veterinarian Laura
Degernes of North Carolina
State University and her team
of veterinary students will
team up with wildlife rehabili­tation
technicians and local vol­unteers
to perform necropsies
— animal autopsies — on the
swans found dead of lead poi­soning
this winter.
The group will conduct the
necropsies ., at Western's'
Hannegan Environmental
Center on Bakerview Road,
from May 8 to 11.
Degernes examined 172 dead
swans at the Western facility in
May-2001 and determined 98
percent died from lead poison­ing
as a result of ingesting shot­gun
pellets.
"Sadly enough, we anticipat­ed
it would happen again this
year," Degernes said. "The real
question is where are the birds
picking up the shots, and what
can we do to prevent the
deaths. That's the million dollar
question."
Although lead shot was
banned in western Washington
in 1986 for waterfowl hunting,
the pea-sized pellet is to blame
for the massive number of swan
deaths occurring in Whatcom
See SWANS, Page 4
New sculpture added to outdoor collection
Dana Carr/ The Western Front
Justin Hahn designed 'Der
Reuter,' Western's newest
sculpture.
By Dana Carr
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western students passing the
Fine Arts building have some­thing
to talk about between
classes — a new sculpture cre­ated
by Western senior Justin
Hahn.
Hahn's sculpture, made of
plastic and welded steel, is a
21st century representation of a
16th century engraving by
Albrecht Durer called "The
Knight, The Devil and Death."
Hahn's sculpture is an inter­pretive
reference to this earlier
work. He titled it "Der Reuter,"
which is German for "The
Rider." Hahn said that he want­ed
to pay homage to a work that
he had studied and admired.
"Sculpture allows me to make
tangible all these concepts and
processes that I'm interested in,"
Hahn said.
Hahn said he enjoys sculpting
because it is an additive and sub-tractive
medium. A stone carver
can only carve away from the
stone, making it a subtractive
medium, Hahn explained. With
sculpture, he can put together
and take away materials.
"He can flexibly and intelli­gently
respond to work as it's
being produced," said Sebastian
Mendes, assistant professor of
sculpture in Western's art
department.
Hahn has displayed several
sculptures in front of the Fine
Arts building for public exhibi­tion,
including the robot-like fig­ure
that was displayed near the
Art Annex.
He temporarily set up the
sculpture on April 24 with the
sole purpose of photographing it,
but it has been on display ever
since.
The work is facing the build­ing
rather than the walkway
because the light was better that
way, Hahn said.
John Zylstra, a Western alum-nas
and instructional technician
in the art department, created
the house-shaped sculpture that
graced the front lawn of the Fine
Arts building for more than 15
years. The art department
removed the sculpture last fall
to create a more open display
space "for student work.
"This area is designated as a
changing exhibition area for
sculptures," Mendes said.
He described the current
process by which students display
their artwork as fairly open and
unstructured. He encourages
beginning sculpture students to
make something for display, but
they can choose whether to publi-cally
display their artwork.
Hahn said that he has always
been comfortable sharing his
artwork with others.
"His work has always been of
a high caliber and always ambi­tiously
conceived and executed,"
Mendes said.
See ART, Page 4
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