Western Front - 2002 July 23

              Cheap summer fun
Lake Whatcom attracts students
in search of a splash.
See Story, Page 7.
Thrifty finds
Local residents and students
make the most of a dollar.
See Story, Page 5.
TUESDAY, July-23, 2002 The Western Front Western Washington University Volume 122 Issue 5 Bellingham, Washington
Campers learn about science, life
By Heatherjune Olah
THE WESTERN FRONT
Middle school is a time of
growth, exploration and social
awkwardness. Combine pread-olescent
insecurity with high
school cheerleaders in a college
setting, and a memorable
moment may arise.
This is just one of the many
life experiences the Student
Adventures in Science and
Arts students receive.
Summer Youth Program
Director Debbie Gibbons
shared a story about cheer-camp
students taking advan­tage
of the shy nature of some
of the middle-school campers
last week during lunch at the
Viking Commons.
"These boys at a table got up
to get ice cream, and the cheer­leaders
from the next table
came over and just plopped
down in their seats," she said.
"They're wearing these short
little skirts and tight, tight
tops." The guys' eyes bugged out
of their heads, she said.
The Summer Youth Program,
offered by the Extended
Education and Summer pro­grams,
invited students in
See ADVENTURES, Page 3
Heatherjune Olah/ The Western Front
Campers in a marine mammalogy workshop explore how long they can endure cold
water. Their afternoon consisted of making a life-size blue whale at Boulevard Park.
Stolen property not yet connected with owners
By W. Jay Schilaty
THE WESTERN FRONT
Robert Harp, an inmate in
Bellingham jail, sat behind two
panes of bullet-proof glass.
"I have nothing to say in my
defense," he said.
Harp is serving time for pos­sessing
stolen property mostly
collected from car prowling.
Police are trying to connect the
property Harp and his friends
stole with the legal owners.
Bellingham Police Lt. Dae
Jamison said it's unclear if
Harp was involved with car
prowls that took place in
Western parking lots.
Jamison said Harp and two of
his friends had up to 300 items
in their hotel room when arrest­ed
three weeks ago.
'You just get caught up," Harp
said. "Drugs get in the way of
your morals and values."
Jamison said he agrees with
Harp that drugs are a huge part of
the problem.
'They can sell your $2,000
stereo for $150, and that's a lot
of meth," Jamison said.
University Police Assistant
Chief Dave Doughty said
Western has made improve­ments
in parking security since
fall quarter 2001.
Doughty said 82 car prowls
were reported on campus lots
during fall quarter. After UP
increased security efforts, 30
were reported over winter and
spring quarters, he said.
"The things Western students
really have to be cautious of are
their CD collections, stereos, cell
phones, portable CD players —
anything of value they leave in
their car because cars are so vul­nerable,"
Jamison said.
Harp said he started car prowl­ing
when he saw an unlocked car
with a purse inside. He had been
up for a week on dope and took a
walk to clear his mind. Harp said
he was amazed at how easy it
was to take the purse with
nobody around.
It can take a car prowler as
little as 15 seconds to take a
stereo, Jamison said.
"You really can't protect your
car, so therefore don't ever think
of it as secure," Jamison said.
Foster-care
system has
collapsed,
lawyer says
By Andrea Jasinek
THE WESTERN FRONT
Arrested on suspicion of hit­ting
his foster mother, 9-year-old
Johnny Smith (not his real
name) sat in the Whatcom
County juvenile detention center
from June 30 through July 12.
The Department of Social and
Health Services scrambled to
find a suitable home for Smith,
but soon realized how hard it is
to house foster children who
brush up against the law,
Smith's public defender Eric
Weight said.
"Kids between the ages of 9
and 12 are presumed to have no
capacity to commit a crime,"
Weight said. "How could he be
in detention for a crime he
couldn't commit?"
He said since DSHS agents
could not find an appropriate
home in which to place Smith,
they suggested the judge keep
him in detention.
Foster children across the
state have faced unjust deten­tion
sentences, separation from
siblings and unsafe living envi­ronments
for years, attorney
Tim Farris said.
"The whole system has col­lapsed,"
he said. "Sick children
are being denied mental health
care. Kids are being housed in
the same bedroom as known
sexual predators."
DSHS Regional Administrator
Todd Henry said he knows the
foster care system needs
improvement.
"There are a number of initia­tives
we've developed to
improve social work practices,
like Kids Come First and the
Foster Care Improvement
See DSHS, Page 3
A.S. Food Not Lawns starts first outreach
program today at Community Food Co-op
• New club advocates
gardens instead of grass
Stephanie Kosonen/ The Western Front
Western junior Michael Marques, a Co-op employee, and
Ruthanne Muller, Co-op community outreach coordinator, pick
feverfew. The flower is used as a tea to get rid of headaches.
By Andrea Sears
THE WESTERN FRONT
The Associated Students club Food Not Lawns
will educate the community about gardening with
its first outreach table from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. today
at the Community Food Co-op.
Volunteers will give away vegetables harvested
from the Food Not Lawns garden.
Afterward, Food Not Lawns volunteers will ran­domly
choose houses and give away left over food
to promote and teach people about transforming
their lawns into gardens.
Food Not Lawns planted its first community
garden adjacent to the Community Food Co-op in
April to encourage better land use by converting
lawns into gardens.
"Lawns represent an environmental problem
through wasted resources, contamination of water
supplies from pesticides and fertilizer runoff and
loss of biodiversity," said Western senior Eric
Conn, one of the Food Not Lawns founders.
The Co-op garden is home to 75 plant species
including blueberry bushes, currants, day
lilies and primroses.
See LAWNS, Page 3
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