Western Front - 2002 January 15

              TUESDAY, January 15,2002
The Western Front Western Washington University Volume 120 Issue 2 Bellingham, Washington
Tit' protest trial ends in
hung jury, retrial date set
By Lisa Mandt
THE WESTERN FRONT
The "pit" protester ease ended Monday
in a hung jury after eight hours of delib­eration.
It will be retried in February.
The three defendants were charged with
conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct.
Following the verdict, city prosecutor
Jeffrey Lustick immediately called for a
retrial, requiring defendants Joanne Ernst,
Timothy TcJley and David Sansone to
appear at 10 a.m. in Bellingham Municipal
Court Feb. 5 for a pre-trial hearing.
"It is not uncommon in a hung trial to
call for an immediate retrial," Lustick said.
He said the hung trial proves the court
system is fair and that a unanimous vote
is needed for a conviction.
"I'm very happy and proud of the jury
for giving this case this much care and
consideration," defense witness Ellen
Murphy said. "However, I am very disap­pointed
that the prosecutor called for an
immediate retrial."
In response to £he hung jury, defendant
Ernst expressed her disappointment in
the retrial decision and said she may not
appeal, depending on the length of her
sentence if convicted.
"I will probably appeal because this
kind of thing (restriction of first amend­ment
rights) needs to be stopped," Talley
said. "If we are found innocent, we will
probably file a civil suit."
Talley expressed his frustration in the
decision to retry the misdemeanor case.
"If the city is going to continue in this
waste of time and money, then so be it," he
said.
The defendants said they classify this
trial and prosecution as a "witch-hunt,"
but the city responded by denouncing the
accusation. Instead, the prosecution
argued that the defendants went too far
in their actions.
To argue their case, the prosecution relied
on videotapes of the city council sit-in, along
with many other pieces of evidence.
"We also used photographs, e-mails that
were transmitted between the defendants,
See JURY, Page 4
Budget cuts may hike tuition
Viking forward Maurice Tyree
University players Yusif Aziz
is dominated by Seattle Pacific
and Daniel Sandrin (40) Both teams
By Laura Thoren
. THE WESTERN FRONT
A 15 percent tuition increase could be
an optioBhfor Western's Board of Trustees
to compensate for recent statewide budget
cuts. Any possible tuition increases, how­ever,
would be decided after legislative
session is complete in mid-March.
. The board of trustees met Monday in
Seattle to discuss fund raising at Western
in preparation for the state legislature's
budget decision.
"The trustees discussed the impacts of the
budget cut and what the university needs to
make up the money," Student Trustee Jeff
Kelly said. "The board has not yet discussed
specifically what it will do."
According to Gov. Gary Locke's state bud­get
proposal for 2002-03, submitted last
month, Western will be required to cut 5
percent from its 2002-03 budget of $93.6
million.
Locke's proposal for higher education
also included maintaining a growing
enrollment, increasing financial aid to low
and middle-income students and giving
tuition-setting authority to the governing
boards of universities.
The proposal also expands enrollment
for worker retraining programs at techni­cal
and community colleges.
"We support the additional tuition flex­ibility
in the governor's budget,"
President Karen Morse, said in a
December news release. 'Tf authority is
granted by the legislature, we will pro­pose
tuition adjustments to our board of
trustees only in amounts necessary to
maintain the high quality of Western's
programs and prevent cuts to areas that
serve and effect students"
Western student and political science
major Megan Stydulf receives partial stu­dent
aid to cover her out-of-state expenses
'• See TUITION, Page 4
Poor air quality complaints relocate Western offices
ByJoshHaupt
THE WESTERN FRONT
Air quality concerns forced
three Western administrative
offices to move during
December, with relocations fin­ished
this past week.
Workers in Western's Offices of
accounting, purchasing and
telecommunications complained
during the past few months of
respiratory problems, headaches,
tearing eyes and coughing fits,
Frits Ponsen, director of telecom­munications,
said.
The departments were previ­ously
located at the
Administrative Services Building
A at 333 32 St.
The accounting office moved
to Old Main 580/320, purchas­ing
was relocated to both Wilson
library 677 and Edens Hall 116
and telecommunications moved
to Viking Addition 22.
Complaints from the workers
in the office of
Telecommunications alone were
"chronic," Ponsen said, with
nearly all employees reporting
respiratory problems to some
degree.
"I had some problems with
breathing," telecommunications
employee Bobby Hallock said.
Ponsen said he believed
residual glues from recent con­structions
and mold created
from moisture seeping up
through the building's founda­tion
might be the reason for the
complaints.
"I've not felt anything myself
though," Ponsen said.
Although 20 people com­plained
at one time during the
past months, no solid data exist­ed
yet, said Gayle Shipley, direc­tor
of environmental health and
services.
"Even if it's just one person,
Amber Hurley/ The Western Front
Dave Schuyler of Western's Transport Services moves
furniture out of Administrative Services A on 32nd St.
Facilities Management to make
sure the air quality concerns are
fixed as soon as possible.
Director of Facilities
you have to take it seriously,"
she said. "This is a health,
issue."
The Office
Health was
of Environmental
working with See OFFICES, Page 4
i \ n i ls
Western Women's
Basketball
"Viking women win 13-
straight at Carver Gym
with a 88-82 victory over
Western Oregon University.
See story, Page 11.
One group of
happy ass-slappers
A new AS club called
SLAPS! lures
its members
with one
object: Slap
your mate's
ass before
your ass
is grass.
See story, Page 9.
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