Western Front - 2003 January 28

              Choppy waters
Students experience the rush of
creek boating.
See Story, Page 8.
In the mix
Straight edge musician stands out
as teacher and studio technician.
See Story, Page 6.
<Qiir«$«:3 The Western Front Western Washington University Volume 124 Issue 5 Bellingham, Washington
Area gas prices remain steady despite threatened oil supply
Bellingham police issue fewer DUI and MIP tickets
Peter Louras/The Western Front
Unaware of the global conditions that are creating an increase in gas prices posted on
the sign behind him, Western senior Aaron Heath watches the gallon meter tick away at
the Samish Way 76 station, which is often frequented by Western students.
Citizens urge
City Council to
consider Iracj
war resolution
Global Actions
liocal Reactions
By Joshua Fejeran
THE WESTERN FRONT
Anti-war protesters held up
signs and shouted out remarks
in a chaotic Bellingham City
Council meeting Monday night
at City Hall.
In a 4-3 decision, the council
voted to have an interactive pub­lic
forum to discuss an anti-war
resolution at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 30 at
a yet-to-be-determined location.
In an earlier meeting Monday
among city council members,
they decided 4-3 not to add a
public hearing on proposed anti­war
resolutions to the next city
council agenda.
Community members, who
supported a resolution, said
they felt a decision to not put a
public hearing on the agenda
was irresponsible.
"We elect you as our represen­tatives
to do more than just
pass ordinances," Bellingham
resident Bern Haggerty said to
council members. 'You repre­sent
us, our ideas and values.
We expect you to speak for us."
See RESOLUTION, Page 4
By Matt McDonald
THE WESTERN FRONT
Instability across the world
has led to. increases in gas
prices in the United States, but
Bellingham has felt little
effect.
Currently the average price of
regular unleaded gas is $1.40 per
gallon nationwide. The lowest gas
price in the United States is in
Lacey, Wash, at $1.19 per gallon,
according to gaspricewatch.com.
In Bellingham the average
gas price is $1.30 per gallon.
Gas prices are lower in
Bellingham because of local condi­tions,
said Dennis Murphy, dean
of Western's College of Business
and Economics. Refineries are
running at full capacity to keep oil
abundant locally.
Across the United States, gas
prices have climbed one-half of
one cent in the last week and
35.4 cents during the last year,
according to the Energy
Information Administration.
"Last summer the prices were
(approximately) $1.65, and that
didn't hurt us much," said Brad
Gablehouse, gas attendant at
the Barkwayi Chevron -irj^@ld
Fairhaven. ; -
The conflict between the
United States and Iraq has kept
Iraq's oil imports out of the
United States.
Outbursts in Venezuela due to
political conflicts have caused a
strike by the opposition and
kept oil out of Venezuela.
According to a Jan. 27
Reuters article, the United
States depends on Venezuela
for 13 percent of petroleum
imports.
"Uncertainty creates prob­lems,"
Murphy said. "A conflict
could be destructive to oil prices
...Freeing Iraq oil resources will
create stability."
Venezuela is the No. "5 crude
oil exporter in the world, accord­ing
to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
Venezuela's oil export status
makes the Dec. 2 strike against
the government and current
President Hugo Chavez Frias
important worldwide. The strike
has crippled the oil industry,
creating fuel shortages and in
turn, raising, fuel prices.
Iraq has the second largest
crude oil reserve in the world,
according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
- See GAS, Page 4
By Andrea Boyle
THE WESTERN FRONT .
Liquor law violations and DUIs
issued in Whatcom County for
2002 are down from the last two
years, according to Bellingham
Police Department statistics.
In 2002, the BPD issued 271
tickets for driving under the
influence; 106 to the 18-to-24-
year-old age group. That num­ber
is significantly down from
2000, when officers issued 439
DUls, Bellingham Police Officer
Jon Knutsen said.
He said 100 of the DUIs
issued in 2000 were to people in
the 18-to-24-year-old age group
— and 527 minor in possession
tickets. In 2002, the BPD.issued
364 tickets for DUI, a decrease
of 163, as well as 446 MIPs, a
. decrease of 81.
Additional education on the
part of school systems, the social
stigma of drunk driving and a
heightened awareness of conse­quences
may be a few reasons
attributed to the drop in DUIs
and MIPs, Knutsen said:
"The numbers show less
arrests were made in 2002 than
the previous two years," said Lt.
Craige Ambrose, Bellingham
Police media relations officer.
Some people speculate about
what has lowered the MIP and
DUI numbers, but the public is
aware that Bellingham has a
zero tolerance policy on under­age
drinking and drunk driving
laws are strictly enforced,
Ambrose said.
"Many people tell me to go
out and catch the real crimi­nals
when I pull them over for
drunk driving, but I tell them
that more people die in alcohol-related
accidents than all other
violent crimes combined,"
Knutsen said.
Last year, 281 fatal car acci­dents
occurred in Washington
from alcohol-related incidents,
according to the Fatality Analysis
Reporting System statistics from
Western students explore
options to study overseas
the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration. Fatal
alcohol-related accidents in 15-
to-20-year-olds make up 36.1 per­cent
of accidents.
Western follows a strict policy
on underage drinking with no
underage drinking permitted on
campus, University Police Chief
Jim Shaw said.
In 2001, UP officers issued
119 disciplinary referrals for
liquor law violations in the res­idence
halls; 95 of those were
arrests.
'The more folks that drink
when they are legally permissi­ble
and drink responsibly, the
See DUI, Page 4
By Colin McDonald
THE WESTERN FRONT
A few miles from her goal of
reaching Mount Everest Base
Camp, Western senior Kate
Smithson had to turn back. She
was starting to hallucinate and
had one of the worst headaches
of her life.
"There were times when I did
not want to live anymore,"
Smithson said. "I was alone, and
I could not tell the difference
between what was real and
what I was hallucinating."
Smithson was traveling in
Nepal to study Asian culture. On
a trek to the base camp, at 17,500
feet, her body began to suffer
from acute mountain sickness, a
result of moving too quickly from
low to high elevation.
While not all students who
study in other countries have
adventures like Smithson's,
many do have life-changing
experiences.
Learning to understand differ­ent
places and cultures was the
theme of Monday's International
Opportunities Fair at Viking
Union 567, said Liz Partolan-Fray,
director of International Programs
and Exchanges at Western.
The fair had 39 organiza­tions
promoting programs from
requiring volunteers to teach­ing
English as a second Ian-
See FAIR, Page 4
Colin McDonald/The Western Front
Western junior Zak Cobb signs up to receive information
about study abroad programs. Cobb said he plans to
spend fall quarter in Germany to meet requirements for
his German minor.
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