Western Front - 2003 March 11

              I
Playoff bound
Western women oust Alaska-
Fairbanks, prepare for playoffs.
See Story, Page 10.
Rags to riches
Local man emerges from pbverty
to document old haunts.
See Story, Page 8.
TUESDAY, March 11, 2003
Western Washington University Volume 124 Issue 16 Bellingham, Washington
protest signs draw complaints
By Jenny Zuvela
THE WESTERN FRONT
After news of Western senior
Blair Anderson's complaint
reached the Women Studies
office, a "No Iraq War" sign in
the window was turned around
so the message could no longer
be read from outside.
"The sign was up for a month
(before someone complained),"
said Cynthia Moulds, interim
director of women studies.
"Nothing was said directly to
Women Studies,"
Anderson's complaint involved
a Washington state law regard­ing
the use of. state-owned
resources. .
"State resources, such as
offices and windows may hot be
used for political purposes,"
Anderson said. "Just as I would
not expect a professor to.post a^
sign promoting President Bush
and his policies, I do not expect a
professor to post political mes­sages
which run contrary to
(Bush's) policies." r-^&&,
Wendy Bohlke, senior counsel
for the office of the attorney gen-
See SIGNS, Page 4
<~«*5ss3sr?^- v-7-vti:^? Jenny Zuvela/The Western Front
Program assistant Bridget Howe works in the Womens Studies office where a "No Iraq
War" sign hangs in the window, suspended by two ribbons taped to the ceiling.
Westerh plans to reorganize colleges next fall
lESTtUCTUIIMG
By Golin Mci)onald :
THE WESTERN FRONT
For the first time in 20 years,
Western will change the organiza­tion
of its colleges. This fall, the
College of Arts and Sciences will
divide into the College of
Humanities and Social Sciences
and the College of Sciences and
Technology.
On Dec. 13, the board of
trustees unanimously decided to
follow President Karen Morse's
recommendation to create the
new,: colleges. The trustees
believed it. was a strategic deci­sion
because of budget concerns
and Western's academic focus on
undergtatiuaite education, board
chair Betty Woods said.
"President Morse is the
leader," Woods said. "We think
she is doing an excellent job of
leading this university in some
very difficult financial times."
The provost's office estimated
the cost of adding a dean and
creating a new college at
$375,000. This includes the
salaries of the dean, associate
dean, a budget manager, support
staff and an operating budget.
According to the Washington
state Office of Financial
"Management detailed report,.
Western deans currently make
between $89,000 and $109,000
annually.
. The restructuring will not
affect monies for faculty or stu­dents,
Morse said.
"We did not want to take any
money that would have been
available to faculty," she said.
"This money is to carry things.
out in our area's."
The College of Sciences and
Technology will receive its fund­ing
from the administrative bud­get
of the College of Arts and
Sciences. Funding for the
College of Humanities and
Social Sciences will come from
the president's and provost's
administrative budgets. .
Thirty-four percent of tuition
and state funds go to instruc­tional
support, which includes
administrative costs, student
services and plant operations.
Sixty-six percent of funding goes
to instruction, libraries and com­puting,
according to Western's
Operating Budget Office.
The faculty senate voted 11-9
against the restructuring. A uni­versity-
wide faculty vote for the
restructuring was 205-82 against.
The faculty senate is also consid-ering
facilitating a vote of no con-
See COLLEGES, Page 4
Local drug
overdoses
increase in
recent years
By Shauna Bakkensen
THE WESTERN FRONT
Overdose danger has increased
in recent years due to the prolif­eration
of impure illegal drugs
and new ways to abuse legal
drugs, said Katie Hansen,
Western's Drug Information
Center coordinator.
Drug-induced deaths increased
from approximately . 9,000 to
16,000 during the '90s and have
continued to rise in the last few
years, the Office of National Drug
Control Policy said.
Bellingham Police have
already filed 33 reports of over­dose
this year, Lt. Craige
Ambrose said. From 1999-2002,
police filed 124 primary reports
referencing overdose, with addi­tional
overdose references over-
®4a|lpi^T^^ sui­cide
attempt,'•- stiicides^and
death investigations.
When a person consumes more
drugs than their body can hah-'
die, overdose occurs.
Suicide attempts are the most
common type of overdose, but
accidental overdose occurs more
frequently among college stu­dents,
said Phil Puhek, a
Bellingham Fire Department
paramedic.
"I had one young guy that was
away from home, and we found
him vomiting uncontrollably —
he was just miserable," Puhek
said. "(The overdose) was acci­dental,
and he was apologetic
and said he didn't want to be the
guy to call 911."
Accidental overdoses tend to
be seasonal, and fall is a partic­ularly
busy season for para­medics,
he said. College stu-
See OVERDOSE, Page 4
Downtown development continues
Keith BollingAThe Western Front
Pistachio shells cover a wire table in downtown Bellingham. The
wire tables and benches are part of the revitalization of the down­town
area.
By Shauna Bakkensen
THE WESTERN FRONT
Red, decorative trashcan holders and sculp­tural
benches dotting the streets of downtown
Bellingham were just the beginning.
Downtown revitalization is underway as the
Public Facilities District, Public Works and
various organizations and community mem­bers
implement plans to make Bellingham
economically secure, said Dunham Gooding,
president of the Public Facilities District.
"It will take some years to complete the
projects, but (the projects) will strengthen
the economic condition of Bellingham,"
Gooding said.
The Whatcom County Council approved a
new economic plan on Aug. 13, which outlines
projects for Whatcom County and the
Bellingham downtown district.
Projects include construction of a new
Bellingham Public Library, .at an estimated
cost of $16 million, and upgrades to the exist­ing
Mount Baker Theatre, which includes
additional theater facilities in the old Mount
Baker building, at an estimated cost of $15.1
million.
The council also established the Joint Public
Facilities District in July. The Public Facilities
. District has the responsibility of spending tax
rebates on community projects.
The district is a separate municipal corpo­ration
with taxing authority and allows
Whatcom County to reroute collected taxes
toward community projects.
Bellingham and Whatcom County will
receive tax rebates totaling approximately
$700,000 per year for the next 25 years. After
the 25-year time span, Whatcom County will be
See BELLINGHAM, Page 3
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