Western Front - 2003 September 23

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RIVALS CLASH
IN DtA 11 LJt
A GLANCE AT
THE PAST
A photo essay of Bellingham
Sports, page 1 Features, page 9
, . ' Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington
BEHIND THE NEEDLE
Local tattoo and piercing artists
showcase their work
Accent, page 18
ISSUE 1
VOLUME 127 Front TUESDAY
SEPT. 23,2003
Grant money helps reduce budget cuts
BY BEN ARNOLD
The Western Front
Since Western's budget was last amend­ed
this summer with additional funds from
the Office of Financial Managment in
Olympia, the Higher Education
Coordinating Board has given Western an
additional $1.7 million to fund programs
for students who choose "high-demand"
careers.
"What we're doing is committing to add
new enrollment to each of these four
areas," Western Provost Andrew Bodman
said.
The HEC Board, which funds programs
that refer graduates to areas the state needs,
announced July 30 that it would fund all
four of Western's requests for high-demand
enrollment funds this biennium. The
College of Business and Economics,
Woodring College of Education, the
College of Arts and Sciences and the
College of Sciences and Technology all
applied for high-demand funds.
The CBE applied for the funding for its
manufacturing and supply chain manage­ment
program, Woodring College applied
for its special education program, the
College of Arts and Sciences applied for its
technical writing program and the College
of Sciences and Technology applied for its
computer science program.
Paula Rustan, executive director for
University Planning and Management,
said the university will adjust the budget as
needed throughout the biennium, but the
HEC Board funding was the last major step
in finalizing the budget.
In June, the state Legislature announced
the higher education operating budget for
the next biennium, allocating approximate­ly
$110 million to Western — a 7.3 percent
reduction from last year's allocation and
9 percent below what Western originally
requested, Rustan said.
SEE Funding, PAGE 4
Parking garage
delayed to explore
Park-and-Ride
Drive-ln Theater
BY. MEAGAN McFUiJDfe^ H^k^l^W^ £ :?'£•&&
The western From ' - ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ M m ^ s ^ ^
To meet increasing parkmg demands, Western officialsi are
considering leasing the Twins Drive-in Theater to use as a
Park-and-Ride service for students by fall 2004.
Western officials originally planned to construct a parking
garage to alleviate on-campus parking problems, but
because of a lack of funding, the 7-8-acre property located on
Lincoln Street is a more viable option, said Tim Wynn,;
Western director of facilities management. The Twins Park-and-
Ride will provide students with alternative parking, and
the Whatcom Transportation Authority will provide shuttle
services to and from campus, he said.
The Twins Park-and-Ride will be closer to Western than
the existing Park-and-Ride site at Civic Field, and the shuttle
service will make the option available for more students,
Wynn said.
If the decision to lease the property is approved, the drive-in
will replace parking at Civic Field and accommodate 600
to 700 free spaces. Western's lease with the city for use of
Civic Field will expire in June 2004, said'George Pierce, vice
president of business and financial affairs.
"(The Twins Drive-In) would also give an opportunity for
long-term parking," said Director of Public Safety Jim Shaw.
"We have an invested interest in the Twins ... the bottom line
is we have to plan for the future, and as time goes on, space
becomes more restrictive, and if we don't control it, it may
go away."
The drive-in property is located on protected wetlands,
Pierce said. The specific number of parking spaces that will
be available depends on what city and government agencies
allow under standards of mitigation.
SEE Drive-In, PAGE 11
•Jr
Western student
charged with
domestic terrorism
remains in jail.
News, page 6
Western honored by
national magazine for
its master's-degree
program.
News, page 14
For news^tips, call (360).650-3162 or e-mail The]
JEN ABNOLD/Thd^Western Front
Marie Sather, director of campus, recreation, explains the features of the new pool at the Campus
Recreation Center to MaryLynn Dawe of the University Capital Budget Office before the grand opening.
Rec Center opens with new fee
BY BEN ARNOLD
The Western Front
As the new 96,000-square foot Student Recreation
Center opens today, Western is simultaneously adding
the mandatory $80-per-quarter fee to students' tuition bills.
Director of Campus Recreation Marie Sather said
Western's gym facilities have been sub-par compared to
other universities in Washington. The new recreation
center will help increase the ratio of available facilities to
the number of students, she said.
The center houses a swimming pool, a climbing wall,
a gym, various group activity rooms for aerobics and
biking classes and three exercise rooms comprising
10,000 square feet of cardio and weight machines. It also
has a wellness center and a main lobby with a cafe,
Sather said. ' " _ '
Western will automatically charge the $80-per-quarter
fee to all students taking six or more credits, whereas
those taking less than six credits can choose to pay the
fee if they are interested in using the facility, Sather said.
"I don't like anything that makes tuition go up,"
Western junior Stephanie Haydon said. "But looking at
the positive end of things, it does give students the
opportunity to do physical activity."
The mandatory fee helped Western obtain $26.7 mil­lion
in bonds needed to build the recreation center,
Beckmansaid.
Forty-nine dollars of each student's fee will go toward
paying off the bonds, Beckman said. The remaining $31
will cover the center's operating costs.
Western administrators did not want to issue fees
SEE Center, PAGE 4
Football players arrested, suspended
IOTOS COURTESY
- OF THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Coaches suspended linebacker LaMaine
Davis (left), cornerback Brandon Glasgow
and free safety Brett Snyder-Ferguson
(right) after a burglary Sept. 11.
BY IAN ALEXANDER
The Western Front
After losing its first two
games of the season, Western's
football team suffered another
Toss.
Coaches suspended three
players, senior linebacker
LaMaine Davis, junior corner-back
Brandon Glasgow . and
sophomore free safety Brett
Snyder-Ferguson after they were
arrested on suspicion of burglary by
the Bellingham police Sept. 11..
At approximately 1:34 a.m., officers.
responded to a burglary in the 900
block of 20th Street, said Lt. Craige
Ambrose of the Bellingham Police
Department.
"As officers were responding, dis­patch
advised that the suspects had
fled the apartment with the victim's
television," Ambrose said. "A| K-9
SEE Arrest, PAGE 20