Western Front - 2004 May 11

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TRIPLE TRIATHLON
ISSUE 12
VOLUME 129
Seventy-five participants ran,
swam and biked.
Sports, Page 10
STILL SMOKIN'
Banning smoking because of question­able
evidence hurts businesses.
Opinions, Page 14
ALL FOR MOM
Students and alumni treat their
moms to a day of fun.
Features, Page 8
Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington
The Western Front TUESDAY
MAY 11, 2004
Communications Facility to open in weeks
By Annalisa Leonard
The Western Front
After more than four years of planning
and construction, the Communications
Facility will open for classes summer
quarter.
The journalism and communication
departments will move into the building
June 7. Their offices are located on the sec­ond
floor, along with six classrooms.
The physics department will move in late
June, and the computer science department
will move in August, Simpson said.
"The total program cost for the
Communications Facility — including the
cost of predesign, design, construction and
equipment — is $36.4 million," Director of
Facilities Management Tim Wynn said.
The money was appropriated from four
different two-year budgets between 1997
and 2005, he said.
The building has two sections: a south
wing, which has offices, and a north wing,
which has classrooms and lecture halls.
The basement features seven physics
labs, two darkrooms for the physics depart­ment,
two general university classrooms
and three personal computer labs.
The first floor has three computer labs
and computer science labs. The five lecture
halls on the ground floor are set up like the
Science, Mathematics, & Technology
Education building, with the rooms side by
side. Three of the computer labs — one
Macintosh and two PC — will be open 24
hours a day, Simpson said. They will be
located in the south wing of the first floor,
he said.
One striking difference between the
Communications Facility and the SMATE
building is the walnut woodwork, which
contrasts with the substantial amount of
natural light the windows let into the
hallways.
"With all the technology and bells and
SEE Done, PAGE 6
Western creates jobs — but competition, too
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Editor's note: This is the fifth in a five-part
series examining Whatcom County's
economy.
By Kenna Hodgson
The Western Front
Every year, approximately 3,000 stu­dents
graduate from Western and jump
into the job market.
While many students want to stay in
Bellingham, the town is not big enough to
absorb all the graduates, said Tina
Loudon, director of Western's Career
Services Center.
The Career Services Center conducts
an annual survey of the employment sta­tus
of Western graduates. Forty-six per­cent
of the '02-'03 graduates responded to
the survey.
While 720 of the 2,736 students worked
in Washington, only 221 students reported
finding employment in Whatcom County,
according to the survey.
"From my experience, a lot of students
express an interest in staying, but I think
it's safe to say that more people want to
stay than can find jobs," Loudon said.
Some graduates, however, are hired in
Whatcom County. The survey reported
employment across the spectrum, from
. Ben Arnold/The Western Front
Western sophomore Ryan Wapnowski, 20, works at the Haggen in
Sehome Village as a back parcel stocker. Wapnowski says he lived on
campus as a freshman, but now that he is living on his own, he has to
work to pay rent. He has had this job since September.
retail jobs to higher-paid, upper-entry-level
jobs. The survey reported salaries
ranging from $21,000 to $48,000 a year.
Loudon said the average salary reported
in Bellingham was $29,880 a year.
"Bellingham has good options — it's
just a small town," Loudon said.
According to the survey, students found
jobs in Seattle and along the 1-5 corridor;
other popular places included California
and Oregon.
Western is the largest employer in
Whatcom County, so it creates pros and
cons for the community, said Dodd
Snodgrass, economic development spe­cialist
for the Port of Bellingham.
Western creates jobs and provides
employers with a large pool of well-edu­cated
workers to choose from, Snodgrass
SEE Jobs, PAGE 5
Plan for renewable
electricity needs
approval from
board of trustees
By Caleb Heeringa
The Western Front
Obtaining the approval of Western stu­dents
was only the first step for the Students
for Renewable Energy. The group is now
working to receive the approval of Western's
administration in its quest to make Western
the first public university in the nation to run
on 100-percent renewable electricity.
Students passed the Renewable Energy ini­tiative
1,622 to 292 in the Associated Students
elections April 28. .-,- ' ' ^ -
The group has several possible-ways <to
implement the renewable-electricity plan,
and it is researching which company would
work best for Western. The group members
will present their findings to Western's board
of trustees June 1, a week and a half before
the June 10 board meeting, and the board will
discuss the options during*the meeting.
The group members hope to receive final
approval from the board by October, said
Derek Nixon, a Western sophomore and
member of Students for Renewable Energy.
Molly Ayre-Svingen, also a Western sopho­more
and member of Students for Renewable
Energy, said she was surprised with how
easy it has been to work with Western's stu­dent
government and administration.
"We thought it might be tough to work
with (the Associated Students) and the
SEE Energy, PAGE 5
Group prepares to present final proposal for waterfront development
By Matt Black
The Western Front
If the Waterfront Futures Group has its
way, some future Western students may
have a bay-front seat in class. „ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
During the next several ~~~ \
weeks, the group will offer U p c o m i n g e v e n t s:
the public its final opportu- — May 12: Group will
nity to provide input in a
series of open houses, pre­sentations
and guided tours
of Bellingham's waterfront.
The group will present to the
City Council and Port of
Bellingham at 3 p.m.
Wednesday at the
Bellingham Cruise Terminal. The presen­tation
will serve as a preview for the final
present to City Council
— May 15: Starting at 9
a.m., guides will conduct
tours of the waterfront
— June 24: Group will
introduce its final proposal
recommendations.
The group, which the city and the port
commissioned, will later present its final
proposal for future development of
Bellingham's waterfront. This presenta-
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ tion will include possible
plans to expand Western's
campus to the shoreline.
The presentation to the
Bellingham City Council
and the Port of Bellingham
will be June 24 at the cruise
terminal.
^ Doug Starcher, a liaison
between the Waterfront
Futures Group and the
Bellingham Planning
Commission, said the group would be
pleased to see Western extend its campus
to the waterfront, possibly at the end of
Pine Street.
"For the first time in 100 years, Western
is interested in expanding to the water­front,"
Starcher said. "We'd love it if
(Western) expanded. It would bring more
jobs and money to the waterfront."
Lynne Masland, director of university
communications at Western, said that
although Western is interested in expand­ing
to the waterfront, the discussion is in
preliminary stages.
Masland said Western President Karen
Morse has gathered a group of faculty
members to discuss the possibility of
waterfront expansion.
"What's important to remember is mat
SEE Future, PAGE 6
Changing tides:
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