Western Front - 2004 September 24

              ISSUE 2
Volume 131
Digital dream
Bellingham artist displays
computer art.
Accent, Page 7.
Boozing in court
Right to an impartial jury may not
mean the right to a sober jury.
Opinions, Page 10.
All-out attack
Viking football's balanced
offense outlasts Mavericks.
Sports, Page 8.
Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington The Western Front FRIDAY
September 24,2004
Freshman class could set record
More students
apply to Western
than in the past
By Lauren Hardin
The Western Front
Western's Office of Admis­sions
received a record num­ber
of freshman applications,
7,923, for fall quarter, and
approximately 2,450 fresh­man
students are expected to
enroll in classes, ac­cording
to an Office of
University Communications
September memo.
A large number of those
students usually decline their
offer of admission to the uni­versity,
admissions counselor
Chris Roselli said. Roselli
said this might be because stu­dents
apply to several different
universities.
Western has received more
applications than the 2000 aca­demic
year's count of 6,587
because students are tending to
apply to many universities to
increase their chances of admis­sion.
"Most students today are
applying to four or five differ­ent
universities," Roselli said.
"That is a lot more than it has
been in past years."
Chris Taylor/The Western Front
The dinner crowd in the packed Viking Commons is indicative of a large incoming
class. The Office of Admissions expects almost 2,450 freshmen to enroll this year.
The large number of new stu- to be placed in a triple room, a double-occupancy room and
dents has put pressure on such
offices as the Office of Univer­sity
Residences to accommo­date
all students.
University Residences no
longer allows students to re­quest
super-single rooms. Stu­dents,
however, may request
Roselli said.
He said the idea of being
crammed in a small dorm room
with two other people may not
be appealing to new students,
but it does have its benefits.
The cost of living in a triple is
cheaper than living alone or in
can even be the answer to sav­ing
a friendship if a student is
stuck between deciding which
best friend to live with at school,
he said.
"Oftentimes, three best
SEE Freshmen, PAGE 4
Federal grant
helps disabled
find new jobs
By Marissa Harshman
The Western Front
A U.S. Department of Education grant of
$499,000 to Western's Center for Continuing
Education in Rehabilitation at the Woodring
College of Education will assist community-based
providers who help people with disabilities
get back -into the workforce, program director
Laurie Ford said.
"The classes are aimed toward community
agencies who help the people with disabilities
get hooked up with employers," Ford said.
Ford said vocational rehabilitation counselors
meet with people to learn about their interests
and skills. The counselors then take that
knowledge and help them find employment.
"The funding from Western provides training
opportunities for our staff that are invaluable,"
said Debbie Maxwell, a job developer and
marketing coordinator at Chinook Enterprises.
The Washington-based Chinook Enterprises
works with the disabled to create career plans,
Maxwell said.
The funding will go to community-based
organizations throughout Washington,
Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, Ford said. Several
organizations in Whatcom County will benefit
from the funding, and several organizations,
such as the Bellingham Cascade Vocational
Services, are trying to become involved with
the program.
SEE Woodring, PAGE 3
Australian athlete
dies in Skagit race
By Laura Greaby
The Western Front
Australian Nigel Aylott died Tuesday during the Subaru
Primal Quest adventure race because of fatal head injuries
near Rockport in Skagit County, roughly 50 miles east of
Bellingham.
Aylott was participating in the race with three other team
members, forming Team AROC.
"Team-AROC was leading the race in a hiking section,"
race spokesman Gordon Wright said. "They were descending
when Aylott was struck by a large boulder."
Aylott's team members were not harmed.
"Team AROC and an American team were about 400 feet
below the summit of Illabot Peak when the accident oc­curred,"
said Will Reichardt, chief deputy of the Skagit Val­ley
Sheriffs Office.
The adventure race started Sunday on Orcas Island with a
51-mile sea kayak race. The accident took place on the third
day. The race can last up to 10 days, according to the site.
The Subaru Primal Quest is a 400-mile race in which 56
four-person co-ed teams compete to win a $250,000 prize.
The teams are expected to do several strenuous activities
over rough terrain, such as kayaking, biking and hiking.
Team members are not allowed to be more than 100
yards apart for a majority of the race, so the team is only
as fast as its slowest member, according to the race's
SEE Aylott, PAGE 3
Earthquakes now easier to study
Science grant to go toward
quake research equipment
By Cara Shaw
The Western Front
The National Science Foundation awarded Western a
$196,000 grant to study the history of earthquakes near
the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault lines, said Bernard
Housen, an associate professor in the geology department.
Western will use the grant to purchase a vibrating sample
magnetometer, a device that measures the level of magnetism
in rocks and sediment samples, Housen said.
"Having access to state-of-the-art equipment is a vital part
of Western's teaching and research," Housen said. "This
new device will open up a lot of new opportunities for new
research and make some existing research and teaching a lot
easier and meaningful."
A lot of work and effort goes into receiving an NSF grant,
said David Patrick, an associate professor in the chemistry
department at Western. Proposals are written to various
federal agencies, then the foundation will follow up on the
grant and may advocate for the university, Patrick said.
The grant also will fund transportation to the fault lines in
Southern California, the collection of materials and salaries,
and new equipment, which constantly needs replacement,
said Amy Fluette, a research assistant and Western geology
graduate student.
SEE Quake, PAGE 4
Photo courtesy of the University of Michigan
A National Science Foundation grant will enable
Western to purchase a "magnetometer" similar to
this one at the University of Michigan.