Western Front - 2004 September 21

              Hold it down?
Landlords could crack down
on loud, rowdy tenants.
See page 4
Braving the bay
Teen swimmer determined to swim
across Bellingham Bay.
See page 15
Seatbelts, please
'Click-it or Ticket' campaign
to return to Bellingham.
See page 21
ISSUE 1
Volume 131
Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington The Western Front TUESDAY
September 21, 2004
Flying the safer skies
U.S. Customs operating
border security station at
the Bellingham airport
By Matthew Anderson
The Western Front
The 4,000-mile border between the United
States and Canada, known as the world's longest
undefended border because of the lack of a
significant -military presence, is receiving security
upgrades.
In late August at the Bellingham International
Airport, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
opened the first of its five planned border-security
facilities.
These facilities will increase the Homeland
Security Department's ability to monitor and prevent
illegal activities at the border, ICE spokeswoman
Marie Sebrechts said.
ICE will open its second northern border station
this year in Plattsburgh, N.Y. It plans to open other
bases in Montana, North Dakota and Michigan,
Sebrechts said. -
After the Bellingham Air and Marine Base opened
Aug. 20, its aircraft contributed to the seizure of 209
pounds of "B.C. Bud," or marijuana from British
Columbia, worth an estimated wholesale value of
$627,000 in Sequim Harbor, Sebrechts said.
U.S. investigative agents, border protection
officers and task force members, acting on a
tip from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,
contacted a boat that had crossed into U.S. waters
from the southern coast of Vancouver Island, B. C,
Security, PAGE 24
Photo courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security
Officials at the Bellingham Air and Marine Base are using tools such as this
helicopter to provide aerial surveillance of illegal border activity.
New park and ride set to open at Lincoln Creek
By Caleb Heeringa
The Western Front
By building a .new park-and-
ride facility, Western is
aiming to solve its parking and
transportation problems, said
Tim Wynn, director of Western's
Facilities Management.
Western's Lincoln Creek
Transportation Center, located in
what used to be the property of
Twins Drive-In on Lincoln Street,
opens for use tommorow as a
free park-and-ride for Western
students. Public buses run from
the facility to campus.
Wynn said that having access
to the facility should encourage
people to park for free instead of
having to buy a parking pass.
"This project had a target user
— commuters and people that
use cars to get to campus," Wynn
said. "This encourages them to
take the bus and hopefully will
alleviate the parking pressure
around campus."
The facility is in the first of two
phases of construction. Western
parking reserves funded the first
phase, which included adding of
a bus turnout and shelter.
Wynn said the university hopes
to receive grant money for the
Bus, PAGE 10
Governor Locke
names Tomlin to
board of trustees
By Melena Eaton
The Western Front
Western senior Maya Tomlin
received an unforgettable birthday
present on July 21 when Washington
Gov. Gary Locke appointed her to her
current position as the student trustee
for Western's board of trustees.
Tomlin said she applied for the
yearlong position in March, interviewed
for it and received the appointment in
July.
"I have a really unique opportunity
(as the student trustee) to help Western
to be the best it can," Tomlin said.
"This position is not about me. I have
a really deep commitment to Western's
success, and anything I am a part of, I
get behind 100 percent."
As the student trustee for Western,
Tomlin said she attends board meetings
every other month and participates in
discussing agenda topics with the
other trustees.
Liz Sipes, secretary to the board of
trustees, said Tomlin brings a student
perspective to the board and inputs her
perspective as a student.
"We discuss things like the budget
and building renovation," Tomlin
said. "The only part of the meetings I
cannot be part of is when they discuss
personnel matters.
Tomlin also meets with Western
President Karen Morse before each
board meeting.
Tomlin's student trustee position is
one of six in Washington.
"All six (public) four-year
universities in Washington have student
trustees," Prigg said. "Students getting
an education is what universities are
all about, so it makes sense to have at
least one voice on these boards who is
a student."
Two years ago, Tomlin joined the
Trustee, PAGE 12
Rec center adds another award to growing list
Kim Sklar-Fowler/
The Western Front
A woman works
out on a stair-climbing
ma­chine
Sept. 15 at
the Wade King
Student Recre­ation
Center. The
center recently
received another
award to add to
the growing list
of accolades
it has already
garnered.
By Matthew Anderson
The Western Front
Barely a year old, Western's Wade King
Student Recreation Center is compiling a notable
resume of awards.
The latest accolades come from Athletic
Business magazine, which selected the center as
a national Facility of Merit and will feature the
building in its November issue.
"Fmverypleased that Western was recognized,"
said Marie Sather, Western's director of campus
recreation services. "It's a very sought-after
award."
The magazine extended the award to
professional sports teams' facilities, Sather said.
In April, the rec center was one of seven such
buildings nationwide to receive the Outstanding
Sports Facilities Award from the National
Intramural Recreation Sports Association.
"The building is in many ways unlike most
campus recreation centers," said Jim Kalvelage,
a partner at Portland firm Opsis Architecture,
which helped design the facility.
At 98,000 square feet, the building does not
appear imposing from the outside, he said.
"Usually, those spaces feel like warehouses
with big trusses and ducting," Kalvelage
said. "It nestles into the site. We hit a chord
with a Northwest architectural flavor that fits
into Western's campus. The openness and
transparency of the building - you're able to
stand in one spot of the building and sense all the
Center, PAGE 25
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