Western Front - 2005 October 21

              THE WESTERN FRONT OCTOBER 21, 2005
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY An independent student newspaper serving the campus community since 1970. ISSUE 10, VOLUME 135
To check for
whooping
cough, West­ern
physicians
swab patients'
throats. The
physicians bot­tle
the samples
and send them
to a laboratory
in Seattle to see
if any bacteria
is present.
Whooping cough hits campus
TAYLOR WILLIAMS / THE WESTERN FRONT
BY AMY HARDER
The Western Front
The Student Health Center diagnosed
two Western students with cases of
whooping cough the week of Sept. 26,
said Emily Gibson, director of Western's
Student Health Center.
The cases are Western's only
confirmed cases of whooping cough,
which doctors formally call pertussis,
and involved two students living off
campus who knew each other and had
continuous close contact, Gibson said.
"We-have had two weeks without
identifying a case," Gibson said. "I feel
more comfortable with an outbreak not
occurring on Western's campus with
only two sporadic cases confirmed that
we are keeping a close eye on."
Gibson said she wanted students to
know pertussis is a disease that affects
people other than infants, which is a
common misconception. Last year the
health center diagnosed pertussis five
times, Gibson said.
"People come back to campus after
being exposed to pertussis in their home
communities," Gibson said. "It wasn't
something they picked up here."
Pertussis is a respiratory disease that
is life-threatening to infants but not to
adolescents or adults, Gibson said.
The illness is still uncomfortable,
see COUGH, page 4
KVIK expands programming
University Residences grants
station access to its channels
BY SUSAN ROSENBERRY
The Western Front
Since April 2005, streams of color were the only thing
students could watch on Western's two campus channels,
channels 15 and 16.
A residential student committee, however, has the
opportunity to replace the 24-hour color bars with a variety
of programs from Western's broadcast organization,
KVIK, as soon as November.
Because University Residences owns the channels, its
residential advisory committee would review the KVTK
programs in November and decide which ones to air,
University Residences director Willy Hart said.
The residential advisory committee is comprised of
elected student officers in the Residence Hall Association,
the governing board of Western's residence halls. Also
included in the committee are representatives from the
National Residence Hall Honorary, a national organization
comprised of top resident officers from colleges and
universities, Hart said.
"I'm not interested in making these decisions," Hart
said. "Students should have a more participatory process
see PROGRAMS, page 6
TAYLOR WILLIAMS / THE WESTERN FRONT
Western junior Doug Sacrison holds Western senior Matt Acosta as Western senior Dan Erickson films.
The three were filming a show about tripping on bricks on campus Thursday to air some time this spring.
Minutemen spur protests
Local citizens accuse Minutemen of racism
due to statements about border protection
BY LOREN SHANE
The Western Front
Whatcom County resident arid
Washington Minuteman Tom Williams
decided he would make a political statement
this month to express his concern about
illegal immigration in the United States.
Along with 13 other citizens of
Washington, 12 of whom are Whatcom
County residents, Williams said he is
serving with the Minutemen group of 13 at
the U.S.-Canada border to express to law
enforcement officials the need for tightened
security in a time of national crisis.
"We're out there to stop people trying to
infiltrate into our country," Williams said.
"We don't want people coming in with
bombs and blowing stuff up."
Williams, a retired Marine Corps officer
and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy
first joined the Minutemen in April when he
moved to Tucson, Ariz., to volunteer with
the group at the border between Arizona
and Mexico.
"Our mission is to report any person
who attempts to enter U.S. borders
illegally," he said.
A few members of the Minutemen
have permits to carry firearms at all times.
Williams, however, said he does not
encourage any of the members to bring a
firearm while on patrol.
Williams said he wanted to make it
clear the Minutemen are stationed at
borders to strictly observe and report, not
to detain anyone.
"A good citizen alerts authorities if they
see a drunk driver or someone illegally
using the carpool lane," he said. "What
we're doing is no different."
Minutemen protesters, including
Western sophomore Ian Morgan, disagree.
"The Minutemen target those who
see BORDERS, page 6
IMAGE COURTESY OF TOM WILLIAMS
Posters appealing to citizens' patriotism
have the Minutemen growing in rank.
PUNK PARADISE
Four hardcore punk bands hit
a high note for a full house on
campus Saturday
ACCENT, PAGE 9
ROAD WARRIORS
Western's football team stays on
the road against Humboldt State
University
SPORTS, PAGE 10
OPPOSITE DAY
The Bush administration's contra­dictions
prove that every day truly
can be opposite day
OPINIONS, PAGE 14
WEATHER
Saturday: Sunny
Hi: 58 Low: 44
Sunday: Sunny
Hi:56Lpw:44
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