Western Front - 2005 May 17

              HE WESTERN FRONT
AY, MAY 17, 2005 • WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY • BELLINGHAM, WASH. • WESTERNFRONTONLINE.COM
ISSUE 14
VOLUME 133
Regional jugglers unite
Jugglers travel
to Western for
weekend festival
BY DAN GROHL
The Western Front
Jugglers from throughout the Northwest
packed Carver Gym D Friday, Saturday
and Sunday to take part in the Bellingham
Juggling Club's first annual Bellingham
Juggling Festival.
The club conducted workshops to teach
juggling techniques such as juggling
balls and pins, and juggling while riding
a unicycle. Approximately 100 people
attended the festival.
Participants in the festival were able to
play juggling games such as Combat and
Quarters, said Will Taylor, 2004 Western
alumnus and Bellingham Juggling Club
member.
Combat is a game in which the
participants juggle three pins while walking
around and bumping into other people,
causing them to drop their pins, Taylor
said. Once somebody drops a pin, they are
out. The last person juggling wins.
Quarters is a game in which everybody
juggles three quarters, Taylor said. The
last person juggling all three quarters
wins all of the quarters dropped during
of the game.
^Saturday evening, the club played
host to a free juggling show at Maritime
Heritage Park in downtown Bellingham.
The show opened with music by 2x4,
see JUGGLING, page 6
CHRIS HUBER/The Western Front
Western junior Amiel Martin juggles four clubs during a practice session
Sunday in Carver Gym D as part of the Bellingham Juggling Festival.
KVIK to produce
AS advertisements
BY KATIE ROTHENBERGER
The Western Front
Western's on-campus television station, KVIK, is
creating a promotional production department to give
students a chance to experience the world of television.
This fall, KVTK will launch the department, which will
give Associated Students clubs, activities and events the
ability to advertise and inform the student body through
commercials and promotional videos of campus events.
The new department will represent the Ethnic Student
Center, the Outdoor Center, AS Productions and Western's
radio station, KUGS.
KVTK's goal is to bring students' attention to issues
concerning Western clubs. The station will promote
upcoming AS events and activities, said Shawna Cook,
Western senior and KVIK promotional production
coordinator.
One of the station's goals is to introduce a student
DVD package. This DVD will educate incoming students
about Western's activities and community.
"This will set the pathway for a future for KVIK to start
growing with other departments by promoting ourselves
and other people," said Matt Acosta, Western junior and
KVIK coordinator. "We used ideas from other colleges
as an example and saw this as a step toward the future."
The production department plans to show its
informational videos about clubs and events to students
through commercials at Western's Information Fair on
televisions in Red Square as well as at the Kappa Carnival
next spring, Acosta said.
"This is a chance for KVIK to get their foot in the door,
gain broadcasting capabilities and run commercial spots,"
Cook said. "This quarter everything is still in stage one
while we are developing paperwork and working out the
kinks, but next year is the step-off point to promote the
entire student population."
Cook said she knows finding jobs and internships
is challenging for many students in college because
see KVIK, page 3
Western faculty to vote fall quarter on forming union
BY KELSEY DOSEN
The Western Front
A majority of Western
professors are in the process of
attempting to form a union. But
Western's administration, which
includes the president, provost
and vice presidents, intervened
in the middle of the process and
delayed the vote.
The faculty planned to vote winter
quarter 2005, but the administration
postponed the voting until at least
fall quarter 2005, English professor
Bill Lyne said.
Members of the administration
could not be reached for comment.
In 2002, Congress passed
legislation allowing unions at four-year
universities, initiating the
efforts of Western faculty toward
collective bargaining rights.
Collective bargaining rights enable
faculty to collaborate as one voice
in bargaining talks.
Andrew Bodman, Western's
provost, is attempting to divide
faculty members and stand in the
way of unionization, assistant
professor of history Steven
Garfmkle said. This caused delays
in the faculty unionization efforts
for nearly a year, he said.
"We want to meet in the
middle," Garfinkle said. "Access to
collective bargaining helps faculty,
administration and students."
The administration is interfering
by dividing the eligible faculty
into categories: full-time faculty,
limited-term faculty, which is
faculty not in the 10-year plan and
not entitled to a salary increase
after that period, and department
chairs, Garfinkle said.
The administration wants to
consider only full-time professors
see UNION, page 6
Border officers taking steps to prevent drug smuggling
BY ADAM BROWN
The Western Front
Border patrol seizures of counterfeit
goods and illegal drugs along the
Canadian border throughout the past
two weeks have focused public attention
on the border patrol system.
On May 9, U.S. border patrol
officers intercepted 48,000 doses of the
stimulant MDMA, commonly known
as ecstasy, said Joe Giuliano, 51, border
patrol officer. He estimated the street
value of the drugs to be approximately
$1 million.
"This was a bigger-than-average
seizure," Giuliano said.
Customs officers arrested Canadian
border officer Altaf Merali, 37, of
Surrey, B.C., May 3 on suspicion of
attempting to smuggle 227 pounds of
marijuana into Bellingham. Merali had
allegedly arranged to deliver the drugs
to Stanwood resident Jason Dean Smith,
20, but confessed to officers during a
routine check at the Pacific Highway
truck crossing in Blaine. The case is
currently under investigation.
Giuliano said his department guards
the land between the Sumas, Lynden
and Blaine ports of entry and prevents
anyone from sneaking across the border
unchecked. These ports are land or water
checkpoints that all travelers must pass
through before crossing the border.
" "The demand in the United States
for drugs is high," Giuliano said. "So
see BORDER, page 3
CHRIS HUBER/The Western Front
A Canadian tour bus proceeds through a U.S. Cus­toms
and Border Protection X-ray checkpoint.
BOLD BREWS
A look at local tea rooms
and the properties of tea.
FEATURES, PAGE 8
l ^ H r a H P HIKING AROUND
Web site offers students a valuable Western students and
Bellingham residents explore
new terrain.
SPORTS, PAGE 11
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