Western Front - 2005 April 5

              ISSUE 2
VOLUME 133 HE WESTERN FRONT
AY, APRIL 5, 2005 • WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY • BELLINGHAM, WASH. • WESTERNFRONTONLINE.COM
Local groups receive funds from casino
BY ADRIANA DUNN
The Western Front
Western senior Paul Hanson and his
little brother Daniel, 14, spend two to three
hours per week together, sometimes doing
homework and burning CDs or^ depending
on the weather, heading to the driving range
to hit a bucket of golf balls.
After Hanson, a biology and anthropology
major, volunteered in February 2004 to be
a "big brother," Big Brothers Big Sisters of
Northwest Washington matched him with
Daniel, a freshman at Bellingham High
School.
The Silver Reef Casino gave out more
than $124,000 Wednesday, as part of a
gaming agreement between Washington
state and the casino. The agreement requires
Silver Reef to donate a percentage of its
slots revenue to charities. The casino chose
to give Big Brothers Big Sisters $5,000.
The Northwest Indian College Foundation,
located on the Lummi Nation Indian
Reservation, received the largest donation,
$27,000, from the casino.
Twenty-five Western students donate their
time to elementary students in Bellingham
through the Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based
program. Western students are also a
see DONATIONS, page 6
Pope remembered in Bellingham
Community members
mourn the death of
Pope John Paul II
BY LINCOLN SMITH
The Western Front
Bellingham community members
gathered Monday at Assumption Church
for communion and prayer for Pope John
Paul II and the next pope.
Pope John Paul II, 84, died April 2 after
26 years of service. People worldwide
mourned the death of the pope and began
the process of healing while waiting for the
election of a new Roman Catholic pope.
The funeral will take place April 8, six
days after the death of John Paul JJ., said
Michael Mauss, Campus Minister of the
Shalom Center. v
The Rev. David Muttiolland! of Sacred"
Heart Catholic Church in Bellingham
visited Poland and saw the effect Pope
John Paul H had on the people there.
"The transformation of the people in
the last 20 years has been remarkable,"
Mulholland said.
Although the pope was ill his death still
came as a shock, Mulholland said.
Western senior Jose Gueco said he saw
the Pope in his "Pope-Mobile" at the
World Youth Day in Toronto of 2002.
"It was pretty crazy," Gueco said. "It
was an amazing experience."
During the World Youth Day, Pope
see POPE, page 5
CHRIS HUBER/The Western Front
Bellingham resident Jutta Millard remembers Pope John Paul I I during
a communion service Monday at Assumption Catholic Church, as she
prays for the election of a new pope.
Film festival
to educate orr
human rights
BYZACHKYLE
The Western Front
Human rights issues cannot be ignored and require
immediate attention, said Nate Johnson, 29, a Bellingham
, resident and committee member of the Community Human
Rights Film Festival.
The festival aims to educate the community about human
rights issues throughout the world and in the community,
Johnson said. It will run at Western's Fairhaven College
Auditorium April 13 to 17 and 20 to 24. Films will show at
6:30 p.m. each evening, after which filmmakers, activists
and academics will lead a discussion, Johnson said.
The diverse topics of the films and speakers include the
war in Iraq, immigrants' rights, the privatization of water
and grassroots political activism.
One of the films shown, "The Face of AIDS in Whatcom-
"County" documents"livW of six local residents as they
straggle with HIV or AIDS. "'". -
After the film's showing April 17, filmmaker Wilson
Large will lead a discussion and answer questions about
his experience producing the documentary.
Large, a Bellingham resident since 1984, said he never
heard about AIDS on a personal level until the Evergreen
ADDS Foundation approached him to make the film.
Large said people stigmatize the issue because two major
demographics of HIV and AIDS patients are homosexual
men and intravenous drug users, making those living with
the virus feel invisible.
The documentary, Large said, centers on the emotional
journey of the six participants and examines their attitudes
see FILM, page 5
Western students help create Habitats for Humanity
BY KARA LEIDER
The Western Front
Habitat for Humanity's annual Act!
Speak! Build! Week from April 4 to April
10 gives students the opportunity to voice
their concerns about families throughout
the country who do not have access to
affordable housing.
Sleep-outs, letter-writing campaigns,
noontime prayers, seminars and walk-to-
rally events will occur at more than
200 college and university campuses in
the United States, including John Brown
University and Rhodes College, as part of
the Act! Speak! Build! Week.
A group of Rhodes College students
in Memphis, Tenn., will hold a three-day
letter-writing campaign urging students
to contact members of Congress about
affordable housing issues. They also will
share poverty statistics through posters
and campus media.
Ben Klein, a 2004 Western political
science graduate and intern for Campus
Christian Fellowship this year, led a
group of 11 Western students March 20
to 26 on a Habitat for Humanity work trip
to Sumas, near the Canadian border.
By the end of 2006, Habitat for
Humanity's "Opportunity Sumas" will
have built four adjoining houses for the
first time. The team has already broken
ground and built concrete foundations for
the first two homes.
Western senior Jordan Ely said he
spent his spring break in Sumas building
houses with Klein. This was his first time
volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.
"We had great weather, the construction
workers were wonderful teachers, and
Habitat is a great group to work with,"
he said. "v,
John Shorthill, the executive director
for Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom
County, said he was grateful Western
students sacrificed their time to help
with "Opportunity Sumas." By the end
of 2006, he said four families will be
living on four adjoining lots. Habitat for
Humanity has not started the other two
houses yet.
see HUMANITY, page 5
Photo courtesy of Allison King
Western sophomore Blake Conley installs cement
foundation in Sumas during spring break.
BLOWN AWAY
Bellingham artists explain
the science and art behind
glassblowing.
FEATURES, PAGE 9
9NHHBBHBB.
Illegal downloading can lead to
Bill^Si^B^I^Sfii^BiPBIiBil
FLYING DISCS
The Western men's Frisbee
team dives and defends in
"Dirty Deeds" tourney.
SPORTS, PAGE 10