Western Front - 2006 October 27

              OCTOBER 212006
ISSUE 9, VOLUME 139
WWU fencing club
armors up
. PARE 11
FEATURES
Resonant Evil"
Vocalists celebrate
Halloween with
eerie music
Cive all
students
access to
hands-on
art classes
Friday
58° 7 42° >
Saturday
Sunday
51° 7 37° '
A&E ..7
Upcoming 9
On the Menu 9
Sports 10
Sports columnist .... 12
Opinions 13
Frontline 13
Viking Voices 13
Rep. Larsen campaigns in Red Square
Tom Callis
THE WESTERN FRONT
Rep. Rick Larsen, (D-Lake
Stevens) visited Western on
Tuesday to speak directly with
students.
From 11 a.m. to noon,
students had the opportunity
to meet with Larsen in Viking
Union room 567 and in Red
Square until 1:15 p.m., said
Western junior Kristina Mader,
Students for Rick Larsen
member.
"I want to be sure that
college students know that
I care that they get involved
in their democracy," Larsen
said. "I want them to know I
support an increased access of
college education, I'm a strong
supporter of the environment
and I will hold the president
accountable for his mistakes in
Iraq."
Larsen said he supports
an increase in the Pell Grant
system, which is the No. 1
source of financial aid from the
federal government.
Larsen said a democratic
photo byTMatt Gagne THE WESTERN FRONT
Ian Morgan (right) and Sara Buettner-Connelly (center) talk with Rep. Rick Larsen on Oct. 24.
congress would benefit the
nation by supporting* a raise
in the minimum wage and
increasing the use of alternative
fuels.
His stance on these issues
earns support from Mader and
other students at Western. "I
support him because he has been
an incredibly strong voice in
our congress," Mader said. "He
is strong on the environment,
energy and other issues that I
see LARSEN page 6 •
Western buys LincoIn Creek lot
photo by Mark Malijan THE WESTERN FRONT
Western purchased the 7.8-acre Lincoln Creek Park and Ride on Oct. 13 for $2.59 million.
WWU plans to
build parking
structure and
clean up creek
Owen Finney
THE WESTERN FRONT
On Oct. 13, Western
completed its $2.59 million
purchase of the Lincoln Creek
Park and Ride. It has plans to
rehabilitate Lincoln Creek and
build a transportation center,
parking structure and visitor
center at the park and ride.
The 7.8-acre site, which
opened in the fall of 2004, is a
parking lot providing spaces
for more than 530 vehicles and
features a transit station. The
parking lot generally remains at
full capacity during Western's
academic year, providing
parking for Western students,
faculty and Bellingham
residents free of charge.
The transportation center
would service the campus and
city allowing for both Western
shuttles and city buses to
provide public transportation
to students and Bellingham
residents, said Donald Wynn,
Western's director of facilities
management.
The parking structure,
while still in the planning
stages, would have three levels,
a 500-car capacity and would be
located on the southern end of
the property. There are no plans
to charge for the parking.
"We don't have enough
parking available on campus,"
said George Pierce, Western
vice president for business and
financial affairs. "There's a
sense that this campus should
be doing more for sustainable
transportation."
There are. ; also plans
for a visitor center;; which'
would supply transportation-information
and feature a
latte stand, bicycle racks, and
restrooms, Pierce said, . ^
The work is set to begin in
June and be finished by October
2007. r''.J'\ ;• V
Western does not have the
funds yet for the transportation
or visitor centers or the parking
structure, said David Willett, a
Western architect. It does have
funds to begin work on the
creek, which winds through the
site making roughly one third of
the property unusable.
Western's Huxley College
of the Environment will clean­up
and restore Lincoln Creek in
see PURCHASE page 6 •
Barking
fines
increase
Rigis Vincenti
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western's President's
Council recently approved an
increase in fines for all parking
and transportation violations on
campus.
Fines for all parking, bicycle
and skateboard violations have
increasedby 15 percent.
Under the new regulation, a
$23 citatiph for parking without
a permit can turn into more
than $100 in late fees if not paid
within seven days from the date
-issued; said Julia Gassman,
manager for ^Western's Parking
and Transportation Services.
"Those people
who disobey
parking rules and
regulations deserve
to be fined"
- April Markiewicz
Parking Fee Review
Committee chair
Fines for parking in
disabled parking spaces or
carrying expired tabs will
remain unchanged as they are
see PARKING page 6 •
wester n f r o n t o n l i n e . c om