Western Front - 2007 June 1

              FRIDAY
ISSUE
WE S T E R N W A S H I N G T O N U N I V E R S I T Y
JUNE 1200?
ISSUE 16, VOLUME M l
IN THE
FRONT
Special Report:
Violence at
Western
page 4-5
Cops Box 2
Pop band
U.S.E.toplay
free show at
Western
page 10-11
Upcoming.. 11
On the Menu 11
Western
senior bikes
through
Ethiopia
page13
Western
freshman
wins national
title in
women's
javelin
page14
Ski to Sea 16
GUEST COLUMN:
Summer offers
students
chanceto
gain field
experience
pageIS
Frontline 18
Viking Voices .18
SATURDAY
' ~A! -/
•pSfe-
• f\K-SPNDAY
. ^ w / .
jjpr
*"*
IP
HIGH
54° UW
W IIGl
53"
1IW
MONDAY 0 8'
wci
Source: National Weather Service
Campus
shoplifting
prompts new
security system
Sarah Gordon
THE WESTERN FRONT
Due to the amount of shoplifting
in Miller Market and the Atrium in
Arntzen Hall, Dining Services has
plans to implement a security system
including cameras and security
guards by fall quarter 2007.
Dining Services Director Ira
Simon said shoplifting in the cafes
and markets has become a problem
that will not be ignored.
"Our purpose is to support loyal
customers and those abusing the
resources are going to be stopped,"
Simon said. "We believe it is an
injustice to those students who are
paying for their foodi"
Theft in retail locations such as
the Atrium will cause dining services
to raise the prices for what is not
being paid for if it continues to be an
issue, he said*
Currently, students who shoplift
on campus are identified and asked to
pay by market atfd^cafe su^visbrs^
But 1iiey^qiaii''''.b:ej.:.clted antf^OTeMed"'
once campus police are notified, said
University Police-^UP) Administrative
Sgt, David Garcia. ^*%;
:
SHOPLIFTING. , 6 ^
Whatcom drinking water threatened
City report says residential developments
to blame for declining water quality
Tuli Alexander
THE WESTERN FRONT
The water quality of the
Lake Whatcom Reservoir, the
only source of drinking water
for 95,000 Whatcom County
residents, including 82,000 in
Bellingham, has become the top
priority for city officials.
Existing development of
residential property in the Lake
Whatcom watershed is the
major cause of declining water
quality of the lake, according to
a report published by the City of
Bellingham this year.
The lake suffers from
low oxygen levels, a sign of
excessive algal growth due to
increased phosphorus in the lake,
said Shannon Sullivan of the
Washington State Department of
Ecology.
Phosphorus is a naturally
occurring nutrient found in water,
soil and air that algae require
to grow, said Dr. David Shull,
professor at Huxley College of
the Environment.
Water quality becomes
a problem when too much
phosphorus is released into a
lake through topsoil runoff and
inadequately treated stromwater,
causing an increase in algal.
Bacteria consume dead algal
matter and use up the oxygen.
Oxygen levels are one way to
measure water quality, Shull said.
Low oxygen levels were
first detected in 1998, when the
lake was placed on the state list
of water bodies that fail to meet
water quality standards. The
levels became even lower in 2004,
according to the report.
The Department of Ecology
plans to release a Total Maximum
Daily Load report, which will
outline how much phosphorus
needs to be reduced in order to
sustain the health of the lake,
Sullivan said.
It is then up to city and
county officials to decide what to
do from there, she said.
^jn0'-jtake•• |Whatcom • watershed; iprpvidesK
pjcinliing ^atefe for Bellingham and yfesfigp"
Whatcom Gounty. A new study has shown
;4hV^feh^:}6^;oxy^en;"ieVej^^. sigif ;;d|k
|cdncerifiOT^^^
^nrtk^g'Watei|;4:^'~:;v -"'w8^5ft? ::M^M-:^W
.•',5 •-'i'ftS -#Ci|v p~-f: -:; iMapciiurtes^of Ine fctty of Bellingh'arn
M
Although the report is not due
to be out until the end of summer,
the city has been taking measures
to improve water quality such as
stormwater treatment, promoting
behavioral changes in the
watershed and land acquisition,
said Janice Keller, the city's
communications coordinator.
Since 2001, the city has
bought undeveloped land in
the watershed, preventing
construction of 1,273 houses.
However, current zoning allows
for 3,208 more single-family
homes, according to the report.
The land acquisition aims
to avoid development and will
probably remain a forested region
with some park use and limited
trails, said Clare Fogelsong,
Manager of Environmental
Resources.
To encourage behavior
change, the city is using
stormwater funds to help
participating watershed residents
capture rainwater from
impervious surfaces — roofs,
driveways and roads — before it
infiltrates the lake.
One of the ways the city's
seeBMNIQNBWJIIEIIpageSK
w e s t e r n f r o n t o n I i n e . c om