Western Front - 2009 May 22

              INSTALLATION ART
CLASS CREATING
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ENTIRE CAMPUS
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THE WESTERN FRONT
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SINCE 1970 I W E S T E R N F R 0 N T 0 N L I N E . N ET
Fire sprinkler
installation will
displace half of
Buchanan Towers
Julia Means
THE WESTERN FRONT
Beginning spring 2010, the east wing
of Buchanan Towers will be closed for the
installation of fire sprinklers, displacing
up to 207 students to other residence halls
on campus.
Currently, Buchanan Towers has an
alarm system to alert the residents and
staff in the building in the case of a fire,
but Western is in the process of setting up
a sprinkler system that will stop a fire, said
Martin Reed, associate director of facili­ties
in university residences.
Students living in the west wing while
the east wing is under construction could
expect to have no parking spaces in Buch­anan
Towers' lots, construction noise from
approximately 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p:m, as
well as periodically losing electricity and
having no water, Reed said. Students will
be warned ahead of time when these in­stances
will occur, Reed said.
The level of noise disturbance should
not be much different from the construc­tion
that happened in Higginson Hall two
years ago, said Willy Hart, director of uni­versity
residences.
"We have had multiple projects while
students were living on campus and have
had very little complaints," Hart said.
"Although there will be an impact, it is
such as it will not be a big deal."
The construction company will be
informed of approximate dates for mid­terms,
as well as Dead Week and finals
week, Reed said. The company will also
see RENOVATIONS page 3
Major summer construction ahead
Rod Steele levels the ground near Parks Hall
replace cracked and loose bricks and prevent
Hailey Tucker - ...
THE WESTERN FRONT
The number of chain link fences
and blocked off construction zones will
continue to increase on campus over the
remaining weeks of spring quarter as
Western enters into a summer of major
construction and renovation projects.
Tim Wynn, director of Facilities
Management, said seven major construc­tion
projects.are currently underway, but
during the summer, on-campus construc­tion
will increase to 20 major projects. All
of the current and upcoming projects are
funded by either the 2007-09 or 2009-11
biennial capital budgets.
Wynn said construction and renova­tion
are necessary to the learning envi-afier
the bricks had been removed earlier that
unleveled ground.
ronment at Western. If buildings are not
maintained, then structural problems, such
as leaking roofs or poor ventilation, begin
to detract from students' experiences and
ability to learn, he said.
The construction will block off a
number of areas on campus, requiring
Western students, faculty and staff to find
alternate routes through campus, Wynn
said. Facilities Management has worked
to try and make the construction as undis-ruptive
as possible, but some disturbances
are unavoidable, Wynn said.
Projects to aid bicyclists and keep old
buildings up-to-date
A majority of the on-going renovation
projects are intended to maintain the qual-photo
by Hailey Tucker THE WESTERN FRONT
day. The construction in Haskell Plaza will
ity, create accessibility in old buildings on
campus and encourage more students to
use alternative transportation, Wynn said.
The first-of the seven major projects
currently underway includes installing an
elevator in College Hall. Wynn said con­struction
in College Hall began in January
and is expected to be complete by the end
of May.
Wynn said the building has never
been accessible for individuals with dis­abilities,
so the addition of an elevator
had been a long-time goal of the Facilities
Management staff. The new elevator will
allow access to 90 percent of the building
when
see CONSTRUCTION page 7
Apartment complex near Western will house released inmates
w Whatcom Housing Re-Entry
H^ Program - City Gate Apt.
photo illustration by Brandon Kays THE WESTERN FRONT
Katelyn Yruretagoyena
THE WESTERN FRONT
Thirty-nine former inmates who have
been released from Washington state pris­ons
and Whatcom County Jail will be
moved to City Gate Apartments at 607 E.
Holly St., about five minutes from West­ern,
on June 1,2009.
This is in addition to the 16 former
inmates from federal prisons who moved
into, a halfway house at 1641 Baker Creek
Place on May 1.
The housing is designed to keep the
inmates from becoming homeless and
committing any further offenses after be­ing
released, said Wendy Jones, chief cor­rections
deputy with the Whatcom County
Sheriff's Office.
City Gate is permanent-housing for
former inmates who are homeless with
mental health issues, such as schizophre­nia
and bipolar disorder, and substance
abuse issues, Jones said.. A majority of
these inmates have committed misde­meanor
offenses, such as criminal tres­passing,
disorderly conduct, shoplifting
and low-level assault. However, about 12
of the inmates moving into City Gate are
from prison and considered higher-risk of­fenders,
she said.
Thad Allen, re-entry specialist for the
Department of Corrections, said a total
see INMATES page 5