Western Front - 1999 February 26

              WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26,1999
VOLUME 107 ISSUE 13
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BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON
Prospective trustees
appear before Senate
By Remy Kissel
The Western Front
Three Western trustee nomi­nees
are among 190 gubernatori­al
appointments awaiting confir­mation
by the state Senate.
Adrienne Thompson, Wes­tern's
first student trustee, par­ticipated
in a Feb. 10 confirma­tion
hearing before the Senate
Higher Education Committee.
Betty Woods of Everett and Erik
Pearson of Richland went before
the committee Feb. 19.
Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles CD-Seattle),
chair of the committee,
said the committee performed
70 gubernatorial hearings, the
most of any Senate committee.
Kohl-Welles said the commit­tee
gathered all written records
about the appointees, including
their employment histories, then
invited them to testify before the
committee.
"The hearing is like an infor­mal
discussion in a very formal
setting," Kohl-Welles said.
Kohl-Welles said she first met
the candidates shortly before the
hearings to inform them about
the questions, then they were
sworn in under oath to guaran­tee
truthful testimony.
The hearing in front of the
committee, Kohl-Welles said,
consists of a series of open-ended
questions, which give the
appointees a chance to state why
they are suited to hold the posi­tions.
Appointees also must share their
views on current issues such as
financial aid and the administra­tion's
role.
"We've been discussing
tuition-setting authority lately,"
Kohl-Welles said. "We ask the,
appointees if they think it
should be left up to the legisla­ture
or the schools, and their rea­soning."
See Trustee, page 5
Accident closes Lakeway Drive
By Bryta Alvensleben
The Western Front
A driver and passenger were
killed Thursday afternoon when
their car collided with a school bus,
empty except for the driver, in the
2500 block of Lakeway Drive.
The accident occurred about 4
p.m. when the driver of the car,
traveling east on Lakeway Drive,
appeared to have crossed the cen­ter
line and struck the front of a
school bus traveling westbound,
said Bellingham Police Sgt. Shawn
Aiumu.
The driver of the school bus sus­tained
minor injuries, Aiumu said.
Names of those killed in accident
will not be available till next of kin
are notified, Aiumu said.
The school bus was driven from
the scene of the accident, Aiumu
said, and it did not receive exten­sive
damage.
The car was totaled.
Because of the accident,
Lakeway Drive was blocked off
from the corner of Lakeway and
Yew to the end of Bayview
Cemetery from about 4 to 7 p.m.,
Aiumu said.
___ .„„.„..IIIHiHIBilll
More than 100 students gather in Red Square to question, support diversity
Front/ Kari McGinnis
Western student Kim Morrison speaks to the crowd at Wednesday's rally in Red Square.
Rally backs affirmative action
By Mia Penta
The Western Front
The blustering wind and threatening rain didn't
dampen the spirits of the students, faculty and staff
who met in Red Square at Wednesday's rally to show
support for affirmative action.
The rally was part of the National Students and
Youth Day of Action in Defense of Affirmative Action,
started by students across the country as a call for
unity between college and high school students to
fight for equality in education.
Students stood around the fountain, holding up
signs displaying questions such as "Stand up for affir­mative
action," "Fight oppression: racism, classism,
sexism, homophobia" and "Karen Morse, where are
the results you promised last fall?"
Other people with signs mingled in the crowd,
which numbered more than 100 by the end of the
rally.
The extensive list of student organizations support­ing
the rally included the Associated Students
Women's Center, A.S. Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/
Transgender Alliance, A.S. Outdoor Center and the
American cultural studies department.
Fairhaven student Kim Morrison opened the rally,
referring to Initiative 200 as a wake-up call for action.
Passed last fall, it outlawed preferential treatment to
minorities and women. Morrison reminded the
crowd that 1-200 not only impacts minorities, but
women as well.
"It ain't a black thing," Morrison said. "Ifs an
everybody-thing."
Many students stood in front of the crowd and
asked what action Western has taken to reach out to
minorities and women and demanded direct answers
from the administration. Morrison said she would
like to see information on the numbers of minorities
in the coming freshman class, as an article about
incoming freshman at the University of Washington
in last Sunday's Bellingham Herald did.
"I would like to see the statistics for Western,"
Morrison said. "I haven't heard anything."
Bill Lyne, professor and associate chair of the
English department, encouraged students to continue.
questioning the administration about affirmative
action if they want answers.
"This is not a school that belongs to Old Main,"
Lyne said.
Director and associate professor of American cul­tural
studies Larry Estrada said Western was founded
by children of farmers, lumber workers and fisher­men.
He said affirmative action during that time dealt
with class rather than race, but it is still a traditional
concept.
"We want the university opened up for everyone,"
Estrada said. "We need to understand the concept,
See Rally, -page 6
Co-op housing units approved by city
By Cindy Nunley
The Western Front
The Bellingham City Council
approved Bellingham's first co-housing
development — to break
ground in April — at a meeting in
earlier this month.
The 33-unit development at
2160 Donavan Ave. will foster a
sense of community, said Edwin
Simmers, who spoke at the city
council meeting on behalf of the
project and will be one of its first
residents.
"There are a number of people
who have been working on this
for years, and we're very proud—
very excited that we've gotten as
far as we have," Simmers said.
Twenty families have made a
commitment to the development
by paying down 5 percent on
units ranging from $95,000 to
$200,000.
Each family will have a private­ly-
owned unit built around an
existing farmhouse, which will
serve as a community-owned
meeting place for shared meals,
child-care, offices, crafts and
guest rooms.
"We designed the development
with what we wanted and what
would fit for us," group member
Kate Nichols said. "Many devel­opments
have an exercise room,
and we didn't consider that a
high priority, but we will have a
room for crafts."
Residents hope to move into
the development they helped
design in time to celebrate the
millennium together.
Group members attribute the
growing popularity of co-housing
developments to a need for clos­er-
knit communities.
"For myself and my family, (we
chose co-housing) because we
See Housing, page 4