Western Front - 1998 October 20

              WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20,1998
VOLUME 106 ISSUE 7 BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON
Hate attack
hits home
By Mia Penta
The Western Front
As cliched as "every cloud has a silver lining"
sounds, Matthew Shepard's tragic death inspired the
silver lining of Western students coming together to
show support for him last Friday.
Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming stu­dent,
died as a result of severe beating by two young
men. The attack may have been motivated by the fact
that Shepard was openly gay. His death has sparked a
nationwide discussion of hate crimes.
Students, faculty and community members met in
Red Square to focus on Shepard and why he died. The
whole idea of the rally was to allow people to freely
speak trteir own thoughts about what happened and
what to do about it, Doris Kent of ^Prevention and
Wellness Services-said; - '•'•
"(The rally) was not just to address hate crimes but
to honor Shepard and his life," Kent said.
/;Seyen peoplestood on the fountain, silently hold­ing
signs reading, "Last weekend a college student...
Matthew Shepard... was beaten to death... because he
SeeRally, page 4
Front/Bobby Stone
Western's men's rugby team; the Warthogs, battled the University of Washington last Saturday. John Rogers
charges down the field with the ball, flanked by teammates (from left to right) Chris Rex, Kevin Larson and
Jeff Kissick The WaM^ See story, page 9.
Makah hunt debated
Front/Tyler Watson
Sarah Sickle (center) listens to a speaker at
the memorial rally for Matthew Shepard.
By Shane Powell
The Western Front
Whales do not die easily.
The indigenous Makah tribe in Neah Bay says neither will its
whaling tradition.
Today, a debate swims in enlarging circles around which should
die first; the ripples of that debate have washed onto Western's
campus.
Associated Students Social Issues hosted presentations Monday
night by two distinguished representatives of the opposing view­points
surrounding this controversy.
Mikah McCarty, a Makah tribal member, was the first to offer
perspective to a packed "Viking Union Main Lounge.
McCarty was originally trained to participate in the whale hunt,
but has since given up his position in order to become a student at
Northwest Indian College.
McCarty spoke for the majority of the Makah who believe it is
not only their legal right to continue a 2,000-year-old whaling tra­dition
but also their ancestral responsibility to uphold and fulfill an
ancient ritual and legacy.
"I'd like to address this from a historical time that I consider the
foundation of who I am and where I come from," McCarty said.
"I have great difficulty reconciling these modern laws with spir­itual
and traditional values that have been passed on with years
and years of wisdom."
McCarty attempted to provide a picture of where his tribe has
evolved from and the philosophies that have been passed down to
the people who now inhabit Neah Bay, while also recognizing
their inevitable ties to a modern culture.
"We are all products of society," McCarty said. "At one time, this
whole earth had a genetic tie to an earth-based society."
McCarty said he believes the traditions of his tribe have helped
to uphold its connection to that important past, but the present
society poses a threat of losing those roots.
"I don't have a lot of faith in the society that has prevailed
around the planet," McCarty said.
The Makah blame many problems of the 1,600 people on their
See Whales, page 4
Retailer targeted for use of old-growth
By Angela Smith
The Western Front
More than 20 college students and other
local activists shivered in the chill early-evening
air last Wednesday to protest Home
Depot.
The chain has. been accused by the
Rainforest Action Network and Greenpeace
of selling old-growth lumber from British
Columbia and products, such as handles on
paintbrushes and paneling ,made from rain­forest
woods.
Protesters gathered on the corner of
Meridian Street and Telegraph Road, hold­ing
signs and handing out fliers with statis­tics
concerning old growth — 96 percent of
the United States' old growth is gone, and
only 22 percent of the world's old-growth
forests are still intact — to cars sitting at the
stoplights.
Members from various groups on cam­pus,
including Western Endangered Species
Alliance, Western Animal Rights Network
and Environmental Justice Network, met
Oct. 4 to form a new group, Activists
Coming Together, to discuss plans for the
protest.
ACT, one branch of nearly 100 groups
nationwide, stood on the sidewalks in front
of Home Depot stores to inform the public
and store personnel of the destruction of old
growth and rainforests.
"This was not meant to be an attack on
this store," said Fairhaven student and co-coordinator
of Western's Environmental
Center Becky Statzel. 'If s to let people know
that Home Depot actually does sell old
growth."
Responses to the protest from passersby
ranged from shouts of "Get a life" to honk­ing
horns and upraised thumbs.
Protester and Fairhaven student Pat
Taylor discussed the encouraging responses
from some people. "At first, people see a
bunch of hippies, but once they talk to us
one on one, they come around," Taylor said.
Inside Home Depot, store manager Jason
Britain said he did not see the protest as any
threat.
When asked about the sale of old-growth
and rainforest lumber and wood products,
Britain said, "Not much is known at store
level."
He said all inventory and information
about that inventory comes from Home
Depot's buying offices.
Protesters across the nation wished to
inform the company of the alleged origins of
its products.
The goal of the protest, Statzel said, was to
"pressure management to make a stand on
old growth and find healthier ways to har­vest
timber."
In a statement issued by Home Depot,
Director of Environmental Programs
Suzanne Apple said Home Depot shared
environmental concerns and called the
activists' criticisms "misplaced."
Home Depot has formed partnerships
with various groups — Scientific
Certification Systems, Portico, Premdore
and Collins Pine — to develop alternative
products and make them available to the
retail market.
"Instead of demonstrations, the Rainforest
Action Network might consider joining us
and others in efforts to develop alternative
products, educate consumers and pioneer
green building practices that can be used in
all types of construction," Apple said.