Western Front - 1998 October 6

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WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6,1998
VOLUME 206 ISSUE 3 BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON
Effects of Initiative 200 weighed
Public dialogue Minimal changes expected
has many facets
By Arvid Hokanson
The Western Front
Washington State Initiative 200 discussions
over the past year have often become heated as
citizens, including students, have debated and
discussed affirmative action and the role it plays
in Washington's government, higher educa­tion/
and contracting.
On Nov. 3, voters will decide the fate of the
controversial measure, and Western senior Gajee
Parsons thinks that if voters approve 1-200, it
wwu
Diversity
Part II of an occasional, on-going
series examining diversity.
will hinder efforts to make public employment,
education and contracting equal for the current­ly
protected groups, including racial and ethnic
minorities as well as women. Parsons challenged
people in the majority to imagine what college
life for some minorities can be like:
"Picture a filled classroom where the minori­ties
and less privileged sit in the back of the
See 1-200, page 4
Front/Jesse Kinsman
Percy and Elizabeth Rodriguez of Perukallpa perform at the President's community recep­tion
for students of color Friday. See story, page 5
Friends, family lament
loss of Western student
By Nadja Kookesh
The Western Front
Western's admission and hiring
policies may not be affected if
Initiative 200 passes this
November, several Western staff
members said.
"I don't think it would have
major affects (on Western's cam­pus),"
said Kunle Ojikutu, assis­tant
to vice president of student
affairs and special assistant to the ,
president for diversity. "If so, (we
are) ready for the challenge," he
said.
1-200 "won't directly affect our
office," said Robbi Ferron, director
of the Equal Opportunity Center.
However, Ferron said she "antici­pate^)
more racial tension if it
passes."
"We put our plan under Federal
Executive Order number 11246,"
Ferron said. "State law does not
pre-empt existing federal require­ments,"
including a ballot mea­sure
such as 1-200, she said.
. The executive order states, "An
equal opportunity claim in which
the employer agrees not to dis­criminate
on the basis of race,
color, creed or national origin"
must be included in each contract.
The executive order was issued as
a federal requirement by President
Johnson in 1965.
One of the EOC's main func­tions
is to ensure every employ­ment
search is nondiscriminatory,
Ferron said. The center is. also
responsible for complaint proce­dures,
issues involving the
American Disability Act and train­ing
in sexual harassment and
diversity issues.
"As far as employment goes, it
won't be changed," Ferron said.
The Office of Admissions does­n't
base admissions decisions on
race or ethnicity, but it "gives
points to students with multicul­tural
experiences," Director of
Admissions Karen Copetas said.
Multi-cultural experiences may
include studying abroad, lan­guages
spoken and travel experi­ences.
A multicultural experience,
Copetas said, doesn't necessarily
mean being of a certain race or
ethnicity. An essay is not required
in the application process, but
Copetas said it helps to relate a
multicultural experience in an
essay.
"Everybody wants to diversify
the student body," Copetas said of
other universities in Washington.
"I don't think that we'll have to
change our process," Copetas said.
"We are hoping that (our
process) meets the letter of the
law," she said.
In an address to all faculty and
staff on Sept. 17 President Karen
Morse said, "Our admissions poli­cy
was reviewed related to affir­mative
action challenges. It
remained intact."
A committee has been working
since last year to review areas that
would be affected if affirmative
action were no longer the law,
Morse said.
"(The) dialogue, actions and our
commitment to diversity will con­tinue,"
Morse said.
Gibbs relates horrors of
f
By Alyssa Pfau
The Western Front
Eric Baylor, a 19-year-old
sophomore at Western, died of
acute leukemia on Sept. 30.
Baylor was taken off life sup­port
around 10:20 a.m. and
passed away surrounded by
about 20 of his closest friends
and family.
Acute leukemia is cancer of
the blood and is specifically
common among adolescents.
This type of cancer tends to
strike quickly, Eric's father
Steve Baylor said.
Unfortunately in Eric's case the
disease did just that, and with
very little warning.
, Less than a week prior to his
death, Eric started to feel poor­ly,
with symptoms of a common
cold. Three or four days passed,
and on Sept. 29, roommate Eric
Brooks heard Baylor call for
him in desperation. Brooks
went to Baylor immediately
and was surprised to see him
Eric Baylor
lying on the floor, unable to talk
or hear. Brooks called 911, and
paramedics arrived shortly
thereafter.
"The paramedics were just
drilling me with questions,"
Brooks said. "Apparently he
had gone unconscious; I didn't
know that at the time."
Baylor was put on life sup­port
and airlifted to
Harborview Medical Center in
Seattle. He never regained con­sciousness;
he spoke his last
words when he called for help,
Brooks said.
Brooks left for class to take a
test, and as soon as he was
done, he called a few people
who were close to Baylor.
Without any hesitation, they all
drove down to Harborview.
Baylor lived in the dorms
during his first year at Western
and became close friends with
Brooks and four or five other
guys on the floor he lived on.
"We were like a close-knit
family," said Baylor's dorm
roommate, Tim Ibach. "We felt
See Baylor, page 8
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