Western Front - 1998 October 27

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WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27,1998
VOLUME 206 ISSUE 9 BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON
Volunteers make a local difference
By Angela Smith
The Western Front
If you build it, they will come.
About 50 volunteers helped
rebuild salmon runs in
Squalicum Greek to restore
salmon populations as part of a
nationwide, event, Make a
Difference Day on Saturday.
-Make a Difference Day is an
eight-year-old, national day of
volunteer service sponsored by
the Points of Light Foundation,
a nonprofit organization bring­ing
together the efforts of more
than 500 volunteer centers, and
Gannett Corporation Inc., a
national newspaper chain own­ing
both USA Today and the
Bellingham Herald.
The Whatcom Volunteer
Center has coordinated Make a
Difference Day in the area for
four years.
The WVC spent two months
organizing about 60 projects in
Whatcom County.
Sarah Case, coordinator of the
Volunteer Education program at
the Whatcom Volunteer Center,
said the goal of the project was
"to mobilize hundreds of volun­teers,
especially those who have
not volunteered before ... and
motivate them throughout the
year."
v.-.. . - - •.'-..- -'-v-; '•--•;' . •-',': '•- •/•• ^- -Front/Steven Uhles
Junior Mike Bautista (left) and sophomore RussWildenberg worked for the Nooksack Salmon
Enhancement Project Saturday as a part of Make a Difference Day.
Make a Difference Day is also more close-knit community. ditional group; the Center for
intended to build ties among Members of the volunteer Service Learning worked with
community members to create a community were not just a tra- the Asia University America
Program to bring 58 Japanese
exchange students together
with other Western students in
various projects around
Bellingham.
In addition to the NSEA's pro­ject,
students also volunteered
to plant vegetation and do land­scaping
with residents and
other local volunteers at the
Dorothy Place, which provides
transitional housing for sur­vivors
of domestic violence and
their children.
Volunteer organizations like
Dorothy Place rely on Western
volunteers, Myra Smith, owner
of the Opportunity Council,
which runs Dorothy Place, said.
"Anything (Western students)
can do to help is greatly appre­ciated,"
Smith said.
Volunteer opportunities are
available from a plethora of
organizations on and off cam­pus.
The Center for Service
Learning assigns projects and
teaches volunteers the ethics of
service, social responsibility
and active citizenship to
Western students.
The center is in Old Main
275B at 650-7542.
The WVC can be contacted at
734-3055 for opportunities at
various organizations around
Bellingham.
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Underage drinkers may
face parental notification
By Mia Penta
The Western Front
Underage college students
caught drinking may have more
to worry about than just a record,
fines and community service.
On Oct. 7, President Clinton
signed a bill that allows colleges
to notify parents if a student
younger than 21 violates a law or
school rule regulating the use of
alcohol.
Following five alcohol-related
deaths on Virginia campuses last
fall, a task force on college drink­ing
recommended that Congress
change privacy requirements to
exempt drug and alcohol records,
according to an article in the Oct.
1 Seattle Times. Advocates believe
universities can alert previously
unaware parents, who in turn can
seek help for those students. Some
critics of the legislation oppose
the new law for the possibility
that it may invade students' pri­vacy.
-
Officials said the new law won't
have much of an effect on Western
students. Assistant Chief of
University Police Dave Doughty
said the law simply allows, not
requires, the university to tell par­ents
when students are charged
with alcohol and substance
offenses. Doughty said parents
probably won't get any late-night
phone calls from the university
police if their child receives a
minor in possession.
"We respect (that) at 18 you are
an adult. It's not mom and dad's
responsibility," Doughty said.
Peter Rosenberg, associate
director of University Residences
for Residence Life, said he feels
alcohol violations won't be han­dled
much differently than they
are now.
Parents would not be told. Staff
members would highly respect
students' privacy, and parents
would only be notified in a seri­ous
situation that could put the
student or community in jeop­ardy,
a decision made purely case
by case, he said.
"There are certain occasions
when parents need to know, but
the preference is to have the stu­dent
be part of the conversation,"
Rosenberg said, adding that par­ents
would not be told without
the student's knowledge.
Marc Hewitt, a junior written
up twice, for alcohol violations
when he lived in the dorms, said
the way the university currently
deals With underage college
drinking is adequate, and involv­ing
parents is not necessary.
"A major part of the college
experience is getting out on your
own. This rule goes against the
whole philosophy," Hewitt said.
Susan Hough, a junior who
received a minor in possession
and a dorm alcohol violation her
freshman year, said she believes
the new law is a definite invasion
of privacy. She said students are
over 18 and no longer dependent
on their parents.
Hough said she pays her own
tuition and, therefore, whatever
she does at college is none of her
parent's business.
"Students and the university
can handle themselves without
getting parents involved," Hough
said.
Pat Fabiano of Western's
Prevention and Wellness Services
said she hopes parents, students,
residence halls and alcohol pro­grams
such as hers can work
together to solve college drinking
problems.
"Alcohol and drug violations are
a teachable moment for both the
parent and child," Fabiano said.
"Both can learn from each other. By
the university notifying parents, it
can show the child needs help. Or
maybe the student just made a real­ly
bad choice and parents can help
to make better choices."