Western Front - 1999 October 15

              TS FRIDAY, October 15,1999
Western Washington University Volume 110 Issue 6 Bellingham, Washington
Miller Hall renovation removes seating
More registers, products will take place of coffee shop tables
By Andrea Abney
THE WESTERN FRONT
The Miller Hall Coffee Shop
will close to undergo massive
renovations beginning after
finals week of fall quarter and
continuing through winter
quarter.
The idea is to make shopping
faster for students in the 10
minutes between classes.
Because of the increased
space needed for registers and
express items, the seats in the
coffee shop will disappear.
Gil Aiken, the project archi­tect,
estimated construction
costs will total $100,000.
Larry Stahlberg, general
manager for University Dining
Services, said outdoor furni­ture
will be bought and placed
around the coffee shop, under
the overhang covering the out­side.
"What we've found is that
there is very limited seating in
there now, and the space is
much better used to get the
food to people," said Jim
Schuster, associate director of
operations for the Viking
Union.
Stahlberg also said seats will
be available in the VU during
the Miller Hall renovation.
When the fifth floor is being
renovated, the seats will all be
moved to the main and side
lounges.
Stahlberg said he hopes con­struction
will be done by the
end of February, but it will def­initely
be finished for spring
quarter.
When finished, the coffee
shop will look dramatically dif­ferent.
Instead of the two cash
registers working now, the
shop will have four.
Three registers will be two-sided
so that potentially seven
lines can form to ring up pur-
'We believe it is the fastest
way to serve students.''
Larry Stahlberg
General manager for University
Dining Services
chases. Stahlberg said the reg­isters
will be equipped with
scanners and 70 percent of the
items for purchase will be able
to be scanned.
"We believe it's the fastest
way to. serve students,"
Stahlberg said.
This idea still doesn't sit well
with students.
Senior Jackie Carlson said
she enjoys the Miller Hall
Coffee Shop.
She said she doesn't like to
walk down to the VU for a
place to sit.
"There aren't many places
See MILLER, page 4
Chris Fuller/ The Western Front
Noon is one of the busiest times of day for the Miller Hall coffee shop, with three lines
stretching to the back wall. After the remodel, the shop can accomodate seven lines.
Students come out at Western
By Millissa Macomber
THE WESTERN FRONT
The Lesbian Gay Bisexual
Transgender Alliance passed out
ribbons Monday in Red Square
to celebrate National Coming
Out Day.
Members of the LGBTA and
their allies passed out 1,600 rib­bons
in Red Square, LGBTA
Coordinator Kim Anderson said.
"The event went really well,"
she said, adding the most
encouraging sign to her was
when people asked for ribbons.
Western student Katinka
Kraft said she was surprised by
the amount of people who still
fear the gay community. She said
some people refused ribbons.
"I felt like a disease at times,"
Kraft said. I t kind of hurt."
A candlelight vigil took place
Tuesday night in Red Square
continuing National Coming Out
Day activities.
"It was in honor of the one-year
anniversary of Matthew
Shepard's death and to recognize
other people who have died of
hate crimes," Anderson said.
.r Matthew Shepard was the col­lege
student who died last year
in Colorado because of a hate
crime.
About 130 people attended the
vigil, Anderson said.
"People Fve never seen before
showed up and that was really
heartwarming," Anderson said.
Speakers encouraged partici-
" See RIBBONS, page 4
Community
unites to
end parties
ByJillMcEvoy
THE WESTERN FRONT
In an effort to nurture
peaceful relationships among
off-campus students, neigh­boring
communities and law
enforcement, Western and the
city of Bellingham have creat­ed
the Campus and
Community Coalition.
The coalition will attempt
to give students and the com­munity
a chance to voice their
concerns and ideas about off-campus
parties, crime and
related violence.
The coalition is made of
Western students and staff,
representatives from the
Sehome neighborhood,
Bellingham property manage­ment
firms, Bellingham Police
Department party patrol offi­cers,
city council, Washington
State Liquor Control Board
and owners of local bars and
convenience stores.
One of the group's first mis­sions
is to recruit students liv­ing
off campus and listen to
their concerns about alcohol-related
issues.;
"We're anxious to find off-campus
representatives," said
Maggie Feeney, coalition coor­dinator.
"We would love to
hear their perspectives
regarding alcohol and drug
issues."
Some students are already
involved in the coalition, but
they cannot speak for every­one,
Feeney said.
"We want to hear from the
target audience and hear (stu­dents')
viewpoints about prob­lems
with alcohol use," she
See ALCOHOL, page 4
Violence awareness raised this month
By April Busch
THE WESTERN FRONT
A group of about 50 students
gathered in Fairhaven lounge
Tuesday night to participate in
"One Moment," an improvisa-tional
piece performed by Will
Act for Change, a lifestyle advis­er
theater group.
The theater production is one
among many awareness raising
events happening on campus
and in the community to pro­mote
October as Domestic Abuse
Awareness month.
Pat Fabiano, program director
of Prevention and Wellness
Services, said she believes the
scene Will Act For Change per­forms
is part of a necessary
expansion of the idea of what
domestic violence is.
"I think we have a lot of
aggression between partners
that isn't named," she said.
"Documentation of domestic vio-
See AWARE, page 4
THIS ISSUE
Western starting
quarterback profiled
Follow the collegiate
career of Western's start­ing
quarterback Scott
Mitchell.
See story, page 8.
Weirdness in town
Weird Al
Yankovic
performed
and promot­ed
his new-
CD at the
Mount Baker
Theatre
Wednesday night.
See story, page 6.
Courtesy of the Domestic Violence Commission
A candlelight vigil met on the public library lawn Oct.1.