Western Front - 1988 April 19

              The Western Front Please recycle
VOL. 80, NO. 22 WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, BELLINGHAM, WA TUESDAY, APRIL 19,1988
Blackout
Gossip flies as residences
endure loss of electricity
By Nicole Bader
staff reporter
Rumors have been spreading
since a power outage occurred at
about 11:30 p.m. Thursday in four
lower-campus residence halls.
University Police Sgt. John
Browne, however, explained the
incident.
"Apparently, the line that
feeds the power grounded out.
When the workmen found the
spot, they repaired it, but it
grounded out again," Browne
said.
Electrical Supervisor Gerald
Hughes said the cable is 20-years-old
and could have just broken
down or had moisture leak into it.
" O n c e it goes i t ' s in­stantaneous
destruction. It travels
with the speed of light," Hughes
said.
At this time, the cause is un­known.
Browne said the cable
could have had a soft spot. The
cable that feeds the campus is
aluminum and part of the univer­sity's
cable is copper. The two
may have different flexibility, pos-
. sibly causing the outage.
Whatever the cause may be,
Nash and Mathes halls are run­ning
on generators. Residents are
not allowed to use microwaves,
hot pots, curling irons or hair
dryers. Signs are posted at both
halls, keeping residents informed
of the restrictions.
The other two halls that were
affected, Higginson and Edens,
have full power. The source for
those two buildings was re-routed
so they do not have to use the
generator.
The generator runs 7 a.m. to
11 p.m. and will be the only power
source for Nash and Mathes this
week.
"We're not allowed to use our
hairdryers and it's a pain," said
Nash resident Kelly Jensen.
A few individuals were
trapped in the Mathes elevators
during the outage. Above the
stairs a sign said, "Quote of the
day: 'Oh no I have to take the
stairs.'"
"I live on the ninth floor.
There's like 108 stairs to go up,"
said Mathes resident Simone Bou-terse.
Daily functions are more dif­ficult
in the dark, residents say.
"It's a pain to go the bath­room
and take a shower without
any light," said Mathes resident
Gary Davies.
Residents will have to deal
with the rules of using a generator
until the proper authorities decide
how to repair the faulty line.
Hughes said the electricians
will repair the damaged piece of
cable as soon as they receive the
parts.
Students cleanup litter
Mary Darling
Eric Richey, AS vice president for External Affairs, cleans Bel-
Iingham while raising money to fight hunger.
In an effort to fight hunger,
Western students and communi­ty
members scattered through­out
Bellingham on Saturday to
clean up litter.
T w e n t y - s e v e n people
cleaned parks, roadsides and
waterfront areas, covering as
much of the city as possible in
three hours.
The event was in conjunc­tion
with the National Student
Campaign Against Hunger.
P a r t i c i p a n t s collected
pledges to raise money, with
half of the funds going to Bel-lingham's
food bank. The other
half will go to the National Stu­dent
Campaign Against Hunger,
an organization that fights
hunger nationally and interna­tionally.
"I am very pleased (with the
event)," said Matt Antush, AS
Legislative liaison. "It was a
great success. Hopefully, we can
do it again next year."
With a goal of $1,000, the
cleanup raised $951, and money
still is coming in.
Those involved in the clean­up
were divided into teams.
The Kappa/Beta team
raised the most money, with
their leader, Karen Christopher,
taking the highest individual
honors. She raised $101.
Another goal of the hunger
cleanup was to increase interac­tion
between students and the
community in order to reaffirm
interest in the quality of life in
Bellingham.
AS nonprofit considers second club card
By Paul Douglas
staff reporter •
Associated Students Not For
Profit Committee is considering a
proposal by John Gray, director-at-
large to University Services
Council, which will include two
•student club cards next year.
The AS Not For Profit was set
up in 1932 by the AS. Its original
purpose was to bail out the book­store
if the bookstore went into
the red, said Gray.
Today, some of that money is
used for the Helen - Ray Varley
Scholarship. The scholarship is
given to four students each
quarter, who each receive $75.
Students must have at least a 3.0
grade point average to be eligible
to apply for the scholarship. This
is the only requirement.
Gray has worked out a deal
with PM Publications, which pub­lishes
a quarterly "Student Sur­vival
Kit," to set up a coupon
book that would have a club card
pasted on the front. The cards
would be given out at the book­store
every quarter at Western
and at Whatcom Community Col­lege.
"Twelve thousand cards
would also be printed and given
out at the AS office for those stu­dents
that could not get a survival
kit," Gray said.
PM Publications would give
the AS Not for Profit Committee
$600 for using the card.
The second card is similar to
an existing club card. The only
changes proposed for it are a
drawing of a Viking designed by
Brian Prosser, AS director for
communications.
The cards would be given out
at fall registration.
"UCC would be giving the AS
Not for Profit $1,000 for using
their card," Gray said.
Gray's proposal to the board,
was to except both cards. This
would give the AS Not For Profit
$1,600.
Cash machine here soon
Cash transactions will soon be possible on campus by using West­ern's
new cash machine, said Jack Smith, Viking Union administrator.
Communication and power lines currently are being installed in
the VU foyer, where the cash machine will be located.
Associated Students President Dan Wood said the machine is ex­pected
to arrive next week, though Smith is skeptical.
"The machine is supposed to be here next week but we don't ex­pect
it to be installed until the last week of April," Smith said.
The machine will be like the one inside Fred Meyer on Lakeway.
It will provide transactions for the Exchange Card, Accel and Visa.
The Plus System probably will be added to the machine's capabil­ities,
Smith said. This system will enable international students to
make transactions because international banks are linked into the
Plus System.
The VU expects to split half the profits of the cash machine with
the Plaza Cashier. The VU will receive four cents per 3,000 transac­tions
a month.
New Shannon Point
building is dedicated
By Don Grandstrom
staff reporter
A new commons building for
housing students and visiting
scientists at Western's Shannon
Point Marine Center in Anacortes
was dedicated Thursday.
Center Director Stephen Sul-kin
provided opening remarks for
Western administrators, local and
state dignitaries and other guests.
He said the building's comple­tion
gives the project a chance to
provide more to the colleges and
universities using the facility.
"We offer unusual opportuni­ties
for research," he said, adding
the primary focus in the past has
been undergraduate teaching.
"Now, with an expanded re­source
base, we can focus on
more, interrelated types of ac­tivities.
We can promote Western
graduate education and faculty re­search,"
Sulkin said.
The 2,600-square-foot build­ing
houses a dining and study
area, a large kitchen, laundry
facilities and bathrooms with
showers. The main dining area
can be converted into sleeping
quarters when the center's other
housing units are filled.
"We'll be able to accom­modate
larger groups, up to 25
people, by utilizing the large
room," Sulkin said.
Acting Western President Al
Froderberg introduced dignitaries
and special guests. Among them
were Harriet Spanel (D-40th),
Dennis Braddock (D-42nd), Jim
Rice, Anacortes mayor, and John
Prosser of the Anacortes Cham­ber.
Froderberg and Jim Waldo,
chairman of Western's Board of
Trustees, then formally dedicated
the building.
"Several years ago, we started
to build on our strength and qual­ity,"
Waldo said. "This is the sec­ond
major facility (completed)
here during my tenure on the
board. A facility like this will ce­ment
the program in place."