Western Front - 2003 April 4

              Grafton returns
Grafton rocked the 3B along with
bands full of alter egos.
See Story, Page 7.
Early elimination
Vikings fall to Crusaders in the
first round of the NCAA playoffs.
See Story, Page 8.
Western Washington University Volume 125 Issue 1 Bellingham, Washington
Conceptual
art causes
bomb scare
By Matt McDonald
THE WESTERN FRONT
With the nation on high alert,
Western is taking every precau­tion,
even with student artwork.
Western custodian Hoa Do
discovered three objects resem­bling
bombs in the Fine Arts
Annex classroom on the night of
March 20.
"It scared me; there was a
clock in it," Do said. "It seemed
very real."
Michael Smith, the custodian's
supervisor, notified the
University Police. The UP then
called in a technician from the
Bellingham Police Department
to check the suspected bombs,
University Police Chief Jim
Shaw said.
"(The art pieces were) not mis­taken
for bombs; they were repli-_
cas of bombs," Shaw said. "They
were pretty realistic, up until
what would be some type of a
charge."
The art pieces were part of a
project assignment to create art­work
that refers to the idea of the
ancient Greek story of the Trojan
horse, said Sebastian Mendes,
Western fine arts professor.
"It was a real scare, and it
shouldn't have been," said
Western senior Scott Winter, cre­ator
of the art pieces. "I even told
one of the janitors beforehand so
something like this would not
happen."
Winter made the art pieces for
his spring quarter final studio
course project, a creation repre­senting
a bomb that had no other
motive than to assist creative
and intellectual discourse about
an extremely important and
timely topic, Mendes said.
"It was meant to play on your
initial reaction," Winter said.
"The Trojan horse was the
assignment. It was children's
lunch pail boxes, and when you
See BOMB, Page 4
Students warn drivers of fuel follies
By Nikki Russo
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western . students and
Bellingham residents protested
the newly constructed Mobil
gas station on Samish Way on
Tuesday to increase public
awareness of Exxon Mobil's
alleged corporate practices.
Protesters displayed signs to
passing cars at 112 Samish Way
ranging from "Exxon Mobil #1
in global warming," to "Believe
me, don't buy Exxon Mobil."
Western sophomore and pro­tester
Trey Avery said he
believes Exxon Mobil is one of
the leaders in emitting pollu­tion
that contributes to global
warming. He said Exxon Mobil
is buying government influ­ence
through political contri­butions.
"We want to have the first
thing people associate with this
Exxon Mobil to be protesters,"
Fairhaven sophomore and pro­tester
Elissa Ball said.
Exxon Mobil Corporation
reported spending $1.2 million
in political contributions during
the 1999-2000 presidential
cycle according to an Exxon
Mobil news release.
"I think that everybody has
the right to say how they feel,"
Mobil station owner Ann
Amcevoy said. "It doesn't
impact my business. I have peo­ple
honking at them and draw­ing
attention to us."
Approximately 30 minutes
after the protesters arrived at
See EXXON, Page 4
Nikki Russo/The Western Front
Tom Gray, left, and Fairhaven
students Elissa Bali and Trey
Avery protest Exxon Mobil.
Police keep eye on local activists
Eric Berto/The Western Front
David Robinson, left, stands next to his brother Eric Robinson, right, as
they talk to a passerby on Thursday. Eric has been protesting the war in
Iraq by living on juice and water. The City of Bellingham recently installed
surveillance cameras over demonstrations around the Federal Building.
Cameras installed outside
Bellingham Federal
Building upset activists
By Eric Berto
THE WESTERN FRONT „ •
Bellingham resident Eric Robinson, 23, has
been on a hunger strike since March 19 in
protest of the war. He survives on juice and
water as he stands under the surveillance cam­era
at the corner of Cornwall Avenue and
Magnolia Street.
The city's engineering department installed a
camera to monitor the activities of demonstra­tors
outside the Bellingham Federal Building,
Bellingham Police Lt.Craige Ambrose said.
"The camera went up the day after a large
gathering," Ambrose said. "It keeps us from hav­ing
to have a couple of officers ready to videotape
in case there is conflict between groups of sup­porters."
He said the main reason for installing the
camera was to cut costs for the department.
"There is other surveillance all over the city;
people just don't realize it," Ambrose said..
Ambrose said the city has discussed future
plans to install other cameras in high-crime
areas, such as the corner of Railroad Avenue and
Holly Street.
Protesters downtown said the cameras are an
unnecessary measure. Robinson, who has been
fasting for peace for 15 days, said the camera is
an insult to the protesters.
"The camera shows the city has no respect for
people who want to exercise their First
Amendment rights," Robinson said.
• . ~~ See CAMERAS, Page 4
Dana Visalli
describes his expe­rience
in Iraq with
the daughter, pic­tured
behind him,
of Widah, an Iraqi
government official
who accompanied
his group to a cit­rus
orchard an
hour's drive north
of Baghdad.
Speaker offers fresh perspective on Iraq
Nikki Russo/The Western Front
ByMattDeVeau
THE WESTERN FRONT
Dana Visalli, 54, said meeting
an Iraqi mother, whose eldest son
was a member of the Iraqi army,
revealed a perspective that people
in the United States rarely see.
Visalli, a resident from Twisp,
spent 28 days in Iraq in January
and February as part of Voices in
the Wilderness, a group devoted
to ending the economic sanctions
in Iraq. He spoke about his expe­riences
in Iraq Thursday evening
at Sehome High School.
"What we usually hear about
when Iraqi soldiers die is that 10
Iraqi soldiers died or 15 Iraqi sol­diers
died," Visalli said. "Rarely
do we learn about these people
from their mother and get that
human view, of who these people
are."
Visayi said he went to Iraq to
"be responsible" and find out what
the Iraqis are like as a people.
Visalli said the trip cost $2,500,
which included $500 worth of
medicine that was unavailable to
the Iraqis due to economic sanc­tions.
The trip was funded
through donations Visalli raised
in his community.
Katie. Hoyt, a Sehome High
School senior and member of the.
World Views Club that invited
Visalli to the school, said Visalli's
presentation revealed elements of
Iraqi life that Americans do not
get to see on CNN.
"It showed the personal side
that you don't get anywhere else
See IRAQ, Page 4
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