Western Front - 2006 February 28

              THE WESTERN FRONT
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY An independent student newspaper serving the campus community since 1970.
BY SHANNON DEVENY
The Western Front
A group of union-supporting Western professors filled the
Viking Union lobby Feb. 23 after learning they won the election
that determined Western faculty would unionize, by a narrow
margin of 16 votes.
"I haven't been this happy since I found out I had been tenured,"
political science professor Vernon Johnson said.
Unionizing allows the faculty to represent themselves at a
bargaining table and negotiate with the Western a<iministration
on issues such as wages and working conditions, said Bill Lyne,
Western English professor, Faculty Senate president and United
Faculty of Western Washington Organizing Committee member.
The narrow margin of victory may be due to the fact professors
who voted no were apprehensive because they are unfamiliar with
unions and the process of joining, said Steven Garfinkle, associate
professor of history.
"Faculty unions have been very successful in other parts of the
country for many years, but in Western Washington we don't have
any experience with that," Garfinkle said. "People fear what they
don't know. They are unsure what benefits a union will provide
them."
Buff Schoenfeld, executive assistant to President Karen Morse,
said she is not surprised the results were close. Many professors
think the faculty doesn't need a union because the Faculty Senate
gives them enough influence with the administration, she said.
"I'm sure anyone against the union who still has their ballot on the
kitchen counter will now wonder why they waited," Schoenfeld said.
The Western faculty union will begin to draw up a contract
with the administration concerning terms of wages and working
conditions, Lyne said.
The faculty union is also creating a committee to represent it at
the bargaining table with the administration, Garfinkle said. The
union will survey faculty members to determine which issues need
to be addressed, Garfinkle said.
"We will be educating ourselves on the possibilities of what we
FEBRUARY 28,2006
ISSUE 14, VOLUME 136
Faculty unionizes
see VOTE, page 4
PHOTO COURTESY OF RICH WOOD /
WASHINGTON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
Western faculty senate president
and English professor Bill Lyne
commenting on the faculty's vote
to join a union Feb. 23. The propos­al
passed by 16 votes.
Curling fever hits campus
CHRIS JOSEPH TAYLOR / THE WESTERN FRONT
After watching the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Western students emulate one of its sports
in Red Square Monday afternoon. The Olympics inspired freshman Ben Wurtz and sophomore
Jimmy Marble to create their own game. Freshman Michael Eisele pushes freshman Sean Lykken
on a skateboard as Lykken glides a block of ice to knock the opposing teams blocks out of the
way during a match of urban curling. Wurtz, Lykken, Eisele and freshman Kyle Kearney form team
Clean Sweep which beat team Sea Bear, comprised of Marble and sophomore Sean Naman and
juniors Josh O'Donnell and Doug Sacrison, 4-2 after four ends. "We are hoping to make an urban
curling club out of this," Marble said.
Suspect
charged in
string of
robberies
BY MOLLY MALONEY
The Western Front
Whatcom County prosecutors charged a 26-year-old
Bellingham man Thursday in connection with a series of crimes
that took place Feb. 20 and 21.
Senior deputy prosecuting attorney Rosemary Kaholokula
said Jason C. Boyd's arraignment will be held on Friday in the
Whatcom County Superior Court, where she and Boyd's legal
representation will set a trial date within 60 days. The Whatcom
County Jail is holding Boyd on $500,000 bail.
After police arrested Boyd, also known as "Traxx," on Feb.
21, he admitted to the attempted robbery at the Korean Restaurant
and robberies at Yeager's Sporting Goods, Treasury of Memories
and K-Mart, according to the affidavit from the Whatcom County
Prosecutor's office.
The prosecutor charged Boyd with two counts of robbery in
the first degree, robbery in the second degree, attempted robbery
in the second degree, attempted residential burglary and one
kidnapping in the first degree.
Kaholokula said if a jury convicts Boyd of all six counts, he
could serve up to 12 years in prison and an additional four years
see CRIME, page 3
SENIOR SEND-OFF
Thirteen seniors on the men's and
women's basketball teams play
their last game in Carver Gym.
SPORTS, PAGE 7
LENDING A HAND
A Western club is traveling to
New Orleans for spring break to
help hurricane victims.
FEATURES, PAGE 6
FIGHT FOR RIGHTS
A South Dakota bill banning abor­tion
takes rights away that Roe v.
Wade guaranteed to women.
OPINIONS, PAGE 11
WEATHER
Wednesday: Rainy
Hi: 51 Low: 36
Thursday: Cloudy
Hi: 48 Low: 32
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