Western Front - 2007 December 7

              ISSUE 19-V8L143
FRONT
HEWS
AS considers
media to inform
student voters
page 5
ART a LIFE
Students
working at the
Horseshoe
page 8
in review: Iron a
Wine
page10
HITS
Four seniors
end volleyball
careers
page12
OPINION
Actually go
green
page15
FRONTLINE:
Help presidential
search
committee
page15
WEATHER
SATURDAY
MONDAY
~*4
42°
HIGH
35°
10W
Source: National Weather Service
The Western Front WesternFrontOnline.net • Western Washington University
FRIDAY
DEC. 7,2007
Judge to uphold professor's suspension
Steven Chea, Sarah Gordan
& Shana Keen
,. .THE WESTERN FRONT
The dispute regarding the fate
of Western theater professor Perry
Mills is one step closer to being
resolved after Whatcom County
Superior Court Judge Steven Mura
issued an oral ruling on Mills'
case Nov. 21.
Mura said he upheld Mills'
suspension but found that Western's
refusal to hold open hearings in the
case violated administrative code.
"We won, he lost," said
Western Assistant Attorney
General Wendy Bohlke. "He was
an ... abuser of people. We will
defend that. The decision was
sound."
Mills was put on paid
suspension by the theater
department in October 2004
while the university investigated
complaints received from faculty
and students, according to a review
decision and final order released
by Western's Board of Trustees.
In one of the complaints, a
female student, whose name was
redacted from the document, wrote
a letter to then theatre department
chair Mark Kuntz stating Mills'
behavior in class toward her
was offensive, according to the
board's document. The student,
who had been diagnosed in the
fall of 2003 with ovarian cancer,
returned to Western after surgery
and chemotherapy sessions and
enrolled in Mills' dramatic writing
class in the spring of 2004. The
student volunteered to present her
work in front of the class, but after
she expressed reservations, Mills
made a comment to her that she
see MI1LS page 5 •
Needy
children to
receive toy
donations
Jeremy Schwartz
THE WESTERN FRONT
When Western students
walk into various markets around
campus they will see small, plastic
Christmas trees with pieces of
paper cut into Christmas-themed
shapes hanging from their
branches. .
University Dining Services
is sponsoring a charity program
called "Giving Tree," said Carol
Dubois, director of Retail for
Dining Services. Students pick
an ornament with the age range
and gender of a needy child in
Whatcom County written on it
from one of these many Christmas
trees and donate an unwrapped
gift with that ornament attached to
it, she said.
"It's a tradition I've kept up
from what [Dining Services] has
always done," Dubois said.
The donated gifts, which can
be dropped off at Miller Hall and
see TREE page 5 •
Western to address Carver Gym deterioration
Mary Truman
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western's administration is
researching possible solutions for
Carver Gym's inadequacies.
"We are sorely desperate
for a new space," said Rebecca
Schindler, manager of the
activities program in the Physical
Education Health and Recreation
(PEHR) department. "Desperation
is putting it mildly."
Western was awarded
$400,000 in predesign funds by
the state this summer to research
possible fixes to the problems with
Carver Gym, said LeaAnn Martin,
chair of the PEHR department.
Systemic problems with the
building and the lacjc of space are
keeping the program from moving
forward, she said. There are
several places in the building that
will quit operating if not attended
to soon, Schindler said.
All of the plumbing, power,
heating, ventilation and air
conditioning systems are failing,
said Bill Managan, assistant
director of operations for Facilities
Management.
Western must complete
three stages before the actual
construction process can begin,
said Jerry Boles, assistant to the
vice provost. The first stage, the
original request for predesign
funds, has been completed, he
said.
The committee in/xharge of
leading the project is now in the
beginnings of the second stage,
which is looking at the possible
options available to Western.
The goal of the predesign
research is to find the most cost
effective solution that will solve
the majority of Carver's problems,
said Ed Simpson, Facilities
Management planning manager.
The original Carver building was
built in 1936, he said. There has
been a new addition for every
decade the building has been in
existence, he said.
"The deterioration of this
building is a big factor in what
we're able to offer and how many
programs," Schindler said.
The department needs lab
space and more classroom space,
Martin said. A computer lab was
installed in Room 116, but there
was not enough air flow in the
room and it grew too hot to house
electronics or allow students to be
in the room for any length of time,
Martin said. Because there
is not an adequate space, Carver
does not have a computer lab, she
said.
The pool is another huge
issue and has been worked on
multiple times, Martin said. It has
been retiled and parts have been
replaced, she said. It is so old it is
becoming impossible to find parts
for it anymore, Schindler said.
"Over the years we've had a
lot of Band-aid approaches, but
it's at a point where it's just so old
that it's going to be beyond repair,"
Martin said.
Every two years, the
.department has the opportunity
to request minor-caps, which are
see GYM page 4 •