Western Front - 1994 September 30

              Archives y
No butts about it
Two changes in Western's smoking policy
push student and faculty smokers further
away from campus buildings — Page 7.
A blunter shade of poetic
Fairhaven graduate Alyssa Burrows unleashes the colorful
and sometimes crass "Light Blue is a Sissy Colour"
into the poetry world —Page 12.
Tough defensive squads highlight Western
and Linfield football matchup — Page 19.
The Western Front
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY FRIDAY — SEPTEMBER 30,1994 VOLUME 90, ISSUE 3
RSVP gets good marks despite glitches
By Ryan Parker
Front reporter
Western's Registrar Joe St.
Hilaire wants to hear how students
feel about registration this quarter.
Western's relatively new
phone registration system, RSVP,
is receiving positive reviews from
most students and faculty, St.
Hilaire said, but the problem of
filled and restricted classes still
needs some attention.
He said his office is planning
a random phone survey of students
to get a feel for how the new
system can serve its purpose more
efficiently.
Problems aside, RSVP is
proving to be much more conve­nient
than Western's previous
system.
"It's like a giant swap meet
where students are buying and
selling," St. Hilaire said.
"When one student drops a
class, it's available immediately
li^
'Tfje':Qharies^H0i^e
Health services under review
State healthcare plan could cause upheaval in campus policies
By Neely Stratton
Front reporter
Health care reform will be
hitting close to home this year as
Western administrators review
health services offered on cam­pus.
A possible alternative to the
current health services program
would be the state healthcare
plan. However, the impacts of
this plan have yet to be deter­mined.
Once the effects of imple­menting
the state health care plan
are known, the administration
plans to share the information
with students through open fo­rums,
said Eileen Coughlin, vice
president of student affairs and
dean of student support services.
Coughlin said the forums
will take place prior to winter
break or, at the latest, shortly into
winter quarter.
Viking Union Director Jack
Smith is studyingtheimpactstheplan
couldhaveon thecampus system and
what those impacts would mean to
Western's students.
Coughlin said the administra­tion
is committed to understand­ing
the students' perspectives on
the issue of health services and
reforms and the forums would
give students the opportunity to
offer input.
The administration also is
working with members of the
Associated Students Board of
Directors to measure student
concerns and ideas regarding
health care reform.
A.S. President Tres Gallant
said all the parties involved un­derstand
the health care issue and
the need to work closely together
to insure student input.
Gallant said that a reform of
the current health services system
to reflect the state healthcare plan
has the "potential to completely
change the picture" of health care
on campus.
Nathan Church, director of
counseling, health and wellness
services, said he is committed to
working closely with Coughlin to
make sure "students are adequately
supported in their academic pur­suits."
, However, Church was reluc­tant
to speak in detail about the
possibility of implementing state
heath care plans because he said he
doesn't want to affect the process
in any way.
Church said the process of fact­finding
and measuring implications
of the reform must comprise the
first step in the process.
for another to add," he said.
"RSVP has really helped with
creating space in classes."
Students using RSVP have the
option to register, add or drop a
class, or even inquire about course
availability from any touch-tone
phone at any time during the
registration phases.
This means less hassle and a
lot less standing in line, St. Hilaire
said.
RSVP gets an enormous
amount of calls each day, he
added. The registrar's office
counted 5,619 phone calls to the
See Registration .page 7
Bellingham Aquarium
Idea maybe down, supporters say not out
By Beverly Crichfield
Front reporter
Bellingham Port commis­sioners
remain uncertain about
granting space on the Tom Glenn
Spit near The Marina Restaurant
for a proposed $28-million
aquarium.
But supporters say they will
consider several new locations and
continue to work oh bringing their
ideas for an educationally based
aquarium to Bellingham Bay.
"We put a lot of energy into
developing that site because it's so
dynamic and perfect for what we
have in mind," saidMichael Burnett,
director of the Bellingham Bay
Aquarium of the Inland Sea.
Aquarium supporters have
been negotiating with the Port
commissioners for several
months. However, at a Sept. 9
workshop for waterfront devel­opment,
several commissioners
voiced concerns over the risk of
spending money for a project
without funding, and indicated
that other options for the Spit have
not yet been discussed.
"It is not in the interest of the
Port to promise a spot to a group
that has no real funding as of yet,"
said Port Commissioner Douglas
Smith.
He said he's irritated that the
group proceeded to include the
Tom Glenn Spit as the chosen
location for the aquarium in their
brochures and newsletters.
Port Commissioner Scott
Walker said the Port has allowed
space for similar business ventures
in the past that were not success­ful
and later wound up funded by
tax money.
"We'd be tying up a very
See Aquarium, page 6
Log Ramps closed
By Kristi Kiteley
Front reporter
On a warm sunny day, the
Log Ramps are usually cov­ered
by sun-seeking students.
Usually.
The Log Ramps sculpture,
which is part of the Western
Gallery, is currently fenced off,
and students are restricted from
sitting on the structure.
Sarah Clark-Langager, di­rector
of the Western Gallery
and curator of the Outdoor
Sculpture Collection, said the
logs are unsafe.
She said the area will be
fenced off until the unsafe logs
are replaced.
"The problem is simply
general wear and tear," Clark-
Langager said. "The cross-logs,
which people usually sit on are
rotten, decaying and often
slippery."
She added that the cable
connecting the logs rises above
the logs in some places, which
may cause someone to trip and
fall.
Students Cara Wilson and
Maria Goepfert, both seniors,
said they miss being able to sit
on the Log Ramp.
"We used to sit on it a lot
during breaks," Wilson said.
"We also used to play kick the
can under it and around it, and
that was fun."
"I think it's a cool sculp­ture,"
Goepfert said. "It would
be sad if it was gone."
Both students agreed it is a
See Sculpture, page 4