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FRIDAY October 17, 1997 iUStill! NEWS/4 Vancouver's CHINATOWN ACCENT/6 WESTERN FRONT Western Washington University Volume 102 Issue 6 Bellingham, Washington Sehome High School censorship: Kids tackle constitutional question By Kevin Rus The Western Front Four years ago, Whitney Kvasager and Austin Davidson were beginning their careers as reporters for Sehome High School's newspaper, The Rising Tide. Today they are co-editors in chief of the newspaper, which is involved in a battle with the school administration over the first issue of the school year. The center-spread for the paper, "Sehome Survival Guide '97," sparked an investigation by the school and the Bellingham School District for possible violations of Sehome and district policy. The layout had two humor articles, an advice column and an opinion piece about the Internet. The Internet piece caused most of the commotion. Only one paragraph from it is the cause of all the concern. It reads: "Good news teenagers: you don't have to shoplift porn from 7-11 any more. Assuming you don't get caught, the Internet provides a safe environment where students and teachers alike can browse for the porno of a lifetime. From the tame, bikiniogle.com to the more sophisticated seniorprompornparade69.com, smut is everywhere you look. With the school's high bandwidth connection, you're only minutes away from Miss or Mr. June strutting their anorexic stuff across your desktop." The article was also accompanied by a picture of an online pornographic web site with a tiny picture of a cartoon woman who appeared to be pulling down her panties. At the beginning of the school year, students and their parents must sign a permission form regarding the use of the Internet. One of the guidelines in the form is that "sending or displaying offensive messages or pictures" is strictly prohibited. "The administration felt that the article was to be taken completely seriously," Kvasager said. "It was a parody about 77^ / s ine centerspread in question; the principal is Internet use. I guess a few parents didn't understand," Ross Brackett, a junior at Sehome and author of the article, said. "We were completely justified in what we wrote. It was for the student population." Vickie Barry, whose daughter attends Sehome, disagreed. "I felt it [was] inappropriate for a minor audience," Barry said. "I don't believe in censorship, but these are kids. If they were adults it would be different." Barry has been leading the complaints against the paper and has called businesses that advertise in the paper informing them ^'^rant/Kevin Rur-now going to be editing the paper. of the issue. None of the businesses have plans to pull their ads. "I thought it was good," Henning Gatz, father of another Tide staffer, Chistoph Gatz, said of the Internet piece. "I don't See Sehome, page 4 Cage has become permanent part of Parberry By John Bankston The Western Front Despite open criticism from the Associated Students concerning the methods by which the Physical Education, Health and Recreation department shut down the Cage, the matter is now closed. The facility has been remodeled, and the Cage will not be reopened. The lower weight room at Carver Gym, formerly a free work-out facility, was closed and remodeled as an extension of the Lou Parberry Fitness Center. Parberry requires a $32.34 membership fee per quarter for students, $48 per quarter for non-students. Neither the AS nor Campus Recreation, who shared the Cage space with PEHR and the. athletic department, were included in the talks to expand Parberry and close the Cage. They were not informed of PEHR's intentions until renovations had already begun. "It was distressing to see the facility closed and re-allocated as an extension of Lou Parberry Gym without any student input," said Vice President for Student Life Meche Brownlow. Former Vice President for Student Life J.P. Elliot, said last spring, "It was sort of a rash decision, I feel, to go that far without getting any input." Current AS president Shane O'Day agrees with Elliot's sentiment, but he also agrees with how the AS handled the situation. "I feel we did what was professional, and what was right," he said. The AS countered the "rash" closure of the Cage by drafting a resolution stating the AS stood opposed any renovations until proper student input had been sought through the university's governance process. PEHR Chairwoman Kathleen Knutzen was instrumental in the expansion of Parberry. "That was all outside money that I raised," she said. The money was donated by the Lou Parberry Foundation and the St. Luke's Foundation. "No student money and no university money was used," Knutzen said. "We do our best to accommodate. as many students as we can, as fair as we can. We have improved the facility. It is available to students at-a reasonable cost." Knutzen explained that the Cage was unsafe and that the equipment, which has since been labeled surplus and sold at a public auction, had deteriorated. Much of the new equipment is designed for easy use by senior citizens in mind. With the closure of the Cage, the AS has been asking what is happening to free student recreational space on campus. "Where do we go, what do we do from here?" asked Brownlow. "We need to assess student needs and wants." Brownlow said the manner in which the Cage was closed "was merely a part of a much larger issue: the insufficiency of free recreational space here on Western's campus." According to a facility comparison for state universities, Western has less than 11.5 square feet of free recreational facilities per student. Eastern Washington University has 41 square feet per student, and Washington State University has nearly 37. The average for publicly-funded universities in Washington is 30 to 35 square" feet per student. "This is the larger problem facing the students of Western," Brownlow said. "Not the unfortunate closure of the Cage, which is now over and finalized, but the lack of recreational areas freely open to the Western student." O'Day expressed his concern for Western's insufficient recreational space by citing what he termed The Big Three. "Academically, we excel at Western," he said. "We present clubs and activities so that students can grow personally. But, not only do we grow mentally and socially, we grow physically. That should be accounted for, too." O'Day added that the AS, with 11,000 students, represents the largest constituency on campus. Yet, both Brownlow and O'Day admit, that on a professional level, they've heard no student voices. "Professionally, none," said O'Day. "No students have contacted me as an AS representative. But, as a student, when I'm with my friends, and from when I used (the Cage) myself, yes, I can say I miss it." Knutzen has not been approached by students either, but she addressed the issue of student recreational space. "In that aspect, it is a small step backwards," she said. "Students need access to recreational facilities. We don't have enough. "(But) overall, I think it was an improvement," she said. Plans to expand Western's campus have student recreational space in mind, but these plans are for 10 to 15 years down the road. Brownlow, along with Sports Club President Beth Cullen and former AS president Leslie Keller, is making moves not only to keep recreational space on campus from shrinking, but also to expand free student space in the future. But they need students to get involved. "We need to increase the awareness of the need for more student on-campus space," said Brownlow. "Without student input, there's nothing the AS can do."
Object Description
Rating | |
Title | Western Front - 1997 October 17 |
Volume and Number | Vol. 102, no. 6 |
Date Published (machine-readable) | 1997-10-17 |
Year Published | 1997 |
Original Publisher | Western Washington University |
Publisher (Digital Object) | Digital resource made available by Special Collections, Western Libraries Heritage Resources, Western Washington University. |
Editor |
Gene Metrick, editor Katherine Schiffner, managing editor Meredith Lofberg, news editor Kristen T. Paulson, news editor Michele Rennie, features editor Craig Scott, features editor Tim Klein, accent editor Steven Uhles, accent editor Carey Ross, sports editor Vincent Verhei, sports editor Scott Morris, opinions editor Suzanne Asprea, copy editor Aaron Dahl, photo editor Ryan Hooser, photo editor Matt Jaffe, online editor Nicky Loi, online editor |
Staff |
Chad Crowe, cartoonist Jason Kelly, cartoonist Jeremy Chase, illustrator Teari Brown, business manager Roger Sprague, custodian emeritus Reporters : Jana Alexander Jacob Anderson John Bankston Barney Benedictson Anne Biancalana Addy Bittner Edward Brightman Christopher Brooks Laura Campbell Michael Dashiell Mark Dewar Kristin D. Tomlinson Jai Ferguson Jill Frewing Wendy Giroux Klaus Jeffery Gosma Jennifer Hart Arvid Hokanson Karl Horeis John Jensen Sarah Jones Elisha Joseph Brian Kingsberry Elisha Joseph Jesse Kinsman Melissa Laing Corey Lewis Jennifer Long Stuart Martin Sarah Millington Heather Mills Shareen Mutch Margaret Negrete Jen O'Brien Jessica O'Hara Jed Palevich David Plakos Tina Potterf Jeremy Reed Heather Romano Christine Root Amber Rose Kevin Rus Rebecca Sakala Melissa Slagle Jessica Sprenger Sarah Stephens Aleesha Towns Jonathan Vann Todd Wanke Jennifer West Marissa Ziegler |
Photographer |
Kevin Rus Ryan Hooser Stuart Martin Barney Benedictson Jennifer L. West Tim Klein Melissa Slagle |
Faculty Advisor | Pete Steffens |
Article Titles | Kids tackle constitutional question / by Kevin Rus (p.1) -- Cage has become permanent part of Parberry / by John Bankston (p.1) -- Cops box (p.2) -- Western briefs (p.2) -- Official announcements (p.2) -- Strange days (p.3) -- More students get busted drinking / by Jessica O'Hara (p.4) -- Western gets the blues / by Sarah Jones (p.5) -- Seven years in Tibet / by Jesse Kinsman (p.5) -- Miller opens lecture series / by Mike Dashiell (p.5) -- Snapshots of Chinatown / by Jennifer L. West (p.6) -- Accent (p.7) -- Profile: Saul Stokes / by Tina Potterf (p.7) -- Review / by Tina Potterf (p.7) -- D.J. Spooky plays VU (p.7) -- Sports (p.8) -- Sail away, sail away, sail away / by Melissa Slagle (p.8) -- Volleyball finds pipeline of wins / by Jessica Sprenger (p.8) -- Who cares about Shawn Kemp? / by Matt Finlinson (p.9) -- Opinions (p.10) -- Frontline (p.10) -- Classified (p.11) |
Photographs | Kristian Hochreiter (p.3) -- Kelly Joe Phelps / courtesy of Chris Strother/Rykodisc (p.5) -- Dr. Jonathan Miller (p.5) -- Saul Stokes (p.7) -- DJ Spooky (p.7) -- Steve Scheffler (p.9) -- Chris Brooks (p.10) |
Cartoons | [WWU master plan] / Jason Kelly (p.10) |
Subjects - Names (LCNAF) | Western Washington University--Students--Newspapers |
Subjects - Topical (LCSH) | College newspapers--Washington (State)--Bellingham |
Related Collection | Campus History Collection |
Program | Special Collections |
Geographic Coverage | Bellingham (Wash.) |
Object Type | Text |
Original Format Size | 44 x 28 cm. |
Genre/Form | Newspapers |
Digital Reproduction Information | Bitone scan from 35 mm silver halide, 1-up negative film at 600 dpi. 2011. |
Contributor | The digitized WWU student newspapers are made possible by the generous support of Don Hacherl and Cindy Hacherl (Class of 1984) and Bert Halprin (Class of 1971). |
Rights | This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact Special Collections, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103. USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to Western Front Historical Collection, Special Collections, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University. |
Language | English |
Language Code | Eng |
Description
Title | Western Front - 1997 October 17 |
Date Published (machine-readable) | 1997-10-17 |
Year Published | 1997 |
Publisher (Digital Object) | Digital resource made available by Special Collections, Western Libraries Heritage Resources, Western Washington University. |
Subjects - Names (LCNAF) | Western Washington University--Students--Newspapers |
Subjects - Topical (LCSH) | College newspapers--Washington (State)--Bellingham |
Program | Special Collections |
Geographic Coverage | Bellingham (Wash.) |
Genre/Form | Newspapers |
Rights | This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact Special Collections, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103. USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to Western Front Historical Collection, Special Collections, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University. |
Full Text | FRIDAY October 17, 1997 iUStill! NEWS/4 Vancouver's CHINATOWN ACCENT/6 WESTERN FRONT Western Washington University Volume 102 Issue 6 Bellingham, Washington Sehome High School censorship: Kids tackle constitutional question By Kevin Rus The Western Front Four years ago, Whitney Kvasager and Austin Davidson were beginning their careers as reporters for Sehome High School's newspaper, The Rising Tide. Today they are co-editors in chief of the newspaper, which is involved in a battle with the school administration over the first issue of the school year. The center-spread for the paper, "Sehome Survival Guide '97," sparked an investigation by the school and the Bellingham School District for possible violations of Sehome and district policy. The layout had two humor articles, an advice column and an opinion piece about the Internet. The Internet piece caused most of the commotion. Only one paragraph from it is the cause of all the concern. It reads: "Good news teenagers: you don't have to shoplift porn from 7-11 any more. Assuming you don't get caught, the Internet provides a safe environment where students and teachers alike can browse for the porno of a lifetime. From the tame, bikiniogle.com to the more sophisticated seniorprompornparade69.com, smut is everywhere you look. With the school's high bandwidth connection, you're only minutes away from Miss or Mr. June strutting their anorexic stuff across your desktop." The article was also accompanied by a picture of an online pornographic web site with a tiny picture of a cartoon woman who appeared to be pulling down her panties. At the beginning of the school year, students and their parents must sign a permission form regarding the use of the Internet. One of the guidelines in the form is that "sending or displaying offensive messages or pictures" is strictly prohibited. "The administration felt that the article was to be taken completely seriously," Kvasager said. "It was a parody about 77^ / s ine centerspread in question; the principal is Internet use. I guess a few parents didn't understand," Ross Brackett, a junior at Sehome and author of the article, said. "We were completely justified in what we wrote. It was for the student population." Vickie Barry, whose daughter attends Sehome, disagreed. "I felt it [was] inappropriate for a minor audience," Barry said. "I don't believe in censorship, but these are kids. If they were adults it would be different." Barry has been leading the complaints against the paper and has called businesses that advertise in the paper informing them ^'^rant/Kevin Rur-now going to be editing the paper. of the issue. None of the businesses have plans to pull their ads. "I thought it was good," Henning Gatz, father of another Tide staffer, Chistoph Gatz, said of the Internet piece. "I don't See Sehome, page 4 Cage has become permanent part of Parberry By John Bankston The Western Front Despite open criticism from the Associated Students concerning the methods by which the Physical Education, Health and Recreation department shut down the Cage, the matter is now closed. The facility has been remodeled, and the Cage will not be reopened. The lower weight room at Carver Gym, formerly a free work-out facility, was closed and remodeled as an extension of the Lou Parberry Fitness Center. Parberry requires a $32.34 membership fee per quarter for students, $48 per quarter for non-students. Neither the AS nor Campus Recreation, who shared the Cage space with PEHR and the. athletic department, were included in the talks to expand Parberry and close the Cage. They were not informed of PEHR's intentions until renovations had already begun. "It was distressing to see the facility closed and re-allocated as an extension of Lou Parberry Gym without any student input," said Vice President for Student Life Meche Brownlow. Former Vice President for Student Life J.P. Elliot, said last spring, "It was sort of a rash decision, I feel, to go that far without getting any input." Current AS president Shane O'Day agrees with Elliot's sentiment, but he also agrees with how the AS handled the situation. "I feel we did what was professional, and what was right," he said. The AS countered the "rash" closure of the Cage by drafting a resolution stating the AS stood opposed any renovations until proper student input had been sought through the university's governance process. PEHR Chairwoman Kathleen Knutzen was instrumental in the expansion of Parberry. "That was all outside money that I raised," she said. The money was donated by the Lou Parberry Foundation and the St. Luke's Foundation. "No student money and no university money was used," Knutzen said. "We do our best to accommodate. as many students as we can, as fair as we can. We have improved the facility. It is available to students at-a reasonable cost." Knutzen explained that the Cage was unsafe and that the equipment, which has since been labeled surplus and sold at a public auction, had deteriorated. Much of the new equipment is designed for easy use by senior citizens in mind. With the closure of the Cage, the AS has been asking what is happening to free student recreational space on campus. "Where do we go, what do we do from here?" asked Brownlow. "We need to assess student needs and wants." Brownlow said the manner in which the Cage was closed "was merely a part of a much larger issue: the insufficiency of free recreational space here on Western's campus." According to a facility comparison for state universities, Western has less than 11.5 square feet of free recreational facilities per student. Eastern Washington University has 41 square feet per student, and Washington State University has nearly 37. The average for publicly-funded universities in Washington is 30 to 35 square" feet per student. "This is the larger problem facing the students of Western," Brownlow said. "Not the unfortunate closure of the Cage, which is now over and finalized, but the lack of recreational areas freely open to the Western student." O'Day expressed his concern for Western's insufficient recreational space by citing what he termed The Big Three. "Academically, we excel at Western," he said. "We present clubs and activities so that students can grow personally. But, not only do we grow mentally and socially, we grow physically. That should be accounted for, too." O'Day added that the AS, with 11,000 students, represents the largest constituency on campus. Yet, both Brownlow and O'Day admit, that on a professional level, they've heard no student voices. "Professionally, none," said O'Day. "No students have contacted me as an AS representative. But, as a student, when I'm with my friends, and from when I used (the Cage) myself, yes, I can say I miss it." Knutzen has not been approached by students either, but she addressed the issue of student recreational space. "In that aspect, it is a small step backwards," she said. "Students need access to recreational facilities. We don't have enough. "(But) overall, I think it was an improvement," she said. Plans to expand Western's campus have student recreational space in mind, but these plans are for 10 to 15 years down the road. Brownlow, along with Sports Club President Beth Cullen and former AS president Leslie Keller, is making moves not only to keep recreational space on campus from shrinking, but also to expand free student space in the future. But they need students to get involved. "We need to increase the awareness of the need for more student on-campus space," said Brownlow. "Without student input, there's nothing the AS can do." |
Language | English |
Language Code | Eng |
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