V-week seeks to honor voices and experiences
By Olivia Scalet/AS Publicity Center
As a precursor to the Vagina Memoirs, the AS Women’s Center is hosting V-Week, a series of free events and workshops that will encourage women to speak out and explore female empowerment.
V-Week will open with a Spoken Word and Heart Workshop, facilitated by Ishle Yi Park at 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 8 in Viking Union 462. This writing workshop is for people interested in expressing themselves creatively and is open to people with any level of experience with writing and spoken word.
A former poet laureate of Queens, N.Y., Park has performed her poetry and songs in the United States, Cuba, New Zealand, Singapore, Korea, Jamaica and South Africa. Her first book, “The Temperature of This Water,” is the winner of three literary awards.
“This workshop is an incredible chance to learn about, write and participate in spoken word,” ROP Women’s Center Coordinator Devin Majkut said.
Park will take the stage with performance poet Andrea Gibson at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9 in the VU Multipurpose Room. In their first performance together, Gibson and Park will take turns performing spoken word poetry in what Majkut expects to be the largest event of the week.
“We decided to bring Andrea Gibson and Ishle Yi Park for the same night … because their styles and identities are vastly different but both represent and honor women’s voices and experiences, which is our theme for V-Week,” Majkut said. “It is not a lecture or a song, but a powerful collection of words and stories that compels the audience.”
Gibson will be conducting a workshop on poetry, gender and gender identity at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10 in VU 462. Majkut described Gibson as a powerful poet and activist who consistently rocks stages, coffeehouses and colleges with her beautiful words and workshops. Gibson also performed at Western last year with Salt Lines, a tour group of spoken word artists. Majkut said this is a powerful chance to explore personal gender identity through spoken word poetry and performance.
Both workshops are about the chance to explore one’s own voice and any experience level is welcome, especially if you are committed to self-exploration, Majkut said. Women who are interested in attending the workshops but are worried about sharing personal thoughts should still attend, Majkut said.
“For women who did not make it into [Vagina] Memoirs, this is a chance for everyone to take amazing workshops,” Majkut said.
V-Week will continue with advocates from the Northwest Network who will speak at the discussion Violence in Queer Relationships at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11 in VU 462. This presentation, co-sponsored by the ROP Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Alliance (LGBTA), will address the history, images, dynamics and implications of violence in LGBTQ relationships.
“We need a discussion, especially in Bellingham, because no resources are available—we have to bring someone from Seattle to speak,” LGBTA Programs Coordinator Kooper Wynkoop said.
Wynkoop pointed out that although Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (DVSAS) supports individuals affected by domestic violence, the organization is not specific to queer relationships. In addition to DVSAS, the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center offers conflict prevention and intervention services; however, these services are not specific to queer relationships, either.
The Northwest Network was chosen because they can address violence in queer relationships and they have staff dedicated to leading discussions on the topic, Wynkoop said.
“The whole way we look at relationships is through a hetero-normative mindset,” Wynkoop said. “We need to change the entire social framework, not just within one community.”
The event is not a support group or the place to share personal stories; it’s more about being educated about resources available if you want or need help, Wynkoop said.
Seattle-based organization Home Alive will conclude V-Week with a self defense workshop at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12 in Bond Hall 217. The workshop will address ways to stay healthy and safe both physically and emotionally.
Home Alive is an anti-violence project run by women. According to the Home Alive Web site, their work in self defense encourages everyone to recognize that they are entitled to the basic human right to live free from violence and hate. Home Alive’s goal is to build a cultural and social movement that puts violence in context of political, economic and social oppression and frames safety as a human right.
The workshops are open to all students and community members who RSVP in advance. Each workshop has 30 spots available and requires an RSVP by the day of event, which should be sent to as.rop.women@wwu.edu.
Cooking on a college budget
Photo by Erik Simkins/The AS Review
By Shawna Leader/The AS Review
When it comes to college food, stir fry is the gold standard. How could it get any simpler than steaming some rice and sautéing vegetables? But stir fry, like most things, gets boring if you don’t shake up the routine. This recipe has some stir fry standbys—broccoli and bell peppers—but has a few twists (leeks, anyone?).
Stir fry also invites a multitude of sauces and garnishes. We topped ours with soy and peanut sauces, but sweet and sour sauce or teriyaki would taste delicious as well. Or, garnish it with peanuts, pineapple slices or chili peppers.
What you’ll need:
Two cups cooked white or brown rice
One leek, washed and diced
Eight large mushrooms, sliced, or one package sliced
mushrooms
Two bell peppers, seeded and diced
One package frozen broccoli, slightly defrosted
How to do it:
Heat two teaspoons olive or peanut oil in a large pot or deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is heated, stir in the leek, mushrooms, bell peppers and broccoli. Cook the vegetables until they are heated through and the mushrooms are soft, about 15 minutes.
Divide the rice between serving bowls and top with cooked vegetables.
Upcoming on-campus movies
By Evan Marczynski/The AS Review
Throughout February, ASP Films is teaming up with other campus clubs and organizations to hold film screenings and discussions centered on topics such as the war in Iraq, climate change and gender stereotypes. ASP Films Coordinator Matt Blair is working with the Veteran’s Outreach Center to present “The Hurt Locker,” the Environmental Center and the Current Events Forum to present “The 11th Hour” and Western Men Against Violence to present “300.”
“The Hurt Locker,” Feb. 8, 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.,
VU 552, $2
This 2008 war thriller follows three U.S. Army soldiers as they attempt to find and remove improvised explosive devices from the streets of Baghdad. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty.
The film was one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2009. It has won numerous awards from film festivals around the world and from organizations such as the Director’s Guild of America, the Producer’s Guild of America and the National Society of Film Critics.
“The Hurt Locker” has also been nominated for nine Academy Awards, tying James Cameron’s film “Avatar” as the 2009 movie with the most Oscar nominations. The film is in the running for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, among others.
Paul Wright, coordinator of the Veteran’s Outreach Center, said he organized the screening with Blair in order to spread awareness of the veteran-related organizations and programs at Western.
Blair said “The Hurt Locker” displays the subject of war in a much more realistic way than star-driven, action war movies such as the 1998 Stephen Spielberg film “Saving Private Ryan.” “The Hurt Locker” succeeds at putting a more relatable face on the war in Iraq and the soldiers who serve there, he said.
“The 11th Hour,” Feb. 9 and 10, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., VU 552, free
Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary on climate change echoes the message from Al Gore’s successful film “An Inconvenient Truth.” It features interviews with dozens of politicians, scientists and environmental activists. Both former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and renowned physicist Stephen Hawking make appearances. “The 11th Hour” claims humanity is in serious jeopardy due to issues such as global warming, deforestation, and mass species extinction. The film also proposes solutions to these problems.
Environmental Center Coordinator Lauren Squires said the film presents a dramatic picture of the environmental issues facing Earth.
“It kind of jolts you awake to the realities of the state of our planet,” she said.
Squires said the discussion after the film will give people a chance to talk about the issues it presents and come up with ideas to create positive environmental changes in their lives.
“300,” Feb. 17, 7 p.m., VU 552, free
What exactly is a “real man”? That is the question that ASP Films and Western Men Against Violence want to discuss after a screening of “300,” a 2007 film adaptation of a graphic novel written by acclaimed writer Frank Miller. The movie, directed by Zack Synder, is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, a battle that took place around 500 B.C. between ancient Spartan and Persian armies.
Blair said the overly masculine depiction of the Spartan soldiers in “300” raises questions as to what message the filmmakers, and the movie industry in general, are trying to send regarding masculinity and male stereotypes. He said there has been a lot of discussion about how women are objectified in movies, but not much of the same from a male perspective.
“Rarely do you hear about how men are objectified,” Blair said.
Jason Austin, who works with Western Men Against Violence, said in an e-mail that he has planned a presentation before the screening that will focus on masculinity in the media and its effect on society.
Austin said he chose to show “300” not only because of its striking visual style and extremely graphic depictions of battle and violence, but also the fact that the film plays up the notion of traditional violent masculinity. He said watching a movie that takes masculinity to such extreme proportions is a great way to examine the idea.
Club to host Chinese Lunar New Year
Members of CSA make paintings for their Lunar New Year’s Night event. Photo by Erik Simkins/The AS Review
By Shawna Leader/The AS Review
The Chinese Student Association (CSA), a new Ethnic Student Center (ESC) club, has big plans for this year. One is the Lunar New Year’s Night, which will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 12 in the VU Multipurpose Room. The official day of the Chinese Lunar New Year occurs on Feb. 14 and commemorates the year of the tiger.
The event will feature a fan dance by the Vietnamese Student Association, a martial arts demonstration by the Chinese Martial Arts Academy, and booths for arts and crafts and calligraphy, CSA President Kevin Ng said. A calligraphy demonstration, face painting, a tea ceremony, karaoke and a traditional Erhu dance will also take place at the event, CSA Webmaster Vivian Kwan said. The event is free to all participants and food will be provided by Campus Dining Services and local vendors.
The event will connect Western students with the Chinese community in Bellingham, as several representatives from the community will be attending, Ng said. Reaching beyond the Western campus was not something that Ng had done before, but he sees the value of connecting to the Chinese community in Bellingham, he said.
“There’s a lot of people that we can seek [out and] ask advice, if we need to,” Ng said.
Students of all backgrounds are welcome. Just because a person is not Chinese does not mean they are not interested in Chinese culture, Ng said.
“All you have to do is show up, enjoy it and be exposed to it,” he said.
As the quarter continues, the CSA will continue to establish a presence on campus and provide a place for its members to discuss Chinese culture and how they relate to it, Kwan said. One of the club’s goals is to maintain a focus on culture and identity, she said.
“We established the club mostly to find a place where we could learn more about the Chinese culture and find students who are interested in that,” Kwan said.
During meetings, members discuss identity and culture, as well as participate in team-building activities such as photo scavenger hunts, Ng said. He added that the club environment is relaxed so that people need not look any further to find a community they can identify with.
“I never had the luxury of a CSA when I came here,” Ng said.
Ng started the club during his freshman year with his friend Melissa Gruben. The original title was United Students of East Asia. However, the name was changed to Chinese Student Association because most of the members were Chinese-American, Ng said. The CSA became an AS club last spring and was incorporated into the ESC last fall.
One long-term project the club is working on is compiling a cookbook, which will contain club members’ favorite recipes. They hope to have it available by the end of spring quarter, Kwan said. Anyone interested in obtaining a copy may contact the CSA during the spring.
The club also plans to hold potlucks and will have at least one in the spring at the end of the quarter, Kwan said. A trip up to Richmond, British Columbia to visit the Chinese community there is also a possibility, she said.
Above all, the club is about creating a sense of inclusiveness and community, Ng said.
“There’s a lot of Chinese people with different stories … I really want to discover that,” Ng said.
The CSA meets on Thursdays from 5 to 6 p.m. in Communications 225. Contact the CSA at csa.wwu@gmail.com.
AS LGBTA drag show workshop
By Alex Bacon/The AS Review
Photos by Erik Simkins/The AS Review
At the Drag Workshop, put on by the AS Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Alliance (LGBTA) last Tuesday as part of their Weekly Night Series, sophomore Taelor Bond explains the importance of contour in makeup as she demonstrates how to apply foundation and powder on junior Andrew Stewart’s face. “It’s all about lights and shadows,” Bond said.
Bond chooses a color from her eye shadow palette to put on Stewart. The particular style of drag Bond demonstrated is called “fishy drag” or “passable drag” because it’s meant to make people think “there’s something fishy with that woman,” as opposed to “high camp drag” in which it’s obvious that the person in drag is a man, she said. Bond explained the importance of makeup brushes and said that there is no such thing as too much blush. Her advice: All skin around the face and between the hemline of the dress or shirt a drag queen will be wearing needs to be covered in foundation.
Bond adjusts a blonde wig on Stewart’s head as she talks about other aspects of being a convincing drag queen. She explained various methods of disguising male genitalia, creating the illusion of cleavage and the importance of wearing heels, which change gait and posture.
Colin Banger, Mr. Gay Bellingham 2009-2010, draws facial hair onto Clinton Yurmouth’s face with four different colors of eyebrow pencil. Facial hair can also be attained by gluing theater hair or real hair to someone’s face with spirit gum, a type of adhesive. Banger, who has dressed in drag for two years, talked about how to create the illusion of male genitalia, breast binding to create the appearance of a flat chest and mens’ style. For appearing flat-chested, Banger suggested using neoprene exercise waist-cinch belts. Duct tape and Ace bandages are not recommended because they may inhibit breathing and can cause injury to ribs, he said.
Shanita Blough, Her Most Imperial Sovereign Highness Princess 29 of Bellingham, helps a pair of attendees choose drag names. Josh Foley, LGBTA assistant coordinator, said that names usually have a sexual pun. Drag names come from a variety of sources: word play, inside jokes with friends, what your parents would have called you had you been of the opposite gender, pop culture and simple random inspiration.
Capturing a stare
Photo courtesy Kevin Connolly
By Allison Milton/The AS Review
Twenty-four-year-old Kevin Connolly was born without legs, but this did not stop Connolly, an outdoor enthusiast, from traveling around the world. Using his transportation of choice, his skateboard, he traveled the world with his camera in hand to document one of the most common expressions: the stare.
Connolly visited 15 countries and 31 cities and captured more than 32,000 stares on film.
From Monday, Feb. 1 to Friday, Feb 19, the AS Social Issues Resource Center (SIRC) and AS Productions VU Gallery will host “The Rolling Exhibit,” featuring a selection of photographs Connolly has taken of stares. The gallery will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday during the duration of the exhibit, which is free.
Connolly would look the other way so that the person in front of the camera would not realize that Connolly was aware of their stare. Because he wasn’t looking into the lens or at the subject behind the photograph, he would guess where the subject was in the frame, resulting in a variety of angles, Brittany Otter, outreach coordinator of the SIRC, said. Each photograph that Connolly took was shot with his camera at his hip so that the person staring at him in the lens had no idea they were being photographed.
“He realized that he could use stares to tell people how he feels,” Otter said. “Everyone is going to be stared at in some way in their life. The question is, why?”
“He captures the instinct people have to stare unconsciously,” said Allie Paul, VU Gallery Coordinator. “It’s a unique thing to get that perspective and that candidness.”
At 7 p.m. on Feb. 4, a reception will be held in the VU Gallery, where Connolly’s memoir “Double Take” will be on sale. His book, which is also available at the AS Bookstore, tells the story of his journey around the world, his thoughts on the photographs and the stories of the people behind them, Otter said. Quotes from his memoir will be on display, accompanying 15 prints in the gallery show.
“The concept that he’s talking about [in his book] is staring and not that he doesn’t have any legs,” Otter said.
Paul said the exhibit is different from the kind of shows that the gallery usually hosts.
“We always like to have a diverse range of exhibitions that apply to different people on campus,” she said. “We’re addressing a community that we don’t [often] … in art and we wanted to take advantage of that.”
AS club Students for Disability Awareness will host an open discussion about the issues that these photographs bring up and the meaning behind stares. The discussion will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17 in the VU Gallery. This discussion is free.
For more information about Connolly, check out his Web site at
www.kevinmichaelconnolly.com.
Local tuition- setting authority
By Shawna Leader/The AS Review
As public institutions of higher education discuss the governor’s proposed budget cuts, local tuition-setting authority is an option supported by some college administrations as a way to mitigate the negative effects of the cuts.
Currently, tuition-setting authority rests with the State legislature, but if the legislature votes to grant local tuition-setting authority, the board of trustees at each school would set tuition.
Western’s administration supports local tuition-setting authority, as does Governor Christine Gregoire, but if it should be granted is still in discussion.
“Up until this point, the state has treated all of the four-years the same way, like one size fits all … but that doesn’t really reflect how institutions can respond individually to those types of things,” Phil Sharpe, chair of the Western board of trustees, said. “We want to be able to look at tuition-setting authority with respect to the strengths, weaknesses and needs of each of the institutions.”
The people who know the most about the university and its ability to respond and adapt to budget cuts are the administration and the board of trustees, Sharpe said. Universities can only respond to the decisions made by the State legislature and local tuition-setting authority is another way to do so, he said.
AS Vice President for Governmental Affairs Morgan Holmgren said that local tuition-setting authority will eliminate one of the last ties between public colleges in Washington state. Tuition ties the schools together, he said.
“When you eliminate the last strands of that connection between institutions, what we’re going to see is each institution take off in its own way and we’re going to have an even less centralized higher education system, which is already a very decentralized system,” Holmgren said.
Local tuition-setting authority sends the message that Western does not trust the legislature to set the budget, Holmgren said.
“If as an institution we want to restore our status as a truly public institution and an institution that’s serving the needs of the people of Washington, we need to be working to the point where the legislature feels comfortable funding us because they trust us. And to the point where we’re working together as a state to improve Washington and to improve the quality of our higher education system, rather than improving one individual campus, then another individual campus, in all different ways,” Holmgren said.
The board of trustees is not accountable to the parents and students of Western in the same way that state legislators are, Holmgren said. He also expressed concerns that tuition would increase over time without regard to the state budget.
“If we allow for tuition to stay in control of the legislature, the legislature can plan for making a transition back to the point where we’re majority state funded. But in any situation where the university has control over tuition, any increase in funding from the state won’t be met with a lower tuition increase,” Holmgren said.
Two bills concerning local tuition-setting authority have been proposed by Washington state senators. Senator Derek Kilmer’s bill allows for local tuition-setting authority, but with certain stipulations on the increases of tuition over time. Senator Ken Jacobsen’s bill supports local tuition-setting authority without limits.
It is a misconception to think that the board of trustees is out of touch and not concerned with making college accessible, Sharpe said.
“There’s a mistaken belief that the whole idea is to just take the lid off tuition and then it can be raised to a level that is unaffordable,” Sharpe said. “That’s not the goal at all. The truth of the matter is, it costs a certain amount of money to deliver an education. … If the state’s contribution toward that drops, then we either have to shrink our institution, shrink our offerings, reduce our quality or look for other sources for revenues.”
It is likely that the legislature will place limits on local tuition-setting authority, Sharpe said.
The governor supports local tuition-setting authority because, in these unprecedented times, local tuition-setting authority is a management tool for the institutions of higher education, said Leslie Goldstein, public policy adviser for Governor Gregoire, speaking on behalf of the governor.
Few states allow the legislature to set tuition, Goldstein said. In Washington, the board of trustees at each public university already sets tuition for out-of-state and graduate students, she said.
“It’s not the authority itself but it’s how it’s exercised and what the increases are,” Goldstein said.
Students would still have the ability to communicate any concerns about local tuition-setting authority to the legislature, Goldstein said. If local tuition-setting authority becomes a problem in the future, the legislature can take it away, she said.
“If there isn’t the ability to provide state support, tuition’s one of the other tools to be able to provide them [students] quality education. Granted, it can’t go too high and it shouldn’t substitute in the long run for adequate state support,” Goldstein said.
According to Holmgren, state funding is preferred over student funding in the form of tuition. However, this year was the first in which funding from tuition surpassed funding from the state. Tuition accounted for 51 percent of funding, state funding accounted for 43 percent and the rest was federal stimulus dollars, Holmgren said.
Ensuring that tuition stays low is not a viable option, Sharpe said. Tuition has surpassed state funding because state funding has decreased, he said.
“[Keeping tuition low] doesn’t allow us to maintain the core of the institution, it doesn’t allow us to maintain quality educational offerings and it doesn’t allow us to make a sufficient number of offerings to have a reasonable time to degree,” he said.
Budget cuts decrease class offerings, which extends the time to degree, Sharpe said. This increases the overall cost of education because students have to stay in school longer, he said.
The state has to generate financial aid, but if financial aid is structured correctly, it can cover more students and offset tuition increases, Sharpe said. But, high tuition costs may squeeze out middle class students who are not eligible for aid and cannot pay high tuition costs, he said.
Holmgren suggested that the Higher Education Coordinating (HEC) board receive tuition proposals from each university and then make recommendations to the legislature. Or, each university could make proposals to the state and a committee would set up a proposal to the state that would require an up or down vote and no amendments, Holmgren said. Processes like this would allow for greater predictability in terms of tuition, he said.
The situation with the budget is unchartered territory, Sharpe said. No models exist to follow and the administration is currently discussing efficiency and ways to increase cost effectiveness, he said.
“We have to be accountable, there’s no question about that,” he said.
Bellingham may benefit from Olympics
By Allison Milton/The AS Review
February 12 marks the beginning of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia and also marks what will could be a boost in the economy for the city of Bellingham. Located approximately 54 miles south of Vancouver, Bellingham is in a location to reap the benefits of having the Olympics just a short drive north.
Bellingham will be a pit stop for many people on the road to the Winter Olympics. According to Cheryl Collins, visitor services manager for the Whatcom Country Tourism Center, restaurants, hotels and local businesses will greatly benefit from the large number of people using the city as a sleeping place, parking lot or rest stop in order to avoid the high prices of lodging and parking as well as the overflow of tourists in Vancouver.
Communications Manager for the City of Bellingham Nicole Oliver said the city hopes to a see an increase in visitors that will help boost the local economy. She said the city of Vancouver is doing anything they possibly can to keep visitors in the city instead of outside places like Bellingham in order to keep the money and tourism inside Vancouver.
However, Oliver said Bellingham will be seeing an increase in tourists that will stop on their way up the I-5 corridor to the border.
“People are going to pass through Bellingham and we hope they come back later because of how great it is here,” Oliver said. “We hope, however, they’ll get off the freeway and buy something.”
When Vancouver got the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2006, Bellingham expected to receive a large benefit because of its close proximity to the host city. But, Oliver said that the impact the Olympics will have on Bellingham is not going to be as large as was originally thought. Collins said there is no way to predict the effect that the Olympics will have on the city until they begin because so far the city’s predictions have been wrong.
She said the city had predicted an overflow of people in Vancouver and that those people who were displaced there would stay in Bellingham instead. But so far, the prediction that Bellingham hotels would be experiencing an overflow in reservations was wrong. While hotels in Vancouver have been booked full for months, hotels in Bellingham, although receiving an increase in business, are not quite filled to capacity.
Olympic goers who want to avoid the high prices of hotels in downtown Vancouver, which have increased their rates due to high demand, are staying a little farther away. And for some, Bellingham is a convenient drive from the games and will provide Olympic attendees with the opportunity to save a little money on their lodging because of the price differences in hotels between here and Vancouver.
Bellingham Holiday Inn Front Desk Manager Robert Anderson said the average hotel price per night in Bellingham during the Olympics season is $179 whereas the average price in Vancouver per night is about $400. The Holiday Inn has increased their average rate of $99 for this time of year to $199.
At the Best Western Lakeway Inn, reservations for the month of February have skyrocketed. Although their rooms have not yet sold out, Front Desk Manager Dana Weber said the Inn is about 70 percent filled for the duration of the Olympics. In February, the Inn is usually booked about 60 to 65 percent, but for this month, they expect to fill about 90 to 95 percent of the rooms, Weber said.
He said the Inn has been receiving inquires regarding lodging for the Olympics back in mid-2009 and is continuing to book rooms for the games.
Hotel beds are not going to be the only busy lodging options in Bellingham when the games begin. Some Bellingham residents, including Western junior Gavin Gladsjo, are renting out their houses, rooms, couches and anything else someone can sleep on comfortably to people who are going to the Winter Olympics.
Gladsjo, who lives on Potter Street, said he and his roommates are planning to post ads on Craigslist and couchsurfers.org to rent their couch out to Olympic goers for a mere $10 a night.
“We want to meet some travelers and make some new friends,” he said. [We want to] give someone who is looking for a cheap way to go to the Olympics the opportunity to do so.”
Western professor of Political Science Paul Chen said it is important for students to look at their rental agreement before renting out their rooms because it may say that doing so is against the contract and may result in heavy penalties. Gladsjo, who is aware of the possible legal issues involved with charging people to sleep in his house, plans to make sure it is approved by his landlord.
While the city cannot completely predict the overall effect that the Olympics will bring to Bellingham, Collins said her main hope is that the publicity the city is getting from its close proximity to Vancouver will showcase Bellingham as a vacation destination for future travelers. And although the possibility of this tourism boom will not be witnessed for a while, the extra business this city will receive come Feb. 12 can’t hurt.
Antidote for a Sick Society
Design by Ryan Scott/AS Publicity Center
By Matt Crowley/The AS Review
It is the year 2010. We are over a century removed from slavery, and decades past the court cases that first dealt with segregation and the height of the civil rights movement. Our president is black. But discrimination, racism and oppression still exist and in a university, city and county where the population is overwhelmingly white, it can sometimes be difficult for students of color to find resources for dealing with these issues.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6 in Viking Union 565 the AS Social Issues Resource Center (SIRC) will host Antidote for a Sick Society, a workshop designed to “develop the knowledge of participants on topics of race, gender, class and its intersections,” according to the description on the SIRC Web site.
The SIRC has commissioned Antidote, a grassroots network and community-focused organization based out of Victoria, British Columbia. The organization, founded in 2002, seeks to “promote the visibility and needs of racialized minority and Indigenous girls and women,” according to its Web site. Although the organization itself focuses on women, the training is open to all students and community members.
“This is a good opportunity for people from different backgrounds to come together and learn from one another,” SIRC Coordinator Alekz Wray said. Wray added that although interested students are encouraged to stay around for the entire training, he understands that it is a long workshop for people to go to on a Saturday.
“It’s beneficial to come for the entire time,” he said. “But if it’s between not coming at all and coming for a bit, I would say come for a bit … Maybe you will be able to take something away from it.”
According to Wray, Antidote has put on many training sessions like this one. Wray also noted that Antidote is community-based and not corporate.
The training itself revolves around several multimedia presentations addressing issues regarding not only race, but gender and sexuality as well. Participation will be largely dialogue-based, allowing people to talk about subjects that don’t normally come up in everyday conversation, such as race and gender discrimination.
“The availability of these events isn’t as great as it should be … It’s important for us to hold these [events] to get dialogue outside of classrooms where people can express their concerns and experiences,” Wray said.
Wray stressed that one of the SIRC’s goals is to avoid the “guilt complex” associated with topics such as these and instead transfer that guilt into conviction and activism. Students can apply things they learn to everyday situations, avoid oppressive language and enhance their basic knowledge on sensitive issues.
“I think it’s really going to help students combat racism and oppression by informing them of the history of racism and different forms of oppression,” Wray said. “You’re not just going into it saying, ‘You shouldn’t say that because it’s bad.’ You’re being armed with the background knowledge to confront racism and sexism.”
Wray added that it’s important for students to be open at events like these in order to help people explore their own identities and privileges.
“If people show up to it, it will make them more aware of things they don’t realize,” he said.
As for students who may not necessarily be targets for racism or oppression, Wray said there are still ways to help.
“They can help by entering dialogue with people who are oppressed,” Wray added. “It’s better to ask a question in a respectful way than to not ask a question at all.” Students who attend the training can also pass on the knowledge they have gained to friends and family members.
If you can’t attend Antidote for a Sick Society, there are still resources. Wray and other SIRC employees are open to discussing issues regarding racism and oppression, as are members of other related programs, such as the Ethnic Student Center and its clubs, the Women’s Center, Students for Disability Awareness and many others. For information on future SIRC events, visit socialissues.as.wwu.edu.
Theft on campus
By Evan Marczynski/The AS Review
An unlocked dorm room. An unattended backpack in a cafeteria. A laptop left in the backseat of a car.
If you are a thief, these might be on your Christmas wish list. If you’re not, these are probably situations to avoid.
Theft is a fact of life at Western, but how much of a problem is it?
A Jan. 15 article in The Western Front ran with the headline, “Theft runs rampant,” and reported that campus police took 172 reports on cases of theft in 2009.
However, a single statistic from last year does not tell the entire story and examining the trend of reports over the past few years gives a clearer picture of the issue of theft on campus.
University Police Sergeant Bianca Smith said it is unfortunate that any theft occurs, but she did not think the trend over the past few years has shown a significant increase in the number of reports.
“I don’t know if we want to say theft is running rampant,” Smith said.
Smith said that campus police records on theft are separated and classified into a number of different types, including theft from buildings, from cars, shoplifting, bicycle thefts and even thefts of shopping carts.
According to campus police records on reports of theft from buildings (which Smith said are the most common), first-degree theft reports, involving stolen items worth $5,000 or more, did increase from 3 reports in 2008 to 7 in 2009, but the total number last year is only a slight increase from six reports from 2006.
Second-degree thefts, which include stolen items worth between $750 and $5,000, rose from 19 in 2008 to 28 in 2009. But last year’s total is lower than the 30 reports taken from 2006.
Third-degree thefts, involving items under $750, do show a steady increase from 19 cases in 2006 to 34 in 2009.
Campus police and residence hall staff both work to inform students and faculty how to protect themselves against theft.
John Purdie, associate director for Residence Life, said incoming students are given information on preventing theft as part of their campus orientation.
He said nearly all theft cases he was aware of could have been easily prevented and involved unsecure items left in clear view of a potential thief.
The Residence Life office tells students to protect themselves by remembering to always lock their doors, even at night when they’re asleep. Students should only let people they know in their rooms and if someone knocks on their door they should make sure they know the person before they let them in.
Besides locking doors, students should also keep track of their keys and not lend them to anyone.
These tips seem like basic common sense, but there are also other ways residence halls try to deter theft from students’ dorm rooms.
Purdie said one method is to promote a sense of community among students and encourage them to get to know everyone they live with.
“When you know who lives on your floor you can recognize who doesn’t,” he said.
Smith encouraged students to register their bicycles with campus police and write down the serial numbers on more expensive items, as those serial numbers can prove useful when police try to track down stolen possessions.
Smith said stolen property can be found resold in pawn shops or on Craigslist and being able to match serial numbers with items is an invaluable tool in reuniting people with their stolen belongings.
Smith also said students who live in dorms should always know everyone who might have access to their room, including their own friends and any friends of roommates.
She echoed the tips from residence hall staff telling students to always keep their valuable possessions locked up.
“You need to lock your doors,” she said.