Mark StaytonTHE WESTERN FRONT

A car fi re on the 600 block of North Garden Street brought fi refi ghters, po-lice and spectators out into the street Sunday night. The car, a 1998 Dodge Stratus belonging to Western senior Brit-tany Schirman, was parallel-parked on the street below Nash Hall when a fi re over-took the car’s engine compartment.

Schirman said she had parked the car

around 9:15 p.m., the same time Belling-ham Police records show they received the 911 call.

Isaac Hurst said he was riding his bike on the street when he saw drops of fl aming fl uid dropping from the engine of the parked car. As he rode by he checked to see if anyone was in the car and found it empty. As the burning liquid accumulated on the ground, the blaze grew larger and

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SINCE 1970 | WESTERNFRONTONLINE.NET

MOBILE LIVING: ONE MAN'S VAN IS ANOTHER'S MANSION PAGE 8,9

Vikings prepare for battle

Ben WoodardTHE WESTERN FRONT

The Departmentally Related Activi-ties Committee (DRAC), which is respon-sible for allocating thousands of dollars worth of student fees, is meeting with the Associated Students Board of Directors Tuesday, Oct. 20, to move past a history of disagreement.

The meeting will address miscom-munications and rushed legislature over the committee’s governance charter, stem-ming from the sudden disbandment of the University Services Council more than a year ago.

In hopes to amend the sudden loss, the AS Board passed a charter June 3 that vested much of the governing power in their own hands, without the full consent of DRAC.

However, in a meeting Sept. 22 be-tween Matt Jarrell and Western’s Assis-tant Attorney General Wendy Bohlke, the passed charter was found to be incongru-ent with Washington state law regarding mandatory student services and activities fees and who holds the power to govern them.

The law implies the AS Board and DRAC are separate entities competing for the same funds.

“The question was if the AS was as-serting some responsibility over DRAC they really didn’t have,” Bohlke said. “And I think that’s probably the case.”

Since last spring, when fi ve-years worth of the student technology fee—a total of $630,000—was misplaced by the university administration, the AS Board has advocated for transparency and heavy

AS committee interim charter deemed illegal

see CHARTER page 6

Chelsea KennedyTHE WESTERN FRONT

Western’s Campus Community Co-alition will host its quarterly “Let’s Talk” forum focused on relations between stu-dents, permanent residents and law en-forcement at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20 in the Fairhaven auditorium.

The forum will focus on the interac-tion between students and permanent resi-dents in Bellingham, said Lara Welker, the Campus Community Coalition coordina-tor.

Western senior Matthew Osborne, who helped found Viking Community Builders, a club associated with commu-nity communication, said he recognizes the forum’s opportunity for students.

“There are programs to educate stu-dents on off-campus living,” Osborne said. “But a lot of the time it is more effec-tive to directly hear from your neighbor face to face that there is a problem.”

Welker said many representatives of-ten participate in the forum.

“Everyone is welcome to the forum,” Welker said. “There are many parties often represented such as students, law enforce-ment, Bellingham Police Department, University Police Department, landlords and long-term residents.”

Welker said one of the most obvious discussion topics between students and

see TALK page 6

Coalitioncontinues talk sessionsBellingham residents will discuss student impact on surrounding neighborhoods

see FIRE page 5

Student vehicle destroyed after fl uid leak catches fi re

photo by Rhys Logan THE WESTERN FRONT

Western freshman Kade Brumbaugh (left) and Western senior Cody Bludorn (right) face off during lacrosse practice. The lacrosse team has a round-robin tournament at the Wade King Student Recreation Center on Oct. 25.

SEE STORY ON PAGE 13

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 Volume 148, Issue 8

Service to honor professor

EX-HOCKEY PLAYER NOW DETERMINED COACH

PAGE 15

Visitation and funeral service for the late Western anthropology professor Dr. Michael Grimes are scheduled for 1 p.m. on Wednes-day, Oct. 21.

For those who wish to attend and pay their respects, the service will be held at the Bayview Chapel, at 2465 Lakeway Drive.

The afternoon will begin with an hour of visitation; the funeral service will start at 2 p.m.

photo courtesy of Tammy Grimes

the Western front

neWs2 | Tuesday • October 20, 2009 | The Western Front

See more online at www.westernfrontonline.net

Cops Box

Bellingham Police

Oct. 17• A 45-year-old man was

arrested at 10:50 p.m. in connection to a broken window at the clean-and-sober house on I Street. He was reported to be drunk.

• A 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with disorderly conduct at 11:27 p.m. under suspicion of beating on his neighbor’s door with a hammer.

Oct. 18• An employee reported a

man stealing produce from a store on the 1500 block of Cornwall Avenue at 11:22 a.m. The man reportedly refused to wait for police and blamed his actions on the poor economy.

University Police

Oct. 17• Western students were

seen throwing firecrackers at passers by at 7:32 p.m. near Ridgeway Gamma.

Oct. 18• A vehicle was stopped at

10:10 p.m. east of cam-pus for driving in the opposite lane of travel.

Cops Box compiled by Keegan Prosser

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Editor in chief ............................................................ Rebecca Rice, editor@westernfrontonline.netManaging editor ..................................... Audrey Dubois-Boutet, managing@westernfrontonline.netNews editor .......................................................... Nicholas Johnson, news@westernfrontonline.netNews editor ............................................................. Kipp Robertson, news@westernfrontonline.netArts & Life editor ................................................ Chris Collison, artsandlife@westernfrontonline.netArts & Life editor ......................................... Elizabeth Olmsted, artsandlife@westernfrontonline.netSports editor ............................................................. Kevin Minnick, sports@westernfrontonline.netOpinion editor ....................................................... Tristan Hiegler, opinion@westernfrontonline.netPhoto editor ............................................................... Skyler Wilder, photo@westernfrontonline.netOnline editor .............................................................. Alex Roberts, online@westernfrontonline.netCopy editor .................................................................... Julia Means, copy@westernfrontonline.netCopy editor ............................................................. Jeremy Schwartz, copy@westernfrontonline.netFaculty adviser ........................................................................... John Harris, john.harris@wwu.edu

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The Western Front is published twice weekly in the fall, winter, and spring quarters and once a week in the summer session. The Western Front is the offi cial newspaper of Western Washington University, published by the Student Publications Council and is mainly supported by advertising. Opinions and stories in the newspaper have no connection with advertising. News content is determined by student editors. Staff reporters are involved in a course in the department of journalism, but any student en-rolled at Western may offer stories to the editors. Members of the Western community are entitled to a single free copy of each issue of the Western Front.

TEST YOUR WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY KNOWLEDGE

ANSWERS ONLINEwww.westernfrontonline.net

A. At the north end of Old MainB. At the west end of Nash Hall

C. In the Canada HouseD. No longer exists

The monument to those killed in the 1939 Mt. Baker avalanche is located:

SOURCE: Normal College KnowledgeCharles J. Flora

Red Square is named after:A. Communist sympathies B. The color of the bricks

C. Red Haskell

D. The clay below the bricks

The caption on the Oct. 13 page-two stand-alone photo stated the performance times of “The Mistakes Madeline Made” incorrectly. The play will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22-24 and Oct. 28-31. A late showing at 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 and 31 will also be featured in the Underground Theatre of the Performing Arts Center.

CORRECTIONS

Grounds department gardener Heidi Zeretzke operates a push-leafblower outside Old Main Monday. “It’s loud but it has to be done! We’re out here a lot this time of year,” Zeretzke said.

photo by Rhys Logan THE WESTERN FRONT

NEWS | 3westernfrontonline.net | Tuesday • October 20, 2009

Carey RoseTHE WESTERN FRONT

The fate of Western’s ongoing green efforts rests in students’ hands, as the Western Associated Students assemble a committee that will prepare the Green En-ergy Fee for a re-vote before its expiration in July.

The Green Energy Fee, in effect since the 2005-06 academic year, has used funds collected from students tuition to purchase renewable energy credits.

The energy credits will offset all of Western’s electricity use and support the usage of alternative energy nationwide.

Despite the decrease in the fee each year since its inception, there has always been a surplus of money left over as a fail-safe, said Ron Bailey, Western’s manager of operations support for Facilities Man-agement.

“We’re able to be a little bit closer in the estimates in setting the fee for this year,” Bailey said. “[But] we were carry-ing the reserve forward each year so that we have a buffer.”

The fee, originally $10.50 for the 2006-07 year, has decreased to $4 for the current 2009-10 school year while still maintaining a buffer due to reduction in energy use on campus and a reduction in the price of credits, Bailey said.

The prospect of having the fee so cheap while still maintaining a pool of money has Seth Vidaña, coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, excited about prospects for the re-examination of the

fee.If the fee were to be reformulated to

not only allow for the purchase of offsets for Western’s electricity use but also to fund on-campus projects to reduce green-house gas emissions, a separate commit-tee would be formed to evaluate potential projects, Vidaña said.

“If the students vote for that extra fee. [we would have] a group of student's, staff and faculty that are evaluating ways to spend that money in a way to give us the biggest bang for the buck,” Vidaña said.

The fee is an important part of West-ern, AS President Matt Jarrell said.

“I think it is one of Western’s brag-ging points,” Jarrell said. “It really shows

Western’s commitment to sustainability.”Jarrell said he was also impressed

that it was entirely a student initiative. “That made me feel empowered, that

if I had an idea, I could leave my mark on

the school,” Jarrell said.The Green Energy Fee began as a re-

search project within the AS club Students for Renewable Energy.

“It was a major goal for them to start off with,” said Erika Rednizak, co-presi-dent of Students for Renewable Energy.

The club campaigned in Red Square, visited classes, displayed banners and held a celebration concert in an effort to aquire 600 signatures so the Green Energy Fee proposal would be on the AS ballot.

One of the biggest obstacles for the fee will be a lack of institutional memory, Vidaña said.

Vidaña said he and a great number of students were surprised that the green fee had come up for a re-vote.

“A lot of folks don’t realize that it took a student vote to get there, and that it’s temporary," Vidaña said. "We’re hav-ing to begin those conversations with stu-dent groups.”

Western junior Lauren Squires, a rep-resentative from the AS Environmental Center, said educating students is an ex-citing prospect.

“This is an area of my job that I’m really passionate about,” Squires said. “Really making people aware and literate about sustainability, and this is how it’s af-fecting me directly.”

The committee will re-assess the fee before it is presented to the AS Board of Directors. If they approve it, students on campus will vote for it, and if passed, it goes to the Western Board of Trustees for ratification.

Committee seeks to ratify green fee initiativeWestern's AS Board will re-assess energy fee included in student tuition for 2010-11 academic year

Since the Green Energy Fee—included in student tuition every quarter— was first put into effect during the 2005-2006 academic year, the fee has seen a $6.50 decrease.

infographic by Kipp Robertson THE WESTERN FRONT

"I think [the Green Energy Fee] is one of Western's bragging points. It really shows West-ern's commitment to sustain-ability."

Matt Jarrell,AS President

4 | NEWS Tuesday • October 20, 2009 | The Western Front

Alan CrowTHE WESTERN FRONT

Western is the number one source of blood donors in Whatcom County, said Carol Rondello, Puget Sound Blood Center donor service representative. Ap-proximately 20 percent of the blood used in Western Washington hospitals the day after a Western blood drive comes from the university.

The blood drive will take place in room 565 of the Viking Union and at the Puget Sound Blood Center “bloodmobile” in Red Square from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Oct. 20 through 22.

“[The blood drive] is part of West-ern’s culture,” said Catherine Vader, coor-dinator for the Western Outreach Center. She said she is amazed at how many stu-dents donate.

Western has a big blood bag to fi ll this year, considering last year’s record-breaking 481 donations throughout the three days of the fall blood drive.

“I’d love to beat it,” Vader said. “I’d love to get even close to it. I mean, those are good numbers.”

Vader said 400 donations would still be a good number.

Rondello said the process of donating blood is simple.

Donors register, complete a health questionnaire and have a simple screening interview involving a brief physical exam.

If the donors seem healthy they are approved for blood donation.

The process takes less than an hour, and only seven to ten min-utes of that hour are spent with a needle in the donor’s arm, Ron-dello said.

V a d e r said donors are likely to s p e n d

more time enjoying their cookies and juice at the canteen, run by Western’s pre-med club, than actually giving blood.

Each donation is approximately 1 pint of blood, Rondello said.

After the Puget Sound Blood Center phlebotomists —or blood transfusion spe-

cialists—extract the blood, the dona-tions are sent to a lab in Renton where they are divided into the three base components of blood: red blood cells, platelets and plasma. Rondello said

since the blood is divided into its three components, each pint of blood donated

can go to help three different people.The red blood cells

deliver oxygen to or-gans throughout

the body. Red blood cell do-

nations are

primarily used in surgeries, ac-

cidents and other cases of blood loss, Rondello said. Plasma helps with fl uid replacement throughout the body and is given to burn victims and cancer patients. Platelets support blood-clotting, she said, and are primarily given

to burn victims and cancer patients.“If you know anyone who has had

cancer therapy, chances are they needed blood products to help them recover,” Rondello said.

Rondello said there is a 70 percent probability that any one person will need blood products some time in his or her life.

She said despite this, only 8 percent of the population donates, primarily be-cause people are not often asked to donate.

Cassidy Hunt, a Western sophomore, said though he has never given blood, it is something he is interested in now that he is informed about the blood drive.

“It is something that I can do to sup-port the community at large,” Hunt said.

The fl u may play a role in cutting back the amount of donations this year, Rondello said. That is why it is vital that healthy people step up to the plate and do-nate, she said.

Vader, said fl u reports at Western have been relatively low compared to oth-er universities, such as Washington State University, and the fl u is more likely to be a limiting factor during the winter blood drive.

In past years, most of the students working at the blood drive have been life-style advisers working with the Western Outreach Center, Vader said.

Since funding for the lifestyle adviser program has diminished, other sources are being tapped, including work study stu-dents and pre-med students.

Western remains top blood donor in countyWestern donors fi lled 481 bags fall 2008; set a fall quarter record

charts compiled by Alan Crow THE WESTERN FRONT

Students may donate if they are in good health and weigh more than 110 pounds.Students are advised to drink plenty of fl uids and eat a full, healthy meal beforehand.

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Yearly Western Blood Donations2008 Quarterly Western Blood Donations

NEWS | 5westernfrontonline.net | Tuesday • October 20, 2009

eventually engulfed the front of the car, Hurst said.

“At one point the flames were 3 to 4 feet above the hood of the vehicle,” Hurst said.

Andy Day, assistant chief of the Bell-ingham Fire Department, said no one was hurt in the blaze.

Western alumnus Kevan Lisowski lives on the block and saw the fire de-velop.

“There was a point where I thought the car would explode,” he said.

Lisowski said firefighters were on the scene in approximately five minutes.

The firefighters used a metal crowbar to break the car’s driver side window so

they could reach inside and pop the hood release.

Next they used the crowbar to pry open the burning car’s hood, giving them

a clear shot to extinguish the blaze, Hurst said.

The fire melted paint off the hood and destroyed the soft pieces of the engine compartment, but caused little damage inside the car. The car parked in front of Schirman’s sustained no visible damage.

Christian Carson, a firefighter on the scene, said he was not certain how the fire started. Day said in instances of a large fire, it is usually very hard to determine the cause.

Day said the responding fire engine was deployed from the station at the in-tersection of Maple and Indian Streets. He did not know the exact time of the call. He said in the instance of a car fire, the fire department is usually in charge of the investigation, not the police.

Corporal Joe Bailey from University Police was blocking off traffic at the in-tersection of North Garden and East Pine Street. He said since the car was parked on the city street it was Bellingham’s ju-risdiction.

Schirman said her car has been leak-ing power steering liquid and smoking for the past week.

“Don’t let your car do that,” she said. “Because it will catch on fire.”

FIRE: Nobody injured in Garden Street car fire Sunday nightfrom 1

Talithia TaitanoTHE WESTERN FRONT

Western's Border Policy Research Institute awarded two grants of more than $10,000 each to research action taken by the United States and Canada regard-ing border-related issues.

One of the grants, which was awarded to Western’s environ-mental studies department, will be used to research conservation measures taken between the U.S. and Canadian border on wildlife that inhabits the area, specifically in the greater North Cascades.

Troy Abel, assistant profes-sor of the environmental policy program, said with the findings from their research, they hope to eventually bridge the gap between both countries’ policies on pro-tecting native animals in that area.

Margaret Stock, visiting re-search associate for the BPRI, said differences in views and law result in constraints when trying to come to an agreement of border security for both countries. At the same time, Canada and the U.S. have to be careful in preventing the border from becoming a hos-tile environment.

“You have to manage the

border in a way that protects the innocent and punishes the guilty,” Stock said.

Huxley graduate student Jen-nilee Peelc will be assisting Abel in the grant he was awarded. Peelc’s research may reveal new reasons why the two countries should adopt policies together and obtain experience in the fieldwork involved in research projects, Abel said.

“It really helps students un-derstand why they are learning these things in class,” said Paul Storer, an economics professor involved with BPRI.

Most of the money goes to student assistants and travel, said Don Alper, director of BPRI.

Western political science professor Bidisha Biswas was awarded the second grant to study how Canada and the United States have been working together to ad-dress the tension and concerns of people crossing the border.

Biswas said she will be studying individuals and groups not just associated with terrorism, but involved in illegal activity, and how the two governments work together in taking precau-tionary security measures.

“There’s a lot of circumstanc-

es that have changed,” Biswas said. “I want to try to understand whether border policies have ac-tually changed.”

Biswas said the percep-tion of President Barack Obama from Canadians and Americans have been favorable in making America become a more peace-ful country. At the same time, the president is still new, so there has yet to be big change, and percep-tions can change based upon such changes, she said.

The Bush administration was being one-sided in working with Canadian border patrol to height-en security after the Sept. 11 ter-rorist attacks, Biswas said. This created tension between the two countries, and it was often diffi-cult for citizens of both countries to cross borders.

Because the two countries in-teract at the border, they both have to be cooperative but at the same time have their own laws and pri-vacy restrictions, Stock said.

“[Canadians] don’t see threats the same way we do,” Alper said. “They’re not obsessed with terrorism as we are.”

Additional reporting by Jordan Stead The WeSTern FronT

Grants fund political, environmental border research

Huxley graduate student Jennilee Peelc and assistant professor Troy Abel hope to improve Canadian and U.S. policies regarding protection of na-tive animals near the countries' common border.

A pair of grants from Western's Border Policy Research Institute aim to assist Canada-U.S. border research

photo by Mark Stayton THE WESTERN FRONT

Western senior Brittany Schirman’s car caught on fire Sunday night after she parked it on the 600 block of North Gar-den Street below Nash Hall.

"At one point the flames were three to four feet above the hood of the vehicle."

Isaac Hurst,Witness

photo by Hailey Tucker THE WESTERN FRONT

other community members is noise issues.“Party issues come up often, because

they happen late and they happen loud,” Welker said. “But often issues with long-term residents like loud dogs or lawn-mowers are just as common.”

University Police representatives are often at the forum, and are there to answer many basic law enforcement questions.

“We are able to take our perspective from the university and bring it to the ta-ble,” University Police Sgt. Bianca Smith said. “Often we can relate situations back to the dorms. In dorms there are quiet hours, and off campus there is too. Only you’re not answering to your resident ad-viser, you’re answering to the Bellingham City Ordinance."

Welker said another popular issue is parking.

“The buildings that are now apart-ment complexes weren’t designed to ac-commodate parking for so many people,” Welker said. “Students also commute to school and then park in residential areas.”

Topics of discussion also include

property maintenance. Students are not always as concerned

about how their rentals look or the upkeep of their property, Welker said.

“Long-term residents are often con-cerned that students don’t care about prop-erty maintenance,” Welker said. “They worry about the litter on the sidewalk and the general upkeep; not many people like to see beer cans lying on the front lawn.”

Western students have gotten even more involved after past forums.

The Viking Community Builders re-sulted from students who participated in the forums.

The club's goals are to strengthen bonds between students and neighbor-hood associations, Osborne said.

“We wanted to do something about community issues, so we got together and founded the club with the goal of helping bring the community members together,” Osborne said. “We see the issues the com-munity is having, such as if students are urinating on their neighbor’s lawn, and we try to deal with those issues.”

Welker said the forum also tries to break down stereotypes.

“Often long-term residents see stu-

dents in a certain way, just as students think of their neighbors in a certain way,” Welker said. “When we ask people what

they have learned in the forum, they say something as simple as just introducing yourself to your neighbor.”

student involvement wherever student money is spent.

And this includes DRAC, which dis-tributes fees for departmental activities in four main areas: music, theater arts, com-munication and journalism. Some specific recipients include Western’s debate team, student publications and the dance pro-gram.

Virgilio Cintron, AS vice president for business and operations, contacted DRAC in spring 2009 to review the committee’s budget process, advocating for that same transparency and student involvement.

Subsequently, Cintron proposed a draft charter outlining certain aspects of

how he believed the committee ought to be governed and operated. DRAC and the AS Board met together June 3 to discuss this charter.

“[The AS Board] represents the stu-dents, and they represent what happens with student money. That’s appropriate,” DRAC Chair Steve Woods said. “It’s just the demands and the approach they took were not as cooperative as they seem to think that they are.”

Woods said DRAC and the AS Board agreed in the June 3 meeting to continue working on a compromise charter in the fall, but the AS Board went ahead and passed their charter despite major dis-agreements.

The most impactful disagreement, Woods said, was that the AS Board want-ed their vice president of activities to take on the chair position of DRAC as a non-voting member.

Committee members resisted because of the overall power the chair has to set agendas, again propagating a conflict of interest between the two entities.

“The AS is a recipient of the fees,” Bohlke said. “So they are in competition; but it’s a friendly competition because they are all there to serve students in dif-ferent ways.”

An existing process was already in place for the AS Board to review bud-gets when all recipients of the services and activities fee come together to pres-ent spending proposals each spring to the Services and Activities Fee Committee, which is made up mainly of student rep-

resentatives.“When [the fee committee] was set

up it was meant to put students in the driv-er’s seat for putting their budget proposals together, and it was meant to be represen-tative,” Bohlke said.

And the more critical aspect of the entire budget process is transparency, she said, because the bottom line is that stu-dents need to know where their money is being spent.

“I am very confident that they will be able to work it out because they are good people with good intentions,” she said. “And well-intentioned people will work these things out.”

Jarrell said bringing concerns to DRAC was justified and is part of the re-sponsibility of the AS Board, but the way

in which it was done last spring in rela-tion to the DRAC charter was rushed and not completely checked out, mainly due to board members closing out their projects at the end of the school year.

However, Cintron contends they had not rushed the process, but had “funda-mental disagreements” with the charter DRAC was operating under.

A charter, drawn up by DRAC budget coordinator Ted Sealy this summer, will be presented in the Oct. 20 meeting. The charter has transparency, student over-sight and reportage to the fee committee as top priorities, Jarrell said.

“In the end, we all have our hearts in the right place in representing and serv-ing students,” Jarrell said. “And that’s the common ground it took a while to find.”

6 | NEWS Tuesday • October 20, 2009 | The Western Front

CHARTER: Dispute will be revisited at Oct. 20 meetingfrom 1

infographic by Nicholas Johnson THE WESTERN FRONT

TALK: Forum will let students communicate with permanent residentsfrom 1

Western Assistant Attorney General Wen-dy Bohlke found the charter passed on June 3 by the AS Board to be inconsistent with Washington State law.

photo by Rhys Logan THE WESTERN FRONT

photo by Hailey Tucker THE WESTERN FRONT

Weeds and an unmowed lawn border the property line next to Western alumni Jeff and Laurie Brown's house in the York neighborhood. The Browns have seen a fair share of col-lege students come through the house. "It's like clockwork," Jeff Brown said. "Right when they move in, it's party, party, party; but by the time the first grades come out, they settle down."

arts & life | 7Tuesday • October 20, 2009 | The Western Front

See more online at www.westernfrontonline.net

Jessica BaderTHE WESTERN FRONT

“I want to see you move!” Travis Mc-Coy, front man of the band Gym Class He-roes, yelled to an excited crowd at their show Saturday night. “Alright… let’s dance!”

And the people in the room broke out in dance.

Following the lead of McCoy, who took a minute to exhibit his own dance skills on stage, students swayed and grinded to the music. While some had fun laughing at their own over exaggerated dance moves, others danced on chairs on the outskirts of the crowd.

“Some college shows feel like you’re playing at a college, but this one didn’t,” said Tyler Pursel, touring keyboardist and guitarist for Gym Class Heroes. “It was kind of club-like.”

Six hundred fans bought tickets for the show, which took place in the VU Multipurpose Room. The show featured a unique melding of hip-hop, rock and pop.

A tightly-packed crowd dancing in dim lighting and a small stage to perform on added to the club-like vibe, Pursel said.

“Despite [the stage] being small, we managed not to step all over each other,” bassist Eric Roberts said.

Drummer Matt McGinley said it was a fun show with a great deal of positive

energy from the crowd.“You know it’s a good show when

from front to back the whole crowd is into it,” McGinley said.

And Gym Class Heroes’ explosion onto the stage to play their hour-long set did have the whole crowd excited for the show.

One of the first songs played was hip-hop anthem “Peace Sign/Index Down.”

“Now I need everyone to put their peace signs up!” McCoy yelled to the crowd.

Peace signs were immediately thrown up throughout the room and stayed up for the duration of the song.

On McCoy’s command the crowd jumped. Mid-song, “De Jesus,” who has been the band’s flag-waver and all around “hype-man” on tour with them for three years, climbed the barricade and surfed through the crowd.

Guitarist Lumumba-Kasongo said he almost followed “De Jesus.”

“I almost crowd surfed,” Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo said, “but at the last second I chickened out.”

“Cookie Jar,” a playfully metaphoric song with an ur-ban-club feel, featured a peek at “crabcore” danc-ing, a style in which the guitarist plays in a wide, squat-like stance.

L u m u m b a - K a -songo and Pursel said

they do this as a joke every time they play “Cookie Jar.”

Roberts said Saturday’s show was the first time the band has played in Belling-ham. During previous tours in the Pacific Northwest, they had only played in Seattle and Tacoma.

The show opened with band Somebody Cares, a neo hip-hop group from Bellingham, and guest performer Mike Harris, vocalist for the Bellingham-based band Idiot Pilot.

As the crowd cheered during Gym Class Heroes’ encore, McCoy prefaced the song with a lesson on being friendly and challenged the crowd to say “hello” to a stranger.

After the show, McCoy stayed back-stage, but the rest of Gym Class Heroes ven-tured out to what was left of the crowd to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.

Screams ringing up to the stage as Gym Class Heroes' front man Travis McCoy ran on to the stage.

Peace signs flying up for the energetic performance of "Peace Sign/Index Down."

McCoy serenading the women in the room and throwing his sweaty towel into the crowd.

Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo "crabcore" dancing to the song "Cookie Jar."

Flag-waver and "hype-man" dubbed "De Jesus" crowd surfing during the encore of the song "Live a Little."

ABOVE: Gym Class Heroes performs in the VU Multipurpose room Saturday night.BELOW: Lead vocalist Travis McCoy hypes up the crowd during the encore after the crowd implored the band to return to stage following their set.

McCoy sings the

song "Cupid's C h o k e h o l d " midway through the show.

photos by Alex Roberts THE WESTERN FRONT

SEE MORE PHOTOS ONLINEwww.westernfrontonline.net

Sakeus Bankson THE WESTERN FRONT

Western senior Matt Camardo’s house is as cozy as any college student’s—more so than most, actually. It has windows in all the walls, a skylight and warm lighting to complement the temperature.

His kitchen’s large blue countertop matches a table that sits four—five if guests want to get cozy—and has a sink larger than the one in his girlfriend’s place. A fridge hums under his two-burner stove, where the aroma of chai tea blends with the smell of the cake he is baking for his guests.

As they sit around talking, Camardo lazily surfs the Web on his laptop and Led Zeppelin pours out of an ex-pensive stereo system. When everyone leaves, he will head upstairs and crawl into his full-size bed and down

sleeping bag.This may seem completely normal. That is, until you

step out the sliding front door of Camardo’s house and look back.

Camardo lives in a blue 1973 Volkswagen van. He is one of a number of students who have chosen to

take up residence in vehicles rather than pay rent or deal with the stress of roommates, landlords or substandard houses and apartments.

While there are difficulties, Camardo said he not only survives living in a van, he thrives in a lifestyle full of freedom and free of stress and materialism.

“People always say ‘I want to do that.’ I hear that all the time. ‘I’ve always wanted to live in a van. It

seems like the greatest thing. I’ve really considered it’— I’ve heard that from all kinds of people,” Camar-do said. “I’m trying to tell everybody, ‘Buy a VW and move in.’”

Camardo’s van is definitely not a palace. He has been living in it since September 2008 and admits it can be tough at times.

It has no bathroom or shower, and when it gets cold he has to put food in the fridge to keep it from freezing. He has to move every couple of days, and parking can be hard to find.

Getting “upstairs” to his bed requires standing on the counter and squirming through a gap between the spice rack and the wall. And, Carmado said, one of the most

8 | arTS & liFE Tuesday • October 20, 2009 | The Western Front

Students eschew burdens of landlords, bills and roommates in favor of a mobile existence

Stidham built the custom shelv-ing that organizes items in his van, including his clothes, food, stove, water and climbing gear.

LEFT: Western senior Matt Camardo cooks dinner for guests while tea steeps on the other burner. RIGHT: Sean Stidham adds honey to his tea as Matt Camardo relaxes and enjoys a piece of van-made cake. (Right)

Western senior Sean Stidham stands beside the 1998 Dodge Caravan he calls home.

photos by Sakeus Bankson THE WESTERN FRONT

photos by Sakeus Bankson THE WESTERN FRONT

Western senior Sean Stidham’s 1998 Dodge Caravan is rugged and sleek. Without a fridge, space for a table or seats, and no running water, it is definitely minimalist.

His possessions are organized in a cus-tom wood setup that he and his father built, and as an avid climber, he said the ability to be completely mobile is as attractive as not worrying about rent or bills. With such a basic system, however, he has to deal with cooking, washing dishes, storing food and a lack of space, as well as the prob-lems of the other larger vans.

Despite the difficulties, Stidham said he is frequently asked questions about his lifestyle, by people who are curious, nostalgic and even envious of his situation. He recommends it to anyone, but not with-out a warning.

“You can’t move into a van and expect a fairy-tale life. Things are going to go wrong,” Stidham said. “But it brings a sense of adventure to everyday life. Maybe not the type of adventure someone would try to seek out, but adventure nonetheless.”

Stidham has been living in the Caravan since January and plans to continue doing so at least through fall quarter, when he will take it to Vail, Colo., for a guiding internship. He does not see the setup as permanent, but feels the experience has allowed him to grow away from materialism and toward an easy going freedom.

“My van runs on hopes and dreams,” he said. “That, and a bit of gas.”

important necessities is a pee bottle.But when people ask him about what they see as a

romantic lifestyle—and they frequently do—he is eager to recommend it.

Camardo’s own decision to go mobile was inspired by a series of poor living arrangements. He had worked as a commercial fisherman and thought about living out of a boat as an alternative. But the wait for moorage in Bell-ingham would be years, he said, and the next best thing seemed to be a van.

Even for Camardo, who is known in Western’s Rec-reation Department as “Savage” Matt, the idea was a bold move—spending all his earnings and selling almost everything he owned. The deciding factor came from a strange place.

“I watched Napoleon Dynamite again and Uncle Rico had that pimp van, that huge Dodge,” Camardo said. “After I watched that again it was the final step. I was like, ‘I’m buying a van.’”

Camardo began a daily search of Craigslist until he found exactly what he was looking for—a 1973 Volkswagen Hightop Safaré camper van—in Dallas, Texas.

On another leap of faith, Camardo and his girl-friend flew down to Dallas planning to drive it back—and after hopping behind the wheel, it was love at first mile.

Saving money is one of the most obvious ben-efits of the lifestyle, Camardo said. When he bought it, his van cost him $5,000, compared to the $6,000 he spent on rent at his previous house. He said he plans to save $4,000 this year, after installing a larger battery and a large solar panel on the roof to power his appliances.

Between those savings and the finan-cial aid he receives, Camardo not only goes to school for free, but has enough money left over to cover gas and food, which frees him from hav-ing to work and allows him to focus on school.

“My parents kind of frown on it. People think it’s kind of low-life to live in a van,” Camardo said. “But it is definitely help-ing further myself and I’m not going to be a burden to society. I’m going to be a benefit to it.”

As for staying clean and going to the bathroom, Ca-mardo tries not to use friends’ houses. Most mornings he goes to the rec center and takes a shower after working out.

Going to the bathroom is a little trickier and depends on the van-goer. Urinating requires far less effort from the guys—hence the importance of the pee bottle. Urinat-ing is one of the main difficulties Camardo has seen for women living in vans.

As for the “other” bathroom business, Camardo has no problem going in his van and will readily and graphi-cally demonstrate the system he has worked out for it. Others, however, fervently avoid it and use public bath-rooms.

Parking is frustrating, Camardo said, but is mostly just an annoyance. He moves every few days and tries to avoid being conspicuous while parked on busy streets and neighborhoods—if he is too ob-vious, people often get suspicious and ask him to leave, he said.

He has only been talked to twice by the police, but both times they were friendly and just asked him a few questions.

But sleeping on a busy street can be a scary

thing—even Ca-mardo, who is 6 feett 2 inches and has a bone

p i e r c i n g through his nose, said

he

feels vulnerable. Mostly, though, he said he worries about not making other people uncomfortable.

“When I park on 21st I try to keep a low profile, just have a smaller presence,” Camardo said. “I can under-stand if girls are walking by and see some creeper dude in a van at 11 o’clock at night, when it’s really a college student trying to do homework.”

Despite the initial assumption most people have, Ca-mardo said, the cold is not the biggest problem with liv-ing in a van.

Although it may cause pipes and mayonnaise to freeze, cold temperatures actually keep the inside dry by freezing all the condensation, and can be handled with a warm jacket and sleeping bag.

More than anything else, Camardo said, rain is the worst part of van life.

“In such a small space, nothing dries out. Things start to mildew and mold and mud tracks everywhere and condensation builds up on the inside and it’s always damp,” he said. “Last year it rained for 31 days and it sucked.”

How long Camardo is going to live in the Safaré depends both on what he is doing when he graduates as well as where he is with his girlfriend, as it would be rough on both of them trying to live together in such a tight space.

Either way, he plans on being in it at least until after he graduates—wherever he gets a job, he can just drive there—and said he will hang on to it whatever happens.

“I love living in a van, man. I absolutely love it,” Camardo said. “Everywhere is home.”

Before switching the stereo to Pearl Jam and taking a bite of cake, Camardo said living in a van is as much about having someplace to stay as having the ability to go.

“It’s like the human search for home. When you leave your parents’ house you have to find home some-how, somewhere,” he said. “I think it’s something based deep in humanity. It gives you freedom, the abil-ity to be at home everywhere you go. I’m at home ev-erywhere.”

arTS & liFE | 9westernfrontonline.net | Tuesday • October 20, 2009

Students eschew burdens of landlords, bills and roommates in favor of a mobile existence

• Pee bottle• Down fabric• Stove• Water• Reliable places to shower

• Cell phone • 12-volt outlet with extra battery• Adventurous, free spirit• Curtains or tinted windows• Friends with houses and driveways

Van-life essentials

LEFT: Western senior Matt Camardo cooks dinner for guests while tea steeps on the other burner. RIGHT: Sean Stidham adds honey to his tea as Matt Camardo relaxes and enjoys a piece of van-made cake. (Right)

photos by Sakeus Bankson THE WESTERN FRONT

Western senior Colin Sternagel bought his 1981 Volkswagen Westfalia pop-top at the beginning of August and has since been living between it and his girlfriend’s place.

While the pop-top gives Sternagel more headroom, it looks like someone set up a tent on the roof and is as inconspicuous as a giant sail. This means he is more noticeable and more likely to get asked to leave, so he keeps it down most of time.

The Westfalia is smaller than Camardo’s Safaré, seen on the left, but has some newer amenities such

as a freezer, rotating captain chairs and a larger extra battery to power appliances.

Rather than becoming a hermit in a van, Sternagel said that his transience has only brought him closer to those around him. He bought the van after spending time in Africa and seeing how little many of the people there needed to survive.

“I realized how much stuff we have that we don’t need,” he said. “I realized how many different ways of living there are around the world, and I decided to downsize.”

Colin Sternagel takes a break from reading to pose inside the door of his 1981 Volkswagen Westfalia.

photos by Sakeus Bankson THE WESTERN FRONT

"I think it's something based deep in humanity. It gives you freedom, the ability to be at home everywhere you go. I'm at home everywhere."

Matt Camardo,Western senior

Matt Camardo's expenses

Cost of a year's rent at previous house: $6,000Cost of van: $5,000

$1,000 savings for gas and food

graphic by Chris Collison THE WESTERN FRONT

Sofa a soft spot for students to connectEmily Linroth

THE WESTERN FRONT

“I'm here to listen,” says the sign, fluttering as winds threaten to rip it off a couch at the edge of Red Square.

It is Friday, and although it is blus-tery and raining, volunteers still sit un-der the pillars of Bond Hall on what they have dubbed “The Listening Couch,” waiting to talk with the Western com-munity about anything and everything. There is no agenda—just people ready to listen.

Western sophomore Derek Mc-Faul is one of the volunteers. He said the couch is there to fill a need that is not being met, especially in Red Square.

“We would come out here and peo-ple would always be giving us stuff and giving us their opinion, so we wanted to do the opposite,” McFaul said.

Western freshman Marc Har-rington volunteers at the couch. He said many people walk by and read the sign, but do not stop to talk.

“It's such a taboo thing, sitting down on a couch with someone random and talking to them,” Western senior and volunteer Isaac Thomas said.

People do come up and ask if there is a catch, Harrington said, but he tells them the group does not have an agenda and is only there to listen.

A Bellingham men's group that gets together to talk about life and study the Bible came up with the idea toward the end of the last school year. They brought the couch to Red Square

on the last several Fridays of spring quarter. McFaul said though the volun-teers met in the Bible study group, they are not affiliated with any religion or organization. The Listening Couch is an independent idea, he said.

Most people did not know what the couch was, but McFaul said he hopes the more the couch is available, the more people will begin to recognize it.

Whatcom Community College sophomore Donato Perconti became a couch volunteer a few weeks ago. He said the group's advice to him was to sit and wait for people to come to him, and that it would probably be awk-ward.

“Most people’s first reaction when they meet someone new is to talk about themselves, because that's what they know,” Perconti said. Couch volunteers let visitors guide the conversation.

People who visit the couch talk about subjects ranging from school and jobs to politics and life. Most conversations are casual, but some go deeper.

Last year, a woman visited the couch and told one of the volunteers her mother had been diagnosed with cancer and she did not know what to do, Perconti said.

“A lot of people just want to have someone else to talk to,” Thom-as said.

Western senior John Woodworth visited the couch last Friday. He said he also sat down at the couch last year and talked with someone when he was questioning his religion.

“It was healthier than a lot of the other resources I was reaching out to at that time,” Woodworth said.

The couch belongs to several of the group members, who haul it to campus with a pickup truck and leave it in Red Square from approximately 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Friday.

The couch's current location is in front of Bond Hall, where it is protect-ed from wind and rain.

McFaul said the group might try to get permission to place it in a building lobby during the winter.They plan to be back in Red Square in spring.

The group has approximately 20 volunteers so far, but members said they are open to more people getting involved.

The group has also considered having the couch out several days per week, Western senior Greg Conley said. McFaul even proposed having multiple couches.

“We just want to be here for oth-er students, so it'd be great to branch out,” Thomas said.

photos by Emily Linroth THE WESTERN FRONT

TOP: Western senior Cody Gleason (center) and junior JaneLee Waldock (right) talk with sophomore Derek McFaul on The Listening Couch. ABOVE: Western senior John Woodworth (right) talks about life with volunteer and sophomore Derek McFaul.

10 | arTS & liFE Tuesday • October 20, 2009 | The Western Front

"We would come out here and people would always be giving us...their opinion, so we wanted to do the oppo-site."

Derek McFaulWestern sophomoreand couch volunteer

arTS & liFE | 11westernfrontonline.net | Tuesday • October 20, 2009

Rod LotterTHE WESTERN FRONT

It is no secret. Print journalism is a dying medium.

Bellingham’s only local music publi-cation, What’s Up! Magazine, has seen its advertising drop signifi cantly during the past year, said Brent Cole, who has owned and operated the magazine with his wife Becca since 1998.

Monday night, the fi rst of two benefi t shows for the magazine took place at the Wild Buffalo. Another benefi t show will take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Nightlight Lounge, located at 211 E. Chesnut St. Five dollars is the suggested do-nation.

“It has never been this bad before,” Cole said of the magazine’s fi nancial problems. “But we are fortunate to have a community that is willing to help us out when we need it.”

Bellingham has endured the trimming down of The Bellingham Herald, the end of Whatcom County distribution of The Stranger, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s move to online-only. Now What’s Up!, which fi rst introduced Bellingham to bands such as Idiot Pilot and Death Cab For Cutie, is experiencing the same prob-lems.

“With the fi nancial recession, not only are print publications having a tough time, but so are small-business owners, which just happen to make up most of my adver-tising,” Cole said. “When a small business is losing money, they need to cut costs and

advertising is one of the fi rst things to go.”Cole attempted to sell the magazine for

the last year or so, but he said he plans to ride it out and keep the magazine he created.

“I think the magazine can only be bet-ter and stronger once we get through this rough patch,” he said.

When Craig Jewell, owner of the Wild Buffalo, heard What’s Up! needed help, he and Cole brainstormed quick and easy ways to raise some money—that is when he got the idea for a benefi t show, he said.

“I fi gured, since the magazine has contributed so much to local bands, fans and businesses, it’s only right that we give back,” Jewell said.

Jewell said the magazine’s contribu-tions include giving local bands exposure, getting the word out when a nationally touring band is coming through town and giving local businesses a chance to adver-tise cheaply to their target consumers.

“The magazine really is the stimulus for the whole scene,” Jewell said. “With these benefi t shows, we are dedicating two nights to the magazine that started it all, especially for the bands that are play-ing at the shows, who most likely got their fi rst gigs thanks to What’s Up!”

Cole said he started the magazine be-cause there was a need for it in the Bell-ingham music community.

“I can say that Bellingham wasn’t as fun a place to live in, music-wise, before I started the magazine,” Cole said. “There are different components a place must have to get a thriving music scene, like all-age ven-

ues and killer music, and a magazine is an-other one of those important components.”

Proof that the music is thriving could be seen at the Wild Buffalo show, which had six bands on the bill. Bellingham’s Best Band winners, Sugar Sugar Sugar, headlined the show, and prior to them was an aural assault by noise metal band Dog Shredder. Some laid back, funky stuff from Snug Harbor evened out the event.

The Friday show at the Nightlight will have seven performers, including Ghost and the Grace, which consists of former members of Idiot Pilot and Pan Pan, the infectious guitar virtuosity of Rooftops and an acoustic performance by Femme Uke.

Femme Uke consists of Western senior Ashley Thomas and junior Laine Keniston. Their band was featured in the September issue of the magazine, and an article about the band is in the October issue.

“Without the magazine we’d be stuck playing in basements and garages all the time,” Thomas said. “The magazine has really been a spring board for us.”

Because of the publicity the band re-ceived from the magazine, Femme Uke has been invited to play shows in Olym-pia, Thomas said.

“I think our story is a very similar story to that of other Bellingham bands,” Thomas said. “It’s just a great way to support local music and be supported by the community in return.”

Both Thomas and Keniston said they were excited when asked to play at the benefi t show because they have both been huge fans of the magazine for years.

“I can’t imagine Bellingham without What’s Up!,” Keniston said. “Whenever I’m looking for something to do at night I just look in the magazine and see who’s playing and where.”

photo by Alex Roberts THE WESTERN FRONTA benefi t concert took place Monday night at the Wild Buffalo. Another show will take place at 7 p.m. on Oct. 24 at the Nightlight Lounge.

What's up with What's Up!?Music magazine potentially serenades its way out of fi nancial trouble with help from musicians

opinion12 | Tuesday • October 20, 2009 | The Western Front

See more online at www.westernfrontonline.net

Viking Voices

Where do you like to read The Western Front?

The recession is hitting a staple of Bellingham's music scene hard.

What’s Up! Magazine has published news on local bands and shows since 1998 and is now in danger of going out of busi-ness.

The magazine staff writes feature sto-ries and profiles on artists in the Belling-ham and Whatcom areas as well as pro-vides a space for artists to advertise their shows.

It serves the vital function of allow-ing musicians a chance to put themselves and their music out there for the commu-nity to enjoy. Many of them are musicians who might not otherwise get press cover-

age in the region. The variety of music and venues

in Bellingham is part of what makes the community an interesting place to live. The music scene offers color and a sense of individuality—a unique flavor. Al-lowing the magazine that celebrates that music to go out of print would be a tragic waste.

Two benefit concerts were organized for What's Up!. One occurred Monday night at the Wild Buffalo, featuring art-ists such as Snug Harbor and Sugar Sugar Sugar.

The second benefit concert will be Oct. 24 at The Nightlight Lounge on 211 E. Chestnut St. starting at 7 p.m. This show will feature artists such as The Ghost and the Grace, Rooftops and Femme Uke. A $5 donation is suggested and attendees

are encouraged to give more to support What’s Up!’s ongoing efforts to regain its footing.

Students and community members should go to the concert and support the magazine because it supports local tal-ent and provides publicity to artists who might otherwise remain unknown. It’s a great resource for finding concerts and shows, and its loss should not be taken lightly.

As a community, Bellingham must treasure and preserve its independent, lo-cal publications if it wants to keep alive the spirit that makes this city so appealing.

The editorial Board is comprised of editor-in-Chief rebecca rice, Managing editor Audrey Dubois-Boutet and opin-ion editor Tristan hiegler.

Come and help What's Up!Frontline

Opinions of the Editorial Board

Compiled by Samantha Oberholzer

Erin Hickey Senior

"In the living room." "In the bathroom."

Geri MassengeleSophomore

Kendra Krantz Freshman

"on the sun deck roof of nash."

Opinons from around campus

Justin Herrmann Sophomore

"In the sixth-floor bathroom of the VU, stall two."

Want to see more?

Check out Video Viking Voices at westernfrontonline.net

Submit letters to the editor to:

opinion@westernfront online.net

Photo Illustration by Skyler Wilder THE WESTERN FRONT

Meaghan CoxTHE WESTERN FRONT

Crouching extremely low to the ground, two lacrosse players face off during the Western men’s alumni vs. Vikings game. Their sticks are poised and ready to fight for the ball. The referee brings the whistle to his lips. All breathing stops—not just for the two players, but for every person on and off the field.

“It was cool to see the alumni,” said Stasi Dragseth, Western sophomore and lacrosse attack-er. “But the ref didn’t really do anything. We were getting hit all over the place—a lot of the stuff they did was illegal. They just got away with it.”

The current Western lacrosse players won the war, despite the controversial actions conducted by the alumni, beating them 11 to one.

The alumni game is a chance for the lacrosse team to raise money to cover expenses for the up-coming season.

The recent graduates are the most understand-ing when it comes to raising funds, said Adam Ex-tine, Western senior and lacrosse captain.

“They know how hard it is to get money,” Ex-tine said. “They’ve been to the championships and know how much we want to get there. Back in the 90s the guys played in a league that mainly was just for fun.”

Last year each player had to pay $500 to play, and this year the price was raised to $750. The team receives approximately $5,000 from state funds through the university, but $4,200 of that goes toward league dues, Extine said.

During the men’s alumni game, one alumnus

was playing with a wooden stick instead of a metal one. Metal sticks are hollow, so while they are sturdy they do not carry as much weight as a wooden one. Wood sticks are illegal in some leagues such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

“I had someone whack me with a wood stick [before] and it really, really hurts,” Extine said. “The wood stick is banned from our league and the NCAA.”

The official lacrosse season will not start until Janu-ary. However, a round robin will be played Oct. 25 on the Wade King turf field, with such schools as Central Washington University, Pacific Lutheran University and Simon Fraser University competing.

Central team captain Kellen Gallacher said Western is their biggest rival, and this year they hope to beat them.

“We have never beat them during the regular season, but have beat them twice in previous fall tournaments,” Gallacher said. “It is always a fun and exciting game to watch and especially to play in.”

sports | 13Tuesday • October 20, 2009 | The Western Front

See more online at www.westernfrontonline.net

Andrew LangTHE WESTERN FRONT

“Burn the boats!” is an expression Viking warriors would use upon arrival at an enemy’s shoreline. The Vikings would burn their own boats, making a statement that they were either going to enjoy vic-tory or fight their hearts out in defeat.

Its also a motto the 2009 men’s la-crosse club team has adopted, as they have big plans for the upcoming season.

The 2008 club lacrosse team had an outstanding season last year. The Vikings went 4-0 and won the Northern Confer-ence Division II regular season title last year, but their storybook season came to an end due to a tough one-point loss to Western Oregon University in the play-offs.

First-year head coach Avram Feld said this year they are hungry, revamped and ready to win a national championship.

The Vikings play in the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PNCLL) Division II with schools such as Central Washington University, Pa-cific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound and Whitman College. The lacrosse team is not limited to those op-ponents; they also compete against larger Division-1 schools such as the University of Washington and Simon Fraser Univer-sity.

Only a few starters, such as Russ Chi-upka and James DeBoer, who have since graduated, were lost from the Vikings 2008 roster. The men’s team will enjoy the return of Western seniors Cody Bludorn and club President Adam Extine, who are

two returning All-Americans. Extine, who has played all of his four

years at Western, said he cannot wait to get the season started.

“We’ve totally elevated the status of a club experience,” Extine said. “You re-ally get a lot out of the joining the club, it feels like a Division I team. Road trips and bonding with the guys is the best part of the season.”

This season will be Feld’s first lead-ing the Vikings. Feld was a player and coach last year and said he is excited to take the Vikings all the way to the top.

“We have pretty high goals this year,” Feld said. “We had a great season last year and lost to the eventual playoff champs, Western Oregon University. We’re aiming for a national championship this year and have the guys to do it.”

Bludorn said there are many great reasons to join the lacrosse team this year. Beside the high expectations and elevated level of competition players enjoy, he said it is a great way to meet friends and a good way to stay in shape.

“We’re a tight knit team; it’s a big family,” Bludorn said. “We do a lot of things together and make lifelong friend-ships. You’ll do something you love or learn to love.”

Feld has his own opinions of why po-tential recruits should join the team.

“It’s a great group of guys,” Feld said. “It’s not as big of a time commitment as a varsity sport, and it’s really booming in popularity.”

Western sophomore Sven Sundee has played for the Vikings for two years and said he loves the competitive atmosphere.

“I played all through high school and love the game; it’s a lot of fun,” Sundee said. “My favorite part of the season is at the end when you’re working for a cham-pionship cause you’re really working hard for something.”

Bludorn said the game has many as-pects that draw people to it. He said it is a fast-paced game and rarely has dull mo-ments.

“I love the speed of the game,” Bludo-rn said. “It’s really fast paced, there’s a lot of action on both sides of the field, that’s what attracted me to it.”

Lacrosse is not only a game of speed and quickness. Extine prefers the physi-cality that is involved.

“I’m really into checking people,” Extine said. “I enjoy the physical aspect the most.”

Feld said the growth of the sport has grown drastically over the last de-cade.

He said lacrosse has a major connec-tion to the East Coast, but the love for the game has spread rapidly around the coun-try.

While the 2009 Vikings said they are poised for a championship run, there are several keys to having successful season.

“Everyone has to buy into the system and commit to the program,” Extine said. “Togetherness is key and we need to help each other out.”

The Vikings do not officially start their season until the end of January, but their practices are now well under way. The men’s lacrosse team starts play with a home match against the University of Washington Jan. 29.

Lacrosse gears up for 2009-10 season

Alumni vs. Vikings 2009

Western sophomore Jeff Gillies, back, defends against a Western alum Saturday, October 17, 2009.

photo by Rhys Logan THE WESTERN FRONT

Western alumnnus Curtis Wisser grabs a pass dur-ing the Western Alumni game Saturday, October 17, 2009.

photo by Rhys Logan THE WESTERN FRONT

Round Robin TournamentOct. 25

First round begins 11 a.m.Western vs. Central Washington University

Wade King Student Recreation Center

14 | SpOrTS Tuesday • October 20, 2009 | The Western Front

Volleyball wins third straightVikings now half a game behind fi rst place in conference

Andrew Barrows THE WESTERN FRONT

Western volleyball was in Billings, Mont., Saturday night, seeking their third straight volleyball match victory. The Vi-kings made it look easy with consistent offense from Vikings sophomore middle blocker Emily Jepsen and freshman out-side hitter Marlayna Geary, who both combined for 25 of the team’s 43 kills.

The Vikings were able to rout the Yel-low Jackets of Montana State University-Billings in a 3-0 straight set sweep.

“We have some momentum right now which is important because we are on our longest road trip of the year,” Vikings head coach Diane Flick said.

The Vikings improved to 14-7 overall and 7-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference as they moved to within half a

game of conference leaders Seattle Pacifi c University and the University of Alaska Anchorage, both of whom won Satur-day night and are 7-2 in conference play. The Yellow Jackets fell to 11-10 overall and 4-5 in GNAC matches. The Vikings overall record against the Yellow Jackets is now 8-0.

This was the fi rst time since early September where the Vikings were able to win three consecutive matches.

“We are catching fi re at the right time and we are playing consistent,” Vikings junior Allison Gotz said. “Our team is working on the little errors that hurt us before.”

Western took charge in the fi rst set, rolling out to a 17-10 advantage, playing near-errorless volleyball. However, after a few miscues made by the Viking hitters, the Yellow Jackets were able to capitalize, tying the match at 20. The Vikings then called a timeout; looking to regain their focus.

“We get up on teams and then we just

fall fl at at certain points during the set,” Vikings assistant coach Shannon Rowland said.

After the timeout, the Vikings battled their way to a 25-22 fi rst set win, led by the near-fl awless hitting of freshman middle blocker Bailey Jones, who compiled fi ve fi rst set kills and hit .833 for the match.

The second set was back and forth from beginning to end, as both teams were on the attack. Geary turned up her offen-sive game, collecting nearly half of her 11 kills in the set. It was the 17th match in which Geary totaled more than 10 kills.

“I always try to play aggressive and make smart shots,” Geary said. “Our team was very strong offensively in the match, and we cut down the mistakes.”

Western rallied to win eight of the fi -nal 13 points winning the set 25-20, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

Western exploded to a 15-7 lead in the third set forcing the Yellow Jackets to call a timeout as they were in danger of falling to the Vikings in three quick sets.

After the timeout, the Vikings relent-lessly capitalized on Yellow Jacket hitting errors. The Yellow Jackets never pulled it together, succumbing 18-25 to the Vikings in the third set to close out the match.

Western’s offense was dominant as they hit a match high .385 attack percent-age during the third set including .609 by the GNAC co-player of the week Jepsen.

“We were able to use what we learned in practice this week and apply it to this match, and I think we accomplished our goal,” Flick said.

Western takes their frigid road trip up north, visiting the Nanooks from the Uni-versity of Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 22.

Andrew LangTHE WESTERN FRONT

After an impressive outing at the Western Collegiate Water Skiing Asso-ciation Regionals Oct. 10-11, the Viking water skiing team qualifi ed to compete at nationals Oct. 22-24 in Bakersfi eld, Ca-lif. Western’s water skiing team took fi fth place in regionals, making them eligible for a shot at the National Championship. The Vikings have not reached nationals since the club was founded in 1992.

Western competed against prominent water skiing schools Arizona State Uni-versity, Cal Poly University, University of California Davis and the University of San Diego at Shortline Lake in Sacre-mento, Calif.

Western senior and team captain Kelly Thees said she could not be more excited about the success they enjoyed in Sacramento, Calif.

“Our team morale and camaraderie has never been so high,” Thees said. “We were really positive going into the tour-nament, I’ve never seen a team go after a goal so hard, it was awesome.”

The Vikings water skiing team con-sists of both men and women. They com-pete in a coed format.

The team competes in three events: the slalom, trick session and long-distance jump. Each team has fi ve women and fi ve men that compete in every event. Scores are tabulated by adding up the top four scores from each event, then adding those scores with the top four scores from the

other events to get a total team score. Since school has started, the water

ski team has practiced every Monday at private Borderline Lake in Blaine, Wash.

Western senior Mike Eisele said they try to practice as much as they can but re-ally turn it on a few weeks before tourna-ment dates.

“We practice during the spring and summer or whenever we can,” Eisele said. “Two to three weeks prior to regionals we ski as much as we can and work with our coaches.”

Eisele said he thinks practice will pay off at nationals and feels the Vikings have a really good chance to taste success once again.

“I don’t want to jinx ourselves, but I think we have a really good chance of placing,” Eisele said. “If everyone per-forms as well as they did in regionals, we could place top three. If that happens we’ll be having a lot of fun that Saturday night.”

There will be a total of 22 teams com-peting at the national tournament. These 22 teams consist of the top fi ve qualifi ers from three regions and several wild-card teams.

Western junior Katie Seman said she cannot wait to go to nationals and hopes to unveil a new move out of her bag of tricks.

“I’m most excited to meet all the other people from other schools across the nation,” Seman said. “My favorite part of competition is the trick portion. My best trick is the 360; I’ve never been able to do it in competition, but hopefully I’ll do it at nationals.”

Water ski team qualifi es for nationals

Next Matchvs. Alaska Fairbanksat 7 p.m., Oct. 22Fairbanks, Alaska

“Our team morale and camara-derie has never been so high.”

Kelly Thees,Water ski team captain

Look for more nationals preview coverage in the next issue of the Western

Front

Western has not advanced this far since the club's inception in 1992

Western: 3Yellowjackets: 0

SpOrTS | 15westernfrontonline.net | Tuesday • October 20, 2009

Andrew MitchellTHE WESTERN FRONT

It is 11:45 p.m. at the Bellingham Sportsplex, and the Western men’s hock-ey team is about to start practice. Head coach John Dougan is smiling wide, not letting the time of night and the prospect of staying late into the next morning af-fect him.

After driving more than a half hour from his home in Blaine to get to the Sportsplex—the longest drive of any team member—Dougan is not worried about being tired. He is only worried about set-ting an example for his team.

“I think that if the coach doesn’t look committed to the team it makes a huge dif-ference,” Dougan said. “I will never show up late or show up without any energy. If I am going to be the coach of this team, I have to go all out.”

Now in his second year coaching the team, Dougan is making an impact on the players by creating a more structured, enthusiastic environment that the players say is translating to early season success.

Before Dougan, the hockey team had not been able to keep a consistent coach-ing situation for three years. One coach cancelled on the team just days before the season started.

“I have been here for five years and we have never had any coach in the same league as John,” Western senior Jeff Bulg-er said. “His dedication to the team and to the players is priceless and you can tell he really enjoys doing this, which is a big inspiration to the players.”

Dougan is from British Columbia and has been around the game of competitive hockey for 20 years. He was a Division-I goalie at Ohio State University from 1982 to 1985 and played on numerous minor league teams.

“I really enjoy coming out here, be-cause it reminds me of my playing days,” Dougan said. “I always played on hockey teams growing up in Canada, and I devel-oped a passion for this game. Because I played Division I the kids know I know what it took to make it at the highest level in college, so they are more likely to listen

to me.”Dougan has been a coach since he

was 17 years old, and has coached every-one from 10-year-olds to minor league teams all over the Whatcom area.

He met and coached Western sopho-more Matt Parsons when Parsons was only 10 years old up until last year, when Parsons recommended Dougan to the team for the head coaching job after his experience playing for him.

“I knew he would be the guy to help bring this team to where we want to be, because I know how fiery he is about the game,” Parsons said. “It has rubbed off on the rest of the team, and we buy into his system because he is really focused on doing whatever it takes to help the team win.”

After word spread last year about the new coach and his approach to the team, about 20 players showed up at tryouts for the team this season.

“I think the kids appreciated the structure of a real coach, because it wasn’t very organized before, which can make it feel less serious,” Dougan said. “These players saw what they could accomplish in a system like that, so they decided to tell their friends to come out. It was great for the team with this influx of talent we saw from last year to this year, and we are moving in the right direction.”

Bulger said the players have respond-ed to Dougan’s aggressive play-calling style. The players listen to what Dougan says because of his knowledge for the game and his enthusiasm for the sport in general, Bulger said.

Returning to the rinkHockey player-turned-coach John Dougan leads Vikings to victory

In addition to boosting the morale of the team, Bulger said Dougan also is tak-ing steps to build the program through re-cruiting, a practice Bulger said none of the previous coaches even attempted to do.

Dougan takes trips to Seattle and other cities in Washington to recruit play-ers, such as freshman Paul Kim, to play for Western.

“He came down to my game in Seat-tle and personally recruited me to come to Western. That really showed me what type of coach he is,” Kim said. “It really im-pressed me and made me want to play for a coach that was that committed to help build this team to a bigger talent level than just a club team.”

Western has a record of 6-1. The team has upcoming games against Washington State University and rival club University of Washington.

Dougan and Bulger said these games will be a good test of the team’s early suc-cess.

“I learned a lot last year and this year I am just trying to improve and make it even better for these kids, because the re-lationship with these players is the main reason I do this,” Dougan said.

Western hockey coach John Dougan stands on the Bellingham Sportsplex ice rink. This is his second year coaching the team.

photo by Rhys Logan THE WESTERN FRONT

“I have been here for five years and we have never had any coach in the same league as John...you can tell he really enjoys doing this, which is a big inspiration to the players.”

Jeff Bulger,Western senior

Next Home Gamevs. University of Washington

10:15 p.m. Nov. 13Bellingham Sportsplex

Admission: $3 for students w/ ID,

$5 public