AS Review - February 14, 2011

2.14.11

V. 26, # 17

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Remembering the first on-campus showing of The AIDS Memorial Quilt

Stress from page 8 “I definitely feel pressure to pick something I’m not passionate about,” Williams said. “It’s not all about making money, but I don’t want to continue struggling.”

Williams, who came to Western from Colorado, said being an out-of-state student has also contributed to her stress. It is that new, uncharted territory that takes time getting used to, she said.

Vader said a key to managing stress is perspective. There will be always be difficult times, but what really matters is how we look at those situations and decide to deal with them, she said.

One example, she said, is when students do poorly on a paper and go to a professor for help.

As the professor criticizes the paper and offers advice, students can look at the situation in two ways: one, they’re a terrible writer and they will never succeed, or two, they are learning a lot through this advice and will do better next time.

It is that shift in focus that can help students control their stress, Vader said.

“Our minds are very powerful, and I think we really need to look at how we think and what we think and how we look at the world,” she said.

For freshman Alexa Peters, her biggest and most stressful challenge has been transitioning to college life on a social level, rather than an academic one.

“I have had a really hard time meeting friends.

I’m an outgoing person and coming from high school where it wasn’t hard, it’s been so hard coming here and being one in 14,000 people and wondering: Where do I belong here?” she said.

“It’s a big adjustment.”

Vader said that many students correlate their stress to obvious factors, such as an overwhelming amount of homework or finances. She said social connections play a big role in students’ stress, something of which many may not be aware.

Vader added that just going out and meeting new people is a great way to relieve stress.

“In my experience, getting out and connecting with people in a positive way is a wonderful antidote,” she said. “It not only helps how you feel about yourself and helping society, there are studies that show it actually helps your immune system. People who have social connections and connect with people are less likely to be depressed or stressed.”

Guest column by Brittany Otter/ AS ROP director

1

995 was a time when HIV and AIDS were quite controversial, stigmatized and hard to talk about. It was during that time that a core group of determined and hardworking individuals in Bellingham who were passionate about HIV and AIDS awareness brought the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt to our community with the goals of AIDS education, awareness, remembering and healing.

Edye Colello-Morton, a member of the Bellingham Photo courtesy of Melissa Martney planning committee, had to The AIDS Memorial Quilt was first brought to Western back in May 1995. raise over $15,000 within a few months to bring a part of people who died from health complications of the quilt to Bellingham. The fundraising efforts due to AIDS were remembered. Tissue boxes were were kicked off by informing audience members of placed at each panel for people to dry their tears the project during the Western theater department’s and counselors knowledgeable about HIV and production of Falsetto’s, a play dealing with AIDS AIDS were available to talk with those who needed directed by James Lortz, who was also a committee support. For two days, the coordinators of the member and associate professor in the theatre arts project read the names of people across the country program. Shirley Osterhaus, a Fairhaven professor, that had died from AIDS complications. The event and Paul Brower, the preservation and museum was free, but they accepted donations to support specialist for the Western Gallery, were also involved Sean Humphrey House and Evergreen AIDS in the planning of the AIDS Memorial Quilt event.

Foundation. The project was so successful that it The events had to battle the uneasiness most won the Mayor’s Art Award that year. people felt about the disease and the people who had Many people traveled from far and wide, it. Additionally, the events had to support the people including Nelson Pardo of Portland, Ore. “The quilt and close relatives or friends who experienced HIV has really helped the collective awareness about and AIDS. Before the quilt even arrived, organizers AIDS. People see all the women, babies, young set up a panel-making event at Allied Arts people, men, all sorts of people who have died, not where they collected homemade panels from the just gay men,” he commented in The Bellingham community and helped others make panels of their Herald in May 1995. Sixteen years later, there is own to be added to the quilt project. Community still stigma and support is needed for those living members donated their panel to the growing with HIV and AIDS and their families. However, AIDS Quilt. Dressed in all white, the facilitators Colello-Morton reminds me that we have come very commemorated those who had lived and lost their far. We can put on events about HIV and AIDS in lives to AIDS as pieces of them were donated to open spaces and not worry about hate crimes or history. violence. In a sense, people like Colello-Morton and On May 20 and 21, 1995, over 5,000 people those that helped plan and implement the AIDS witnessed the emotion in Carver Gym as hundreds Please see Remembering on page 11

February 14, 2011 • 11

Chickens from page 6

Recently Watson began moving her chickens from a coop in the front of her house to a coop on the side of her house with the change of each season. She said this way the ground they live on has a chance to regenerate itself, the smell is contained and she can use the chickens’ composted waste in her garden.

A big problem for chickens is predators, especially raccoons, Watson said. They will do just about anything to get at the hens, she said.

She recalled several times she had come home at sundown to find three raccoons closing in on her flock.

One of the biggest challenges to raising chickens is providing them with enough space because of their natural urge to wander.

“They are very friendly,” Watson said. “They are sociable creatures.”

Hohl Feed and Seed employee David Parker owns 17 hens and one miniature rooster on his Fairhaven neighborhood property. He said each chicken needs about three square feet of their own space. Like any social animal, they will attack if they feel their territory is being threatened, he said.

Chickens need a constant supply of clean food as well, which will attract rodents if it is not changed regularly, Parker said. One chicken eats about one pound of feed per day. They also need some kind of grit in their diet, such as soil or oyster shells, which keep the shells of their eggs hard. Without calcium the shells will become brittle and flaky or soft and rubbery.

Parker said that chickens also need an adequate shelter from the elements. Chickens can withstand

space to perfect their craft.

Frohe said that before the Bellingham Circus Guild, it was difficult to find a place to practice that could accommodate aerial acrobatics.

“We were always scrambling looking for practice places in the winter, especially the aerialists,” Frohe said. “It’s been awesome for my growth as a performer to be able to have free range of a place like that.”

Frohe said that she enjoys working with her fellow performers, and that every guild member brings their unique talent and energy to guild productions.

“It’s taken a long time to get organized and to get to where we are now,” she said. “The people are what make the guild. I’m so lucky to know all these talented folks.” cooler temperatures and do not need a heat lamp during the winter, but have trouble fighting off the cold when it’s windy and raining.

Parker said chickens have a ton of personality and are fun to have around, but you have to do your research to properly raise healthy chickens.

“People need to realize it is a commitment,” Parker said.

McNett from page 7 present and share a profile on an artist. She later met him at the Southern Graphics Council Conference, an annual print-making conference for artists and students. She added that she was thrilled to see one of her favorite mediums done in a nontraditional way.

“Print is such an old medium. It’s a dying medium in the sense that letter presses and companies are shutting down. It’s great to see artists who bring back that medium and make it new and revived and fun again,” she said.

Paul said she received nothing but good comments about the grand opening experience from volunteers and art students. McNett’s fan base has grown through this exhibit and will only continue to do so, she added.

Prior to McNett’s exhibit, the gallery hosted “You’ve Got Secrets,” an exhibit featuring Western student’s anonymous secrets on homemade postcards. The exhibit was paying tribute to PostSecret, the project started by Frank Warren where he collects anonymous postcards bearing strangers’ secrets.

Paul said the contrast between McNett’s gallery and the PostSecret is the perfect example of the diverse array of art the VU Gallery strives to show.

“The exhibit exemplifies how the VU Gallery is so versatile, going straight from a hanging cloud of PostSecrets to an overwhelming fantasy world that Dennis McNett creates with his intricate designs and creatures,” she said. “Everyone should make sure they check out the show. McNett is definitely on the rise.”

Remembering from page 10

Photo by Daniel Berman/ The AS Review

Circus from page 4 “You’re not just there to check out from reality, you’re there to experience and share a moment with the people around you,” Mastin said. “It’s not available every day either. You can’t see the performance anytime like you could see a movie in a theater.”

The show is one of many put on by the Bellingham Circus Guild throughout the year. The Guild also hosts a number of workshops for aspiring circus performers. Deacon, Mastin, Frohe and others founded the guild three years ago. Mastin said that the members of the guild have close relationships with one another, and people must be recommended to the guild and voted in by other members before being allowed to join. Members are encouraged to attend weekly meetings and have access to practice

A Chinese chicken inside a backyard pen.

quilt have paved the way for more open, safe and inclusive discussion. We must not forget the hard work, love, and respect that it took for people before us to dynamically change how we are educated and positioned to think about AIDS. Those who attended the second presentation of the quilt this year commented that “the quilts were beautiful and effectively captured spirits of the people they stand for.” I liked that some people saw “that AIDS victims were actually people with stories, families, children” and found that “the media was illuminating and heartbreaking.” We must never forget how the blood, sweat and tears of those before us allowed us to look ahead for a more hopeful and informed future. I want to say thank you to all of those who put together the first-ever AIDS quilt to reach the Pacific Northwest.

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Kimya Dawson

Portugal. The Man with Kimya Dawson and The Courage Photos by Joe Rudko/ The AS Review

Feb. 4 concert in the PAC, presented by ASP Pop Music.

Portugal. The Man Portugal. The Man

The Courage

Portugal. The Man The Courage

Portugal. The Man

Portugal. The Man

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Board Brief

AS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING REPORT

Volume 26 Number 17 ▪ February 14, 2011

COLUMNS

NEWS / FEATURES 2

5

BOARD BRIEF TALKING ABOUT PROTESTS Socialist Alternative Feb. 8 forum on Middle East protests.

6 URBAN CHICKEN-FARE Cluck.

7

WHIRLING WAVES & WOLFBATS Dennis McNett exhibit opens with students destroying “Fire Eagle.”

8

IT’S A FACT: COLLEGE = STRESS No kidding.

9

12

FAIRHAVEN RECORDING STUDIO PORTUGAL. THE MAN PHOTOS

4 LETTER TO THE EDITOR

10 THE AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT

Guest column by Brittany Otter.

EVENTS 3

EVENTS CALENDAR Look to your right.

4

MY CIRCUS VALENTINE Bellingham Circus Guild Valentine’s Day variety show.

Wednesday, Feb. 9 The AS Board of Directors passed a revised AS Election Code. Remy Levin, AS elections coordinator, was in attendance and answered questions from board members. The most significant changes to the code include ways candidates are allowed to campaign. Verbal campaigning is now allowed much earlier than it was in the past; students running for office can also campaign online and the AS is running a pilot program this spring for publicly financed elections, where candidates can be reimbursed for up to $100 of their campaign expenses.

Vice President for Governmental Affairs Byron Starkey presented a draft of the 2011 AS federal legislative agenda, which was recently passed by the Legislative Affairs Council. It can be found online at gov.as.wwu.edu.

AS Board of Directors meetings are open to the public. They are usually held at 6 p.m. every Wednesday in VU 567. More information can be found online at gov.as.wwu.edu.

The AS Review has a close relationship with the board. In the interest of transparency with our readers, we are making this clear.

Exclusively online @ asreview.as.wwu.edu Cover Photo by Daniel Berman/ The AS Review

Editor in Chief

Assistant Editor

Events Editor

Lead Photographer

Evan Marczynski

Lindsay Kucera

Olena Rypich

Daniel Berman

Staff Writers

Photographer

Adviser

Matt Crowley • Kirsten O’Brien Chelsea Asplund • Kelly Sullivan

Joe Rudko

Jeff Bates

-om(nom): mmm...truffles

©2011 The AS Review is published most Mondays during the school year by the Associated Students of Western Washington University.

Submissions/Letters: The AS Review welcomes submissions and letters to the editor. Submissions include news stories, literary pieces, photography, visual art and anything else physically printable. E-mail material to as.review@wwu.edu, drop it off in the Viking Union at VU 411 or mail it to the address below. Submissions will be returned if you include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Letters to the editor need to be no more than 300 words and need to include your name and phone number. We reserve the right to make minor edits to the length and content of letters.

Ads/Calendar: The AS Review does not sell advertising space. Sorry. E-mail the Events Editor at as.pr@wwu.edu to get your event in the calendar.

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The AS Review: VU 411, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone: 360.650.6126 • Fax: 360.650.6507 • E-mail: as.review@wwu.edu Online: asreview.as.wwu.edu.

Making your life better, one page at a time.

-A singles club at Western?

-Wellness Outreach Center to launch new Western Wellness website

EVENTS MONDAY Feb. 14

“Whirling Waves and Wolfbats,” an exhibit by Dennis McNett Viking Union Gallery Free Exhibit runs until Feb. 18. VU Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Come check out printmaker and installation artist Dennis McNett’s illustrative prints, tapestries and the large Viking ship constructed

by McNett and students!

“Priceless”

Feb. 14- Feb. 16 7 & 9 p.m., VU 552 $2 Through a set of wacky circumstances, a beautiful French woman (Audrey Tatou) mistakenly woos a mild-mannered bartender, thinking he’s a wealthy suitor.

Valentine’s Day special (Feb. 14 only): Buy one ticket, get one half-off!

Valentine’s Day Sunset Kayak 4 p.m.: Meet at Outdoor Center $45 Students, faculty and staff; $55 Guests Paddle in Bellingham Bay with sunset pinks, purples and oranges highlighting Lummi and Orcas islands on the horizon. Duck into a secluded cove to look at purple sea stars and palm frond fossils!

Website: http://outdoor.as.wwu.edu/excursions. php.

February 14, 2011 • 3

February 14-18, 2011 TUESDAY Feb. 15

Club Native: How thick is your blood?

6 p.m., Academic Instructional Center 210 Free The Native American Student Union and the Social Issues Resource Center are showing the film “Club Native.” This film looks at Canada’s 1876 Indian Act and the racism and discrimination toward Director Tracey Deer’s family. Following the film, a panel will facilitate a discussion about the issues that individuals face when claiming a Native identity in United States because of discriminatory blood quantum laws.

Domestic Violence in Queer Relationships 7-9 p.m., VU 462B Free Think domestic violence is just for straight relationships? The LGBTA, Women’s Center, and CASAS talk about domestic violence in queer relationships, the resources available and what to do if you find yourself faced with potential violence at home.

WEDNESDAY Feb. 16

“Let’s Talk About It”: Christians are too exclusive 4 -5:30 p.m., VU 460 Free

This discussion will allow students to express their opinions about one of the main perceptions about Christians: that they are too exclusive.

Discussion topics: Where do these perceptions come from? Do they reflect reality? Are they true to the heart of Christianity? The discussions are open to those of any faith background.

Notice: The AS LGBTA event “Self Love, Queer Love,” has been rescheduled from Thursday, Feb. 17 to spring quarter. New date and time to be announced.

THURSDAY Feb. 17

Finding Feminism: Feminism and Relationships 7 p.m., Humanities 110 Free

Come converse about feminism! Take this opportunity to discuss a variety of topic areas within feminism. It is an open, gender-inclusive space for people to chat about topics that need to be discussed.

Sustainable Cooking Class: The Roots of Winter 5-7 p.m., downtown Community Food Co-op $5 This class, put on by Students for Sustainable Food, will use sustainable ingredients.

Participants will take part in cooking and sampling dishes that incorporate seasonal vegetables such as winter squash, parsnips, leeks and kale. The class is limited to 15 participants. If you wish to participate, sign up and pay the fee at the VU Information Desk by Tuesday, Feb.15.

FRIDAY Feb. 18

Backcountry Ski Weekend Leaves from the OC in the afternoon $50 Students, faculty and staff; $70 Guests Take full advantage of a three-day weekend!

Experience the Mt. Baker Wilderness on this backcountry ski and snowboard trip. Our experts will guide you through our snow-covered local mountains.

Picture My Commute Submissions accepted through March 18.

Combine creativity with your commute by bike, foot, bus or carpool and win! Contest is open to students, faculty and staff who submit photos of their alternative commute during winter quarter 2011. Winners will be announced the week of March 21. For additional information and online entry form go to http://www.wwu.edu/ transportation/picture/.

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Regarding Western’s new logo: We live in a world of competitive brands, logos and trademarks, and in an attempt to nourish Western’s growth in this world, the university administration has further caused the continuing regress of a prestigious state school into the ambiguity of higher education programs, once again alienating a student population in the process.

Last I checked, Mount Baker was 60 miles away from campus and served no greater a purpose to students than a source of water runoff into Bellingham Bay and a distraction for students who ski.

So why is the new logo featuring the prominent Mount Baker in its foreground, worthy of becoming the background of the official stationary carrying and displaying my transcripts to law and graduate schools across the country?

Why is Western’s close proximity to a ski resort and water source meaningful enough to be sent out to the thousands of prospective students currently deciding where they will spend their four years of tuition and time?

The process of decision to change the face of the university, a face that serves as a first impression to the rest of the country and the world, should have not been made behind closed doors. The change should have been warranted, monitored and approved by students before it was posted electronically and sent to print as the official logo.

This was not the course of action however, and in an environment of scarce public funding and a competitive prospective student field, students should be left angry that instead of a banner of quality higher education, their university thrust a huge ski mountain forward to the world as their logo, leaving prospective students and possible student employers wondering: Are they compensating for something?

Bradley D. Humphrey Senior The AS Review serves as a public forum for students to have their voices heard. The opinions in letters to the editor belong solely to the authors and are not necessarily shared by the staff. Letters can be submitted to as.review@wwu.edu They should be less than 300 words, and we reserve the right to withhold publication or make minor edits for length, style or grammar.

My Circus Valentine The Cirque Lab hosts Valentine’s Day-themed variety show

Kirsten O’Brien/ The AS Review

Valentine’s Day tends to polarize people into two groups: those who can’t wait to receive flowers, chocolates and cards from their significant other and bask in the ooeygooey love that the holiday promotes, and those who despise the forced romanticism fueled by disingenuous greeting cards and pre-packaged roses.

Whatever your feelings about the most lovey-dovey of holidays, “My Circus Valentine,” a Valentine’s Day-themed variety show, offers something for everyone, from the bitter cynics to the hopeless romantics.

The show will be held Feb. 14 from 7 to 10 p.m. at The Cirque Lab on 2107 Iron St. Tickets are $10 if purchased in advance, and $12 if purchased at the door. Members of the Bellingham Circus Guild, which promotes and supports circus arts in Whatcom County, are performing in the show.

“The show is not bound by the cookiecutter concepts of Valentine’s Day and will have something for everyone, not just happy couples,” said Anneka Deacon, a founding member of the Bellingham Circus Guild and producer of this year’s show. “It is more than a show; it is an event, an experience.”

Deacon said that in the first part of the evening, guests are encouraged to mingle Photo courtesy of Jorge Lausell with performers and enjoy live music, as Two aerialists performing during last year’s show. well as food and drinks from local vendors.

The show itself will include music, dancing, juggling, aerial arts and acts by 15 to 20 lovey-dovey,” she said. “We’re trying to incorporate performers, many of whom are guild members. whatever people may feel about the holiday. Some of “[The cast members] will be bringing their it is bitter and some of it is sweet. We want everyone polished acts to the stage in a rare opportunity to to feel welcome, date or not.” be paid to do what is a labor of love for most of us,” Ukoiya Mastin, another aerialist and coDeacon said. founder, said that the show offers a unique twist on The show may have a Valentine’s Day theme, but traditional Valentine’s Day festivities. She said the Dream Frohe, an aerialist performing in the show show offers a more personal experience, and can be and another founding member of the guild, said that a great alternative to the standard dinner-and-movie people don’t have to bring a date. She said the show date night. would be fun for couples and singles alike.

Please see Circus on page 11 “It’s for sweethearts but it’s not necessarily

February 14, 2011 • 5

Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival 11th annual film series starts Feb. 17 Kelly Sullivan/ The AS Review

The community-driven Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival is celebrating its eleventh year of presenting films for the education and advocacy of global human rights issues starting Thursday, Feb. 17.

The films will cover a wide variety of social conflicts, said anthropology professor James Loucky.

Each film explores critical issues and proposes ways that the global community can better respond to those in need.

“This year there is a really incredible lineup,” Loucky said. The event has gained notoriety over the years, and is comparable in quality to any national film festival, he said.

This will be Loucky’s seventh year participating in the BHRFF. His first year, he was a speaker after one of the films, and has been on the community-staffed festival committee ever since.

This year Loucky will be speaking after “Which Way Home,” a film documenting the solitary journeys of child immigrants on their way to the U.S. The film won the 2010 Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Programming and is an Academy Award nominee for Best Feature Documentary.

Loucky said one of the great aspects of the BHRFF is its facilitation of personal involvement in the issues being presented. Community members or organizations that directly deal with each topic, or speakers who have a direct link to the film’s production, participate in discussions and offer their own experiences after the screenings. Local organizations set up tables for anyone looking to develop an active role in an issue after they see the films.

BHRFF committee member Ross Marquardt said there are a few movies to look out for this year.

“The Power of the Powerless,” a film about the 1989 Czechoslovakian revolution that overthrew an oppressive communist government, will be playing in the Fairhaven College auditorium on Feb. 19.

After the movie, the producer and director of the documentary will discuss the making of the film.

On Feb. 20, “Enemies of the People” will play in the Fairhaven Auditorium. The documentary is about the brutal Khmer Rouge regime and the

Cambodian killing fields. The film is unique because it has the first recorded testimonies by the leaders who perpetuated the exterminations.

On Feb. 23, “Poto Mitan,” a documentary about the exploitation and rights violations of Haitian women workers will also play in the Fairhaven Auditorium. The film will be followed by a lecture and discussion led by Dominican human rights activist Solange Pierre. She has been nicknamed in the Caribbean as “our Mandela,” Marquardt said.

For a full schedule and more information, check out bhrff.webs.com.

Volunteer Coordinator Alice Bremner said the festival’s opening film will play at the Pickford Film Center on Feb.17. The film, “Budrus,” is an inspiring movie about what a community can accomplish when they band together.

The documentary chronicles the peaceful movement of Palestinian and Israeli neighbors trying to save their village which is under the threat of destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier, a wall dividing the State of Israel from the West Bank. The film will be followed with a discussion facilitated by Bellingham lawyer Cat Zavis.

Bremner said that each film goes through a critical process before it is chosen for the festival.

Members of the BHRFF committee viewed between 25 and 40 films before they chose the films that will appear in this year’s festival.

Many of the chosen films have 2009 or 2010 release dates, and cover current topics of global conflict, as well as long-standing social issues. After each film, comment sheets will be available for viewers to evaluate the quality of the screening’s overall presentation.

All of the movies are free to the public. Venues include the Fairhaven Auditorium, Pickford Film Center, Bellingham Technical College, Sehome High School, Squalicum High School and Lummi Youth Academy.

Bremner said the festival committee is still looking for volunteers to help set up each venue during the festival. She recommends contacting bellinghamhrff@gmail.com to volunteer.

Making sense of Middle East protests Socialist Alternative’s Feb. 8 public forum Matt Crowley/ The AS Review

On Tuesday, Feb. 8, the on-campus chapter of Socialist Alternative held a public forum to discuss the ongoing protests in the Middle East from Tunisia to Egypt, and the short-term and long-term effects they will have around the world.

Joining Socialist Alternative member and Egyptian-American activist Ramy Khalil were Western professors Chris Wise and Barbara Rofkar, both of whom have in-depth knowledge of the situations taking place in the Middle East.

Wise is an Islamic studies professor who once taught in Jordan, and Rofkar is an international studies professor and a board member for the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force.

While protests in Tunisia, Syria and Sudan were also talked about, the majority of the discussion focused on the uprising in Egypt, where hundreds of thousands of Egyptians are calling for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak, who has led the country since coming to power in 1981.

The protests began on January 25 and show no sign of stopping.

Professor Wise opened the forum, after a short video showing the chaotic situation in Cairo’s Tahrir Square where the majority of protests are taking place, by giving his take on the situation, tying in the U.S. government’s reaction to the unrest. The U.S. has backed Mubarak, like several other Middle East leaders, in an effort to keep relations between the U.S. and Middle East countries strong. According to Wise, the Egyptians were always fond of former President Bill Clinton during his time in office in the 1990s, and even though President Obama shares some of Clinton’s progressive ideas, the two presidents’ foreign policies are very different.

“If you talk to people on the streets, the feeling is that Obama is not much different than George W. Bush,” Wise said.

Wise said the Egyptian revolt against Mubarak is in some ways a revolt against the U.S. as

Please see Middle East on page 8

Cityslicking Chickens 6 • Check us out online @ asreview.as.wwu.edu

Local residents raise chickens in their backyards

Story by Kelly Sullivan/ The AS Review Photos by Daniel Berman/ The AS Review

For Bellingham resident Lise Flora Waugh, raising chickens has been a lifelong passion. She grew up with them on her family’s farm, and later participated in the chicken program through 4-H where she learned to raise, competitively present, judge and properly butcher chickens. When she moved out on her own, to Norco, Calif., she began raising her chickens in an urban setting.

After moving back to Bellingham three years ago, Waugh began an informal non-profit chicken rescue program called Lise’s Home for Wayward Chickens on her 30-acre Whatcom County farm, where she currently keeps around 100 chickens.

Waugh said keeping chickens is good for many reasons besides the obvious benefit of fresh eggs every morning, which are much healthier and better tasting than store-bought eggs. She also enjoys watching her flock, and being around them provides her with a sense of relaxation, she said.

Waugh said one thing people constantly ask about is the color of the eggs, which does not determine how the egg will taste. She said that store-bought eggs have their shells vigorously cleaned before they make it to the shelves, which rubs away the egg’s natural protection. This means that air and toxins get into the eggs, making them less healthy than if they were washed right before being consumed instead.

Waugh also said to watch out for cartons that claim they are free range and vegetarian, which is by definition impossible. If a chicken is raised free range it means that they have access to space outdoors. This also means that they will be consuming bugs and insects, a natural part of their diet, and will not be completely vegetarian.

“Raising chickens in a city is a challenge,” said Carolyn Watson, owner of Core Kinetics Movement and Pilates Studio where Waugh works. Even inside the city chickens are threatened by predators and disease. They are also animals which require constant attention, and owners need to know how to provide proper shelter and sustenance for them.

For a few years Waugh and Watson kept a few chickens at the studio on Railroad Avenue, but eventually had to remove them because there was a possibility they were bringing in rats, Watson said. Now she focuses on the six hens living at her York district home.

Please see Chickens on page 11 Photos (from top): A chicken named Avocado pecks at the ground; Western graduate Renae Kibler (left) and senior Natalia Oncina hold their favorite chickens in their backyard pen; Oncina works in the chicken pen.

February 14, 2011 • 7

Whirling Waves and Wolfbats Dennis McNett exhibit in VU Gallery runs until Feb. 18 Story by Chelsea Asplund/ The AS Review Photos by Joe Rudko/ The AS Review

T

he Viking Union Gallery has been transformed into a world of Nordic culture and wild animals.

On Feb. 3, artist Dennis McNett opened his gallery, titled “Whirling Waves and Wolfbats.” The exhibit includes elaborate and intricate woodblock prints, which McNett created by hand-carving designs into wood, then turning the designs into prints through stamping or rubbing techniques.

The exhibit will be up in the gallery until Friday, Feb. 18, when it will be stripped down to its bare skeleton of white walls, ready for the next artist.

McNett’s prints vary in the mediums in which they appear on, which is a testimony to his creativity. His prints line the bottom walls in curling waves, restore colorful life into AntiHero skateboards that hang on the wall and give dimension to ceiling-to-floor silk tapestries.

The gallery also includes a wooden Nordic Viking ship that was built with help from students in the

gallery prior to the exhibit opening. The ship’s sail contains an intricate print of skulls, goats, snakes and a set of forks. Prints of snarling wolves line along the hull of the ship.

Allie Paul, VU Gallery coordinator, said the grand opening was unusual, but unusual in a very fascinating way. Although McNett originally planned on just constructing a Viking ship in the gallery, the overwhelming help and student interest in his work sparked the idea for a larger celebration.

Attendees first built a large piñata referred to as the “Fire Eagle.” They were also invited to build their own helmets and weapons to use to crack the piñata open after hanging it from the sculpture in the Performing Arts Center plaza.

“The grand opening was a great celebration of all the hard work and long hours Dennis and the students put into the preparation,” Paul said. “People were very passionate about the event, and it was a great chance for students to get involved in a

Photos (above from left): As a part of the opening reception of McNett’s “Whirling Waves and Wolfbats,” students wearing self-made helmets and weapons organized a ritualistic Viking parade; Senior Maryann Miyashiro at the opening reception Thursday, Feb. 3. different kind of art.”

Senior Teresa Grasseschi, a gallery attendant and art major specializing in prints, said she was not only thrilled to take part in the creating of the art, but in the performing and destroying of it as well.

“Dennis is one of my very favorite artists that I’ve been hoping and hoping would come for a couple years now,” Grasseschi said. “His art is interactive and he really takes print into a different direction that it usually doesn’t go into.”

Grasseschi said she had been a fan of McNett’s since she did a class project where she had to

Please see McNett on page 11

8 • Check us out online @ asreview.as.wwu.edu

Middle East from page 5 well, which has held a strong presence in the region even before Mubarak came to power. The question is then: What will happen to the more than $2 billion Egypt receives in aid from the U.S. annually, which is second only to Israel?

Without an ally in power, the aid, which mostly goes to the military and economic sectors, could see a significant decrease, a concern for a country whose poverty and unemployment rates were one of the reasons for the protests in the first place.

Next was Rofkar, who opened her statements by saying, “I have a lot more optimistic view than professor Wise.”

“I think we inspired the Arab world when Obama was elected, and when he went to Cairo and talked,” she continued. In 2009, Obama visited Cairo University for a speech where he called for a “new beginning” in relations between Islamic nations and the U.S. in order to promote peace in the Middle East.

Much like the 2008 elections, the protests in Egypt have been largely a grassroots, youth-led movement. And while Rofkar feels like positive change will eventually come to Egypt, for that to happen, we need to change first. While the U.S. has prided itself on spreading democracy across the world, to Rofkar, we have been consistently mixing up democracy and capitalism.

Khalil said that he thought the high rates of unemployment in Egypt, even for college grads, are not only a source of frustration for the Egyptian people, but evidence that the capitalist system does not always work.

In Egypt and all across the Middle East, the frustration caused by unemployment and poverty is only compounded by the fact that the ruling class, including President Mubarak, holds vast amounts of wealth.

Khalil went on to say that he thinks the Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s oldest and largest Islamic political group who has supported the anti-Mubarak protestors, would not be an ideal candidate to replace Mubarak’s government.

Since the Brotherhood is a right-wing, religious party, Socialist Alternative would much rather see a socialist party rooted in the protest community that supports democracy but is against capitalism.

Whether Egypt will see this or more of the same now that Mubarak will leave office is yet to be seen.

The reality of college: We’re stressed New survey finds stress taking a serious toll on students, particularly freshmen Chelsea Asplund/ The AS Review

For some, college used to be a lush, stimulating world where students could expose their minds to new ideas and discover what they want out of their lives. But now, more so than ever before, college is a competitive race to see who can get done the fastest and who can get a job first.

Choosing a major used to depend on the age-old question: What do I want to do with my life, and what kind of person do I want to become? Now, this starry-eyed question has boiled down to: What can get me a job, and what can get me the most money?

These kinds of questions, along with other schoolrelated anxieties, have contributed to a rising stress level affecting college freshmen across the county, according to a new survey.

The survey, titled “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2010,” revealed that stress is taking a serious toll on the emotional health of college freshmen. It also revealed that while students’ emotional health is down, their academic ability and drive to achieve has reached a record high.

The survey, conducted by University of California

Los Angeles’ Cooperative Institutional Research Program, involved more than 200,000 incoming freshmen at four-year colleges nationwide, and showed that the number of students who say they are emotionally healthy has declined by more than 10 percent over the past 26 years.

Wellness Outreach Center Coordinator Catharine Vader said the survey represents the reality college students are living in right now.

“There is a lot of unrest and turmoil in the world, and that is very unsettling. I’d like students to look at what gives them meaning and purpose in their life,” she said. “What gives them joy and happiness and makes an average day great? I think to connect with other people can alleviate some of that stress and also put a perspective on a person’s life.”

Freshman Ashley Williams said the pressure to choose a major that she not only loves but that also pays well has been enough to keep her tossing and turning at night. She said she is currently looking into humanities-related majors, but the pressures of picking something more stable are getting to her.

Please see Stress on page 10

Photo by Joe Rudko/ The AS Review

While stress has driven students’ emotional health down, their drive to do well in school has never been higher, according to the new survey.

February 14, 2011 • 9

Laying it down and mixing it up in the Fairhaven Recording Studio Matt Crowley/ The AS Review

Nestled in the Fairhaven Commons, an unassuming set of doors sits on the east wall. There is no sign and no indication of what lies behind it, but the hundreds of artists that have passed through it over the past three decades know the capabilities that lie just beyond the thick wood and metal hinges.

The Fairhaven Recording Studio is quite possibly one of the most valuable resources at Western, but students outside of the music department and Fairhaven College may not even know about it.

For those that do, the high-end equipment and recording software present capabilities and potential not found in many other locations in Whatcom County.

The studio itself is fairly inconspicuous. A wall and large pane of glass separate it into two small rooms, one used for actually playing and recording and the other for monitoring and later mixing the final product.

Russ Fish, the Fairhaven Recording Studio coordinator, took steps to clean up the studio a bit, adding couches and artwork to give the studio and its collection of high-end equipment an intimate, cozy feel. The mixing room includes a giant mixing board and an Apple desktop computer that is used to run ProTools, an industry-standard music software program used by the audio program.

Fish also teaches classes that use the studio, including Audio I and II, Intro to ProTools, and ProTools HD. Many of the hands-on lab portions of these classes are taught by students, and those who help out with the labs can do so to receive independent study credit or just do it for fun.

This hands-on approach is practiced in classes throughout Fairhaven College.

“Fairhaven is great in some respects because some of the responsibility is put on the students to teach themselves,” he said.

All Western students, even those not enrolled at Fairhaven, can schedule time in the studio as long as those who sign up know how to use the equipment.

According to Fish, a typical recording session takes 8 to 10 hours, followed by a 2 to 3-hour mixing session. All scheduling is done on a calendar posted just outside the studio doors, where students can reserve time by writing their name in the time blocks they wish to use.

Photo by Joe Rudko/ The AS Review

Western junior Erik Wallace takes control of the soundboard during the lab portion of his Audio Recording I class in the Fairhaven Recording Studio.

One of Fish’s goals this year is to create more interplay between the studio and Western’s music department. Fish said that like all students, musicians in the music department aren’t always sure if they can use the studio. In fact, the majority of students taking the audio classes are not even Fairhaven students. To help eliminate this misconception, Fish hopes to bring ProTools software to computer labs across campus, including the Music Instructional Technology Lab in the Performing Arts Center. He recently applied for a second tech fee grant to help make it happen.

“It would be really beneficial to a lot of people,” said Fish.

The bulk of studio time is used for independent or class-related student projects, sometimes involving local musicians. Austin Jenckes, Rooftops and Palisades have all recorded at Fairhaven, and the free studio time is a valuable resource for recording

artists. Students have even brought in out-of-town bands to record as well.

“For the type of people that don’t want to take the classes, there’s always a ton of studio time through student projects you can use,” said Fish.

Western student Toby Reif, who has used the studio numerous times and has helped out with some of the audio labs, said the studio provides opportunities for students and musicians alike.

“It gives a really unique opportunity for bands because it’s hard for local bands to get professionalsounding recordings,” said Reif. “Plus, it’s cool for aspiring engineers to get their hands on really highend equipment.”

Western student and Palisades member Noah Megn echoed Reif ’s sentiment. “I think it’s a neat resource for students,” Megn said. “It’s really sweet to not only see all of the cool equipment you can use, but to see how much time people put into it.”