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WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Excellent and affordable education
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| Red Square on the 195-acre Western Washington University main campus provides the student body with a popular social center. RACHEL E. BAYNE HERALD PHOTO
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Jim Donaldson
The Western Washington University neighborhood encompasses the campus of one of the state's most popular four-year public universities, with about 13,000 students enrolled this fall.
About 3,800 students moved into Western's residence halls and campus apartments in September. Thousands more live in the surrounding neighborhoods, particularly in Sehome and Happy Valley.
Western has placed consistently high in annual rankings of excellence and affordability by magazines such as U.S. News and World Report and Consumer Digest. Yahoo! has named Western among the 100 "most wired" universities in the U.S. for its technological capabilities.
The university is one of Whatcom County's leading employers, with nearly 1,500 workers, and has an acclaimed outdoor sculpture collection, art galleries, performing arts center and sports facilities.
The campus has undergone a building boom in recent years, adding a Campus Services Facility and the Wade King Recreation Center since 2002. New this year is the Communications Building, which houses the physics, computer science, communications and journalism programs.
The WWU neighborhood is a mix of institutional, public and mixed-use zoning. Campus officials have said they may seek to expand south into the Happy Valley neighborhood if the need for more student housing and classrooms arises.
The main campus covers 195 acres, including 38 acres in the Sehome Hill Arboretum, a popular urban hiking spot.
Average age: 19.7 Housing units: 1,124 Assessed median home value: Not available Median home size: Not available Schools: Happy Valley Elementary, Fairhaven Middle School, Sehome High School Shopping: Viking Bookstore on campus; Sehome Village to the west. Major grocers are Bellingham Food Co-Op on Forest Street, Haggen at Sehome Village or Fred Meyer and Cost Cutter on Lakeway Parks: Sehome Hill Arboretum Mayor's Advisory Committee member: Vacant On the Web: www.wwu.edu City Council member: Terry Bornemann Police calls in 2003: 51 Residential burglaries: 1 Vehicle prowls: 26 Population of neighborhood: 3,211
DAVE AKANA Age: 28
Lives in: Edens Hall
Lived here: Since this summer, lived on campus 2 years
Lives with: His wife Amy
What he does: Residence Hall director for about 500 students in Edens and Higginson halls
Why do you like the neighborhood? "When you live and work with students, you're able to help them learn what it's like to be a good neighbor when they go out and move to the different neighborhoods."
What's the biggest thing that has happened in your neighborhood? "The Kappa Karnival, which is the spring open house. Right after we open, there's a huge information fair in Red Square, where students can go get connected with different groups. Students can just go there and find out what not just Western but the greater Bellingham area has to offer them."
AT A GLANCE
NEIGHBORS PROFILE: 'Everything is so accessible. it's all right here'
LINDSAY JARRATT
Age: 24
Lives in: Mathes Hall
Lived here: Since this summer, just moved here after earning a master's degree at Bowling Green State University in Ohio
What she does: Residence hall director for about 300 students
Why do you like the neighborhood? "It's a beautiful campus. I just love to be outside and to walk around."
Is there anything special about your neighbors? "I really enjoy the atmosphere of the residence hall. There are very few times in an adult's life that they get to live in such an environment where there are people there at all hours who are willing to at least hang out, if not help you with something."
What off-campus amenities do you take advantage of? "Mallard's ice cream. Everyone's like, 'You have to go there.' "
MELANIE VALM
Age: 21
Lives in: Fairhaven Residence Hall
Lived here: Since this summer, lived on campus 3 years
What she does: Resident adviser, creating social and educational programs for those who live in Fairhaven Residence Hall; also a junior studying environmental journalism
Why do you like the neighborhood? "Everything is so accessible. It's all right here in one centralized location. It makes it easy to do anything."
Is there anything special about your neighbors? "Everyone has the stereotypes. Fairhaven's is we're the hippies. It's not true. It's a nice community. It's very easy going. People will, like, play Frisbee in the courtyard. It has a really relaxed feeling to it."
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