John F. Kennedy once said, “change is the law of life.” I agree. Change is inevitable, whether it be by choice or not. Change is a part of life, which we must accept and learn from. I think a key component to change is how you adapt to the change at hand and what you learn from it.
I have experienced many kinds of change: change I looked forward to, change I had no power over and change that challenged me. I am adopted. When I was about five years old, …

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Story by Erin Halsne
Photos by Carly Vester and Erin Halsne
Through the art of do-it-yourself, skis change to lawn chairs, books are converted into laptop cases and corks are assembled into bulletin boards. The transformation of materials is not the work of magic, but of creativity and a little abstract thinking.
The Internet has propelled DIY into a global market for project ideas, tutorials and sales. Sites like Craftster.org, Instructables.com and independent bloggers work to create an international conversation about DIY and the dialogue can be heard in Bellingham’s own backyard.
Jessica Lynch, …

By Johnathan Kull

Here’s an in-depth look on what goes into your regular oil change.

Story by Brianne Beets
Photo Illustration by Gerald Kitsis
As seasons change, surrounding landscapes follow suit. On the west side of Western’s campus, towering big-leaf maple trees transform into crunchy, curled-up leaves in autumnal shades of soft yellow. When a leaf’s color changes, its life comes to an end as it delicately flutters toward the damp earth and biodegrades entirely.
Each year trees complete this cycle, but why this happens is another story.
Western environmental sciences professor Peter Homann says deciduous trees have leaves that change seasonally. These leaves generally change color between September and November in the Bellingham area. …

Story by Brianne Beets
Photos Courtesy of Tom Barkholz

A jovial man with salt-and-pepper hair and twinkling blue eyes bustles around a brightly lit kitchen. Tom Barkholz, 53, enjoys volunteering, going to church and spending time with his wife, Karen, and their two children, Stephen and Anna. He also enjoys being a 2011 Western alum.
Since the 2008 recession an increasing number of adults have decided to return to college to attain or pursue a higher degree. In 2010 approximately 29 percent of college students were 25 and older, according to statistics from …

Story and Photos by Jonathan Kull
Some knew him as Lurch. Others called him Mad Dog. Nationwide he was known as The Brain Surgeon because he liked to mess with people’s minds and was good with knives. To save his own life the Brain Surgeon disappeared, but he reemerged with a new name: ZZ. To me, he is Keith.
The first memory I have of Keith Turngren is from Christmas Eve in 1994. I was a 5-year-old who had brought Legos to church and Turngren’s grandson, Kelvin, wanted to play, too. I …

Story by Geri Massengale
Photo Illustrations by Carly Vester and Geri Massengale
Plastic surgery is in Western junior Felipe Espinoza’s future and he knows it’s something he won’t regret. Espinoza stands five feet and eleven inches tall and long black strands of hair frame a face he feels is not living up to his ideal self-image. To create compatibility between his self-perception and identity will require a change.
It’s in a human being’s nature to improve any aspect of them in order to work and socialize with others harmoniously, according to the American …