May
29
I’ve had Western Washington University on my mind a lot this past week.
Spent the past weekend attending my son’s performance of Macbeth in the Miller Hall courtyard on the Western campus. I guess you could call it a “post-apocalyptic” interpretation of the bard’s most violent play. “Mad Max Beyond Inverness” would be a good alternative title. Anyway, it was a splendid show and the students really did a great job putting the play on with a pretty tight budget.
You may have also read this week that Western settled its 16-month negotiation with the United Faculty of Western Washington on a new collective bargaining contract, the details of which are summarized in this story from the Bellingham Herald.
Up until this past weekend, tensions were running pretty high on the campus, with some faculty refusing to participate in student projects outside the classroom and threatening to picket at graduation. The student newspaper, The Western Front, editorialized in favor of the faculty union last week after a recent negotiation session failed to produce an agreement.
I’m glad the issue has been resolved and I’m sure congratulations are in order for all sides of the table. To quote from Macbeth, “what’s done is done” and a good time to focus on the future of a great university.
