Pubdate: Fri, 24 Oct 2008
Source: Western Front, The (Western Washington Univ., WA Edu)
Copyright: 2008 The Western Front
Contact:  http://westernfront.wwu.edu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/994
Author: Marisa Willis
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Rick+Steves

RICK STEVES TO CLEAR THE AIR ON WEED, TRAVEL

Travel aficionado Rick Steves will receive another memorable stamp in 
his passport Friday, Oct. 24, as he speaks at Western for the first time.

Steves has explored the ends of the globe over the last few decades, 
writing 30 guidebooks along the way, and he will now pass along his 
tips of traveling smart and packing light to students and Bellingham residents.

Steves will be leading lectures at three different venues throughout 
the afternoon and evening, discussing topics from how to travel on a 
budget, to the problems with the American drug policy on marijuana.

Family Outreach manager Kim Oesterling helped organize Steves' visit, 
which is a part of Western's annual Fall Family Open House, and said 
the university likes to bring speakers to campus who promote a 
dialogue of different perspectives.

"That's another form of learning," Oesterling said. "It challenges 
you to grow when you hear how someone else thinks about an issue."

Oesterling said Steves' "Travel as a Political Act" lecture, at 8 
p.m., Oct. 24, in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) Concert Hall, is 
about being exposed to different opinions and the importance of 
learning about the politics and culture of other countries while traveling.

Oesterling said any one of the three presentations by Steves would 
provide Western students, especially those who have not traveled 
outside the country, a taste of how eye opening traveling can be.

"It opens you up and expands your horizons as a person, which 
facilitates learning," Oesterling said. "That's the point, and that's 
what we're here to do [at Western]."

Students also have the opportunity to attend a more intimate question 
and answer forum with Steves if they signed up in advance. "Viking 
Travel Tips with Rick Steves" was organized by the International 
Programs and Exchanges (IPE) department and will be held from 4 p.m. 
to 6 p.m. Oct. 24 in Haggard Hall room 153.

IPE program coordinator Krista Mantello said the department felt 
bringing in someone as knowledgeable as Steves would allow students 
to personalize their travel plans and interact with someone who has 
spent more than 100 days a year in Europe for the past 25 years.

Mantello said Western's incoming freshmen class expressed a strong 
interest in international studies, more so than any previous year, 
which stood out to the admissions office and prompted the departments 
to come together to cater to students' needs.

With the economy struggling, Mantello said learning how to travel on 
a budget is important. Some students have been forced to withdraw 
from their international study plans because their financial 
situations are not as solid as they used to be, she said.

"You can go to places [abroad] that are cheaper than studying at 
Western," Mantello said. "[It's] going to be really beneficial for 
students to realize that they can do what they want to do. They can 
go experience something outside of Western, and they can do it affordably."

Steves hosts the PBS travel show "Rick Steves' Europe" and the 
original name for his business was Europe Through the Back Door, 
whose headquarters are located in Edmonds, Wash.

"Personalized travel planning by Rick Steves?" Mantello said. "I 
don't think you can get much better than that."

Western senior Molly Daugherty participated in a semester at sea in 
the spring of 2007 and traveled to countries such as Brazil, South 
Africa, Russia, India and Vietnam. She said she feels Steves' visit 
will be a great chance for students who are interested in traveling 
to narrow down their travel plans.

"I think it's important to travel because it's so easy to get caught 
up in our own world," Daugherty said. "It sounds really cliche, but 
[traveling] totally opened the door and made me realize how lucky I 
am to be born where I was born."

Anthropology professor James Loucky worked with Western's American 
Democracy Project to present Steves' "Challenging the Prohibition of 
Our Age" lecture at 2:30 p.m. in the PAC Concert Hall.

Loucky said Steves' lecture would discuss how other countries have 
dealt with the war on drugs much differently than the U.S. has, and 
how Americans may be able to benefit from the European view on the issue.

"Other places in the world give us other ways of dealing with 
[marijuana use] as a health issue, as a personal choice issue and not 
just as a criminal issue," Loucky said.

Loucky, who said he is an advocate for the legalization of medical 
marijuana, said it was critical for this discussion to take place on 
campus because controversial issues such as marijuana use need to be 
talked about more openly.

"People all across time and space have used different substances for 
altering their consciousness or altering their states of being," 
Loucky said. "[Marijuana] is not just a negative phenomenon. It's 
widespread and it can have positive social functions." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake