Klipsun is a Chinuk Wawa word meaning sunset.
KLIPSUN magazine is an independent student publication at Western Washington University located in Bellingham, Washington. While Klipsun has existed in one form or another since 1920, it morphed into a magazine in the late 1960's. The oldest issue in this collection is from 1967. We are currently scanning issues from Western Libraries' Special Collections and will add them as completed.
The current version of Klipsun Magazine recently became a digital-first publication with new stories released each quarter. Each magazine focuses on features, multimedia, and issues affecting the Pacific Northwest.
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Klipsun Magazine, 2002, Volume 32, Issue 04 - April
Erin Crumpacker
At Klipsun, we don’t assign stories to our reporters. We editors toss out ideas and suggest ways to focus or expand stories, but our reporters are pretty much free to write about anything. Hence, we never know if dominant themes will exist until we pick seven or eight for publication and look at them together. Sometimes themes are obvious and sometimes it takes a little work and imagination to see them.
As hard as I looked, I just couldn’t find any grand unifying themes in these stories. Sorry. What I can say is that they’re all about interesting people doing interesting things in and around Bellingham (Yes, the artificial reef story centers on Nanaimo, British Columbia, but it’s still fairly close. Give me a break. I’m trying.).
For a relatively small city, Bellingham is blessed with an incredible variety of stories. Perhaps it has to do with being a college town or its proximity to an international border or its juxtaposition between the mountains and the water. Whatever the reason, this is a great town in which to be a writer.
Several of these stories caught me by surprise. I’ve driven by Joe’s Garden countless times without ever thinking about the people who work there. It was my loss. I had no idea I could find out about my past lives or have my aura smoothed at the Church of Divine Man. I haven’t paid as much attention to Western’s sculpture collection as I should have. The folks living in Bellingham’s co-housing community are redefining domestic life just a few miles from my house and I didn’t know anything about them. I obviously need to get out more.
Come to think of it, maybe Bellingham doesn’t have any more good stories than any other town. Maybe interesting people and stories are anywhere you really look for them. Either way, it bodes well for our magazine.
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Klipsun Magazine, 2002, Volume 32, Issue 03 - March
Erin Crumpacker
ALTERNATIVES Throughout history, information has helped move our society forward. It has brought us new technology, cures to our ailments and more knowledge about the world around us. As an extremely curious person, I often find myself sorting through options and asking myself — what will work best for me?
Three stories are featured in this issue exploring alternative methods. Our cover story, “A small assistant,” (page 16) looks at a less conventional therapy for arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis patients. Bee Venom Therapy is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but this homeopathic treatment has proven to help people in pain. In “Brand new barriers,” (page 12) our reporter examines new methods of birth control. Time Magazine recently recognized the NuvaRing, a contraceptive discussed, as one of the top inventions of 2001 and it will be available to women soon. “Taking in the trash,” (page 8) may appeal to college student and those who are thrifty. Our reporter discovered Bellingham residents who go the extra mile and search through Dumpsters. Who knows, your trash may be their treasure.
These stories exemplify the importance of options. I hope you enjoy these stories and the rest of the stories featured in this issue. If you have some extra time, please fill out the survey on the back page. Our editorial staff is interested in what you have to say about the magazine. We want to know what type of stories interest our readers — so let’s communicate.
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Klipsun Magazine, 2002, Volume 32, Issue 02 - January
Jennifer Collins
Former New York Times Sunday editor Lester Markle once said, "What you see is the news, what you know is background and what you feel is opinion."As a magazine staff, our job is to "see the news" — to scope with watchful eyes for newsworthy stories that will interest our readers.
This quarter’s Klipsun staff sought stories with this mission in mind. In "Pay Attention," a reporter interviewed a Western student who sells her own prescribed Attention Deficit Disorder drugs, Ritalin and Adderall, to students who decide they need the additional help while studying late at night. In "The Lab Down Under," another reporter ventured into Western’s animal lab — a place many people have heard about, but few have actually seen. In lieu of these controversial topics, it s our hope that readers will have the background they need to establish a feeling or opinion about the stories in this issue.
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Klipsun Magazine, 2001, Volume 32, Issue 01 - December
Jennifer Collins
Editor’s Note During a late night in the Klipsun office, a woman named Jackie came in to sweep the floors — to clean up our mess.
“Are you with Klipsun or are you with The Western Front?’ she asked me. "Klipsun,” I said, surprised she even asked. Jackie told me she loved to read Klipsun. She enjoyed the perspective the articles provided and sent it to her family. She told me, broom in hand, how she especially liked one article published in June.
Klipsun magazine changes with each editor and each writer each quarter And I had little to do with the issue Jackie spoke of. In our current issue, I hope Jackie will find topics worthy to send to her family. We certainly tried to write about topics that affect us as well as our readers. Nearly three months have passed since Sept. I I and images of falling buildings are still fresh in our minds. In this issue, we investigated the concrete ways the attacks on New York and Washington, DC. have touched Bellingham. Books will be written about the Sept. I I Ripple Effects, but our four articles are the blood and sweat of four writers who sought to understand what has happened to our country and its citizens following the attacks. Four other articles concern not the attacks, but issues that persist in our lives. In Highs and Lows, one writer investigates the deaths of five Bellingham residents from extremely potent heroin and one writer shares her personal struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder In After Hours, writers investigate two Bellingham pastimes: underwater hockey and club nightlife.
In her humble assessment, Jackie set the standard for our magazine. She labors long into the night, yet she finds time to pick up an issue of K.ipsun, thumb through and allow the articles to affect her. She is our reader.This issue is for Jackie and for all of our readers.Thank you.
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Klipsun Magazine, 2001, Volume 31, Issue 06 - September
Linnea Westerlind
I have heard it said that being a journalist enables you to talk with people you'd otherwise never meet, go places you'd otherwise never travel and learn stories you'd otherwise never hear. We hope Klipsun offers the same opportunities to you as readers.
Throughout the quarter we have encouraged our writers to research and write stories with one question always in mind, "Why will people care about this?"
Each story in this issue has a tie to the students of Western and the surrounding communities.
The Issues section addresses the increasing use of drugs to facilitate rape. Invisible Intruder highlights a Western woman's life-changing encounter with one such drug. We hope as you read this story you will remember everyone is at risk. This issue exists, even in our small community and it is our responsibility to educate and protect each other.
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Klipsun Magazine, 2001, Volume 31, Issue 05 - June
Linnea Westerlind
Over the past few years, Klipsun has been a collection of assorted stories. For this issue, the editorial staff decided to return to a format of categories in order to introduce a more magazine-focused style. We wanted to inspire the staff writers to seek out meaningful stories for our readers. We encouraged them to find issues that affect people in our community, and stories that would be touching and compelling.
Our goal for Klipsun is to appeal to every reader by providing a diverse collection of stories, threaded together in uniting themes. We are leading this edition with three issue stories: the railroad blockades in Bellingham, transitional housing for the homeless and the James LaVine expulsion case. We hope to set a precedent for future editions where Klipsun writers tackle important local stories that concern not only Western students, but the Bellingham and Whatcom County communities beyond. We always welcome feedback from our readers.
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Klipsun Magazine, 1998, Volume 28, Issue 04 - April
Jana Alexander
That tingling sensation running up and down your spine when the wind blows. The push that makes the sand move when the tide comes in. The tightness in your chest when you're angry or sad and the way it loosens when you're elated or in love. It's what makes sun burn skin and some eyes shine brighter than others.
Large doses of it from violent acts by nature cause rapid change, quickened evolution-punctuated equilibrium. Surrounding species are forced to adapt.
It's energy. Turn the page.
