The Bellingham Herald

• WWU freshmen move into dorms
  They came by the carloads on Sunday, Sept. 20, swelling Bellingham's population by several thousand people in a single day.
  As any Bellingham resident knows, that means one thing - freshmen are once again moving into Western Washington University's dormitories.
  

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• WWU braces for possible swine flu outbreak
  Colleges and universities around the country have already seen possible H1N1 flu outbreaks as students return to campus, and Western Washington University officials are bracing for the same thing.
  Emily Gibson, the director of the WWU Student Health Center, and other university medical officials have been watching the situation at Washington State University, one of the first schools to start the new year. About 2,600 students have reported flu-like symptoms at WSU so far this school year. However, these are not confirmed H1N1, also known as swine flu, cases - testing is being reserved for hospitalized patients at this point.
  

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• Tide of comment favors "Salish Sea" name change
  Bellingham resident Bert Webber wants "Salish Sea" adopted as the overarching name for the inland marine waters of Western Washington and southern British Columbia.
  The Washington Board of Geographic Names will consider his proposal Oct. 30.
  A retired professor of marine ecology at Western Washington University, Webber says Puget Sound and the two straits are ecologically distinct from the ocean, and giving them a common name would highlight their connected nature.
  

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• Women's soccer: Vikings extend unbeaten streak to four games
  Despite attempting nearly three times as many shots as Central Washington University, the Western Washington University women's soccer team was held to a 0-0 overtime draw in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest Saturday, Sept. 19, at Orca Field on the Whatcom Community College campus.
  

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• Cross Country: Vikings excel at Sundodger Invitational
  Competing against a number of NCAA Division I schools, Western Washington University placed second in the men's invitational and third in the women's invitational at the 18th annual University of Washington Sundodger Invitational Cross County meet held Saturday, Sept. 19, at West Seattle's Lincoln Park.
  

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• Volleyball: Vikings defeat GNAC champ Western Oregon
  Sophomore middle blocker Emily Jepsen had team-highs of 15 kills and five blocks and freshman outside hitter Marlayna Geary added 14 kills and a team-high 16 digs as Western Washington University defeated defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Western Oregon University 25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22 Saturday, Sept. 19, in a league volleyball match at Monmouth, Ore.
  

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• Golf: WWU eyeing nationals
  When the Western Washington University men's and women's golf teams tee off the fall season in the next two weeks in Arizona and Lacey, they will do so with the same goal of reaching the NCAA Division II National Tournament in the spring.

Lynwood Enterprise

• Marysville student's drive for college and a better future
  Sacia Flowers walks out of her morning communications class and into the April rain, which slides down her pale cheeks, down the ski jacket she's never worn skiing.
  Rain darkens her walnut-brown ponytail. Sacia doesn't bother putting up the hood. Her hazel eyes focus on the brick path as she heads into a swarm of laughing students, her shoulders pinched from the bulging yellow backpack she's loaded with textbooks.
  She ducks inside Arntzen Hall at Western Washington University and orders a cup of chocolate frozen yogurt at the Freshëns kiosk. Her classmates are everywhere — chatting in the pizza line, eating lunch at cafe tables, warming up in comfy chairs beside a fireplace.
  Sacia ignores them. She heads back into the rain to the biology building, up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and stops in a study room with two tables, a few chairs and no people. She eats alone, working through folders and textbooks.
  Sacia Flowers, at 19, has gone farther than anyone expected.

Skagit Valley Herald

• Fidalgo Bay Day: Connecting children with the outside world
  Jennifer Greathouse touched a purple starfish and then quickly pulled her index finger back in surprise.
  The starfish and other sea creatures, including crabs and sea anemones, clung to the clear plastic wall of a “touch tank” provided by Western Washington University’s Shannon Point Marine Center Saturday at Fidalgo Bay Day.