WASHINGTON – They wanted to make a point. Joined with hundreds of thousands of others, they just may have. Armed with a black pirate flag, colorful signs and loud voices, 22 women from Western were among hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the nation’s capital this weekend.

Western’s Nigel Dixon is running down a dream. But before he realizes his dream of playing in the National Basketball Association, the 320-pound center will probably need to run off a few unwanted pounds. Following a solid performance last week at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, Dixon is being projected as a middle to late second round pick in the June 26 NBA draft, but scouts and pundits still have concerns about his weight.

In what is becoming a pattern of deceit, the Bush administration has insulted the nation’s intelligence by pawning off a Medicare propaganda advertisement as real news. In March, the Department of Health and Human Resources released “video news releases” to 50 stations in 40 states touting the successes of the new Medicare bill signed into law on Dec.

Led by frontman Michael Doucet with his lively fiddle and impassioned voice, the Cajun band BeauSoleil visited Western on Tuesday and delivered a smorgasbord of sounds, songs and emotions while weaving history, humor and storytelling into the performance. “The music is very simple,” said Doucet, with an animated halo of balding white hair.