The Daily Northwestern

• NU investigation exonerates man after 16 years in jail
  On Friday, a 14-year-old B-minus journalism assignment helped free an innocent man from jail. Carolyn Nielsen, Medill School of Journalism '95, investigated the story of 14-year-old Thaddeus Jimenez, who was convicted as an adult for a murder he claimed he did not commit.
  After 16 years behind bars, Jimenez, 30, was released from prison, his conviction and 50-year sentence vacated.
  "I thought, 'In 10 years I may look back on this and people will think I've been played a fool,'" Nielsen said. "But I really believe this kid is innocent."
  Now a Western Washington University journalism professor, Nielsen has kept everything she had from the article - from her interview notes, to the original marked-up first draft, to the letters she received from Jimenez while he was in prison.
  "I think much too often we see people who have been convicted of crimes as a number, a faceless being," Nielsen said. "We have little empathy for what they've gone through in their lives. In this case, this was someone who hadn't even done anything."

The Bellingham Herald

• WWU students promote water polo
  Rachel Ashleman and Elise Averill briefly lose their smiles when reminded they're among the few eight-year women's water polo veterans in Washington State.
  "That really is kind of sad," said Ashleman, who played four years at Shorewood High and four seasons for Western Washington University's club team.
  "We really wish the sport was a lot bigger, so many more girls and women could experience what a great sport water polo is. Western and the UW (University of Washington) are the only college's in our state that even have club teams for men and women."
  

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• Men's golf falls out of contention at Super-Regional
  Any chance of qualifying for nationals was lost for the Western Washington University men's golf team as it fell into a tie for 12th among 20 teams after Tuesday's second round at the NCAA Division II Central/West Super Regional being played at the 7,016-yard Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb.

PR Canada

• Artefact and Carbon Partner to work with WWU on design project
  Artefact Group, a Seattle-based design consultancy, today announced that it is collaborating with Carbon Design Group, a full-service industrial design and product development consultancy to create a project with Western Washington University's (WWU) Industrial Design Department.
  The special project titled "Education: A Vision for 2015" will give WWU students the opportunity to research and understand the challenges of early, primary, secondary and post-secondary classrooms in Bellingham. Taking on the role of design consultant, WWU students will research and develop educational products that will enhance the learning process in the classroom.

Everett Herald

• Granite Falls girls learn building skills in a typically male class
  Eighteen girls recently visited the Western Washington University Vehicle Research Institute to learn about wind tunnels and testing aerodynamic features of cars.
  Last month, six girls traveled to the Shell Eco-marathon competition in California, where they got a close and personal look at what awaits them.
  "It took it from a classroom here and photos and a video to seeing it, hearing it, being able to talk to other teams and look at cars," Werner said. "I think the biggest thing they heard was everyone has encouraging words. Not one person said, 'Girls are doing it. No way.'"