Klipsun Magazine

Klipsun Magazine Klipsun is an award-winning independent storytelling magazine at Western Washington University.

An independent student publication at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Klipsun Magazine is published each quarter and includes features, multimedia and issues affecting the lives of the greater Bellingham area. You can find us online at klipsunmagazine.com or follow us at twitter.com/klipsunmag and instagram.com/klipsunmag. Klipsun is a Chinuk Wawa word meaning "sunset" in the language of the Chinook Indian Nation.

Boisterous laughter and quick conversation overlap as a small crowd of people begins to ready themselves for an evening ...
11/25/2025

Boisterous laughter and quick conversation overlap as a small crowd of people begins to ready themselves for an evening of adventure. One player fashions an eyepatch out of gaffer’s tape, while others debate the virtues of the “Beetlejuice” musical. Whatever their task, all are there for the same reason.
By day, the small room hosts lectures, sleepy students and the squeak of old dry-erase markers. But as light streams in through the big, open windows along one wall of the classroom, ordinary people begin to transform into supernatural creatures.

More online!

Upon arriving at Lookout Arts Quarry, the front of a blue sheet metal structure came into sight. A n**e figure with an ...
11/25/2025

Upon arriving at Lookout Arts Quarry, the front of a blue sheet metal structure came into sight. A n**e figure with an unraveling head was painted on the white door. In the vicinity stood a bulletin board pinned with collage-style posters promoting “SH’BANG A FESTIVAL OF IDEAS,” written with wavy texts. Around the jungle of artwork and vegetation, an air of calm encircles the quarry, save for the occasional car driving along the highway.
It is here among the art and foliage where Cullen Beckhorn lives and works with a community of artists, hosting and booking performances for the ‘Sh’bang Festival’, a three-day festival held during Labor Day.

Read more online!

I was born missing four of my permanent teeth. In middle school, my four baby teeth were pulled and I got braces to keep...
10/31/2025

I was born missing four of my permanent teeth. In middle school, my four baby teeth were pulled and I got braces to keep the spaces open for future tooth implants. The dentist and orthodontist both said that if I didn’t get these gaps fixed, my mouth would degrade and my other teeth would sink into my jaw. I didn’t understand, but it scared me.

As any stubborn eighth-grader would, I neglected to wear my retainer after I got my braces off; I always thought I could worry about it later.

More online our website!

“For the past 23 years, I have been a prisoner of my own making,” said Rocio Molina, my mother. “At 26, I made a difficu...
10/31/2025

“For the past 23 years, I have been a prisoner of my own making,” said Rocio Molina, my mother. “At 26, I made a difficult decision to leave for America and said goodbye to my family, home and culture, all for the promise of a better future. I didn’t know at the time it would be decades before I could return.”

Both of my parents arrived in the U.S. in 2002, with a tourist visa, very little money and spoke no English. Luckily, one of my mother’s sisters had made the journey to the U.S. a few years back and settled in California. They were able to join her there.

Read more online!

The sun is hidden, rain pounds down onto the streets of Bellingham and I think to myself, “Who would be skating in weath...
10/30/2025

The sun is hidden, rain pounds down onto the streets of Bellingham and I think to myself, “Who would be skating in weather like this?” But as I pull into the parking lot and look over at the skate park under the Roeder Avenue Bridge, I see them. There they are, a group of four girls. They’re unfazed by the weather, even as the wind drives the rain directly at them beneath the bridge. I make my way from the parking lot over to them, walking along the tall chain-link fence that borders the park. As soon as I walk through the opening in the chain link, the girls stop skating, pick up their boards and turn to me with big smiles, ready to chat about skate life.

The girls all have that classic “skater look” — shaggy haircuts, baggy jeans and oversized tees. Their boards are adorned with stickers, logos and artwork from the local skate store, Unknown Board Shop.

Read more online!

The sun is hidden, rain pounds down onto the streets of Bellingham and I think to myself, “Who would be skating in weath...
10/30/2025

The sun is hidden, rain pounds down onto the streets of Bellingham and I think to myself, “Who would be skating in weather like this?” But as I pull into the parking lot and look over at the skate park under the Roeder Avenue Bridge, I see them. There they are, a group of four girls. They’re unfazed by the weather, even as the wind drives the rain directly at them beneath the bridge. I make my way from the parking lot over to them, walking along the tall chain-link fence that borders the park. As soon as I walk through the opening in the chain link, the girls stop skating, pick up their boards and turn to me with big smiles, ready to chat about skate life.

The girls all have that classic “skater look” — shaggy haircuts, baggy jeans and oversized tees. Their boards are adorned with stickers, logos and artwork from the local skate store, Unknown Board Shop.

See more on our website!

Most people walk by Western Washington University’s Old Main without a second thought. Sure, it’s a cool piece of living...
10/30/2025

Most people walk by Western Washington University’s Old Main without a second thought. Sure, it’s a cool piece of living history, but most of what it has to offer is already well-known and proudly displayed on the university’s website. Originally constructed in 1896 as a state-funded teacher training center, it earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

During the height of the Cold War, however, Old Main served as an entry point for an underground nuclear evacuation site. Sitting just under the walkways spanning across campus is an extensive system of steam and maintenance corridors, the deepest parts lying over 20 feet below ground level. According to a 1969 Civil Defense Plan approved by the Whatcom County Board of Commissioners, they were assigned to act as places of refuge for students and staff should the Pacific Northwest face a full-scale ballistic missile attack.

Read more online!

Just down the stream from Lake Padden, I find myself in the dead of the woods. A gray-haired woman is ahead of me, wicke...
10/29/2025

Just down the stream from Lake Padden, I find myself in the dead of the woods. A gray-haired woman is ahead of me, wicker basket in hand, guiding me carefully across the forest floor.

“Watch where you step!” she warns.

Read more on Klipsun’s website!

Afternoon sunlight spills across a wicker coffee table cluttered with vintage matchbooks and faded photographs. “Where i...
10/29/2025

Afternoon sunlight spills across a wicker coffee table cluttered with vintage matchbooks and faded photographs. “Where is it?” comes a mutter, followed by hands rifling through the yellowed pages and timeworn artifacts, each touched by the warm glow pouring through the adjacent window.

With a look of relief and a humble smile creeping onto their face, Jesse Dooghan, a young collector and amateur historian, emerges with a small, worn leather book. It’s stamped with the gold logo of the Bellingham National Bank and dated from 1916. “Here it is,” they say.

More on our website!

“Oh that’s ironic,” said a Western Washington University campus police officer. “The sign on your door.” An image of a M...
10/28/2025

“Oh that’s ironic,” said a Western Washington University campus police officer. “The sign on your door.”
An image of a Minecraft creeper hung on my door with the caption “watch for creepers.” All day, every day, I watched for literal creepers — obsessively checking that my blinds were closed and peeking over my shoulder when I walked outside. Instead of hearing the hissss of a Minecraft creeper, I heard “Where are your favorite spots to study?” and “Where do you work?”

Read more on our website!!

In a brick-laden multi-business complex in the heart of downtown Bellingham, a dark hallway gives way to an explosion of...
10/28/2025

In a brick-laden multi-business complex in the heart of downtown Bellingham, a dark hallway gives way to an explosion of color — and hype. Air Jordans, Nike Dunks and Air Force Ones, along with other sneakerhead essentials, flood the walls of ReLaced, an independent sneaker store run by husband and wife Jesse and Lidija Reading.

While Lidija laces up a sneaker, Jesse, standing confidently in a pair of crisp Travis Scott x Air Jordan 4s (originally released at $225, now fetching $1500 on the resale market), tells me he’s not wearing them for my viewing, or anyone else’s.

More on our website!

Address

Bellingham, WA

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Klipsun Magazine posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Our Story

Klipsun is an award-winning independent student publication at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Klipsun Magazine is published once each quarter and includes features, multimedia and issues affecting the lives of the greater Bellingham area. You can find us online at www.klipsunmagazine.com or follow us at www.twitter.com/klipsunmag. Klipsun is a Chinook Wawa word meaning "sunset."