Newspapers / Brevard College Student Newspaper / Jan. 19, 2007, edition 1 / Page 5
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January 19, 2007 \ The Clarion OPINION Page 5 VHere \ I New smoking policy Non-Smoker's take: by Tom Cowan News Editor The new smoking policy is yet another ex ample of a decision that has been made without a process of community input. If students, fac ulty and staff had any say in this, it is unlikely that the policy would have been put into ef fect. I say this based off the fact that a large percentage of the campus community are smok ers. The majority of students do not find smok ing on campus to be heath and safety hazard. The new policy seems to be an attempt to provide a small comfort to a minority at the cost of being a great inconvenience to a major ity of both smokers and nonsmokers. Most nonsmokers such as my self occasionally en joy having conversations with people who are smoking cigarettes in locations such as the front steps of the MG building. If these areas are segregated, they will no longer be the social centers that they once were and the social fab ric of the campus may be damaged. I might agree that there were small problems with cigarette smoking on campus, but there are much easier, more enforceable solutions. If cigarette butts on the ground are a problem, then make some one pick them up. If not the maintenance staff, then this job could be del egated as community service for numerous stu dent code violators. If smokers saw people pick ing up their butts, many of them who litter may become less inclined to do so. The new policy could possibly worsen the litter situation. If ashtrays are removed from places where people used to smoke (regardless of policy) then smokers will be more likely to litter On the other side: if the pre-policy ash trays are not removed, they are inviting people to smoke in prohibited places. If cigarette smoke leaking into widows and vents was a problem, then prohibit smoking only in areas were this could occur. If the school can not enforce this rule, how does it expect to enforce the new policy? Lastly, if outdoor second hand smoke is a problem, then avoid smokers and maybe con sider living in a bubble. Anyone with an opposing opinion or better yet, any one who was involved in creating this policy, who ever you are, you are encouraged to write to the Clarion and explain to readers how the policy makes sense. Smoker's Take: by Matt Rutherford Editor in Chief If you are a smoker, like me, you more than likely know the risk involved in the habit. You risk having lung cancer, various mouth cancers, babies with birth defects, and emphysema. Smoking also ages you more rapidly and causes the discoloration of teeth. Chances are also high that you really don’t care. This semester the college has instated smok ing regulations. By regulations, the board means moving us to various locations across campus. They include between MG and Administra tion, behind the Alumni House, the smoking pit of the Villages, near the front of the Porter Center, and under the flag pole in front of Coltrane. Woe unto any of us who challenge the board. Wouldn’t it have been nice to have been let in on the information of this change before being abruptly interrupted with rude nay-sayers and nonsmokers calling us out and demanding us to move? Second hand smoke is also a problem, and not wanting to walk through a gauntlet of seasoned nicotine addicts is rea sonable. No one, especially nonsmokers, wants to die of suffocation. Equally, killing with rude ness and unabashed belligerence should not be welcomed. Perhaps we could move all the people exuding such behavior to designated ar eas for time out. It’s not a matter a of moving the smokers or the attempt to make the campus look squeaky clean for visitors; I understand the importance of selling a school to potential students and their overbearing parents. What I fail to under stand is the lack of communication between Administration and Student body. I’m sure mass emails were sent and someone held an SGA meeting about the issue, but really, how many students go to those events? How many actually pay attention to the mass email? As for the intranet, most of the campus is clueless about what that is. Engaging and detailing stu dents takes time; professors are well aware of this fact. I wonder if the people who actually run this show are attentive to the situation.
Brevard College Student Newspaper
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Jan. 19, 2007, edition 1
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