Smoking proposal:
No 'light' matter
SARAH WEISSBERG
campus editor
Yes, it is tragic but true!
Guilford's head honchos are
thinking of creating a new smo
king policy on campus-and it is
not Mr. Butts-friendly.
The proposed policy prohib
its smoking in the cafeteria and
in the Underground and possi
bly in faculty offices. If the
policy is approved, the only
designated smoking areas on
campus will be student's dorm
rooms and outside.
Personally, I don't think this
policy is necessary. I spoke with
several students (non-smokers)
and many of them claimed that
they were not bothered by the
smoke from the upper level area
Insanity: How to get away with murder
ADAM LUCAS
staff writer
It's not considered politically
correct to be critical of those
that some call "mentally ill."
In my opinion, it's even less
politically correct to allow
someone to get away with two
senseless murders.
Picture this: Beautiful winter
day in downtown Chapel Hill,
North Carolina. A man walks
down Henderson Street, one
block down from Franklin
Street, with an M-1 rifle and 40
pounds of ammunition. Sud
denly he opens fire. Two men
are killed, one police officer is
seriously wounded. Multiple
witnesses to the crime, all point
to the same man as the shooter.
Open and shut case, correct?
The shooter will go to jail for
the rest of his life and the fami
lies of the victims will receive
some justification for what has
"I've always felt that a person's
intelligence is directly reflected by the
number of conflicting points of view he
can entertain simultaneously on the
same topic."
Lisa Alther (b. 1944)
November 17, 199f
of the cafeteria. Because of the
high ceilings and good ventila
tion, they don't notice the
smoke when they are sitting in
the lower level. The smoking
section in the Underground is
equally well separated. One stu
dent predicted that if smoking
was outlawed in the Under
ground, the establishment
would lose money. Many stu
dents go the the Underground
to smoke and then buy a drink
or food to keep their cigarette
company.
I admit that I am biased on
the topic, being a smoker, but I
do respect the desire of a non
smoker to be spared from acrid
fumes. If nobody is bothered by
the current set-up, however, I
don't see why changes need to
been done to them
Wrong.
Wendell Williamson, the per
petrator of the Chapel Hill mur
ders, could be free by Decem
ber 27. What was his brilliant
defense, you ask? WTiat inge
nious lawyer could free a man
that everyone present saw com
mit the crime?
Well, all it took was a little
insanity. Due to
the "not guilty
by reason of in
sanity" defense,
Williamson
could be re
leased from
Dorothea Dix
hospital as early as next month.
Instead of a lifetime in jail, a
lifetime of freedom.
Put yourself in the place of
the families. Who are they to
hold accountable for their loss?
It is conceivable that not too far
in the distant future they could
"If human quality is to be forever
averted —if the High, as we have called
them, are to keep their places
permanently - then their prevailing
mental condition must be controlled
insanity."
George Orwell (1903-1950)
forum
5 I
Kristin Huzzard enjoys a cigarette in the Underground, one
of the areas endangered by the new smoking proposal.
be made.
I know that many students
find it very nice to smoke and
eat in a comfy, social environ
ment. Many of my happy mo
ments here have occurred in the
Underground and cafeteria
with, yes, a cigarette in hand.
Must this pleasure be taken
be walking down Franklin
Street and see the man that
killed their son heading towards
them - no handcuffs, no leg
irons, just as free as you or me.
That is not justice. It is time
that America wakes up. Just
because you or I cannot con
ceive of killing another human
being doesn't mean that it is not
in some people's nature. Some
"it is literally impossible
to live... and not have
some understanding that
it is wrong to ki11..."
if Williamson is "mentally un
stable"? Did he kill two people?
Did he walk down a public
street shooting a gun at other
human beings? Yes, he did.
Normally we put people like
that in jail. However, we slap
some on the wrist.
The Guilfordian
from me? Must it be taken from
us all? No.
Students have a voice at Guil
ford. We have a powerful stu
dent Senate on campus that is
here to listen and speak up for
us. Whatever your opinion on
this subject is, speak to your
senator and tell them how you
feel.
A crime is a crime. Laws ap
ply to every person in America.
No matter what anyone else
says, it is literally impossible
for an American man to live to
the age of 27, Williamson's age,
and not have some understand
ing that it is wrong to kill other
human beings.
According to news accounts,
three jurors wept openly as the
verdict was read. They wept for
society, that we have turned
loose yet another murderer.
They wept for the lawyer that
defended Williamson, that he is
able to sleep at night after such
a despicable day at work. They
wept for the families of the vic
tims, the realization that human
life had been taken and there
would never be a chance for
healing.
Maybe we should all cry with
them.
people are
naturally
mean, and
insanity is a
cheap excuse
for exercis
ing their will.
Who cares
"What a recreation it is to be in love!
It sets the heart aching so delicately \
there's no taking a wink of sleep for the
pleasure of the pain."
George Colman the Youngest
(1762-1836)
Politics:
The sand in
our shorts
KEIR BICKERSTAFFE
editorials editor
Sara Johnson/Guilfordian
Ours is an interesting coun
try, to say the least.
We were born not three cen
turies ago, formed in the minds
and hearts of passionate, free
thinking men. We have fought
for our own unity as well as the
unity of other nations. We have
invented and produced more for
the world than any other coun
try.
And now we are closed.
Earlier this week our Con
gress, after failing to produce a
budget, announced they had
"no funding authority" to keep
our government running. Sev
eral federal services, such as
food stamps and national parks,
have been shut down indefi
nitely.
While this is an incredibly
frightening prospect to begin
with, it becomes even moreso
when one considers the reason
we face this dilemma —mere
politics.
The Republicans are no dum
mies. When they passed their
spending and borrowing bills
through Congress, they knew of
the imposing deadline the coun
try faced. But instead of heed
ing it as an important measure
of our country's security, they
instead used it as a weapon.
Measures that increased
Medicare premiums and cut
spending for education and the
environment were added to the
proposal. The Republicans' ul
timatum was clear—our bill, or
we close you down.
Pure blackmail.
But however insidious the
GOP scheme is, they are not the
only party at fault. Both Repub
licans and Democrats have re
sembled nasty children in a
sandbox at recess throughout
the debacle, both preferring to
throw sand in the face of the
other before cooperating to
build a castle.
And that's the point. A castle
could very easily be built, with
enough turrets and moats to
make everyone happy. But it is
much easier to sit back in de
bate, mock one another, and try
to look good for the cameras.
They're politicians, that's
their job.
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