Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / March 8, 2000, edition 1 / Page 7
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March 8, 2000 Meredith Herald Campus Opinion Smoking halls need clearing 7_ ;e message from the Room Sara Parsons Copy Editor The recent New Line Cinema Movie release The Boiler Room may have hit theaters quietly, but the film proves to be far from forgettable for its audi ence. It is the story of Seth Davis, played by Giovanni Ribisi. seen previously as Phoebe’s brother on Friends, a recent college drop-out who runs a small casino from his basement. However, his quest to get rich quick leads him to the investment firm named J.T. Marlin (sound familiar? i.e., J.P. Morgan, the robber baron from the laie 1800s). Davis soon gets deep enough in the firm to realize that some thing isn’t right- Through some research and some after-hours snooping he found that, in addi- lion to making sales at all cost, the firm was doing something much worse than his little ille gal casino in the basement. To complicate matters, Davis' father was a judge and was never satisfied with any thing his son was doing and horrified at the possibility that his child could cost him his own job with his involvement in such crimes. Ben Affleck and Tom Everett Scott play the respective roles of a high up broker and leader of this all-male firm. When the FBI start following Davis, the only question remaining is what will catch up with him first-his crime or his conscience? The Boiler Room was an eye- opening look at the lengths one will go to make a buck and the consequences greedy attd some times desperate actions may bring in the end. And. for any one who plays (he risky game of today’s stock market, this movie will really make you think next time the phone rings and a bro ker is on the other end. Letters to the Editor Policy: Everyone in the Meredith community is invited and encouraged to write a letter to the editor. All published letters must be typewritten with a contact name, address, and telephone number.All letters must be signed by the author in order to be published. The Herald reserves the right to place any other article submissions on file until needed or to choose not to print them. The Herald also has the right to edit submissions for space restrictions, grammar and style. Opinions expressed in the letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of the editorial staff. CLASSIFIED ADS Leesha Austin Staff Writer At Meredith College, several floors of the dorms are set aside as smoking halls. Ideally, this arrangement accommodates students who smoke while respecting the rights of non- smokers who live on non-smok- ing halls. However, this ideal is not the reality, and many non- smokers end up being placed on smoking halls against their wishes. I am speaking from experi ence because this year my roommate, suitemates and I were forced to live on a smok ing hall. Last year w'hen we went through the housing lottery, our names happened to be drawn nearly last, so we were forced to take what was left. Since we wanted to reserve a whole suite together rather than just one room, our options were limited. In order for us to stay togeth er as a suite, we were forced to live on third Poteat, a smoking hall- We were upset because one of our suitemates is allergic to smoke- We went to see the rooms we had been assigned and talked to the students who were living in them last spring. They explained that they did not smoke either and that their end of the hall was mostly smoke free. We were torn: we did not want to live on a smoking hall, but if we did not, we would have to break up our suite. Our parents were upset because they felt that for the price they are paying for us to attend Meredith w'e should expect the right to live in a healthy, smoke-free environment. When we moved, we discov ered that there w'ere several other non-smokers on our hall as well. However, at our first hall meeting our Resident Assistant said that she understood that there were several non-smokers placed on this hall by the lottery and that although she was sorry. it was still a smoking hall, so she did not want to hear any complaints. She did ask smokers to raise the window when they smoked, to keep their doors shut and to use air freshener. I understand where the smok ers are coming from, and it is not their fault that non-smokers were placed on a smoking hall. The fault lies in the system by which rooms are assigned. I understand that the lottery seems like the fairest way to assign rooms; however, I think that students should specify whether they want a smoking or non-smoking hall, and the appli cations should be put in two sep arate piles so that smokers are placed on smoking halls and non-smokers are placed on non smoking halls. Second, priority for living on non-smoking halls should go to non-smokers. Under the present rules, many smokers choose non-smoking halls because they do not want to live in an envi ronment where their clothes will smell like smoke. This preference is under standable, but it is upsetting that smokers are allowed to live on a non-smoking hall, and non- smokers are forced to live on a smoking hall. Considering the number of smokers I know who choose to live on a non-smoking hall and the number of non-smokers who are forced to live on a smoking hall, I believe that too many halls are set aside as smoking halls. Perhaps residence life should require housing request forms to be turned in before the lottery, so they can evaluate how many students want to live on smok ing halls. Then they can adjust the number of smoking halls to accommodate the number of smokers and not have more than they need set aside. If the number does not come out evenly, perhaps they could find students who do not mind to live on a smoking hall. If there are not enough people willing to live on the smoking halls, people will have to be assigned to them against their wishes. This is far from ideal, but smokers should be placed on the smoking halls before non-smokers. I believe that everyone has the right to make her own deci sion about whether or not to smoke. Several of my friends smoke, and I think that they and most smokers are general ly respectful of the rights of non-smokers- However, the housing lot tery system Meredith employs is not respectful of the rights of non-smokers. Anyone w'ho disagrees with this statement should ask my suitemate who wakes up most mornings sneezing with a runny nose and watery eyes irritated by cigarette smoke. FUN-LOVING & CARING teachers needed, full-time & part-time positions available. A Center offers small classroom settings & excellent benefits. Apply to; Terri, YWCA, 782- 3072. MYRTLE BEACH, SC Spring Break-Grad Week. $75 and up per person, www.retreat- myrtlebeach.com. 1-800-645- 3618. ENERGETIC, ENTHUSI ASTIC day camp staff to work in Raleigh or Cary. Full and part- time positions available. Apply, YWCA, 828-3205 or 834-7386. BABYSITTER WANTED after school for 6 year old and 9 year old every Wednesday, and occasionally, other afternoons and evenings. Must be a non- smoker and have own car. Posi tive attitude and references required. $10.00/ hour. 678- 1367, IMMEDIATE OPENINGS! Students earn $375/5575 week ly processing/ assembling med ical I D. cards from your home. Experience unnecessary...we train you! Call IviediCard 1-541- 386-5290, ext. 300, FUN-LOVING INDIVIDU ALS to work with school-age children during after school care programs. Weekday afternoon positions available in Raleigh and Cary. Apply. YWCA, 828- 3205 or 834-7386. WEEKEND HELP WANT ED for children’s birthday par ties. Looking for fun, energetic person and previous experience with children. Great hours and excellent pay. Call 876-1391. NOTICE TO MEREDITH STUDENTS: Since October, an ad hoc committee has been studying the pros and cons of distance leaming. Have you ever taken an on-line or television course for academic credit? If Meredith were to offer a distance course, would you be interested in participating? Please reply to Dr. Pitts (pittsb@meredith.edu). GRADUATING SENIORS WANTED: Consider applying for a Temporary Admissions Counselor position! Profession alism and enthusiam for exten sive travel required. Complete job description available in the Undergraduate Admissions Office. Apply by March 31; job begins in eariy August. THE AUTISM SOCIETY of NC is in search of part-time employees to instmct and assist 3 men with autism in a support ed living home from 4-9 p.m., Monday through Friday. Train ing will be provided. Excellent hourly wage and experience for students- Please email your resume to tsheriff@autismsoci- ety-nc.org. HELP WANTED: Flexible hours, fun work with brides-to- be and students. Gingiss Formal- Wear, 3 Triangle locations. Call Denise 783-8911. NANNY NEEDED. Part- time, flexible hours, great pay. ASAP- References and experi ence required. Please call Patri cia at 554-0161. The Herald does not check ads before they are placed. When you respond to an ad, do so at your discrelion- Submitting to the Herald : Submissions must be received by I p.m on the Monday before Wednesday s publication. Submissions can be brought to 208 Cate Center. Submissions include letters to the editor, press releases and feature articles.
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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March 8, 2000, edition 1
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