This system would give the faculty a forum to voice their concerns in a way that allows the student body and administration to hear instead of this “Us versus Them” system we have now where we have seen the students taking sides and faculty being put into very uncomfortable positions because of student actions.

Students should not be the mouth pieces for anyone other than themselves and in a college setting
the faculty should have the freedom to voice their concerns as well, but this administration seems to like sitting above the fight, and every effort or idea that the administration has put forward that would involve this kind of structure have been put on hold and they have yet to follow through.

Krystal I applaud this journal and I hope that as student body president you push for this system. I think you would have the support of those interested in creating a better UT.

Thanks,

Ivie Stein Jr., Mathematics, 419-530-2994.

I don’t like smoking, so I vote to remove the ashtrays.
I don’t like litter, so I vote to remove the trash cans.
I don’t believe in teens having sex, so I vote to withhold birth control.”

I agree… at my employer, they have ash trays away from the entrance in a shady area. Smokers have their little spot outside and non-smokers have a smoke free entrance to the building.

This isn’t a questions of “is smoking healthy”. This is a question of “do we have liberty”?

Next, we’ll be banning fatty foods or soda… oh wait…

I had the privilege of being personally hushed by provost Jeffrey Gold, whose attempt to silence me mid-debate got plenty of skeptical looks. After the debate, a Q and A session ensued, and Mr. Gold described the policies that he was interested in pressing into our fragile forms; much like alcohol in underage circumstances, smoking on campus would be punishable by fines and “cessation classes” where student-generated money would be spent on forcing people to quit smoking under threat of penalty.

After this travesty, I was informed that most of the debate was just an experiment – the people who wanted to encourage “real, honest discussion” already had their minds made up – and people like me, who just want to enjoy a cigarette or two with a cup of coffee, get shafted.

Now I understand the pain and horrible circumstances that cigarette smoking has caused people. Too many times, really. But let’s be honest – cigarette smoking is nothing like rampant fornication in the streets or intravenous drugs. If the smell bothers you, I apologize. The sweet-smelling tobacco products I typically enjoy are now illegal, in the name of health. If the litter bothers you, I also apologize. If only I stopped smoking cigarettes and disposing of them properly, and started handing out advertisements for Chaser’s and other local clubs… Litter is what you make of it. If you see an ad for a conference on the ground next to a cigarette, and the cigarette bothers you, you’re looking for a reason to be angry at the cigarette.

But I digress to the original point. There are many arguments – GOOD ones – about deciding to ban or allow smoking. Litter and the “ew” factor are not included. Banning smoking on campus is like banning football: many think it’s a waste of time and money; football players put their own bodies, and the bodies of others, at serious risk; and the only reason people do it is to feel good or try to look cool.

But we can’t ban something just because people don’t like it, or it’s not good for them. The sound of someone crying out in the name of one’s own health is patronizing and frustrating. We KNOW that it isn’t “good” for us. We KNOW that it costs a lot (mainly because sin taxes allow our government to regulate our behavior through prices) but we do anyway. Hearing a girl or a boy, younger than I am, telling me how to live my life isn’t care when you hate what I do in such a way. Pushing bans on behavior is not freedom, it’s oppressive and limiting. It is, to bring my favorite word into this argument, like fascism.

Argue. Mazeltov.

–RK

What it all boils down to is having some kind of decency for others. Remember the saying “Treat others how you want to be treated.” If you were in my position would you want to have to endure this? Or do you not even care about seeing litter, smelling second hand smoke, letting others smell this stench originating from you and so on? If so, would you be one of those types of people who just stand by and watch the madness unfold and do nothing? That is what happens when you say “It doesn’t matter” or “I don’t care”

Once again, on this rainy day, smokers flock to the entrance ways that are covered from the rain. You may think it’s a mere matter of seconds that someone has to endure smelling smoke, but really when you have to wait for a ride to pick you up in those entrance ways it can be just as long as it takes for them to smoke a cigarette.

If you really want to not ban smoking then let’s not ban other things. Let’s have everyone do what they want without regard to others or themselves. Let us let others have sex on the streets, inject heroine into their arms in doorways, steal from the grocery store, rob banks, etc. What harm are they doing to us, others, and themselves….ah shucks, not very much damage going on right?