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WedNEsdAy, N ovemòer
Opinion
29, 2000
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Smoking issue burns at Clackamas
Smoking has been twenty-five year controversy on campus
JIM SPICKELMIER
Webmaster
i get me
py PO'
my lit cigarette from bet sen my
dead fingers,” Signey Vernon, re
tired Clackamas sociology instruc
tor, exclaimed one day during
class.
She went on to explain that she
had been raised in a society where
smoking was OK; however,
society’s viewpoint on smoking
was starting to change. The point
of the lecture was that it takes
about 50 years to effect a change
in social values and that the smok
ing issue was well worth watching
as a “highly visible” 50-year les
son in social change.
That was long ago and the smok
ing controversy was just begin
ning. Only a few years had passed
since cigarette advertising had
been banned from TV and bill
boards, the national movement to
change a social value, smoking,
was in its infancy.
Having attended Clackamas
many times, I never forgot the
aforementioned 50-year assign
ment. I have watched the changes
in campus smoking policies with
interest.
From the time of its construc
tion through the late 1970s,
Clackamas was an open smoking
campus. Believe it or not, one
could walk out of class and light
up right in the hallways. There
were butt receptacles everywhere
and nobody thought twice about
smoking indoors.
Non-smoking
areas
at
Clackamas became an issue in the
early 1980s. The atrium area of the
cafeteria became the non-smoking
lunchroom.
By mid-decade the trend had
changed to designated indoor
smoking. The atrium cafeteria area
became the smoking lunchroom,
the main cafeteria became non
smoking and limited indoor smok
ing areas were appearing through
out the campus.
the
Letters
Around 1989, the smoking issue
hit the fan at Clackamas. The ques
tion was do we, or do we not, ban
all indoor smoking on campus? It
was a heated issue and came down
to a student vote. The smokers
won for a brief time; however, an
administrative decision ruled that
all non-votes counted as no votes
and by this means the administra
tion banned all indoor smoking
from campus buildings. For a brief
time outdoor smoking areas were
set up with picnic tables and over
head outdoor heaters but those too
went by the wayside.
Will the college inevitably be
come smoke free? You can bet on
it
Editor
Smoking discussion not intended 'We want healthy lungs, and clean
air' and 'not to smell like smoke'
to banish smoking altogether
In response to (last week’s let
ter to the editor), “Smokers urged
to speak out for rights,” the sub
ject of DESIGNATED smoking
areas was brought up in the Col
lege Conversation ofNov. 1,2000.
In this conversation, the sug
gestion was made to designate
smoking areas around the cam
pus, NOT to ban smoking alto
gether.
Non-smokers don’t like the
health hazard it becomes and
want to designate areas for the
smokers. The smokers don’t like
this idea and feel that they are
being discriminated against.
Smokers were not the targets
of the discussion, the health of
all students was. Smoking is a per
sonal choice that not everyone
chooses. So the smokers should
respect everyone else’s choice
and accept the idea presented by
ASG to provide designated, cov
ered areas away from building en
trances. This allows for a better
work and school environment for
everyone, not allowing the smoke
to permeate doorways, buildings
and offices. This idea would ben
efit both smokers and non-smok
ers;
ASG has gone into serious re
search about covered smoking ar
eas. If this solution is implemented,
the designated areas have not yet
been decided. Great discussion will
go into the placement of the areas
to make sure that everyone is ac
commodated. No one ever said that
accommodations could not be
made and there has been abso
lutely not talk of banning smoking
from Clackamas Community Col
lege.
Hayley Hill,
Student Ambassador
I want to say I am disgusted
with all the smoking on this cam
pus. Whenever you walk out one
of the buildings, you have to walk
through the thick smoke in the air
and cigarette butts on the ground.
I am thankful that smoking is
not allowed inside the buildings,
but something has to be done
about the problem that exists now.
Most state-run schools, county
offices and businesses have des
ignated smoking areas that smok
ers must use if they wish to light
up.
Everyone is worried about per
sonal rights these days; well, my
rights and the rights of many fel
low students, are being violated
every time we are exposed to this
smoke.
I do not choose to have my
books, belongings and myself
smell like smoke. I have to walk
through many smokers to get to
my classes, which causes me to
have the aroma of a dirty ashtray.
There is now proof that sec
ond-hand smoke is just as dan
gerous as smoking itself. Those
of us who do not smoke are un
able to avoid the smell of the
smoke, or the damage it can do
to our lungs. We want healthy
lungs, and clean air; by attend
ing CCC, those wants are just a
dream, riot a reality.
If students have to walk to a
designated smoking area to light
up, it may even help some of them
kick the habit. These students
would thank you later and hun
dreds of us would thank you now
for a smoke-free, butt-free cam
pus.
Joshua Shelton,
Student
Why use an alias for The Counter ?
I don’t think I have to be a politi
cal science major to think I have
the right to face my accuser, and I
have never had any contributors
to the Clackamas Counter intro
duce themselves to me, I wouldn’t
know them if they walked right by
me. So I wonder who is this
Clackamas student who had so
much to say about The Print!
Seth K. Thurete, in his article
“77ie Counter is an academic pa
per, not The Print," declares him
self “one of the ‘freethinking’
Clackamas students who partici
pated in the first edition of 77je
Clackamas Counter." But Thurete
isn’t registered this term, nor has
he ever been registered at
Clackamas.
I guess it’s just a coincidence that
if you rearrange the letters of
Thurete’s full name, they spell ‘seek
the truth.’
So, if Seth K. Thurete isn’t the
author
of
these
two
opinions,
then who is,
«
and why is he
(or she) hid-
*
ing behind an
alias? Why all
who acknowledged he is the advi
sor to 77ie Clackamas Counter,
that The Print is not interested in
an altercation.
Much of what “Thurete” said
in his article is
On the contrary
the cloak and
dagger,
riddles and conspiracy theory? Why
all the venom toward The Print! I’ve
already expressed to Dean Darrisz
Steve Nielsen
News Editor
about members of last year’s Print
staff and their actions. Several of
those students have moved on to
Editor-in-Chief:
four-year schools. Regardless, I
don’t believe they used the news
paper to persecute Dean Darris,
Don Epstein, Jennifer Rankin, or
anyone else. I am sure, that they
were working under tight deadlines
to collect all the information on a
story, and reported the facts.
This paper has already spent
too much time and space on refu
tation of the Counter’s accusa
tions. It would probably be much
easier to resolve any further
problems if any person with a
complaint would talk about it
with The Print staff directly. We
at The Print aren’t out to harm
anyone; we are just looking for
the truth.
Web Master:
Diana Scrivner (x2447)
O
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— CI ac I a M-X s Fkir
Spring f nir rock» wiih Inr
Feature Co-Editor:
Q ac K a MA s Phi
Jim Spickelmier
Staff:
Maggie Jirasek
Amanda Gosser
Chris Lundgren
Corinne Rupp
Dana Palmer
Elena Boryska
Jenny Chavez
Liesl Muggli
Matt Shempert
Michael Choe
Shannon Recabaren
Wes Fawcett
Feature Co-Editor:
Tam Oliver
A & E Editor:
Mandy Good
Copy/Opinion Editor:
"It's nasty when you walk
around the campus and
walk through a cloud of
smoke."
-Josh Cumming
X
Sandy Lupo
Sports Editor:
Jason Lingel
News Editor
Steve Nielson
Photo Editor:
Secretary:
Mike Pollock
Business Manager:
JoAnne Gale
Advisor:
Scott Creson (x2578)
Linda Vogt (x2310)
"People should be allowed
to smoke only in areas
where others dont have to
be bothered by the smoke."
-Johan Limbour
"I think designated smoking
areas should be enforced for
people who like to smoke."
-Patrick Chandler
"People should be able to
smoke anywhere outside."
-Niki Froehle
"I am very satisfied with
where people smoke, it
makes me feel comfortable
with my surroundings."
—Vern Reck
Photos and survey compiled by Mike Pollock,
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