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Thursday. October 22, 1998 - Page 6 COMMENTARY ~taff Where Have Our Priorities Gone? Editor-In-Chief Kate Hampson '00 Advertising/Business Manager J just finished reading Dean Sayre's Megan Martin returns with a look I understand that people use alcohol Laura KeJley '01 at Dean Sayre's alcohol letter to "A Letter to the College Community" as a means to relax after, or even dur- News Editor about the use and misuse of alcohol on the community. ing, a stressful week. Though why any- Emily Stamathis '00 campus. The letter, dated September 15, one would want to use a depressant to 1998 (yes, I am a little behind in read- Assistant News Editor who do to be dissatisfied with social relax is beyond me. Maybe we need to JeniferSirkis '01 ing my mail), outlines the school's po- life." offer stress management workshops and sition on alcohol usage, consequences of In the past I have written about the anti-procrastination seminars in con- Features Editor Sarah Radice '01 misuse, and programs designed to cut need for more non-alcoholic programs junction with OCTAA and non-~lcoholic down on underage and binge drinking. on campus, so I'll be the first to admit events. Assistant Features Editor It's great to hear that the On Campus that social life on campus is not exactly Rich Simmons '99 Or maybe we need to stress, at an ear- Talking about Alcohol (OCTAA) pro- up to the standards I would like them to lier age, say while in grade school, that Editorials Editor gram has been revised based on my be. What I do have a problem with is alcohol abuse isn't cool. A couple of Megan Martin '0] class' input. It's wonderful to know that alcohol being ranked as an important programs a year in grade school just Sports Editor those who are found to violate college aspect of college life. don't seem to cut it. We need to empha- Mike Puskar '99 alcohol policies are dealt with in an While I am not disputing that people size, at home and at school, the impor- "adult manner." I applaud the efforts of think this way, it bothers me that they Assistant Sports Editor tance of the three R's (reading, writing, Mike Yestramski '0] the Greek organizations to cut down on do. What does this say about our soci- and arithmetic), community service, re- alcohol use, and I also applaud the etal priorities? Not much, I'm afraid. spect for others, and living life to the Photographers Nathan Birdsall '99 growth of the substance free communi- Why is it more important to get drunk fullest without the aid of alcohol or il- Robyn Hill '02 ties. and break two windows in one building legal substances. Paul Himes '02 There was, however, one part of the DayidSzepesi '98 than to learn how to properly spell the These things, among others, are what Hsin-Lun Tsai '02 letter that bothered me. This part, found word "amateur"? our priorities need to be. Alcohol should towards the end of the letter in the "So- Now, I am not saying that people who be something that is secondary to life, Staff Writers cial Life and Alcohol" section, reads, Claire Adams '02 drink occasionally are wrong or have something indulged in occasionally. If Lisa Pole-Van Auken '02 "Most students say that alcohol is an im- their priorities completely backwards. we can get our priorities straight, then Anne Butler '01 portant aspect of college social life." That is why I am glad the qualifier maybe alcohol abuse would not be such Sophie Boulet Further on in that paragraph: "In our "most" was used. a problem. Julie Develin '01 loan Faulkner '02 studies, we have found that students who It's the people who drink to get drunk Kristen G. Fraser '00 do not drink are more likely than those every weekend that I have a problem with. Sara Gruber '99 Shannon Hess '02 Brooke Joseph '02 Do you have some- Aaron Knitzer'02 Mollie Land '02 Nicole Lehmann '98 Just a Little Respect, Please thing to say about life Ron Mojica '02 Francesca Saylor '00 at WMC, or just Shawn Sprague 'Ot Michael Stokes '00 Kristen G. Fraser asks for some side section of a building. Apparently, the " Chris Taugher '02 respect from the smoking extra three seconds to wait until they reach about life in general? Matthew Thomas '01 Emily Wilson '02 community. the outside is simply too much to bear. Write to us: Kevin Worley '00 I notice many interesting places to find Raini Wright '00 The Phoenix cigarette butts. All of the pathways around Distribution As a breathing WMC college student, I campus are littered with butts. 2 college Hill Rich Suchoski '00 view myself to be a fairly average non- But, what is really interesting is the ap- Westminster MD 21157 smoker. J also consider myself to be fairly pearance of cigarette butts wedged in be- Graduate Assistant email: phoenix@wmdc.edu Vince Chesney tolerant of smokers. However, after the first tween the holes for the screws of the beds. I weeks of the new school year here at WMC, doubt those butts are going anywhere any- Adviser Terry Dalton my views have changed. time soon, and that provides a lovely addi- Let me first say that many could react tion to any dorm room. negatively to my views. This is not a lecture Inclement weather creates an interesting The Phoenix is published biweekly. The on the usual complaints associated with opinions expressed do not necessarily rep- smoking or of the dangers of nicotine. Also, smoking trend. I might term this as a resent Ihose of The Phoenix staff, the fac- .know that I am not speaking of all smokers, "huddle." Any possible comer of a building that provides from two any sort of shelter ulty, or the administrators ofWMC. for if I were, I would lose many friends. drops of rain becomes a smoker haven. Iam referring to a select minority whom I left my residence hall last week and The paper welcomes free-lance submis- sions on Macintoshdisks in most word pro- cessorformars. Theeditorreservestheright What is really interesting is the appearance of to edit for clarity, length, and libel and to publish as space permits. All submissions cigarette butts wedged in between the holes for the (excluding self-addressed diskettes) become the property of The Phoenix and cannot be screws of the beds. reiimed Please include a name and phone num- ber for verification. Names will be with- Ihave encountered with great frequency re- stepped outside of the door. I was immedi- held only by the discretion of the Editor-in- cently, creating my opinions about some par- ately assaulted by a cloud of smoke. A fel- ticularly rude smokers. low student was wedged literally less than Chief. My point of view first changed after six inches away from my face in a corner of learning that WMC is one of the few col- the building to avoid the rain. Ifeel that this The PhoenixOOesnotdiscriminate based leges in the state of Maryland to allow smok- was completely rude, as I spent the rest of on age, race, religion, gender, sexual orien- tation, national origin, condition of handi- ing of any kind in the residence halls. Keep- my day noting the stench of smoke in my ing this in mind, it is my view that the smok- hair and clothes. cap, or marital status. ers on campus should enjoy this luxury. Perhaps you will claim that my ranting is Instead, we have students who leave their simply petty. However, Iam asking only for doors wide open, causing the scent of ever- simple courtesy and respect. Ido not under- Mail to: pleasant second-hand smoke to permeate the stand how college level people cannot all The Phoenix halls. As a result, we have unpleasant smell- work together to create a clean environment. WMC, 2 College Hill ing halls and phone messages from the RAs Iam not asking for a ban on smoking on our Westminster, MD 21157 reminding us of the rules. campus. All I want is clean air in common I have also noticed a charming phenom- areas and a change from "WMC-CoJlege on (410)751-8600 enon. I observe some smokers lighting up the Hill (of butts)" to "WMC-College on the (410) 876-2055,ext8600 as they walk from a common area to an out- Hill." FAl(,(41O) 857-2729 E-Mail: phoenix@wmdc.edu