November 7th, 2007
Some Students are More Equal than Others…
To paraphrase the immortal words of the visionary and all-too correct author and futurist George Orwell… in today’s collegiate society, all students are equal, but some students are more equal than others.
Sadly, in today’s PC fascist universe of higher education these words have never rung more true. As if regulating the speech, thought and dress of the student body wasn’t quite enough for the unchallengeable intellectual ruling elite who run our universities, the comintern committees in colleges across the country have now determined that the as-of-yet-legal act of smoking shall be null and void in their hallowed halls.
According to USA Today, nearly 31% of full-time college students smoke, compared with about 25% of the overall population [citing the federal government 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health].
Despite the fact that almost 1 out of every 3 college students smokes, at least 43 campuses from coast-to-coast have mandated smoke-free environments, and the trend is expanding to include large universities, from student housing bans to campus-wide bans, due in part to the lobbying from American for Non-Smokers’ Rights.
Think I’m exaggerating… listen to Chuck Kupchella, President of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. President Kupchella declares without a hint of irony, that “Smokers [at UND] will have rights, but just not on our campus”. Gee thanks Pres., - ever read 1984 while attending school yourself? That’s the type of “rights”, “liberties” and “democracy” that would make our dear President beam with satisfaction.
Boasts Betsy Foy of the American College Health Association, “If you’re not allowed to smoke on campus, if you can’t buy products on campus, it will definitely deter some students from smoking.” Really Ms. Foy?… and upon what study of human desire in response to prohibition does Ms. Foy base her lofty determination? Well, since she doesn’t bother to provide any basis or study upon which to base her presumption I guess we should just believe her. After all… in her attempt to deprive free thinking adults who are paying tons of money to receive a college education, she claims to mean well, and her caring desire to control the private existence of every college student – for their own good, should in fact be enough to override any issues of violating the liberty, freedom to act legally or attempted protests that some dirty smoker student may think about making in public.
Perhaps Ms. Foy and President Kupchella would be nice enough to create a small “smoker’s protest closet of free speech” ala the “free speech” concentration camps created by the GOP at the New York convention – conveniently removed from the general public’s view or consciousness.
The fight goes on… as Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio, implemented a policy last December that limits smoking to only surface parking lots and sidewalks adjacent to roads. YSU is presently, claims spokesman Ron Cole, more focused on informing its student body about this oppressive mandate, rather than enforcement at this time, “We’re not going to have the smoking police out there handcuffing students and employees,” – at least Mr. Cole realizes the potential for the “Smoking Police” to patrol the YSU campus – walkie-talkie’s drawn, tazer’s at the ready – handcuffs at their side – prepared for the enforcement of the banning of yet another legal act on a college campus full of tuition paying adults.
At the University of Iowa, a committee of staff, faculty and students has already recommended the campus to go smoke-free as early as July, 2009 (a date by which most of the students on the committee will have long since departed or graduated by lets say oh.. .May of 2009 – how convenient).
But not every college campus in this land is going quietly into that dull gray subservient long night. Kudos to the brave Hoosiers at the University of Indiana, who have fought the proposals to make all 8 IU campuses smoke-free. Earlier this year, the Indiana Daily Student called the proposal an “infringement on personal liberties,” especially for students in dorms.
At least some students at IU are learning important lessons – “I can vote for president of the United States. I can go to war,” says sophomore Alex Wukmer, 19, “But I can’t necessarily smoke a cigarette because they’re afraid I’ll make a bad choice?” Yes Alex, you have for better or worse – learned the mantra of the Comrades in Collusion - big-business and our vaunted state and federal government, the real powers that be in the 21st century… their edict: Do what we say or what we let you do… lest you make a “bad choice” (read choice or act they don’t want you to make).
Susan Johnson, an associate provost at University of Iowa says the 30,000 student university is preparing for an intense debate – “Our goal here is not to coerce individuals to give up smoking, our goal is to reduce the amount of second hand smoke everybody is exposed to[,]” so again, the claimed intent of the would-be oppressors (according to the would-be oppressors), outweighs the actual effect of the destruction of personal protected liberties to each tuition paying-student; a mantra all too familiar under the present habeas corpus destroying, illegal wiretapping, torture performing administration of George Bush, an administration that though no coincidence, has presided over our country’s re-education of “liberty” and “democracy” over the last seven years.
Mr. Orwell indeed would not be surprised, only disappointed.
Take Back Your State (University)