Letter to the Editor- Statewide Smoking Ban

For:

Roughly 50,000 nonsmoking Americans die every year from diseases caused by secondhand smoke according to the American Lung Association. These deaths can be prevented. While secondhand smoke occurs in many places, bars and restaurants are notorious for their integration of smokers into public areas. In the recent decade, there has been a surge of attention brought to the issue of smoking. As a result, smoking bans across the United States are being approved. The bars and restaurants complain that these new laws hurt revenue, but the smoking ban is one step toward a healthier America.

Smokers are affecting more than just themselves when they choose to smoke in public places. The National Smoking Control Program (NSCP) states that there are over 4,000 harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke, of which 400 are poisonous and 50 are known carcinogens. When smokers exhale after taking a drag, the harmful chemicals are released into the air. According to the NSCP, about 90 percent of the smoke from every cigarette ends up in the air as environmental tobacco smoke. This smoke is potent and dangerous, especially in enclosed public places such as bars and restaurants.

Indoor dining establishments have always attracted the smoking crowd. Bars are a great place to meet with friends and possibly share a drink or two. Unfortunately, smokers take it upon themselves to ruin this atmosphere. They fill the air with toxic chemicals from their secondhand smoke. Nonsmokers in the area are forced to either breathe the harmful smoke or leave. Exposure to secondhand smoke has many negative health effects including lung cancer and heart disease, which may lead to death. Perhaps the most startling aspect of secondhand smoke related deaths is that they can all be prevented.

Restriction on smoking in public areas is essential for preventing harm to nonsmokers. Bars and restaurants are shared by smokers and nonsmokers alike; however, some smokers continue to smoke indoors, where their smoke is trapped and inhaled by nonsmokers. Smokers have always had the freedom to smoke outside, where their bad habit only affects themselves. Businesses need to acknowledge that some nonsmokers choose to live in a smoke-free environment. A statewide ban of smoking in public areas would eliminate secondhand smoke in restaurants and bars, potentially saving thousands of lives.

Against:

Imposing a statewide smoking ban would be devastating for businesses. The ban drives away the smoking crowd as well as the revenue they generate. Restaurants, bars, and hotels rely heavily on catering to smoking consumers. If those consumers cannot smoke, they would most likely look for somewhere else to spend their time. An absence of smokers will ruin business and possibly lead to a layoff of employees. It is not fair for restaurants, bars, and hotels to suffer the consequences of the smoking ban.

Dr. Mark Clayson, a graduate of King’s College in London, has researched the effects of a smoking ban in many countries. In most of the cases, businesses saw a significant drop in revenue after a smoking ban was issued. Dr. Clayson knows that secondhand smoke is dangerous, and the facts are well known; however, there are other statistics that have gone largely unnoticed. These statistics describe the effects of smoking bans on businesses.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in four Americans smoke. Since the smoking ban has begun, bars across the United States have seen a 40 percent decrease in business. This plummet in revenue has forced these businesses to lay off employees. Smokers who continue to go to bars have to smoke outside. Some of these smokers are also intoxicated. As a result, communities have seen an increase in noise complaints. These negative effects have occurred in other countries as well.

Canadian businesses have experienced an overwhelming reduction of customers. Dr. Clayson discovered that just 80 days after the smoking ban, British Columbia’s hospitality industry suffered $8 million worth of losses. This includes nearly 800 layoffs and the closure of 9 businesses. For example, the Werx Club used to bring in $1,500 on the average night, and now the club only makes $150. It is not only bars and restaurants that are being affected. Charitable bingo halls across British Columbia have seen a drop of $5 million.

Smokers know the risks they take when they light up a cigarette. Bars, restaurants, and hotels should not have to suffer for the choices that these smokers make. Nonsmokers and smokers have co-existed in restaurants and bars for decades. A smoking ban only hurts the bars and restaurants that have brought these two kinds of people together. If a smoking ban is enforced, the economy would suffer, and jobs will be lost.

Pizza Perfection

Pizza sometimes has a split personality. Sometimes it is a gourmet presentation of fine ingredients, melted together with only the best cheeses, and other times it is a greasy mess of mozzarella, quickly baked and delivered to your door in less than 30 minutes. My last encounter with pizza was an unusual incident.

Delivery pizza chains have taken quite a turn in these last few months. Making the switch to all-natural ingredients has renewed hope for one of these famous chains. I had the privilege of eating an entire cheese pizza from Pizza Hut last Saturday night. After a 12 hour long track meet, I sat on a coach bus with 50 of my teammates, eagerly awaiting the Pizza Hut pizzas that were already an hour late. We were all starving and the some of us were beginning to lose faith in the delivery man. Then out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of headlights in the distance. Soon the familiar glow of the Pizza Hut sign spread across the empty parking lot, and cheers echoed throughout the bus.

Within minutes everyone had a hot slice of pizza in their hand. I managed to score my own box of thin crust cheese, because the people around me demanded that they eat only pepperoni or sausage. My stomach saw no difference and neither did I. At this point in the day I was just happy to eat. The steam poured out of the box as soon as I opened it. A sweet smell of fresh baked dough filled the air. I took in the moment as the warm pizza box seemed to say, “Hey there. Sit back. Enjoy my cheesy goodness.” That is precisely what I did.

The interior bus lights turned off, and everyone became quiet. As I took my first slice from the box, my ears tuned in on the sound of 50 people carefully chewing. Each bite was savored. I became anxious for the feast before me. The nine television screens lit up as we pulled out of the UW-Platteville parking lot. Our first movie of the night was Predator. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting was not up to par with the fine pizzas we were all enjoying, but nobody complained.

As the sound of dozens of machine guns blasted out of the bus’s speakers, I took my first bite. The first noticeable taste was cheese, lots and lots of melty, gooey cheese. I could not quite distinguish how many various cheeses were on the pizza, but I assure you that it was not a solo act. A taste such as this could not be accomplished by mozzarella alone. The cheese gave way to the tomato sauce, which hit my tongue next. Soon the richness of vine-ripe tomatoes, combined with a delicate assortment of spices, was all I could taste. The final all-star in the team was the crust. It was thin. It was crispy. It was delicious. It was the kind of crust that could stand up to all that cheese and not succumb to gravity’s temptations. As I bit into the flaky crust, pieces broke off and gave my mouth something to chew. The crust was not yeasty, but still held that fresh baked taste. I quickly finished off my first piece and set off to devour the seven more pieces that were waiting for me. In short, Pizza Hut has truly progressed from its greasy past. The all-natural ingredients were definitely noticeable, and I tip my hat to their new lease on life. If you have not tried Pizza Hut in the past few months, I strongly recommend giving them another chance.

The Hawaiian Shirt from Hell

Walking into Savers this past Sunday put me in a state of both awe and fear. I was in awe of the massive display of outdated clothes but fearful about the unknown history behind each piece of clothing. It was obvious which decade each item emerged from, and some of the pieces of clothing made me cringe. For example, I could only imagine what happened in the black leather pants I found, no doubt a product of the hot and sweaty 70s disco era. I am sure that back in the day these items were all the rage, but I still couldn’t help but wonder, “Who actually thought this looked cool?” And so I found myself standing before endless rows of men’s clothing, which were neatly assorted by size and color.

The task before me was strange but manageable. My purpose was to find an item that I would never in a million years wear, buy it, and then wear it for an entire day. I brought along my roommate, Austin, as a second opinion. We scoured the rows for around ten minutes, pointing out the ugliest items along the way. Then I saw it. Hanging in front of me was a hideous lime-green shirt, covered in a pattern that resembled a woven basket. Along the bottom of the shirt were a dozen or so little brown tiki men dancing back and forth. I snatched the shirt from the rack and held it up for Austin to see. He said, “No.” I said, “Perfect.”

After lugging the shirt back to the dorms, I quickly plucked my purchase out of the white plastic bag and threw it on. I felt like the Hawaiian shirt was built for someone else, and by someone else I mean an overweight man sipping beers somewhere in Mexico as Jimmy Buffet music blares in the background. I shook my head and tossed the shirt toward my dresser. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.

My first class on Monday started at noon, and I normally eat right at eleven. The three people I normally ate lunch with were a little less pleased to see me once they caught glimpse of my obnoxious shirt. They kept on asking me if I was really going to wear this awful shirt all day. They had no idea. It was one of the shortest lunches I have ever eaten at the cafeteria. Generally I stop eating after my fourth or fifth trip up to the food lines, but today I stopped after one. No way was I going to humiliate myself more than I had too. The less people who saw me wear this shirt the better.

I walked to my 12:00 class and received some strange looks along the way. It was a particularly nice day out, mid 30s, but I still wore my coat for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, my bright green Hawaiian shirt seemed to leap out at everyone who walked past me as if it was saying, “Hey! I’m under here! No coat is ever going to cover me up! How warm does this guy think it is? 95 degrees? Who wears a Hawaiian shirt in the middle of winter?” I just wanted my shirt to shut up. Those little dancing tiki guys were starting to make me angry.

As I walked into my English 110 class, I was shocked to hear that it had been cancelled. This was the class I was doing the assignment for, and now Bailey was going to miss out on our hip new threads. The other students seemed a little disappointed too. Then it hit me. Class is cancelled. I started to think of all the fun things I could do in the hour before my 1:00 class. A million ideas flashed before my eyes until I remembered what I was wearing, and suddenly I felt a little less inclined to be active. I left the classroom in search of my own dark corner to sit in, far away from the judgment of others.

I entered my next class, Math 111, around 12:57. The class was already full, but not one person seemed to look up at me as I entered the room. I was not too surprised. Everyone in this class is only taking it to fill up their GE Math requirements, and half the time the teacher even appears to be tuned out. There is not much more to say about what happened. No one mentioned anything to me about my shirt, nor did anyone seem to notice.

After my Math class I took the bus back up to the dorms, which was also uneventful. By the time people start to get on the bus, they already have their iPods blasting at full volume and are usually too busy texting to notice anything else going on. Lucky me.

Wearing the shirt made me feel as if I was not being myself. People were not seeing me as I wanted them to, and it made me uneasy. There are occasions when I do consciously tweak my wardrobe, but never anything as drastic as this. The green Hawaiian shirt is now at the bottom of my dresser, and that is probably where it is going to stay. Perhaps one day the shirt will make a returning appearance, but I highly doubt it.

Fairytale

Henry and Gretchen

Once upon a time there were two kids named Henry and Gretchen. They both came from families that were well off and both were very smart. They had been life long friends, but that eventually evolved into love. Henry and Gretchen sailed through high school and soon they were into college. Their intelligence continued into college and their roommates despised them because they were always so affectionate towards one another. It was only a few months into school when Henry and Gretchen’s roommates devised a plan to get them kicked out of college. Henry’s roommate knew of this teacher who didn’t like Henry and Gretchen, so he decided to approach the teacher about this plan. The teacher was one of the university’s oldest professors of shamanism and her name was Wanda. She was caught off guard by such a question, but decided very carefully and finally agreed to help being the evil woman she was.

The plan was put into motion on Halloween night in Madison. Wanda was to throw a house party and invite many people, including Henry and Gretchen. Although Henry and Gretchen were fantastic students, they still knew how to party and Henry’s roommate knew that they wouldn’t pass up this opportunity. All Wanda had to do was snap a picture of the two drinking underage; surely such a picture would be grounds for expulsion. Meanwhile, back at the dorms, Henry and Gretchen received a text telling them about an awesome party. They decided that was a good way to spend their night, so they got into costumes; Henry dressed up as a woodsman and Gretchen as Little Red Riding Hood. Once they were ready, they started to pre-game before heading to the house party.

Many beers later the two left for the party. They had never been to this house before, so to make sure they could fine their way back to campus, they left a trail of broken pieces of beer bottles with every other step. When they arrived, the party had already begun. They immediately found the alcohol and grabbed a drink. Then they decided to try and find people they might know, which wasn’t easy considering it was Halloween and everyone was dressed up. Everyone’s costumes were so elaborate that they didn’t even recognize Professor Wanda dressed as a wolf. While Henry and Gretchen were enjoying themselves, Professor Wanda took that opportunity to try and catch them in the act. She took many pictures that night, but none of them were good enough. Wanda got so frustrated that she took a break and went upstairs. Henry’s roommate, seeing this, thought that she got a good picture and followed her upstairs. He walked into Wanda’s room and maybe it was the alcohol or just something about the way the skin tight wolf costume hugged the woman’s frail old body, but he just had to have her, and so he made a move. Back down at the party, Gretchen decided that she had to “break the seal” so she went to the bathroom. However, the bathroom downstairs had a line so Henry and her went upstairs. As Gretchen was going to the bathroom, Henry saw a light coming from a bedroom down the hall, so he went to see what was going on. Much to his surprise he stumbled in on Professor Wanda and his roommate in a passionate embrace. He was shocked and confused but then out of the corner of his eye he saw something glisten. It was a camera resting on a night table beside him. He acted instantly, snatched the camera and took the picture. The flash of the camera startled the two lovers, but before they could catch him he was out the door. He flew downstairs to grab Gretchen and they took off back to campus. Henry and Gretchen were long gone before the Professor or Henry’s roommate could stop them and almost immediately the picture was on facebook for everyone to see.

Friedman Article Reflection

Over the past week, my English 110 class and I have been in a quest to find our true intellectual ability. The assignment dealt with an equation proposed by Thomas Friedman, author of The World Is Flat. Friedman believes that the sum of an individual’s Curiosity Quotient (CQ) and Passion Quotient (PQ) is more important than his or her Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Therefore, the equation we used was CQ + PQ > IQ. Friedman’s equation is best explained by Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind. Pink says, “You show me a curious, intrinsically motivated kid – and I’ll show you someone who’ll leave the kid who merely complies with the rules and studies for the SAT in the dust.” Friedman may have stumbled onto something big, but there is one major flaw in his equation.

The assignment started with a 20 minute online IQ test, which I finished with a score of 150. I then took a curiosity test online, which turned out to be a daunting process of answering what seemed like the same questions over and over again. Thirty minutes and 240 questions later, the website analyzed my answers and gave me a ranked list of my 24 strengths. Curiosity sat in the fifth spot on my list, which meant that it was one of my top strengths and gave me a CQ score of 19. Next, we took a quick ten question passions test in class, which ultimately determined how well you are fulfilling your passions. I ended up with a 90 on the PQ test. After the three tests were completed, we moved onto the final step.

Because I had scored high on both the CQ and PQ tests, I was feeling confident that Friedman’s equation was going to work. I was dead wrong. The equation would not work for me no matter how high I scored on either test. My combined total from the CQ and PQ tests gave me a score of 109. With an IQ score of 150, this meant that the IQ side of the equation was much higher than the CQ + PQ side. According to Friedman, the difference in scores means that I lack curiosity and need help discovering my passions in life. This was not the outcome I was hoping for. Luckily, there is a flaw in the equation that makes it impossible for my CQ + PQ score to be higher than my IQ score. The highest possible total for CQ + PQ is 124, which is much less than my IQ. Friedman definitely needs to fix this. I know that his equation is theoretical, but it should still be functional.

Looking past the mathematical mishap, I found that Friedman’s equation makes sense and boasts a powerful message. Too many times I realize that something does not interest me, and my only solution has been to simply grin and bear it. Some examples include: a boring class about molecular moles, group projects with kids who have no idea what year it even is, monotonous math lectures that never end, and other moments in school that make the clock seem to tick slower than normal. Like many other students, I quickly fell victim to daydreaming. Surely there must be a better way to cope with the boredom.

If Friedman were asked how to boost the level of interest, he would most likely address the problem at its roots. A lack of curiosity creates the boredom that so many students, including myself, feel from time to time. I can draw on two of my strengths when boring situations arise. Strength 5, curiosity, and Strength 13, enthusiasm, have the ability of turning dull lectures into an opportunity to learn something new. These two strengths can give me the power to stop texting in class, turn off the solitaire game on my iPod (as addicting as it may be), or put down my pencil before the hour-long doodle session even begins.

I realize that I’m making it sound as if there are no classes that interest me; however, there are many classes that I enjoy attending. Art classes have always been my favorite. Once the pencil or paint brush is in my hand, the rest is up to me. I can turn up my iPod, talk to other students around me, or walk around the room in an effort to develop new ideas. My art teachers were the best. They allowed me to paint whatever I wanted and gave me the tools to flex my artistic muscle. My passion for art eventually pushed me into the field of Advertising, which turned into Marketing after some coercion from Dr. Timothy Vaughan. Now a Marketing major at UW-Eau Claire, I hope to pursue my passions and enhance my curiosity with the liberal arts education I receive.