Letter to the Editor

Jacob Woodford

As everyone on campus is probably aware, the smoking legislation that was proposed in the Spring of 2011 was tabled indefinitely due to intense controversy. Recently, the president of LUCC removed the legislation from the table, and it was sent back to committee.

The Student Welfare Committee of LUCC, which is working on this project, is starting from the ground up on a new proposal regarding smoking. We are not interested in banning smoking, which was how the legislation last spring was billed. Instead, we are hoping to preserve the privilege to smoke on this campus while also attending to the wishes of the nonsmoking community. However, we are approaching the writing of this proposal in a new way.

On Feb. 15, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the WCC Cinema, we will be holding an open write-your-own-legislation session to gather the concerns of the community, both from smokers and nonsmokers alike, before drafting new legislation. Come at any time and leave at any time. It is our feeling that community input will be crucial in forming new and acceptable legislation.

This is our opportunity as students, and as a community, to create something that works for all of us. If you have an opinion on the matter, participate in this session. If we can’t get this done as students, it will undoubtedly be addressed by the administration, where it will essentially be out of our hands.

If you are unable to attend the session at the scheduled time, please email your comments, concerns or questions to the Chairperson of Student Welfare, Charlie Malchow, at charles.d.malchow@lawrence.edu.

– Jake Woodford

LUCC President-Elect