LETTER: Ban will create student division
To the editor:
On Sept. 11, 1942, hundreds of Japanese-Americans arrived in Topaz, Utah (just outside of Delta). In an effort to fight the possibility of spies sending messages to Japan, they were sent there by their own government for the duration of World War II. The government didn’t intend for American citizens to be confined in an atmosphere similar to the concentration camps of Europe – but that is what happened.
Similarly, as the author of Monday’s letter points out, the intent of a smoking ban is not to create a divide, but that is what will happen. One of the main arguments for the smoking ban is that one cannot enter the TSC without walking through a cloud of smoke. If I’m not mistaken, there are seven entrances to the TSC – use a different one. I don’t like second hand smoke any more than the National Cancer Institute does, but since when is this campus full of children unable to think for themselves. To those who want their university to dictate the way they live – transfer to BYU. And to those who choose to smoke responsibly – if your student government does ban smoking on campus, I invite you to smoke in “off campus” locations such as in front of the Institute building, while maintaining the 25 feet required by law, of course.
Dan Gudmundson