With so much controversy at this university, it is hard to be bored. We are very lucky to have something to fight for at all times. Students fight for minority respect, civil rights during Veishea, even parking, and now we have to fight to be allowed to smoke.

The Board of Directors of the Memorial Union is mimicking Veishea policy. Some vindictive members of the board are cunningly and quietly (not surprisingly so) trying to ban smoking in the Maintenance Shop.

Non-smokers are as much at risk as smokers are. When a governing body starts to attack a group in society, and you do not belong to that group, it is likely that your group will be next. The university has adopted a no-tolerance program that they use to strip rights in the name of safety and students’ interests.

The directors of the Union seem to be following this path as well. This trend of intolerant, puritanical policies and weak justification for them must stop. Today at 3:30 p.m. your rights, smoker or not, may begin to erode.

An open to the public meeting will be held at that time. The Board of Directors will then make their decision in a closed session after the meeting. Assuming the board is not just keeping up appearances, students can come to the Union and voice their opinion.

The M-Shop is a bar and entertainment venue first (this may also change if the Board of Directors starts exercising more control). Rusty Poehner, Maintenance Shop coordinator agrees. People smoke in bars, and the M-Shop should be no different. After all, “There has to be one place,” she said.

According to Poehner, the M-Shop is subject to different laws than the rest of the university because it is a private institution affiliated with the university. The Board of Directors then has final say in affairs at the Union.

The Maintenance Shop is willing to improve conditions as needed. Therefore, banning smoking is completely unnecessary. Closing the doors and improving ventilation would eliminate all complaints except for those from irrational individuals. Conditions vary even within the M-Shop. According to Poehner, tables under the ventilation offer a near smoke-free environment.

A survey was taken to help the directors meet the needs of more Union patrons. The smoking questions were written in such a way as to skew the results. There were 518 surveys delivered to students, faculty and staff. Only 17 percent responded. This is an indication that the Union has met the needs of their customers and should try to maintain the current situation at the Union.

The smoking question was worded as follows: “The Memorial Union has retained one smoking area, located in the Maintenance Shop. Please check ONE item below which most describes you opinion of this policy.”

The four response options were: smoking should not be allowed; smoking should be allowed; smokers should have a place to go indoors; and it’s OK if the smell can be controlled.

Very clever, I must admit. As long as three questions are pro-smoking, the percentage of negative respondents will remain significantly higher. The results showed what the board wanted — a clear majority of those in favor of a smoking ban.

Proper interpretation of the results, however, shows this is simply not the case. The survey results were categorized by gender because the board wanted to meet the needs of female customers. So, let’s look at those needs.

First, no one, male or female, said that they stay away from the Union because of smoking in the M-Shop. Second, only 22 female undergraduates said smoking should not be allowed compared to 26 who expressed at least an understanding of a smoking area. Ten male undergraduates expressed a desire for a no-smoking policy compared to twenty-one responses in favor of some form of smoking area.

The results are clear. There is an understanding among people on campus for smokers. However, the point goes beyond smoking in general. Smoking in the Union is not the issue — smoking in the M-Shop is. The M-Shop crowd is very eclectic. It has its niche as an atypical campus establishment, and it needs to be preserved.

The Memorial Union as a whole is an asset to the students and faculty. The Board of Directors should realize that they have done an excellent job providing services for everyone. For that, they should be congratulated. However, their survey and the push to eliminate smoking will only detract from the balance they have achieved.

The public meeting will be in the Gallery on the second floor this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Come and challenge the Board of Directors’ agenda. Obviously, no administrators cares about our Veishea opinions — now let’s see if anyone cares about other aspects of our lives on this campus.

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Aaron Klemm is a sophomore in physics from Woden.