I want to thank the folks at the Campus Liberal Rag for their view on the smoking ban at the M-Shop. It’s nice to know that in this time of change, some things are still predictable.

Of course the Daily is going to be against the ban. Of course they are going to use the pathetic excuse that the M-Shop is the only indoor smoking environment on campus. Of course they aren’t going to mention the hundreds of indoor smoking environments present in Ames. Of course they aren’t going to mention that a few of these provide the exact same service as the M-Shop and are literally only a few feet from campus.

They also use the excuse that if non-smokers want a place to eat there are other places to go. Of course they didn’t tell their readers where the non-smokers like myself who want a beer and live music entertainment in a smoke-free environment could go.

Maybe this is because there isn’t any place.

Of course the M-Shop is going to lose the distinction of being the only indoor smoking place on campus if the ban is voted in place. But what it might gain is increased sales from switching from serving the minority to serving the majority.

Thanks, Daily, for making some things in life predictable.

Travis Henderson

Senior

Mechanical engineering