Dear Editor,

I’m not exactly politically correct, anti-Conservative, or anti-Bush so I doubt my comments will appear in the Daily Campus. Maybe I can unveil some much-needed light to the editors, or at least get them to do their homework before they submit an article before the student body. First off, I respect your rights to free speech, so don’t label me oppressive. I find it incredibly hard to believe that you can’t find a single conservative journalist to balance the incredibly liberal views that most of you, the editors, harbor. We need people to think rationally and uplift our country while we are at war with those that cause terror. The last thing we need as a student body are editors like Scott Moses trying as hard as they can to exploit the freedoms this country gives them. I ask you, “Where else would you rather live, and why do you insist on criticizing patriotism?” The prejudiced views I see directed towards my country’s leaders, and the “evil Christian white man” in general, sickens me.

Let me remind you that the liberal politicians whom you all watch and imitate were screaming for Clinton to go to war with Iraq just four years ago. Now that GW, a conservative, is at the helm, he is labeled a Cowboy for wanting to defend America. Well we need more Cowboy’s in Washington, and on this Campus in my opinion; people who aren’t afraid to stand up to an Axis of Evil. Just remember, the people that criticize Bush now are the same people that criticized Reagan when he called the Soviet Union what they were, the evil empire. The Soviets aren’t around any more as I recall, and the Cold War is over. Reagan was effective, as Bush will be. Under the guidance of GW, dictatorial Iraq will follow the Soviets into oblivion. I don’t have time to write letters like this all the time, but hopefully you people at the Daily Campus can find someone to write a column that reflects the viewpoints of the conservative minds on campus.

Taylor Gist

Dear Editor,

In response to “Thank you for smoking,” (9/26/02), while I don’t support more government regulations on restaurant owners, I agree with the sentiment driving the Smoke-Free Dallas Coalition. Rather than wait for the government to impose sanctions, restaurant owners should voluntarily prohibit smoking inside their facilities.

Smoking is, obviously, a health risk to both smokers and non-smokers. The author of the editorial asserts that vehicle pollutants are threats, and this may be true, but that doesn’t eliminate the toxicity of cigarettes. Besides, restaurants don’t allow people to drive inside and point their exhaust pipes in the faces of eating customers.

Additionally, cigarette smoke alters the taste of food. Usually, a restaurant’s non-smoking policy signifies that their chefs prepare premium dishes. Favored restaurants such as the Cheesecake Factory forbid smoking, while others, like Houston’s, allow cigarettes only at the bar, far away from the tables. These establishments illustrate that tar is not one of their ingredients.

With today’s awareness of the dangers of smoking, it astonishes me that anyone would pick up a cigarette. I only have to watch my grandfather, a former smoker, wheeze after walking two steps to know that cigarettes have no place in my life. To this end, I suggest that restaurants make available to smokers covered areas outside their establishments and eliminate smoking indoors. If people are so addicted that they cannot sit through a meal without lighting up, they should have a place to go – far from other patrons.

Mallory Dubuclet
Lecturer of English