Wednesday • March 6, 1996 Aggielife Page 5 • The Battalion Blowing Smoke s 0 jr iiinoker's rights over- ooked, unappreciated Non-smokers get butt-end of bad habit Alex Walters Columnist m House, The Battalion idoscope, a io emph& size ® project’s goal nto the stage, •ts department the usual pro ication and the ect. focusing on s directed d actors read h, smoking. The forgotten Anrerican [time. The fabric of lerican culture is with the faint a of cigarette e, and yet we leto ignore our and mock the ire. The cultural icons of a [one era led the revolution, [vertobe seen without a burn- jember nestled snugly be- t their fingers. jHumphrey Bogart, Lauren II. Bing Crosby, James n,Duke Ellington and Sarah lighn: what do these people uncommon? They all en- [ed the mild taste of an Winner smoke !, But today, ks most lto the Sur jin Gener al ranting |d raving, Mking is i Nowa- js it's longer to light Instead, the cool cats on granola id suck on water ittleslike prema- gazelles at the Diego Zoo. And whether it’s ip or not, smoking dangerous. But, so is jay- .ing, and thou- imds of people on this campus hit every day. like my dad always says, The amount of fun you’re hav- igisdirectly proportional to the mount of danger you’re in.” It’s silly, but true. Case in point: when I shat- teredmy collar bone on a holi day ski trip last January, I was having the time of my life. So,why the stigma against smoking 1 ! Is it because of the ad- ilictmnsture of tobacco? Nico tine, despite what the tobacco industry has to say, is addictive. Maybe its the journalist in me, but I somehow suspect that the Philip Morris tobacco company might be biased on the issue. Dr Pepper is also addictive, indsois Carmex (it’s true — (heck it out). But those who suffer from acute thirst or from dry lips aren’t forced to stand in the rain or forced to sit by the bathrooms in restaurants while they in dulge. The point is that it’s never good to rely on something as a vice, just as it is never good to condemn people because what they enjoy is different from what you enjoy. Yes, some things are beyond good taste, such as smoking in non-smoking areas or grocery shopping in the nude. But for Pete’s sake, give us smokers some damn elbow room. Smok ers have a cama raderie to bacco teeto talers can never » as a weddif a year witl' iOO cake and f l the paper' d to hopP in 8 my smok ing broth ers, Scott Neeman, a junior math major, attempts to illustrate the smoker’s bond: “Last year, we’d al ways sit outside and smoke and talk — then we decided to quit,” he said. “So we bought popsicles and sat and ate popsicles, but we didn’t have anything to talk about — it just wasn’t the same.” Simply put, smoking has its place. There is a certain panache that comes with no extra charge in every pack of Lucky Strikes. Much like another well- known and much-debated insti tution, the feeling is hard to put into words. I guess I’ll just sum it up with, “From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it — from the outside looking in, you can’t understand it.” Alex Walters is a junior jour nalism and theater arts major. D espite health haz ards and advertising re strictions, ciga rette promotion is booming. An on- campus army is continuously working to not de prive us of our right to second hand smoke. Outside of most major build ings, a self-proclaimed tobacco lobbyist carefully situates him self. He stands smoking, forcing all passers-by to catch a breath of nicotine. Even when gone, he makes sure to drop a newly lit cigarette into the ash tray. After all, smokers are forced to fight their nicotine addiction while inside. It would only be fair that others hold in their de sire for fresh air while outside. And we need not forget the wonderful odor. With the popularity of smoking, it’s surprising that Virginia Slims and Calvin Klein haven’t teamed up to make a new per fume. It’d make a great advertising campaign: “Addiction: the fragrance you’re al ready hooked on.” Tobacco companies love to target youth. Luckily, TV ads have been prohibited for years. If not, with to day's in-ya-face adver tising, we’d probably see something like: “Hey kids! Life’s short. Your parents are old jerks. You want to rebel. You want to take risks. You don’t want to become a geezer. Thinking all’s lost? There is a solution. Smoking is the No. 1 way to rebel. It’s bad. It’s nasty. It’ll make you just like Dennis Leary. And, if you smoke enough, you’ll end you’re life early, before you even have to worry about getting old. Start now! Cigarettes are available everywhere. Have a smoke, but don’t tell your parents.” But why bother? They al ready have hundreds of spokes men out in the music industry. Today, it’s become hard to find a non-smoker roaming the high school halls. You can’t even ride Battle: Best band wins recording contract Continued from page 3 lour bands will battle for the [rand prize, a national recording bntract with Orchard Lane Mu sic, a label created by Sam Goody idMusicland. The opportunity is pretty ige,” Tedford said. “The bands ire pretty ecstatic because there the added opportunity to play ir Everclear. It is a springboard young, unknown bands.” The show in Vail will be head- not only Everclear, but The Jesus Lizard and the Cowboy Junkies. Tonight’s show will have a lit tle local flavor to it. Kneegaskit, a local band, sent a demo tape to KANM 99.9 FM and was selected as one of the top 16 bands in the nation by the Musicland judges. “We did not expect this,” lead singer Adreon Henry, a sopho more graphic design major, said. “It is very weird, but it will be a lot of fun.” Kneegaskit has been together for a year and a half, but the band has been playing off and on. Angie Vaughn, the band’s bassist and a senior environmen tal design major, was studying abroad this past summer when the band turned in a rough tape of its music. "We did not expect this. It is weird, but it will be a lot of fun." — Adreon Henry lead singer of Kneegaskit “It is a really random tape,” Henry said. “Everyone is really excited, but this was unexpected. It has been a while since we have played, so we had to get ahold of everyone so we could practice.” APPLY YOURSELF! Bryan/College Station's first and finest private dormitories are looking for motivated individuals to be a part of the 1996-1997 Resident Advisor Staff. All applicants must have at least one year dormitory resident experience from any residence hall. Applications can be picked-up at the front desk in the University Tower lobby and are due Friday, March 22 by 5:00 p.m. UNIVERSITY TOWER The Forum FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 846-4242 Bring us Yd UR Painting Drawing Phot i MSC * ? i I i ^ . Visuais Arts w /Jk Committee ArfcFesfc. is an art- competifcxon open to all Texas A6M students. Winners* work will be displayed in our gal lery in the MSC, and winners recieve art supplies to continue their work. Entries will be accepted from March 18 to March 29.^Up to tour works may be ^entered per student. Each entry bears a tee o $5 and must be ready tor presentation. See the otticial rules on our web page 4r fllar&fv by a junior high without catching a few people smoking. This is great for the tobacco company Phillip Morris. An aver age smoker spends over $500 a year in cigarettes. The younger they start smoking, the more they pay over their lifetime. Smokers seem to be oblivious to the health hazards they pre sent to themselves and others. They don’t mind that every ciga rette smoked shaves time off their life. It’s surprising the industry hasn’t capitalized on smokers’ sadomasochistic tendencies. They could advertise cigarettes with a kick: “Are you sick of having to wait years for lung cancer to build up? Do you find yourself spend ing thou sands of dollars on cigarettes, without any major decreases in your health? Are you still wait ing to get a bang out of your ciga rettes? Well, wait no more. Try the new unfiltered Camel kicks. Loaded beyond the legal limit of gunpowder, guaranteed to give you more bang for the buck.” But that could be a hard sell. Smokers seem more interested in perceived present pleasure in exchange for future pain. In a more economically sound move, R. J. Reynolds, another to bacco company, could go in to the funeral home business: “Death, embalming and burial: all in this amazing package deal. Call l-SOO-TOBACCO now to take advantage of this special offer. Re member, the sooner you start, the sooner you can have your genuine Marlboro coffin. And don’t forget your family and friends. After all, second-hand smoke is killing them, too. Call today.” Jeremy Hubble is a junior civil engineering major 8-28 9-17 21 MSC Great Issues Committee “Generation At a Crossroad Apathy in Action on the American Campus” 7:30 P.M. MSC 212 MSC Film Society Carrington 7 & 9:30 P.M. Rudder MSC Film Society Dreams 7 P.M. Academic 129 MSC Visual Arts Committee “Lone Star Dinosuars” MSC Visual Arts Gallery MSC MBA/Law Committee “West Coast Trip” Palo Alto, Berkley, 6 Los Angeles MSC MBA/Law Committee “London Trip” London, UK MSC Film Society Leaving Las Vegas 7 & 9:30 P.M. Rudder 21-24 22 22-23 MSC Cepheid Variable “Aggiecon XVII” MSC and Rudder MSC Town Hall Committee “Music at Lunchtime” Noon Rudder Fountain MSC Town Hall Committee “ C offeehouse” 8 P.M. Rudder Theater MSC Film Society Goldeneye 25 7 & 9:30 P.M. Rudder MSC Black Awareness, Great Issues, Literary Arts, Pan-Hellenic Council, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Journalism Dept., Women’s Studies, Women’s Week, and Texas A&M Bookstore Terry McMillan talk and Waiting to Exhale 7 P.M. Rudder Theater co4t£ jhlMA*, ca/t £4S~ f5t5 t* UA IfAiCT AflCAbxt KCcUa TUc tctpuAt CAacr (3) CWlAitty- cUufA fvUon. (a- (Aa cvahC to chciSIa ua to aAAtAt you to t/tc &€At o£ oust