John CapuchinoIn my opinion

Only a Man with a Cigarette I was smoking a cigarette on my way to the parking lot when an older gentleman stopped me and told me that De Anza College was a non smoking campus. I smiled and asked him what authority he had to tell me I couldn’t smoke where I was. I looked around and then told him that I didn’t see any public entrances less than 25 feet away. The state of California has passed smoking regulation laws that have been voted approved by a majority of voters. De Anza College had a forum of faculty and student body senate vote, in a session that didn’t include a ballot vote for all De Anza students, to make De Anza College non-smoking. One could argue that a particular segment of the student body was not justly represented. One could argue that a policy so controversial should have been brought to an entire student body vote. What is democracy if the public is not allowed to vote? I told the gentleman that I was curious about the vote, about jurisdiction, about what was right and what was wrong. The impingement of someone’s rights is a very serious matter, one that should be questioned at every opportunity. As a smoker, do I not have the right to smoke wherever California law allows me to? I felt he had taken a tone of righteousness and I wanted to know just how right he really was. I then asked again about the authority he had to tell me I couldn’t smoke where I was. A faculty member is after all only human, so we stood two grown men, talking about a very important issue. I told him that I was planning on writing an article for La Voz, our beloved student newspaper, about this very topic. I was respectful, cordial, and polite but firm. He then got angry and walked away. As he walked away he opened his phone and tried to make a call to who I assumed was campus police. He angrily shut his phone and kept walking. The gentleman wasn’t interested in communicating; rather he wanted to tell me what I couldn’t do. The question must be asked, “By who’s authority do you have the right to tell me what I can’t do. I know, I know, it sounds a little dramatic, but then again, the loss of someone’s freedoms is a dramatic thing. I say a peaceful accord can be reached, but first another vote is necessary, maybe a vote that includes all faculty and students who wish to participate. Let the students speak for themselves once and for all. Treat us like adults because we are. Stop telling us what to do when you don’t have the right. It’s just the opinion of a man with a cigarette.