As a freshman at Virginia Highlands Community College I was expecting fun and excitement. What was I treated to? Well to the greatest extent I am treated daily to the secondhand smoke of fellow students. Yes, daily. I have to walk through a group of no less than two smokers at any given time to enter the LRC (library). To pass the nursing education building I’m almost treated to an entire cast of smokers. There’s even the treat of picnic tables and benches in the central courtyard of the college. Guess what ... smokers galore! You see, I am a nonsmoker, and appreciate my health. Yet to my dismay I have to alter my route daily to try to avoid the filthy smells of burning tobacco. It’s ridiculous. Then after I finally do get away from the smokers, I get to see the side effects of a smoker-friendly campus.
I get to be treated to the wonderful cigarette butts on sidewalks. I get to smell the ashtrays which on occasion are smoking more than some students.
I’m not saying I am against smokers, but when their blatant disrespect for other students is coupled with an administration that does nothing about the problems and turns a blind eye to the potential fire risks of smokers blocking exits and dropping cigarette butts in the mulch, your opinions of them can change. I don’t want to give a completely negative image of Virginia Highlands Community College, but that was the warm welcoming I was treated to. Maybe someday a freshman can enjoy a clean and healthy college, but more than likely it will not be that college.
Bob Ford
Damascus, Va.
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