I am writing in response to the article in last weeks Pacer entitled, “Note to smokers – please stop with the smoke clouds on this campus.”

I am a non-smoker. I have smoked a few cigarettes in my time, but I realized early in my days of smoking that I didn’t want to deal with the persecution that smokers face everyday.

Most of my friends are smokers and even though I don’t particularly care for all the smoke, I deal with it because they are my friends.

I can’t count the numerous amounts of times that I have stood outside a non-smoking facility in the cold, and even sometimes in the rain, just to talk to them as they are finishing their cigarette.

I never remind them of the health hazard that comes with a smoking habit; I figure they hear that kind of thing too much from people who actually think they are being informative.

I have entered many, many buildings on campus, even the Sociology building, and never once had any group of people blocking the entrance and not move out of the way, at least not a group of smokers.

I have also never seen a smoke cloud so thick that it impaired my vision.

I think that Ms. Abraham is exaggerating to some extent about the smokers on campus. It was bad enough to take away indoor designated smoking areas, but now you also want to tell them that they can and cannot smoke outside?

How about if UTM puts a big plexi-glass box in the middle of the quad for the smokers to go and have a cigarette, and all the non-smokers can watch them suffocate as they get their nicotine fix.

We could dedicate it to Dr. Cooper ( I apologize to anyone offended by that, but I knew Dr. Cooper and think he would have found it humorous too.)

Ms. Abraham asked if the students of UTM were aware that it is against policy to smoke in the corridors and entranceways of the building.

This may be true, but does Ms. Abraham know what a smoker looks for to find out if an area is smoker-friendly?

They look for an ashtray, which is usually located in the corridors and entranceways of the buildings on campus.

So I think that is confusing to some smokers , but can you blame them for smoking around the area where an ashtray is provided for them?

I may have gotten the wrong idea, but I thought that the article was making all smokers sound as if they are only here to get in way, pollute the earth and make others around them sick.

There are a lot of good and decent people that smoke cigarettes everyday, and I guess one point I am trying to make is you can’t judge a book by its cover, even if it is smoking a cigarette.

I realize that Ms. Abraham may have run upon some smokers that were inconsiderate and didn't move out of her way, but maybe she should have written an article complaining about inconsiderate people.

I know I could write an articlelonger than this one about that subject.

So please, Ms. Abraham, don’t just sit there and complain to the Pacer, do something about it.

Maybe you could band together with other whiny non-smokers and petition to have the ashtrays moved away from the buildings.

I think you should petition for the big plexi-glass “gas chamber” to go in the middle of the quad.

While you are doing that, I will be outside with my friends sucking in all the free smoke I can.

Michael Hester is a senior Graphic Design major from Sharon.