Props for Playboy
Cheers to Ty Thompson for his Thursday column praising Playboy's literary value. I compete for the ASU Forensics team, and one of the pieces I performed during my freshman year was a work of prose from a 2002 issue of Playboy.
The piece had nothing to do with nudity, or certainly exploitation, and no one could believe that I had found it in Playboy.
I've read the magazine for several years, and I've always been impressed with the quality of writing, both from regular columnists and contributing authors. I actually read Playboy for the articles, because I feel that there is much to be gained from the collection of writers who produce for the magazine.
Playboy is not a chauvinistic magazine. That distinction should be left to Hustler and Penthouse, which are far more exploitative. Maxim may be more degrading as well, given the attitude of the writing and the tableau in which women are photographed.
Playboy deserves to be regarded as something more than a portfolio of naked women.
Justin Adams
JUNIOR
Too bad smokers
In response to complaints about not being able to smoke in public, I sit with the majority in taking in a nice deep breath and saying, "Too bad!"
You may feel like you're being discriminated against, and that you're fighting for your freedoms like African-Americans did with slavery. Well, there's one key problem to your argument. Your "discrimination" was brought on by yourself.
You can't control the color of your skin, but you definitely chose to start smoking. Who would guess that not only are the consequences of your disgusting habit bad for your health, but would also bring about inconvenient regulations against you?
Who would've thought a recent survey would say a vast majority of men find you instantly less attractive because you smoke? Ouch.
Why do you claim that the rest of the world that doesn't smoke shouldn't be bothered by your smoke because you aren't bothered by it?
Is it really that big of a deal to walk away from the entrance of a building so people aren't forced to breathe your smelly, malignant exhaust while they're trying to get to class?
The walk is probably the best thing for you. Your lungs are dying to get more air into them anyway, literally. It's not a "minor" inconvenience for us; it's a painful exposure to carcinogens that leaves us gasping for the clean air we were enjoying.
Just because you choose to suck in your nasty cigarettes, doesn't mean that the rest of us aren't bothered when you force us to do the same. Please don't bring us all down to your level because you feel bad for yourself. We voted, we don't want it, deal with it!
Brian Leinfelder
FRESHMAN
Green campus needs green light from students
Dr. Crow's pledge to bring ASU to "carbon-zero" status is a great example of his vision to bring the University into national prominence in all aspects of the university experience.
Several student organizations on campus are supporting the administrations goals by joining the nationwide Campus Climate Challenge. By educating the student population on the solutions to global warming and working with the administration on policy solutions, we can realize this ambitious goal of zero emissions.
As students, we should look at ourselves as the ones who will make the difference and take a stand to fight global warming.
Blake Hovander
JUNIOR
