4 Tuesday. August 24. 1993 OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN VIEWPOINT THE ISSUE A ban on smoking in all campus buildings went into effect July 1. THE BACKGROUND The decision by the University will ban smoking anywhere on campus. The ban is in response to complaints by nonsmoking students and to a recent study that reveals second-hand smoke to be a "class A carcinogen." THE OPINION Campus policy will help students breathe easier The new smoking ban that went in effect July 1 is a positive measure by the University to protect the health of all students. The decision to ban smoking was inevitable. Few arguments can be made against it. The traditional justification based on personal rights falls short in light of new evidence. The argument "It's my life, and I'll end it early if I want to" suddenly becomes "I have no respect for anyone's health and will kill us all if I want to." Opponents of the ban attack the National Lung Association and other organizations involved with the study. The argument is made that the study is biased with inconclusive proof of the link between cancer and secondhand smoke. However, what is indisputable is that smoking affects everyone close to the smoker. If there is any doubt as to whether it has endangering effects on others, then the benefit of the doubt should fall in support of the ban. Whether cancer-inducing or not, there also is the simple comfort factor. Smoking is not like drinking; it 's not self-contained. Sitting next to someone who has had a few too many drinks won't induce cirrhosis of the liver or make one unable to drive home. In contrast, when sitting in any public place where smoking is allowed it is easy to see that smoke does not obey the posted signs and eventually invades nonsmokers' space. Smoking is a choice like anything else. It is unfortunate that it has the negative side effects that it does For years, studies have shown that smoking causes cancer in those who smoke heavily. New evidence suggests that second-hand smoke may cause cancer in nonsmokers as well. What it really comes down to is if an individual's right to smoke takes priority over others' right to be healthy. The decision is obvious. It doesn't. CARSON ELROD FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD New fee payment plan should consider loans Fee payment by mail is a qualified success for the University and KU students. Since its introduction in the fall of 1992, most students have been spared the crawl and confusion of fee payment lines that plagued KU. The old manual process, which took place during the week before classes started, was a frustrating process that made enrollment look quick and painless However, bureaucratic frustration with fee payment still runs high for many KU students dependent on financial aid. Many forms of aid, including some widely-used student loans such as the Stafford, are not credited to student accounts until after the early August deadline for fee payment. Affected students, who have yet to receive any of their loan money, must pay the steep sum of $260 to hold their enrollment. If a student cannot pay to hold the enrollment, the University strikes it and penalizes the student with the additional financial burdens of reinstatement and late enrollment fees if the student is to re-enroll. KU must address these problems with a focus on student needs, as well as financial aid timetables, so that fee payment by mail will benefit all students, including those dependent on financial aid. CHRIS REEDY FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD KANSANSTAFF KCTRAUER, Editor Spelling bee offered more than competition BILL SKEET, Systems coordinator The four of us were there in front of the small audience of parents, and we were spelling at light speed for a record amount of time. Never in the history of Geneva, Ill., had a spelling bee lasted this long. Here's the story: In the third grade, we all were taken to the gym one day and told to stand in a line. We did, and an authority figure of some sort gave us words that we were told to spell. I spelled more of them correctly than the rest of my class, so I got to go to the gym again and do it some more. Again, I out-spelled the competition. The girl next to me wasn't content with spelling as fast as the rest of us—she had to be faster. She began to anticipate and started spelling the word before the proctor had finished saying it, I started to tremble. Rumors spread throughout the crowd like the proverbial wildfire: Lisa doped her blood before the bee. Terry has a professional coach; see that dark-haired guy in front? Bobby needs his insulin shot soon and might pass out Assistant to the editor J.R. Clairborne News Stacy Friedman Editorial Terrifty McCormick Campus Ben Grove Sports Kri茄 Foster Photo Kip Chin, Renee Kneeer Features Erra Wolfe Graphics John Paul Fogel JOE HARDER, CHRISTINE LAUE Managing editors TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser This time, I won the opportunity to do similar things at the library the next Saturday in a cryptically named thing called the City-Wide Spelling Bee. I went and spelled my way confidently to the final four contestants. With nary apause, I spelled each word I was given. So did my opponents. Soon, it had become a contest of speed, and we all understood that although we would not be "out" if we thought too long before spelling, we would rotten eggs (or something equally as horrifying). 8087416 And so I try to live my life with that thought in mind. As a matter of fact, I wrote to the editor of my hometown newspaper last summer to inform him that mannequin was not spelled manikin, without even bothering to check the dictionary to see if I was right. I, of course, was proven wrong. (Manikin is used for CPR dummies and the like, mannequin is for department store dummies and movie titles.) It was at that point that I realized there was not only a very important lesson in my mother's word that hot day in 1983 but a moral to put at the end of this column: Don't bother. it was then that I learned life's most valuable lesson. My mother turned from her position in the front seat and said, "How can Ben be embarrassed by you? He didn't even make it to the spelling bee." Ryan McGee is a Worland, Wy., sophomore liberal arts and science major. Welfare reform should give dignity not focus on offering cushy benefits Business Staff NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE BUSINESS MANAGER Business manager AMY STUMBO Retail sales manager JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser gear. My mother did an admirable job of consoling me, and I almost was convinced the sun would rise again as Ben and I walked to school. I suddenly realized that Ben probably would never talk to me again, and that I would probably even have to find a different route to walk to school just so I wouldn't have to face him. If I didn't he probably would get really mad at me and beat me up for embarrassing him by being his best friend and for being so stupid. So I started up bawling again, and explained to my mother that no, the sun would never rise again after all. Business Start Campus sales ed Schager Regional sales mgr Jennifer Pierer National sales mgr Jennifer Evenson Co-op sales mgr Blythe Foech Production mgr Jennifer Blowey Kate Burgesa Marketing director Sheily McConnell Creative director Brian Fusco Pollls show that welfare reform would be very popular with the American people, who long ago concluded that the current system gives people incentives not to work. But Tom Bethell warned in the current issue of National Review that "reform" was not likely. Cushier benefits are. The next hour or so is only a blur in my memory. I don't remember who won. I don't even remember receiving the ribbon that my mother still has. The next thing I remember is the drive home with my parents. I started to cry as we walked to the car and was in a full-blowbawl by the time it was in letters amount to typeed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. The writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas must include class and homework, or faculty or staff position. **Guest columns** should be typeed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be the Kansas reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansas newsroom, 111 Stauffer Floor Hall. The fatal word was citizen. I spell it out loud each time I write it to this day. I was growing more over weary, and the proctor told me to spell citizen. I didn't stop to think and blurted up. "Citizen-C.I-T-E-Z-E-N.Citizen." STAFF COLUMNIST beneaths are. Bettel's view of the prospects for reform might seem too bleak were it not for a story on the proceedings of President Clinton's welfare-reform task force. The hearings consisted of complaints from welfare recipients that the taxpayers are not giving them good service. One can see the direction in which this is going. Clinif he doesn't get it. The rules don't allow breaks for insulin shots. I resolved to outdo the girl next to me. The Anticipator. I did for a bit, but then I began to tire and realized that if I didn't slow down a little I might make a grave error. I stopped anticipating and began to listen to the whole word again before spelling it. I knew, however, that I couldn't afford to fall behind the rest of the pack the way I had with The Anticipator. I would be all right, I decided, if I just didn't pause before spelling. That would be fine; the rest of them weren't good enough to anticipate. "The problem is that the total value of benefits available to the welfare client approaches or exceeds the dollar amount that can be earned in entry-level jobs," writes Bethell. "This is the welfare trap." ton wants to adopt a "work fare" program in which people would spend no more than two years on the welfare rolls. But to get people off the welfare rolls it is clear that an expensive array of additional benefits will be deemed necessary. Only by turning that around will the federal government give people back their dignity — and restore their hopes for a future of independence. Charleston, W.Va. Daily Mail STAFF COLUMNIST Co-workers should be notified of convictions On June 30, Stephanie Schmidt went out for the last time. The Pittsburgh State University student went to a bar with friends to celebrate her birthday. Among those friends that were invited was 31-year-old Donald Ray Gideon, a co-worker of Stephanie. Gideon offered Stephanie an early ride home because she was not feeling well. She never made it home. Gideon took her to a rural area, where she was sodomized and murdered. Gideon is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated kidnapping. For the murder charge, attorney Barry Disney is pushing for the Hard 40 rule. Under this rule Gideon would have to serve 40 years before he would be eligible for parole. This is considered a tough sentence, but nothing will compensate for the loss of Stephanie Schmidt. The facts surrounding Stephanie's death are both devastating and frightening. Fact No. 1: In 1982 Gideon was convicted of raping and sodomizing a college student in Parsons. He spent 10 years in prison and was released at the end of last year. Fact No. 2: The law does not require a parolee to inform the employer of his background. Fact No. 3: Gideon and Stephanie worked together for six months and often saw each other socially along with other co-workers. These factors have caused me to really stop and think about our system. I can understand both sides of the issue of whether an employee should be required to inform his or her boss of past convictions. On the one hand you've got the person who has served the time and wants to make a clean start. On the other hand you have people such as Gideon who leave jail and become repeat offenders. I believe sex-offenders should be required to tell their boss of their past convictions. I am positive that if Stephanie would have known about Gideon's past she would have been more cautious. I know there are countless times when I have accepted a ride home from a co-worker. They could have had prior convictions like Gideon. I don't know because it never occurred to me to ask about their backgrounds. On the job, friends usually discuss work or what they did the previous night, not their history. Now I am going to take the time to find out. Don't get me wrong, you never can be 100 percent safe from being hurt, but there are precautions a person can take. It is unfortunate that we are living in a society where we constantly need to have our guard up when we meet new people. I know I'll be more careful when it comes to differentiating between strangers and friends. Right now, Donald Ray Gideon is awaiting trial. At the same time Leawood residents Gene and Peggy Schmidt are grieving over the loss of their daughter. Tiaha Heyka is Leawood senior majoring in psychology and creative writing. Jeff Fitzpatrick For the birds