The Fourth Wall page 3 Theft from page 1 especially sweatshirts. Additionally, students stealing textbooks and selling them back during buyback week has been a problem, although the book section is closed off now during this period. The bookstore, like the Millstream, admits that theft is difficult to estimate accurately, but itis clear that there is some level of theft occurring. Both establishments are optimistic, and so far, the new policies have been met with cooperation. Smoking from page 1 with the idea of a community contract. This community contract was the reason that 3 separate voting days were set aside in the Millstream to vote on a smoking ban. And the votes speak for themselves: every residence hall passed the ban on smoking. The only downside to this is that the students, many of whom most likely won’t say anything to a rule violator. The smokers probably won’t pay much attention to the ban either unless they're The War By Jordan Martin Staff’ Writer The current conflict in Iraq has taken the forefront of national attention. All eyes are on the Middle Eastern stage as staggering events unfold and we all wait with bated breath and crossed fingers. Controversy swirls around every aspect of the war, and strong opinions rage on both sides of the issue. Clearly, there are ethical considerations as well as strategic ones involved in any impending decisions on Iraq. From the get-go the basis for war was hardly on sound footing. The initial focus surrounded Weapons of Mass Destruction allegedly possessed by the dictatorial Saddam Hussein, but they proved to be nonexistent. Trevon Pegram; approached by a resident assistant or someone of higher authority. The only way for students who voted against smoking to actually reap their benefits is for them to raise a voice when they see someone breaking the community contract. This isn’t the end of problems for smokers. SGA President Mark Anthony stated that, “the next step in this process is to get the smoking ban made into an official housing policy on. the housing contracts.” In other words it’s going to get a whole lot harder for the smokers on campus out there. Because if the smoking ban is made into an official housing policy people ‘caught violating it will receive harsher penalties, which may include fines. College students have a hard enough time to paying for college, and they expect the air around their living environment to be clean and breathable. Think twice; don’t light up your cigarettes in front of the residence hall entrances. By Tony Arnold Staff Writer January, a white month, hearkening the wintry activities of ice-fishing and sledding, among others. The temperatures plummet as we witness cold frosts coating the ground in a thin, glistening reflecting the radiant moonlight like SO many mirrors. January is an outdoorsman’s dream. It is the time to do late- season bird hunting, rounding up grouse out of the best coverts. A well-placed trap-line often yields thick-furred creatures of every sort in January, with the coats of most creatures being of highest quality to shield against the unforgiving cold. Certainly, January—more important, winter itself—is a glorious month for the outdoor enthusiast. Global warming; the enemy of all outdoorsmen, and of the entire human population. It affects the natural order of all creatures large and small. The rut of the white- tailed deer is delayed by an ever extending warm season, forcing bucks to chase does in the cooler evening hours or simply pushing the breeding season deeper into November. Unseasonably warm winter temperatures prevent ice from forming at the tops of lakes and ponds. This compromises the once strong tradition of ice fishing for perch, pike, and other cold- water lovers. No snow means Despite a mild w for the past several weeks. harder hunting .and trapping for elusive furbearers such as the bobcat, coyote, and venerable red fox. We all have witnessed abnormalities in our weather patterns in the past few years. From the increase in less frequent but more drenching rain to the uncommonly mild temperatures we now see, our climate is in a state of a freshman at Penn State Mont Alto, feels that the war started out on the wrong foot. He said, “It’s a war based on false pretenses. When we found out [Saddam] didn’t have Weapons of Mass Destruction that should’ve been the end of it.” According to Dr. John Bardi, the professor of philosophy and ethics at Penn State Mont Alto, the United States hardly took the ethical highroad by staging a pre- emptive assault against Iraq. “According to the Nuremburg standard established during the war crimes trials of the Nazis, the supreme international crime is to invade another country without having first been attacked,” Bardi said, “When you add to this the fact that our government told lies to make the invasion seem more acceptable, then the ethical position of the US is even weaker.” According to Dr. John Stewart, professor of political science at Penn State Mont Alto and expert on military strategy, concerns about what got us entrapped in the sticky web of Iraq come belatedly to the scene. “It is too late to think about this,” he said. “US Iraq policy made the mess. We need a new policy to get out of the mess.” President Bush’s proposal of a troop increase is the administration’s answer to the situation. Stewart feels that the troop increase will have little result. “The 21,500 troop strength will have negligible impact. The number is swallowed up in a country the size of Iraq,” Stewart said. Concern for the troops is a big issue for many in considering a possible troop increase. Both Pegram as well as sophomore Christina Smiser expressed concern for the danger imposed on soldiers by a possible troop increase. “We’ve already lost so many,” Pegram said. Smiser was concerned for her friends in action. “I really don’t feel like seeing my friends in an [expletive] body bag,” Smiser said. Bardi, as well, sees the ethical concern associated with moving more troops into harm’s way. “A troop increase only adds to the moral atrocity of the original invasion, as does each bullet fired and each day the occupation continues,” Bardi said. Republican and Democrat a like can at least agree on one thing: the United States is in a precarious position, and the nation must extricate “itself in some fashion. Pegram expressed his concern for the awkward American position. “We're caught between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “Now disarray and it is affecting the outdoor lifestyle we all enjoy. It exists all throughout the year, but it is at its most pronounced in our would-be colder months—the peak months of our beloved hunting season. One thing is for certain: the cadence of our seasons has been markedly disrupted, and, if we do not make intelligent choices now, the seasons as we know them— including our precious Januaries— may soon be an after thought and will simply be the legend of bygone years that our children and grandchildren will never experience. we're kind of trapped.” According to Stewart, the best solution to the Iraqi question is to elicit help from others in the region. “The only immediate solution for the United Sates is diplomatic, not military,” Stewart said. “We need to get all of Iraq’s neighbors involved, possibly with assistance of the United Nations. The warring Sunni and Shiites along with the Kurds need to be involved.” Bardi sees the necessity of the United States pulling out of Iraq. “It can apologize to Iraq and the world, withdraw, and pay war reparations,” Bardi said. “When one person or nation has committed a moral atrocity, it is first necessary to stop the behavior, and then it is necessary to make amends.”
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