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Opinions Page 4 Sh-h-h Don't Say The 'B' Word Well, in Ronald Reagan's farewell address he stated that he was leaving the country in capable hands. (Being a Democrat) it is needless to say that I had many doubts about this one. After my initial dismay wore off, I sat and thought about it for a long time. As I sat in my room listening to R.E.M. I did manage to draw a few conclusions. First I thought about the Reagan successes; the nuclear arms pact with the Soviets, the improved economy and America's image overall. After considering these facts, I then wondered about the Reagan era By John Pines failures. On the lighter side.... Welcome ToACC Ice Arena by Mike Rhea Well, all things said and done, break is over. Our holiday season is past, and it's time to return to our beloved A.C.C. Right. Sure, no problem. Let me continue The parking lot. But i'll get to that in a minute, so please bear Most students have a specific.time,showering ,eating, whatever. But any A.C.C. student who drives a car has the same ending to this routine. Negotiating the parking lot at A.C.C. No, wait, to call it a parking lot would be ludicrous . Hearafter it'll be.. the hockey rink. Every moment from the point of turning into the rink off of Johnson street is an adventure. Questions race through your mind. Will I ever stop? Will the car actually turn (or slide)? How many feet can a car actually slide before coming violently at rest against another hard object? Once you succeed in actually stopping your car, assuming that it stops at all, the fun really begins. Upon stepping out of the vehicle, you will invariably slip , and possibly fall. You almost expect to hear the voice of a hockey announcer blaring through speakers, saying "welcome to A.C.C. ice arena folks. Lets’ strap on those skates, grab those sticks and play hockey. I welcome you to A.C.C.'s Blue Line Classic!" Needless to say, there's a great expanse of ice in our parking lot...oh, excuse me, the hockey rink. Not to put down or belittle the efforts of the buildings and grounds staff, but it is the effort of a valiant few against overwhelming odds. While scattering salt on the sidewalks (or should I say slide-walks) is fairly effective, it is only temporary as it melts the ice which re-freezes overnight.This effort is like trying to shovel a mountain of shaving cream with a spoon. A good effort worthy of praise, but futile. Students should, upon leaving our institution, receive a Walkers' Valor certificate for bravery in the crossing of A.C.C. sidewalks(slide-walks). Oh, well, I guess we must resign ourselves to this morning ritual of negotiating the hockey rink and the sidewalks (slide-walks).That is, until a warm day arrives and helps the salt to melt our ice. Well, at least my senses will be sharp from the training grounds of A.C.C.'s hockey rink and slide-walks. Writers note: This column represents conditions upon the return of students from Christmas break and doesn't in any way reflect conditions as they currently are, Getting up at a} he will ; I'm sure we all know about the deficit, our good friends James Watt and Ed Meese, and the Tran-Contra. These all were just small mistakes. That's what Reagan and company would like us all to believe now wouldn't they? And now it's time for Reagan's understudy, George Bush, to take over the reigns of command and along with Dan Quayle he will lead us into the future. A scary thought, I know. With that in mind lets take a look at Bush and see if we can figure him out. First of all, we all know about his first Presidential decision. Yes, I'm talking about the junior Senator from Indiana who we all by now is no J.F.K., yes I'm talking about Quayle. We haven't heard from him in such a long time. I guess that must have something to do with his ski trip to Colorado, which the Republican party paid 15,000 dollars for. 15,000 dollars for a ten day ski trip? Remember he will help put together the next federal budget. Now let's take a look at the Gorbachev situation. He already showed Bush who was boss by calling for more arms reductions. Has Bush answered the challenge? I guess, if you think that saying i ye i ution is an Now let's look at what Bush says he stands for. He says that he wants a "kinder and gentler." What I would like to know is how does he expect to accomplish this by advocating the MX missile, production of chemical weapons and sending military aid to the Contras? With this kind of thinking, he says that peace is a common goal. That goes to show how little he knows. Love, peace and harmony, very nice, but maybe in the next world. I'm sure we all remember his wonderful statement about his lips and our taxes. I'll let you draw the inference. Call me a cynic, but I remember Reagan making a similar promise and do you all remember what happened? You guessed it, a tax increase. So I say, why doesn't the Republican party learn not to make promises they can't keep. Especially with a $1.3 trillion deficit. With all this in mind, do you honestly think that the country is in capable hands? I don't question the Bush resume and on paper he should be one of the best presidents this country has ever seen. But as we learned from people like J.F.K. and Ronald Reagan a lengthy resume does not I'm proud to be a Democrat. Not because I believe that if more taxes are necessary, so be it, but because of the fact that new ideas and progressive leadership are what this country was founded on. I'd say we lost track of this through the Reagan years. It is my greatest wish that we would all begin to take a look at the issues that really effect us and not worry so much about the Pledge of Allegiance and flags. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate all Republicans. It's just that Ihave a problem with "liberalism" being such a bad word. Do Bush and Quayle not want people to think? After all, that is the very essence of the word "liberalism". These men were leaders and they captured the American people's imagination. Will Bush be able to do this? I don't think so. Although is may be rather irrelevant, I would like to mention that Michael Dukakis at least had the courtesy to send me a hand written Christmas card, signed by him, thanking me for the help that I provided over the course of his campaign. How many of you who voted for Bush heard from him personally? Not only do answer. Obviously~Gorbacnev thought ahead, Bush didn't. or Oval Office. Letter To The Editor Dear Editor: I would like to address the ongoing issue of smoking on campus. As a smoker, I find that my comrades-in-nicotine have a tendency to stand around and complain about not being able to smoke inside the campus buildings (which a lot of them do anyway). Now, as I look back two years, the reason that the non-smoking policy was instituted in the first place was because of a very vocal minority of people vehemently opposed to smoking. Shortly after the State passed Public Act 368, and the Surgeon General's Office came out with their judgment that breathing "second-hand"smoke was hazardous to non-smokers health (as if radon and nuclear war weren't), the situation came to a head. One woman was very annoyed by the fact that while she sat in the lounge eating her lunch, she had to i breathe "second-hand"smoke. She then began to complain to everybody she could find, including the Board of Trustees. What I would like to suggest is that every smoker who does not agree with this rule should first go to your nearest snack bar and sign the petition there. Next, I suggest that smokers get organized and Start attending the meetings of ACC's Board of Trustees, on the third Thursday of every month at 7:30pm in CRDNRC room 450. I have attended ACC for the last 3 years, and have seen the metamorphosis from a school that allows a maximum of personal enjoyment of school to one that keeps the "undesirables" bound up by unnecessary rules and policies really do care. designed to "prevent friction between smokers an T see the present policy of no smoking at all on campus as a direct infringement on our rights. Why do we, a nation that is based on "the proposition that all men are created equal", let others, who do not necessarily know what is best for us, make the rules without us at least exercising our right to voice our opinions. I see it, this country has a lot to re-learn about personal values and being responsible for one's own actions. I suggest that everyone, smoker or non- realize this fact and own up to the responsibility — implied by being a Citizen of the United States of America. Nick Barraco