Perspectives
April 30, 2016
Page 8
Students share views on e-cigs Immanuel L. Araujo Contributing Writer
There are many reasons as to why someone would use an electronic cigarette. It’s a heathier alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes (due to having far less cancer causing carcinogens than traditional tobacco products), it’s a means for weaning oneself off of a smoking habit, and it is also a tasty inhalation experience due to the number of flavors one can obtain. Students of Grove City College were asked for their opinion and personal stories involving the use of e-cigs, and how they feel about e-cig use on campus. Freshman electrical engineer Emily Bernd shared a story that hit close to home. “My uncle was a pack-aday smoker ever since he was a teenager, but three years ago he got an e-cigarette and he has not smoked a cigarette since,” she said. While e-cigs lack the numerous amounts of cancercausing carcinogens their smoke-full counterparts have, there is still not enough
research to determine the effects e-cigs can have on one’s health. According to the Crimson, Grove City College’s student handbook, Grove City College allows tobacco products to be used on campus, with the understanding that all buildings on campus be smoke-free; this statement includes the usage of e-cigs. The use of e-cigs has become more prevalent to the Grove City community because it is an easily accessible item that one can purchase online, at the Lucky Seven Smoke Shop & Lounge on W Main Street, or at other nearby tobacco shops. While it is an issue that is relevant to members of the student body who smoke tobacco products, some students do not find it to be of importance. Junior Music major Grace Quigley finds the use of ecigs to be something neither here nor there. “It happens-I do not have a strong opinion about it,” she said. Another student, when asked for his opinion, shared
his reservations on the smoke-less item. Junior Music Performance major Blaine Becker, a recent tobacco product user now turned e-cig user, said, “I think it’s useful for people who are trying to stop smoking, but I do believe it can be overused.” Freshman Math major Samuel Linowski comes from the financial standpoint of using e-cigs. “It’s a lot more economical,” he said, referring to the purchasing of what e-cig users call “vape juice” and the money saved from not purchasing cigarettes. Originally smoking upwards of one pack of cigarettes a day, Linowski finds the use of an e-cig to be more cost-effective. Other students on campus have qualms and negative feelings regarding the use of e-cigs. “I think it’s a waste of money; the people that are really into it are kind of losers, but this doesn’t apply to everyone,” commented senior Accounting major, Sam Hartz. One student in particular
had a very charged statement: “Enemies of the ecigarette movement are only trying to perpetuate tobacco usage.” Freshman Entrepreneurship major Levi Roberts shared his opinion on the subject in a way that reflected the idea that those who oppose e-cigs are those who prefer to smoke cigarettes rather than using a substitute, and people who do not use e-cigs do so for the intended purpose of smoking traditional cigarettes.While students share many different opinions on the subject of using electronic cigarettes, the fact remains that they are still an allowed item to be used outdoors on Grove City College’s grounds. While reports that e-cigs have benefits for the health and well-being of users are not extensive due to the market for the product being so new, users are advised to quit the use of such an item until further studies show results on long-term effects, all according to the California Department of Public Health.
100 Campus Drive Grove City, Pa. 16127 collegian@gcc.edu gcc.collegian@gmail.com
Editor-in-Chief Patty Folkerts
Managing Editor Grayson Quay
Section Editors News Molly Wicker Life Caleb Harshberger Entertainment Jacob Sziráky Perspectives Colin Combs Sports Joe Setyon Photography Julia Williams
Design Chief Nate Pittman
Last Words Patty Folkerts Editor-In-Chief I cannot believe it is finally the end of senior year. Like so many of you, I have been looking forward to this day for a while now. Even though I cannot wait for the next stage in my life, I love looking back on the past years and reflecting on my time at Grove City College, specifically my work with the Collegian. During this past spring semester as Editor-in-Chief, the fall semester as Managing Editor and the previous year as Design Chief, I have learned a lot about teamwork, time management and patience. This job has definitely been difficult, but it has also been extremely rewarding. Writing, editing and designing is time consuming – and managing staff, editors, writers, designers and photographers is even more time consuming. But looking at that 12 page paper at the
Copy Chief Gabrielle Johnston
end of every week is completely worth the stress that it sometimes causes. Working for the Collegian is more than an on-campus job; it is a learning experience, a way to create something that will last, a way to remember what campus was like “back in the day.” Previous editor-in-chief, Nick Freiling ’13, once wrote to future Collegian editors that “The Collegian is more than an accessory to this campus. It’s more than busywork. It’s more than a resume-builder, class credit or simply another student organization. Instead, the Collegian is the record of life on this campus. For over 100 years, its editors have worked tirelessly to put into print those goings-on that are worth telling about, those events and stories that make Grove City College different from just any old school.” The Collegian has helped me learn how to prioritize, how to focus on the things that matter. Graduation means
moving on to a new stage in my life, and the ability to prioritize will help me focus on what I want to do in the future. To those of you who still have a few years left, try to find something you are passionate about and go for it. Life is not comprised of just schoolwork, classes and those few extracurriculars you have time for. To those of you who are graduating this year, I would suggest the same. Find something you absolutely love doing and go for it.
Copy Editors Erin Pechacek Angell Fonner Becky Tzouanakis
Section Designers Karen Postupac Margaret Heidenreich Bri Doane Laura Counihan
Staff Writers Stephen Dennis Thomas Kutz Kayla Murrish Breanna Renkin Annabelle Rutledge Bradley Warmhold Tim Hanna Josh Fried
Photographers
Grayson Quay Managing Editor
It is almost 10 p.m. on Wednesday night and I am just now starting my farewell editorial. I have had a crazy day and have exchanged more than a few frantic text messages with my esteemed colleague Patty Folkerts as we worked to prepare our last issue of The Collegian, but by this point, we work well enough together that I was able to focus on my other obligations and trust her to do most of the heavy lifting this week. My partnership with Patty is only the last in a long string of successful and rewarding relationships I have cultivated during my time at the Collegian. Sophomore year, I worked under Editor-inChief Claire Healey ’14 and Managing Editor Dan Johnson ’14. Alongside the two of them and Josh Evans ’15 and Marissa Candiloro ’15, who succeeded them the following year, I passed Wednesday night after Wednesday night in the Collegian office, often not finishing until 4 a.m. and having to wake up in time for an 8 a.m. class. But in spite of, or perhaps in some way because of, the sleep deprivation, Wednesday nights became the highlight of my week.
We bantered, ate, laughed, complained and wrote horrible headlines at 2 a.m. and I would not trade any of it for anything. So, why am I telling you all of this? Because before I became involved with The Collegian, I was honestly scared that I would go through four years of college without forging a single lasting friendship. After a weekend trip to a journalism conference in New York, I stopped worrying. I had found my people. One could almost say I have achieved a sort of immortality. My days at Grove City College are numbered, but those friendships will live on. But there is another sense in which The Collegian has given me a sort of immortality. Three years from now, everyone I met at GCC will have graduated. If I am lucky, some stories about me may have been passed down, but those will not last more than a few years. But 100 years from now, a curious student could look up one of my articles, and there is something encouraging about that. And so, dear readers, with this editorial, I bid you farewell, but The Collegian – and the friends I have made through it – will live on in me, and I will live on in the archives of The Collegian.
Andrew Irving Rebekah Wheat Cameron Holloway Kirsten Malenke Ryan Braumann
Advertising/Business Manager Reagan Georges
Staff Adviser Nick Hildebrand The Collegian is the student newspaper of Grove City College, located in Grove City, Pa. Opinions appearing on these pages, unless expressly stated otherwise, represent the views of individual writers. They are not the collective views of The Collegian, its staff or Grove City College.
GREEN EYESHADE AWARD
This week’s award goes to photography chief, Julia Williams for her dedication and hard work on the Collegian. The Collegian Green Eyeshade Award honors student contributors who have demonstrated consistency and excellence in their work.