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Director of Residence Life Keith Moore proposed an amendment to the Student Handbook before the Student Welfare Commission that would eventually eliminate smoking in all buildings on campus, including residence halls. Moore said that the college is continuing a national trend that is moving toward non-smoking policies.

"The attitude toward smoking is shifting," Moore said. "It is going to be shocking, which is why we will be doing it gradually." If passed, the amendment would prohibit smoking in Village I in Fall 2002, then continue with Village II in Fall 2003, and finally with Village III in Fall 2004. The trend in colleges and universities going smoke-free is definitely rising. Washington and Lee University and Ferrum College are both beginning efforts to eliminate smoking in rooms. Of the nine colleges surveyed, only Lynchburg College has a policy similar to Wesleyan's. The rest prohibit smoking in all dorms with the exception of James Madison University, which has an optional smoking hall for upper-class housing. Old Dominion University has one of the most restrictive policies, not allowing smoke inside or within 25 feet outside of the building.

"We already have policies that address a number of things: candles, harassment, underage drinking," Moore said. "We address any activity that would infringe on a student's right to study, occupy a space comfortably or be safe." However, the act has met opposition on campus from both smokers and non-smokers.

Junior April Nitkin, a social smoker, said, "I think that we have strict enough rules in regard to smoking. With the new rules, it makes smokers second-class citizens." Many students who choose to smoke will graduate before having to feel the effects of the act. "They're starting with the freshmen," said sophomore Tasha Melander, who supports the amendment. "So they won't ever have the experience of smoking being allowed in the room."

However, Residence Life is ready to face the opposition. "It may not be the most popular act," Moore said. "But it would be basically negligent for the college not to respond, and we could be held liable if someone was to bring a lawsuit against the college based on the disability act." Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, if in a place of public accommodation someone simply cannot tolerate tobacco smoke because of a medical condition, a reasonable response is to implement a smoke-free policy so that the person can function like anyone else.

Currently, smoking is only permitted in dorms with a door closed. Often the smoke will leak out once the door is opened or be carried into other rooms through the ventilation system. When other students are affected from this second-hand smoke, problems arise. "Second-hand smoke is unhealthy," said junior Matt Tefft. "And there are students with asthma, and they need a clean environment to live in."

Second-hand, or passive smoke, causes about 53,000 deaths a year in the United States alone. People exposed to passive smoke experience all the risks of the smoker and can develop lung problems such as allergies, asthma or chronic bronchitis. Both Residence Life and Health Services will continue to extend the resources of the college to any students wishing to make a lifestyle change and quit smoking.

"We're not anti-smoker," Moore said. "We're pro-safety." Also proposed to be added to the Student Handbook is a clause stating: "Should smoking jeopardize the health, safety, or comfort of any member of the College community, individuals who choose to smoke will be asked to discontinue the activity and the suite, floor or hall will be deemed a 'smoke-free' area."

Moore explained that this clause was added because there was nothing in the handbook if a problem did arise. While they will address any situations that occur, Residence Life feels more comfortable doing so with it stated in writing. At present, Residence Life and the Dean of Students are asking for students' understanding. While students were very skeptical at the Student Welfare Commission meeting, they had questions and listened to speakers from Residence Life and Health Services.

"They saw the benefits and were supportive," said Dean of Students David Buckingham. "And this is where the college needed to go for a safe environment." The next step for the proposal will be a presentation before President William T. Greer Jr. and his advisory council and the Division of Student Affairs for representation from the students.

Moore's final message for worried smokers is, "We're not banning smoking. We are providing a safe and comfortable living environment."

Nick Bottis until recently was a security officer at VWC, but he is now an art professor. "It took a lot of time, not hard work–I've enjoyed it," Bottis said. "It just finally came together."

During Bottis' four years in security, he completed his B.A. at VWC and received his M.F.A. from the Vermont College of Norwich University last summer. Fall semester Bottis taught at Saint Leo University out of Langley Air Force Base in Fort Eustis and continues to teach through St. Leo this semester. Bottis teaches art appreciation and art history.

"I try to show them [students] how important art is to our culture's history," Bottis said. "My students keep me thinking. It's always good to have a mental challenge. I try to gear the class to what the students are interested in." Students at Langley are "hungry for education," said Bottis. There, they only get a week between semesters: "I have a lot in common with them, being military."

Bottis spent 22 years in the navy and worked as a master training specialist instructor. When he took his first formal art class to complete his associate degree, he knew then that he wanted to major in art. "I've always had a talent for observation–seeing something and remembering it," Bottis said. Bottis had always shown an interest an art, but it wasn't something his father accepted. When he was finished with high school, Bottis knew his father wasn't going to send him to college.

While Bottis wouldn't mind selling more art and becoming more well known in the larger sphere of the art world, not to mention be written about in Art in America, a magazine that nationally recognizes artists, he says he has "reached a stage in my life I want to be at." Bottis believes that a person should associate himself with people who are positive and who will push a person forward.

"You become what you think about," Bottis said, describing all the time and effort he has put into his new career. "I've found a niche for me at St. Leo and I want to build up my resume at Wesleyan," Bottis said. "I'm really happy, and I'm really blessed." Bottis quoted his father: "If you find a job you like, you never work a day in your life."