Our
View: Who has the right to breathe
Some
of the classrooms on this campus are part
of the original structures that stood here
when this college was opened. Some of these
classrooms are filled with dead, stagnant
air that could have been circulating for
that entire time. Some of us get stuck in
these classrooms with the windows closed.
And then somebody walks in with a half-gallon
of perfume coating every surface of their
body and creates a toxic cloud of chemicals,
odor and impending misery for far more than
one student in the room.
It
is a huge issue in all parts of the country,
who has the greater right to the air? Of
course, the nationwide saga involves smoking
rather than perfume, but it is a similar
situation. Smokers argue that they have
a right to do as they please, whereas the
non-smokers argue that since everyone is
subjected to the smoke they have no such
right.
Perfume
works about the same. I agree that people
have that basic right to wear whatever scent
they desire, whether wretched or lovely.
But in a situation where a large group of
people are forced to share a small space
with limited ventilation, a problem occurs.
Where does your air end and our air begin,
and why should our air be polluted by your
smell?
It
would not be such a big deal if we only
disliked the smell. Perfume is a subjective
art and we do not expect to enjoy everybody's
taste. But becoming physically sick with
chemically induced headaches, nausea and
sensitivity to light is far from simply
disliking someone's choice in brands.
How
do you tell someone that they are making
other people sick? How would a school make
a policy that could protect everybody without
violating anybody's rights? And whose rights
should be preserved?
It
may not be an issue to be tackled by the
American Civil Liberties Union, but there
are students out there suffering in silence
and there are co-workers who cannot speak
up. Does this count as a medical condition
and should there be laws or policies? Or
should people just have some common courtesy
and refrain from wearing perfume or cologne
when the people around them are a captive
audience? If people could limit their use
of strong perfumes than everybody could
go to school without having to worry about
wearing a full-face respirator or living
in a plastic bubble.
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