The Collegian

Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Andrew Dodson Some students at Hillsdale smoke for the social aspect. "It's a great excuse to talk to people," senior Lydia Melancon said.

There are three categories of students at Hillsdale College: smokers, non-smokers and the legions of students who admit to smoking cigars or the occasional cigarette, but refuse to label themselves one way or another.

Senior Lydia Melancon, who began smoking her sophomore year, said she went from smoking about two cigarettes a month to around four a week.

She said she began smoking at parties, and enjoys the social aspect.

"I smoke cigs more than people who just smoke on weekends," Melancon said. "It's a great excuse to talk to people, a really great way to have a chat with someone you might not have otherwise."

Melancon does not call herself a smoker because until recently she said she had never bought her own pack. After two years of bumming cigarettes from her friends, however, Melancon finally bought her first pack of American Spirits over the weekend.

"It's a milestone," she said. "I caved."

Since she does not believe she is a smoker, Melancon said she is not worried about trying to quit.

"It's not like reefer madness," Melancon said. "I've never seen the need to quit because I don't see myself as addicted."

Although she does not have any plans to quit, she said that she does not have any plans to smoke permanently, either.

"I don't like the way it makes me smell," Melancon said. "A really good way to make sure you don't smoke permanently is to never buy your own pack."

Freshman Peter Walsh, a member of the cross-country and track teams, gets a different kind of buzz. A self-professed cigar connoisseur, Walsh began smoking at the age of 16 with his brother, senior Ryan Walsh.

Walsh said becoming a smoker would not jive well with the fact that he is an athlete. He does not think of himself as a smoker, though, because he does not actually inhale the smoke.

"I just do it for the taste," he said. "It is simply superb, and very relaxing."

Walsh said he smokes probably twice a week. Even though he has tried cigarettes and loves the smell, he said he has no desire to smoke them. Recently, however, he began smoking herbal cigarettes containing a blend of catnip and wild lettuce. They do not contain any of the nicotine or carcinogens found in normal cigarettes, so Walsh said smoking them does not count.

Walsh buys them over the Internet with a friend, and they plan on trying to sell them to Hillsdale students.

"They're herbal, so they won't cause cancer, yet they give you a sweet buzz," he said.

Between the cigars, herbal cigarettes and the fact that he does not think of himself as a smoker, Walsh has no plans to give up smoking anytime soon.

"It just makes you look cool," he said. "Arnold Schwarzenegger does it and so does Michael Jordan."

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