By Barbara Kausen
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 10, 1997

Don't spit on campus

Editor:

Spitting in public places is against the law in Tucson and other Arizona cities under Arizona Revised Statutes (Sec. 36-601 [A] [13]). It is, therefore, against the law on the University of Arizona campus. In crossing the campus, it is not unusual to have some dredge up a wad of mucus from deep within their respiratory track and spit it on the grass. It is well known that spitting spreads disease. Pseudomonas and Streptococci are just two of the many virus that grow form sputum cultures. This is a dirty habit, and the law against it should be enforced. Signs should be posted all over campus to discourage such spitting. People who have respiratory or mucus membrane problems should change their diets, see a physician, homeopath or "new-age" doctor, and carry a handkerchief to spit in until the problem has been solved. The public floor, after all, is not a trough, but a place where people should be able to walk freely (in bare feet if they wish) without threat of being assaulted by upwind sputum.

Barbara Kausen
Interdisciplinary studies junior