Smoking group established

After being exiled to the Joliet Junior College parking lot because of new smoking restrictions, several friends did what comes naturally to students with a beef, they formed a group of similarly aggrieved people. The first test for Students for Smokers' Rights came Monday, when they met with college President Gena Proulx and campus Police Chief Peter Comanda. For nearly an hour, the group's leader, Brandon Harris, and four others tried to make a case for easing up on the new restrictions, which went into effect Jan. 1. The new rules require smokers to stand in designated areas in the parking lot, some 100 feet from building entrances. Harris claims he has been late for classes in the technical building because he has to stand so far away. It was an argument that wasn't very convincing to officials.