The consideration of a smoke-free campus is a ridiculous idea, and the individual or group that proposed the idea should be stabbed in the neck with a rusty screwdriver.
This is a college and we’re pretty much all over the age of 18 here. What gives?
Granted, there are a few areas around the campus where smoking should probably be banned, such as the child care and athletic facilities, but the whole campus? Give me a break!
If the “healthy” non-smokers are so offended by secondhand smoke, why don’t they take a “healthy” walk away from the person smoking?
What other ways can non-smokers find to discriminate against smokers? Separate restrooms? Separate desks in classrooms?
On this 153-acre campus is there not, at least one or two zones that could be designated as a smoking area before implementing such a no-smoking policy for the entire campus?
How will the policy be enforced? Will the non-smokers be given the power to cite violating smokers? Will the school waste even more money hiring security to enforce the rule?
Smokers smoke because they enjoy the release of dopamine in their brains. It provides a quick, cheap and effective source of stress relief.
If the non-smokers think the smokers are bad now, just wait until the nicotine withdrawal kicks in. Yeah, that’s right, irritable, cranky people complaining constantly about how much the policy sucks, and how if they don’t get a cigarette soon they’re going to hurt someone. Who wants that?
The Student Government Association will be coming to a decision on the issue in the near future. Hopefully, the members will consult with smokers and non-smokers to reach a compromise before voting to outlaw smoking on campus.