Smoking has always been a touchy subject at Bakersfield College.
The SGA has tried to regulate smoking on campus since the fall of 2005, and they’ve been failing at it since.
So we’re going to tell you what we think should be done.
The state law on smoking in public is all we need, and there is no need for extra rules and regulations.
The state law reads, “No public employee or member of the public shall smoke any tobacco product inside a public building, or in an outdoor area within 20 feet of a main exit, entrance, or operable window of a public building.”
If this is good enough for the governments of most the states, then it should be good enough for BC.
The state rule as it stands is a perfect compromise. The 20 feet that the law states does not greatly inconvenience smokers, while also placating those worried about secondhand smoke. The 20 feet is enough so that the smoke is not leaking into buildings, where the smoke is being forced onto non-smokers. It is enough space that people worried about smoke can simply walk away.
We at The Rip have not observed huge clouds of smoke outside classrooms, we have not observed smokers being rude. We have not observed anything that suggests that the smoking here is out of control or that the smoking on campus needs to be more controlled.
Some of you may remember a staff editorial published in May 2010 where The Rip’s staff spoke in favor of stricter smoking regulations.
We certainly thought that than, but opinions change with the editorial board.
The state law is perfectly fine and the SGA can do a lot more for its students than trying to crack down on smoking for the third time in six years.
The SGA can better serve its students by addressing issues that need attention such as the impacted classes. Instead they attempt again and again to regulate and change something that doesn’t need tinkering with.
The important thing is that if the SGA decides to spend time and money in this attempt to regulate smoking on campus, this needs to be the last time.
After this year, no more tries whether the initiative succeeds or fails. If the SGA is serious about controlling smoking, then they need to get organized.
The polls and forum meetings they plan need to actually happen. They need to consider the students’ beliefs. If they pass a new rule, they need to actually make it happen.
It is the best use of everyone’s time if we simply leave the policy as it is, instead of putting effort into these policies that never actually materialize.
So give it one last shot and when it fails, don’t bother another time.