Back in elementary school, we had hall monitors who yelled at students for running in the hallways between classes. It seems GW has taken a page out of their handbook.
Last month, the Board of Trustees approved plans to ban smoking within 25 feet of all University building entrances and in all campus public spaces.And starting next September, GW will become a smoke-free campus.
As a non-smoker, I am excited about the prospects of walking into Gelman Library without passing through a fog of secondhand smoke. But extending this ban to all public areas effectively banishes the sizable population of smokers from campus.
Does smoking cause cancer? Yes. Is second-hand smoke bad for my health? Yes. But does that mean I have the right to tell people they can’t smoke near me? No. The desire to have a smoke-free campus does not outweigh a person’s right to smoke a cigarette.
The fact is, if you’re standing near a smoker, it’s really easy to just walk a few feet away.
The University has every right to limit where people smoke on campus. But it should compromise with students by providing a designated smoking area that students and others can use.
Universities are supposed to be inclusive communities. This ban will marginalize a large group of students and potentially create a culture of exclusion.
The new initiative will also be extremely difficult to enforce, especially in our urban setting. With the huge number of visitors who come to campus every day, the ban will be nearly impossible to maintain. Not to mention, it would be a waste of the University Police Department’s time and effort to have to monitor students and campus visitors for something so trivial.
In this day and age, people know cigarettes are harmful. And for those who don’t, warnings on cigarette ads and packs inform consumers of the dangers. Getting rid of areas on campus where students and faculty can smoke won’t force them to quit; it’ll just make them find other places to go.
Personally, I hate smoking. And I understand why the University wants to encourage students to quit. But it has to realize that by pushing students off campus, it is alienating smokers.
Keep entrances to buildings smoke-free so non-smokers aren’t forced to breathe secondhand smoke. But don’t discriminate against smokers.
I’m not in first grade anymore. I know that cigarettes are bad. But it shouldn’t be the University’s job to tell me how to behave.
Benjamin Krimmel, a junior majoring in international affairs, is a Hatchet columnist.
