I do not smoke. I think it's a pretty nasty habit as a whole.
There's nothing really all that good that can come from someone being addicted to the sharp twinge of a cancer stick. Personal preferences aside, I have noticed that there seems to be a bit of a witch-hunt these days focusing on smokers.
I see these people huddled in groups outside the buildings on campus. They stand in little tribes circling the trash cans as they inhale all those carcinogens they so dearly crave. While the rest of the student body mumbles complaints, or some toss melodramatic wheezes in passing. Ball State's population seems to be divided when it comes to smoking, very few people are fence straddlers on this issue.
Usually the height of the debate over smoking tends to arise during the winter months. I guess there is some logic to this cycle, with the cold coming people are less and less likely to want to stand outside while they get their fix. You can see them hanging onto the doorframes with one hand extended into the frost and the least amount of their lips exposed to the elements.
It especially gets to be a problem in the dorms. Some smokers think they can slyly conceal their habit by opening up a window and using fans. While others go so far as to stuff towels under the cracks in their doors thinking that this will actually keep them from getting detected. These acts are all in vain; folks, you can't hide the smell of death from an anti-smoking watchdog.
Of course non-smokers have a very valid set of complaints. They have every right to not want the chance of allowing someone else's addiction to have even the smallest effect on their health. Their fears aren't unfounded. Believe me, I've spent the last three years in and out of cancer wards, and I can tell you the results aren't pretty.
So what can possibly be the solution to some of these problems?
Well, since we have the SERF dorms totally devoted to "healthy life," wouldn't it only seem fair to create one for those who prefer to smoke? Think about this for a moment (especially you RA's out there). Imagine if we could get rid of most of the smoking violations that are reported every year. I'm sure there are quite a few people in housing that would be willing to abandon the tedious paperwork that comes with these charges.
No matter whether you are a smoker or not, everyone has to admit that having a publicly funded campus means that we must take the needs of the entire population in tow.
Sure smokers are a minority, but they pay the same tuition fees as the clean lungers. By designating one dorm for the smokers we could alleviate many of the daily complaints. They'd no longer be required to circle like hungry vultures at the dorm entrances, nor attempt Bond-like feats to be able to smoke indoors in the winter.
Non-smokers wouldn't have to face the smelly clouds when they trudge home. Creating a residence facility for BSU's smoking population wouldn't cost the university any extra and it could really take care of part of a major complaint that is dividing the students.
Write to Jessie at jerenslow@bsu.edu
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