The Ball State Daily News editorial board does not support a campus-wide smoking ban. That, however, does not mean everyone supports smoking.
Here's the breakdown: 18 out of 19 editorial board members voted against the ban at a Wednesday night meeting. Out of those 19 voters, three smoke about three packs a week, one smokes approximately a cigarette a day and one quit less than a week ago. The rest either do not smoke or smoke infrequently.
The dissenting voter explained that she has asthma and cigarette smoke makes it difficult for her to breathe. A campus-wide ban would protect students' health. Despite voting for the campus-wide ban, a better solution would be creating a ban with designated smoking areas, she said.
The majority of editors who voted against the ban agreed on several key points, not the least of which was the need for common courtesy for both, smokers and nonsmokers. A smoker should be respectful enough to avoid smoking near crowds and throwing cigarette butts on the ground. Nonsmokers should be respectful enough to allow people to smoke if they so choose. It shouldn't take a campus-wide ban to achieve these courtesies.
Other major points included the right of people to light up if they want to. It isn't necessarily an absolute right that must be allowed, but it is a personal choice smokers have a right to make without university interference. The campus community should not let Ball State dictate personal choices.
Cigarette smoking irritates some nonsmokers, but Ball State cannot create bans on everyone's pet peeves, even if they have legitimate reasons for disliking something. If that were true, one editor said, the university should ban bicycles because he does not like how some bikers speed down campus sidewalks and almost hit pedestrians.
It's a slippery slope when it comes to losing rights, those editors said. If we allow Ball State to ban smoking, where will the banning stop? It's possible we won't even realize what we are losing until it is too late to get those rights back or prevent the university from removing more. We need to nip university control on personal choices in the bud.
Additionally, the editors discussed the issue of maintaining a campus-wide ban when the 30-foot rule isn't even affective. The ban would be difficult or expensive to enforce. Ball State has not decided on punishments for smoking on campus or who will be in charge of catching smokers. If it's police handing out citations, the university might need to hire additional officers.
A slightly less significant point considered was how not smoking could increase the irritability of people who are addicted to nicotine and are unable to leave campus during the day.
Regardless of the reasons, the board members overwhelmingly voted against the ban, although we all appreciate and understand the opposing view presented. We urge students, faculty and staff to consider the implications of implementing a ban or allowing smoking. It's not as clear-cut as health concerns or the need for a nicotine fix. This is about how the university will permit us, and the future Ball State community, to act and live.
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