We've finally got other butts to talk about.
The Ball State University partial smoking ban was debated in 2007 through numerous votes, including a campuswide referendum, with 61 percent of 6,600 voting students in support of the ban.
Fines are $50 for smoking outside of the 11 designated areas on campus. The ban went into effect in March 2008 and has yielded 69 citations and $2,800 in fines since its inception.
Whether you agree with the ban, police and professors have better things to do than keep an eye on smokers. It's the responsibility of all students to obey the rules while on campus and smoke in designated areas only, while also keeping them clean.
Ball State officials call the ban a success, and records show about two-and-a-half citations are written each month, normally near residence halls. Really, this ban has turned out to not be as big a deal than it was when it was being debated.
When the ban was being discussed and implemented, the university said smoking cessation programs would get some of the money from ticket fines. So far, none of the money has gone to anything yet, including the programs. Vice President for Student Affairs Kay Bales said she doesn't know when the university will start distributing the money that has been collected.
Bales said the money will be used to "help support SGA campaign about the policy" and "replenish materials that describe the policy." That's not exactly the smoking cessation classes we were originally promised. By this point, students know the policy. Materials only really need to be given to incoming freshmen or transfer students.
Surely some of the collected money can be used to help students who wish to quit smoking. Maybe the money could be spent, instead, on materials and a campaign about how to quit, rather than more of the same information.
Many student smokers probably would like to stop. Sophomore Ben Moffitt said stress has caused him to increase the amount he smokes per day and that he would like to quit. We doubt he's alone. Why not teach students some better ways to deal with stress besides lighting up?
It seems like Ball State students, both smokers and non-smokers, have found a way to coexist. Now it's Ball State's turn to keep up with this issue and further help its students.
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