Showing posts with label campus policies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label campus policies. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Smoke-free campus gone too far?

I quickly browsed through an e-mail from Miami University of Ohio for its alumni. At the bottom, there was a news story on Miami becoming a smoke-free campus. This ban on smoking extends to all university grounds, not just buildings and doorways! Has anyone else heard of any other such bans? I respect dry campuses, and I am a cheerleader for smoke-free restaurants, work places, and not having to walk through other people's smoke when I go through a door. However, this means any smoker has to walk off campus to get relief! Miami has about 17,000 students and is a fairly large campus that is surrounded on two or three sides by woods. For students who live on campus, this means they will struggle 24 hours a day, or at least many 40-minute round-trip walks. I guess their bodies will be in good shape even if their lungs aren't (please imagine a sarcastic tone to that).

Give smokers reasonable options (including shelters away from main doorways), but it's not the university's job to force someone to quit.