Tobacco ban on campus creates debate
July 1st, 2010 could prove to be a very big day on the UCO campus, as well as the lives of some of its patrons. On this day, UCO will officially become a tobacco-free campus.
What this means is that anyone present on the campus, be it students, faculty, or visitors, will be forbidden from using tobacco products of any kind while on campus.
Naturally, a very important group to consider in light of the ban is the students it affects. There are many different opinions as to whether the ban is necessary or effective.
“I support the ban, because I hate walking through a cloud of smoke to my classes,” says Lauren Garrity, a UCO Senior. “I don’t smoke, and even when people smoke further away from the buildings on sidewalks, I still have to use that sidewalk to get to class.”
Garrity also feels UCO could have better implemented the ban and put it into action.
“We were going green and improving our campus, but we still had smokers all over the campus,” says Garrity. “ It would have been much easier for the university to just implement the ban into their policies regarding “going Green.”
Not every student shares Garrity’s views on the ban, however.
“I feel that the 25 feet from doors law was an effective and understandable change,” says Aimee Daniels, a UCO Junior. “However, I think a complete smoking ban is ridiculous and extreme. If the university wants to promote a healthy environment, maybe they should start by removing the terrible snack machines and sugary soda machines. Smokers know the risks associated with their actions, both to themselves and others.”
In addition to the contrasting opinions presented, there are some students who feel largely unaffected by the ban.
“It just doesn’t affect me,” says Zak Corbett, a UCO freshman. “A ban is a ban. If I can’t smoke, then I won’t smoke. It’s really not a hard concept to understand.”
Based upon these opinions alone it is clear how diverse opinion is on the ban.
How strictly the policies contained in the ban will be enforced is anyone’s guess at this point, as well as how strictly those who it affects on campus will adhere to the regulations.
July 1st, and the days following should prove to be interesting.
From uco360.com, June 10th, 2010