Clean air is a wonderful idea. Sadly, because of pollution, it is an idea that has little possibility of becoming a reality. That is not to say that there should not be a push to reduce pollution in the atmosphere, merely that until we can focus on the large polluters, perhaps it is not worth trying to micro-manage the polluters who may be small in stature but not in their contribution: smokers.
The television advertisements for the local liquor store Dirt Cheap display the affable owner saying that his stores are the “last refuge for the persecuted smoker.” There is truth in his statement, but the policies at Saint Louis University only seem to persecute smokers; the true goal of the policy is cleaner air. A group at SLU, however, is leading a local charge against those who light up.
Making a university campus smoke-free may sound attractive to the typical non-smoker, but the issue is far greater than simply stopping smokers. The problem lies in the fact that Saint Louis University is an urban campus-it is, as most people seem to notice, in the middle of the city. Making the smokers on campus take their cigarettes outside the gates of the University is a trifle pointless.
No big pollution battle will have been won if smokers are no longer allowed their vice on campus grounds. Smokers will continue to smoke-perhaps a bit more discreetly, and definitely off campus-and more importantly the buses and trucks and cars traveling around the campus will continue to belch their cancer-causing, atmosphere-polluting exhaust. The only byproduct of keeping the cigarettes (pipes and cigars, as well) off campus would be a group people smoking just outside the SLU gates.
Just as much as a person has the right to breathe clean air, others have an equal right to smoke. It is understood that many individuals may have health problems regarding the inhalation of secondhand smoke, but the solution to their problems is not to invade upon the liberties of smokers.
As the situation stands, smokers must remain at least 20 feet from all building entrances on campus. As per this week’s SGA addition, the bylaws will have smokers remain at least 25 feet from the entrances of residential buildings on campus. Both limits seem reasonable and well thought out. The ash receptacles will be located 25 feet from each building, which is another acceptable aspect. But it is important to note that the policy requiring smokers to be 20 feet from building entrances before lighting up has not actually changed. The University already had the policy in place; it was simply never enforced.
The fact that smokers group around building entrances can be blamed on two things: They may not have been told to move the proper 20 feet away, and the ash receptacles are located next to the doors. Perhaps now that the ash receptacles will be moved at least 25 feet away, smokers will understand that they are not to cluster by entrances. And perhaps, just maybe, this can help clear the air.
