Jumping on the ‘ban’ wagon
What else can we ban on campus?
A campus wide smoking ban was discussed at a town hall meeting Wednesday. Such a ban scares me, and I don’t even want to smoke on campus. The proposed ban is limited to campus so the goal of the ban must be to eliminate the annoyance of smoke and cigarette butts, not to encourage quitting.
Many things on campus are annoying or offensive like cigarette smoke. For example, body odor is a problem frequently encountered on campus. No one likes the smell of a rank person, but most encounters are short and soon forgotten.
Similarly, I am bothered daily by signature collectors or the “do you have a minute for the environment?” solicitors. If smoking is banned on campus for its unsightly or unpleasant smelling characteristics, to be fair, other annoyances must also be banned campus wide.
Smokers should not be regulated differently than others; therefore showers, deodorant, etc. must be made mandatory. Other things, such as potentially offensive clothing or language, perfume and even passing gas, must be banned campus wide to prevent inequality between smokers and others.
Some things just need to be shrugged off so we can go on with our lives. Encountering cigarette smoke outdoors is one of those things. Trust me — you too annoy someone every day.
Banning things is not an acceptable solution to these daily annoyances. It will be sad if banning smoking in public becomes a steppingstone toward a campus that doesn’t allow diversity.
As students, faculty and employees at ASU we must protect our rights to the individualism that as a whole makes up ASU.
Next time you think banning someone else’s actions will benefit you, please be conscious of the things you do which annoy or disturb others.
Alex Schwam
Undergraduate
