According to ASU, the motivation behind their new smoking policy is the lobbying of University by anti-smoking students, who are intolerant of smoking on campus. One of the lessons I have learned as an ASU student is tolerance and respecting other people’s views, opinions and lifestyles. It is possible to be a responsible smoker. It is called courtesy. The antithesis of courtesy is the bullying of others. In the ASU FAQ on the new smoking policy enforcement is explicitly left to other students and faculty. This is effectively a mandate by the University of bullying student and faculty smokers. It is poorly thought out and is at least surrender to intolerance and disrespect and at most a justification for students to bully and threaten others with being reported. Even if one regards smoking as a disease, it is still abhorrent to condemn others for it just as much as it is for being fat, having diabetes or being in a wheelchair. If the University wishes to stand up for the rights of minorities and take a stand against bullying then it should rescind this wrongheaded policy.
Ryan Brosch
Undergraduate
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