Collegian Weekly:The smoking dilemma
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Opinion
The administration's new smoking regulations allow Hillsdale students to have their cigarettes and smoke them, too. The compromise clears smoke while also respecting smokers.
The smoke issue puts administrators in a difficult situation. Smoke - even second hand - has been known to cause cancer. Administrators claim the thick smoke and poor ventilation hinder their ability to rent out the space near the snack bar. The current heating system cannot clear the smoke, and a new one is too expensive.
On the other hand, smokers abound on campus. It's important that they have a place to gather, indoors, whenever college facilities are open. It would seem cruel to send all of them into the Michigan cold. And eliminating a smoking hub would destroy a social scene and a studying environment loved by many.
Other colleges have taken taken different routes. Some have abolished smoking altogether on campus. Others have built outdoor shelters, a costly way of providing for the smoking community.
But the compromise administrators took seems reasonable for now, but they should search for a way to accommodate smokers all day long.
In the meantime, students must accept temporary smoking hours, which limit the pollution, perhaps enough to make the nearby space usable.
Petitioning students should change their goal and work with administration to peaceably find a good place for them to smoke whenever they want.
This compromise will likely be only a temporary solution.
The best course would be if administrators continue to accommodate smokers. If this regulation is any indication, they will find a balance that suits everyone.
The smoke issue puts administrators in a difficult situation. Smoke - even second hand - has been known to cause cancer. Administrators claim the thick smoke and poor ventilation hinder their ability to rent out the space near the snack bar. The current heating system cannot clear the smoke, and a new one is too expensive.
On the other hand, smokers abound on campus. It's important that they have a place to gather, indoors, whenever college facilities are open. It would seem cruel to send all of them into the Michigan cold. And eliminating a smoking hub would destroy a social scene and a studying environment loved by many.
Other colleges have taken taken different routes. Some have abolished smoking altogether on campus. Others have built outdoor shelters, a costly way of providing for the smoking community.
But the compromise administrators took seems reasonable for now, but they should search for a way to accommodate smokers all day long.
In the meantime, students must accept temporary smoking hours, which limit the pollution, perhaps enough to make the nearby space usable.
Petitioning students should change their goal and work with administration to peaceably find a good place for them to smoke whenever they want.
This compromise will likely be only a temporary solution.
The best course would be if administrators continue to accommodate smokers. If this regulation is any indication, they will find a balance that suits everyone.
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