I had just finished a dauntingly long math class in State Hall. I was eager to get outside because I was super hungry and needed a breath of fresh air, since the lingering dustiness and smell of construction materials emanated from the various renovations going on that day.
So I walked out the door, expecting to inhale fresh Detroit air, only to find myself completely engulfed in a large cloud of oppressive cigarette smoke that quickly seeped into my lungs. I start spasmodically coughing and choking, my nostrils felt like they were on fire, and my eyes started to water profusely — State Hall air felt like an oxygen mask compared to this.
As I was sprinting away from “the cloud,” I saw six guys standing near the door puffing away nonchalantly, blissfully unaware that they just suffocated another innocent student.
The fact that people are allowed to do this is completely outrageous.
I usually have no problems with smokers, but actions like this cross the line. Each day I step foot on campus, I have this recurring experience one way or the other … sometimes the wind can be a non-smoker’s worst enemy.
Why should I be subject to second-hand smoking? It’s not fair that I make good choices regarding my health, but still get exposed to the poisonous smoke every day. Not only is smoking a detriment to one’s health, it is purely illogical, and a detriment to others in the vicinity.
Think about it, people who smoke are actually paying to have themselves killed; either by lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, or a myriad of other illnesses. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not spend my golden years lying on a hospital bed, breathing through iron lungs.
The administration of WSU should seriously consider a smoke-free campus policy if they really care about the health of their students. I’m not suggesting an immediate ban, but a gradual transition would be the ideal way to tackle this issue.
According to the American Non-smoker’s Rights Foundation, approximately 160 colleges in the US have a campus-wide ban on smoking and 519 colleges are in the process of doing so.
Smoking around others is an invasion of personal space and is a harmful habit that can lead to severe consequences. If you smoke, do us all favor and pick a small niche where nobody can be exposed to your smoke; it’s a simple solution to an enormously poisonous problem.
