Smoking was once a pastime that a large majority engaged in, but now it has been condemned as a huge health risk to smokers and those around them. In many indoor venues across the world, smoking is being banned and therefore some people resort to smoking in the streets. But starting this Monday, the Boston University Medical Campus is officially smoke-free. This regulatory change has prompted discussion over the administration’s stance on smoking on the Charles River Campus. According to an article published in The Daily Free Press on Thursday, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore approached Student Union about generating alternatives for smokers and the wider student body.
Union is set to design and implement a campaign, to be discussed at this coming Monday’s Union meeting, concerning smoking courtesy. Of course, a significant concern that students have on both campuses is a lack of enforcement regarding any changes. But smokers are concerned that there is little to no clarity offered to them looking for designated areas. In this case, they are often resigned to smoking outside of Warren Towers or on the street. Assuredly, the situation at BUMC is different because the ban concerns an area that contains hospitals. Consistently telling smokers where they cannot smoke is only so effective; again, offering alternatives for both parties will be beneficial for promoting a form of etiquette.
Where BU is concerned, the situation is different due to the nature of our campus. With more rural colleges, the administration has complete jurisdiction over the campus area. With BU, however, the streets are actually public property. Seeking an extreme solution will not be productive; there has to be a concrete proposal with areas that would include ashtrays to limit any mess. If there were measures that accommodated smokers in a way that did not interfere with non-smokers’ campus experiences, the administration could preserve the rights reserved by both parties. It remains to be seen what consensus and conclusion, if any, Union and BU as a whole reach in the coming months. All one can hope is that tangible results emerge soon to shed light on exactly where BU stands on an issue that affects the whole community.
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