When people are given the tools, they’ll make the right decision. But when it comes to a smoking policy at Boston University, the messages from the administration have been inconsistent.
The recently adopted policy at Mugar Memorial Library to keep the entrance smoke-free is respectable, but the presence of a cigarette receptacle above a trash can within the no-smoking perimeter and a lack of signage has caused the policy to go unenforced.
Beyond the library, it’s even more difficult to decipher where BU stands regarding if it’s OK to smoke outside a doorway. Signs warn smokers to stay away from the entrances of CAS and SMG, but an extra effort is made to accommodate those seeking a cigarette outside of West Campus dormitories with benches and cigarette disposal posts attracting smokers just feet from doorways.
One of the most problematic areas is the entrance to Myles Standish Hall, where an awning both shields smokers from the weather and creates a hurdle for non-smokers trying to enter the dormitory. While most students would agree it is outrageous to try and ban smoking entirely on a campus completely immersed in a city environment, most would not be opposed to enforcing the already established state law put in place to keep smoke from entering buildings. Students and BU employees deserve to come and go from their residences without having to traverse through clouds of billowing smoke.
The signs soon to be posted at Mugar won’t be the complete solution. If it’s raining outside, smokers aren’t likely to move away from the protective overhang outside Mugar and into the elements for the sake of a sign, and might not even be willing to obey a redcoat student library employee. Establishing a designated smoking area is a reasonable compromise between the smokers and nonsmokers. It might not be realistic to erect such structures all over campus, but at a place like Mugar where smokers say the stress and temptation to smoke is at its highest, it would be a good investment.
There is no reason smokers and nonsmokers can’t exist in harmony at BU. Many who smoke can understand that nonsmokers have a legitimate complaint about being subjected to the habit whenever they enter a building. And nonsmokers don’t want to banish their smoking friends into the cold. BU needs to take a look at its hazy policies in order to clear the air between both parties.
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