Smoke-free entrance policy could become a reality for Milledgeville

Cigarettes are a matter of personal preference. Some choose to smoke them. Others choose to avoid them. To each his own. I will not harp on the dangers, because that would make this a sermon, and it is not a sermon. It is a proposal.

While some people can argue for their personal benefits of cigarette chemicals, no one can really say great things about smoke. I believe Phil Hartman’s SNL version of Frankenstein would have said it best – “SMOKE – BAD!” I even know several smokers who admit that this result is a disgusting byproduct. Whether it is from the burning field you pass on the way home or the burning cigarettes you pass on the way into the building, smoke, without the presence of a grill and a rack of ribs, is generally annoying. And to focus on passing through the haze that clouds the university doors like a swarm of sand gnats, it is my personal belief that one should not have a stale smoky stench without sleeping in the woods with a pine cone jabbed in their back in 32 degree weather.
Briefly, there’s no good reason for nonsmoking students, or anyone who would rather avoid the cloud, for whatever reason they hold, not to be able to avoid it; however, such is not the case. Every morning, at roughly 9:30, the Arts & Sciences building looks similar to a steam room. That is, smoky haze wafts from every door. Nonsmokers who want to enter have no choice other than scaling the side of the building in search of an open window or digging a tunnel to the courtyard and entering through the doors there. We are resigned to enter through the smog.

Thus, I propose designated smoke-free entrances. No, not all of them. I understand that some entryways are covered, providing shelter from various weather conditions, and I do consider both the smoker and the nonsmoker in my proposal. The conditions are as follows:

1. Building entries shall be divided roughly 50/50 (in both covered and uncovered entrances) among designated smoke-free entrances and smoking- optional entrances. In the case that a definitive halfway point cannot be found, the difference should lean towards smoking optional entrances, citing that smoke will not be present there constantly.

2. Enforcement of the policy will be on a courtesy basis until further need is otherwise recommended.

3. Smoke-free entrances will be clearly designated as such. Smoking-optional entrances will not.

4. Ashtrays will be removed from smoke-free entrances.

The question then arises of what are the parameters an entryway? Five feet from the door, 10 feet, 15 feet, or generally, how far away do I have to be to smoke? Once again, I feel that common courtesy best serves here until otherwise it is otherwise necessary to define an entry. Contrary to some beliefs, smokers can be courteous when presented with a rational objection to their habit.

I feel that this general courtesy of humanity, coupled with the designated smoke-free entrance policy, will allow Georgia College & State University to be a more enjoyable campus for all those affected.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Dec 6 2002. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry