By Nick Slepnikoff
Smoke billowed from my cigarette while I walked through the cold, sneering crowd. Eyes recording my every movement - every exhale - waiting to see the direction in which my ominous blue gray tobacco cloud blew. Stern gazes turn into rational fear, for smoking indeed kills. However, at the University of Portland, rational fear unfortunately leads to a blind zeal and hatred, ostracizing smokers as disgusting and worthless tar-breaths.
This inspires the good men and women to end this clearly visible, wispy gray unraveling of society. What happened to the love and acceptance of fellow man our parents protested for; and what happened to our personal choices, essences of our individuality, which our parent's generation fought to protect? As I continue living my life from year to year, I see our generation blindly and passionately leading crusades against causes to feel as if they are making a difference or feel better about the situation. And these causes may be addressed.
To me, however, money just seems to be thrown at these issues; the volunteers, who truly work with politicians and are willing to get their hands dirty, remain few. And do those contributing to it actually know where the struggling country is and what's going on there; do they know about all sides of the global warming debate, or do they just choose the feel-better, cool side?
Although smoking is a clear and proven danger to everyone's health, reactions taken by ASUP show a one-sided ultimatum based more on irrational fear (and pleasing constituents) than common sense and respect for personal choice. What haunts me is that our generation, the new leaders of tomorrow, has allowed and participated in the limiting of personal freedoms, starting with decisions made at this school.
If you couldn't tell, I am one of the few smokers on campus and, in recent weeks, ASUP has passed a law that has left more rancid a taste in my mouth than any Camel could; legislation that entails the prohibition of smoking within 50 feet of any building on campus (a campus less than a half mile across, waterlogged for 6 months straight).
Although I am quitting - and have been trying for some time - I feel that ASUP is going about this the wrong way. Instead of showing respect to their fellow students and respecting the personal freedoms they have chosen not to embrace, ASUP has limited the rights of students on campus by barring smoking within 50 feet of any building on campus.
Instead of simultaneously respecting both parties and providing dry, specific areas to smoke, the student body government has chosen to blatantly rule against smokers, forcing them into the middle of parking lots, wet grass fields, or wherever the enforcers of this rule decide.
The anti-cigarette adage of killing yourself some place else is now a stark reality; however with Portland winters coming, a pneumonia sentence seems a bit harsh. If there was indeed a covered smoking area on campus, the complaints from the smokers and non-smokers alike would be close to non-existent.
As it is on campus, there is no structure to shelter these individuals from the elements. But, what is the reasoning? Perhaps, the school feels it might increase the amount of smokers on campus. If this is their support, this is a very naive reason to prohibit this shelter's construction. To assume that health-conscious non-smokers would pick up the habit is insulting to their intelligence. Perhaps, it is to show their drive to ensure a healthy campus. This seems like a legitimate reason. Not only do they have salads, soups, and vegan alternatives, but also provide a place to exercise.
As of now, however, fried foods continue to clog arteries at the Cove's Grill and stomach-wrenching meals at the Commons leave students wondering why and how $41,000 a year in tuition isn't paying for better food. So, health, although high on the list, is still only somewhat pursued at this school and could not be the major reasoning behind this choice. If it was, everyone would be mandated to exercise and follow a specific diet.
Maybe their reasoning is to protect innocent passers-by from inhaling these cancerous clouds. However, as a respectful smoker and like most smokers on campus, we are not aiming to blast you with smoke or hiding from you when you walk by.
We try to find places where there is a low volume of people and indulge in our habits. We are minding our own business and living our lives, just like you.
Wisps of smoke passing by you may smell bad, but a split second of smoke outside, broken by wind, and surrounded by tons of fresh air seems quite unlikely of making it into your lungs and causing an instantaneous malignance to form.
In most cases, I already find myself 50 feet away from buildings out of habit to respect non-smokers and asthmatics. However, there still are those stern gazes.
To construct this simple structure will not only take little money, but will allow both ASUP and Public Safety to decide where people would smoke on campus.
As a business student raised in the 20th century and dealing with my future of a stagnant, depressed economy, I understand that the cost of this structure may be an issue. I am also unaware of the actual budgets of ASUP or the School's building committee(s).
These structures, however, range from $1995.95 to $4995.95 according to No Butts Bin Co., an environmentally friendly online smoking area manufacturer. This seems like a flash in the pan in comparison to the half million to a million the school receives each year. And as an environmentally-minded American, I feel these structures will remove the blight of cigarette butts around campus.
They will also simultaneously lend to the enforcement of this new regulation, showing the student body and administration can actually take a stand for their constituents and students.
With five to seven of these easy-to-construct shelters placed reasonably around campus (far enough from, but within short walking distance of, school buildings and not on some distant wind-scourged precipice), fall and winter rains will no longer force smokers next to buildings, where smoke may drift into open windows.
Additionally, by placing it in areas approved by both parties, smokers will be able to peacefully smoke without worrying about non-smokers walking by and inhaling those terrible death clouds. Also, it would decrease the number of complaints surrounding second-hand smoke.
If smokers have their own place to smoke, no one will be bothered by the transient, drifting haze of burnt tobacco.
Not only will the issue resolve itself, but I also doubt you will hear from either side again. Additionally, it would show the school, as liberal as it is, cares about everyone's health providing a warm dry place for smokers who already cough all the time.
Even though I do understand why ASUP passed the law (health reasons, good of the students, etc.), I feel that the majority over minority decision is clearly a one-sided, ostracizing decision, pointing out the smokers and making them despised on campus.
Forcing them to walk into the flood of Portland's winters with only a fingernail thin plastic raincoat for protection, recent decisions show the clear lack of respect paid to students who smoke.
Although our habits may be unhealthy (we completely understand the risks of smoking) and you feel we need to stop, these are decisions which cannot be made for us.
We are humans, unhealthy, and to some non-smokers disgusting. But we are also people, made of the same elements and living in the same world. To make this decision for us is insulting, presumptuous and resembles many a decision made by brown-shirted figureheads, for "the good of the people."
I can only watch and wait to see if the thing that haunts me the most is indeed something I should fear and expect from my peers.
