There are a lot of smokers at UMass, Amherst.
At my uni back home I’m used to being one of the only people outside my faculty building having a cigarette before class. Here, there are so many. Granted, it is a much bigger University, but I feel like if we counted the numbers of smokers compared to the number of students, UMass would still have a lot more.
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- Smoking Hands
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- (Not UMass) Smokers
Up until one o’clock, you can leave any given residence hall and see at least 5 smokers outside, getting one more in before bed.
There are regulations regarding smoking, such as not smoking within 20 feet of a building or exit. However, come bad weather and this rule is completely ignored, and I have yet to see anyone be fined for it. This must be a nuisance to people entering and exiting the building, or people who have their windows open at the dorms.
A group of students called “Hopkins Kicks Butt” (HKB) from the Johns Hopkins University, Maryland are calling for a complete campus smoking ban. The article from their university newsletter says that students from HKB feel that smoking is a really big problem at their campus, and that there have been a lot of complaints about it. They hope to have a smoke-free campus by 2012, and those in violation will face a $15 fine.
Is UMass heading the same way? Do you think it’s a big problem at UMass now, and is a smoke-free campus a feasible and attainable goal? I asked a few students, some smokers and others non-smokers what they thought about a smoke-free campus.
“I think it’s taking away our rights, if they forbid smoking on campus. Especially because we have to live here. People will just sneak off and smoke anyway,” said Dominic Blake, a smoker.
“Alcohol is a drug, it’s dangerous, and that’s still allowed. Smoking doesn’t bother me as long as it’s not inside,” said Laura Orcutt, a non-smoker.
“That would be great, I’m all for a smoke-free campus. Smoking is stupid, and I hate the smell of it,” said Lauren Heron, a non-smoker.
What do you think? Do you agree with the above views, and why?
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