The cold air flies around the buildings on campus like a whip hitting you in the face. New England winters are brutal and blustery, and as winter is coming closer, I find myself going outside only when necessary.
These days, I am bombarded not only by the chill in the air, but the smoke in my face. Since the new Fairfield University smoking policy, prohibiting smoking in dorm rooms, people are forced to smoke outside.
Do I feel sorry for these poor souls who are now forced to smoke outside in the freezing, unyielding weather? Absolutely not! Smoking in the Residence Halls should have been banned before the 2002-2003 academic year. Smoking is a hazard for all residents. Prohibiting smoking prevents many potential accidents that would endanger all the residents of the dorm.
Once you get past the vast amounts of toxins that are in the cigarette and then put out into the air for all to breathe, the most crucial part of smoking the cigarette is the flame. When people were allowed to smoke in the dorms the risk of fire was overwhelming.
There are so many things that could catch fire: sheets, curtains (even though they are flame retardant, this will not save the Fairfield Fire Department a trip), rugs, clothes and the list could go on forever. Dorm life is too close of quarters to run such a high risk and, potentially, endanger that many people.
Everybody has heard the drunken people stumble in at 2:30 a.m. trying to get into their rooms. Imagine such a person lighting up a cigarette, passing out half way through it and causing a major fire. With the smoking ban, hopefully they will go outside.
Many smokers argue, “We pay enough money to go here. I should be able to smoke wherever I want! It’s my right!” Well, I’m paying just as much money as you and I choose to walk down my hall and not have you blowing smoke all over. That is my right! I don’t enjoy the smell of smoke and even worse than that, stale smoke. The dorms are dusty and dirty enough without the coating of old smoke layering the walls and furniture and the perpetual smell of stale smoke.
The most convincing argument in favor of the smoking ban is common courtesy. Smoking in restaurants has become a thing of the past, as well as smoking in office buildings or public facilities. Smoking is offensive to the non-smoker. The smoker should be aware of how disgusting smoking can be to others and go outside to begin with.
Some think as long as their roommate does not mind it doesn’t matter, but smoke knows no boundaries. Your neighbor would know every time you lit up your cigarette because it would permeate throughout your room, the hall and even the open doors around you. Dorms are supposed to be a friendly environment; however, if I had to close my door every time my neighbor lit up, our relations would be less than amicable.
I’m very sorry that the smokers outside the dorms will be cold through the winter and hot during the summer, but we can only hope that this will deter people from smoking. I have to laugh at these people who stand outside in the below-zero temperatures just to smoke.
What is appealing about this habit is something I will never understand. Is it the fact that you now have to pay almost five dollars a pack? Or is it that you are socially shunned from the majority of society when you and your faithful cigarette rendezvous outside? Maybe it is a combination of both. However, I know I can sleep better knowing that people are not going to be able to burn down Jogues because they selfishly needed to have their nicotine fix. If you would like to slowly kill yourself with each puff, that is your problem, but please, do not make it mine too.
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