So, this seems to be a new trend across the country. I was just wondering if it's %100 legal if a school bans smoking even outside of buildings? Could the school actually be sued because of this?

if its a private institution they can do whatever they damn well please....


if its a public university [ie: state school] they can designate where you can and cannot smoke, and in matters of public health [ie: keeping the herd safe] they can and will trump individual freedom [similar to vaccines]

I was a college senator here in Laramie about 5 and a half years ago, and I fought vehemently against a proposed smoking ban. It just wasn't feasible with the campus layout.

For the record, the proposal was that there be a 20 foot smoking ban around all entrances. That's just not realistic, since that would put smokers in the street or completely remove some of the areas completely near building entrances.

Part of what I brought up during our LONG executive session debate about it was that 20 feet was just astoundingly large. Ten feet, out of doors, would be more than sufficient.

I also argued that we were now ostracizing students, faculty, and staff, as well as anyone else who smoked on campus property for doing something that is completely legal after you've attained the age of 18. They didn't like that argument much either.

Ultimately, the do gooders won and the act passed the Associated Student Senate, but the Faculty and Staff senate shot it right the hell down after various faculty members from the law school let them know it opened UW up for huge legal ramifications.

When I was interviewed by the university newspaper, one of my remarks was that those who voted for the act in the student senate looked pretty silly due to not having done their research on the issue, and followed that remark up with a quote that was pretty infamous around campus for a month or two about how "It seems many of these senators feel they gain leadership qualities because they're in a leadership position, instead of trying to serve in their senate spot by using qualities they already had. When you represent a part of the student body, it's not the time for you to be gaining your experience, but when you should be using that experience to do what's best for those you represent." (I just pulled out the clipping that I kept of that to get the actual quote.)

Needless to say, I didn't have many friends in the senate after that, but my constituents loved it.

Strangely enough, though, I wasn't interested in running for a second term. This little episode was the straw that broke the camels back. This particular situation left me feeling, as I stated in that quote, that I was surrounded more by resume-building types instead of people who actually cared enough about the students they represented to vote accordingly. There are many ways we could've accommodated both sides, but the community do-gooders and busybodies always know what's better for us than we do, right?


EDIT: I've actually got a link to the minutes from that night, if anyone's interested in reading the debate proceedings.