The question that has been forming in my head the last few months is ‘how many rights are we willing to give up to make others happy?’ No, this is not an article about free speech on campus or safe spaces, but it is one on what it means to be free.
In recent years, there has been a strong push to educate the population of the dangers that come with smoking. Anti-smoking ads and warning labels are just some of the examples of this. But what happens when people still make the decision to smoke? Among many universities, and soon to be mine, people are now banned from smoking on campus. The governing entities of these educational institutions have decided that we are not responsible enough to make the right decisions, so they are now being made for us and our freedom to choose restricted.
Why is it that the institution is overstepping its academic authority? Some may say that people want to see less smoking on campus. That would hold true if the universities were implementing educational support networks to convince students to refrain from smoking, but that’s not the case. The institutions are banning the act all together. This will not stop a student from smoking, it will just move them away from the campus so that it’ll make the university look better in the public eye. The university's goal isn't to ban smoking, it’s to push their problem off to another area.
This smoking ban is not about smoking at all; it is about universities believing that we are not responsible enough for our own lives. What is the next step after the smoking ban is implemented? You’re no longer allowed to drink with your friends because you need to be inside studying? You’re no longer allowed to stay out past 11pm because you need sleep. You’re no longer to buy your favorite snacks because that would be against the diet your institution has laid out for you. Follow the rules and don’t think, just like a good little college student.
If you take anything with you, leave with this, “you and I have the courage to say to our enemies, there is a price we will not pay, there is a point beyond which they must not advance” – former president of the United States Ronald Regan. We must ask ourselves now, what freedoms are we willing to give up, and where do we draw the line?
