A new policy has been suggested that will banish all smokers to the parking lots. No more designated smoking spots; smoking on campus will be strictly prohibited. Don’t fear just yet, smokers, the policy has not yet been passed, and if it is passed, it will not be effective until the Fall ’09 semester.

What can we expect from this? Well, first off, the Skyline campus will be a smoke free environment. Non-smoking students will not have to walk through clouds of smoke as they pass through the designated smoking areas, which are inconveniently placed in the direct line of foot traffic, if you haven’t noticed.

Also, we may see an uprising of angry smokers who are forced to walk all the way out to the parking lots to have their in-between-class cigarette. A good majority of students may be walking into class late more often just to squeeze in a smoke during the short ten minutes they’re allotted.

The issue is rife with biases from non-smokers who would like to avoid second-hand smoke, as well as smokers who enjoy their first-hand smoke and don’t like being confined to a far-off land filled with enraged drivers furiously seeking a parking spot. But we think the people who are unintentionally getting smoke in their lungs while walking to class should have their pick of the litter.

Smokers may be angry, but having a smoke-free campus is not a bad idea at all. For most smokers, the small trek out to the parking lots is worth the dose of nicotine anyway. We’d like to think that the majority of them can be mature and respectful about it and accept the fact that most of their fellow students would prefer to breathe clean air on campus.

Whether you’re a part of the smoking or non-smoking section, it’s important to weigh both sides of the issue and determine which would be a more beneficial outcome. That’s what we’ve done, and we think there is nothing more beneficial than clean air for those who wish to breathe it.