We at the Index would hope that our readers are in agreement that when first stepping foot onto the Pacific campus, we were given the impression that this would be our home for the next four years.
Home. This idea has a very strong connotation; a sense of belonging, acceptance and comfort regardless of your own personal beliefs, demographic or even habits.
So when we heard the news that President Hallick, alongside administration, was in favor of a movement to make Pacific a smoke-free campus, we were puzzled, to say the least.
Firstly we were confused as to why this liberty should be taken away from the students that call this place home.
It is true, not all students on campus smoke and we commend them for making the adult decision to abstain in favor of their own well-being.
However, we can still commend those who do choose to smoke. As we have witnessed around campus, this population keeps their habit outside the dorms and respectively away from the academic buildings.
Why should these students be told that regardless of their adherence to the rules, their way of living is still going to be made unacceptable?
Smoking may be a hindrance to these students’ health that they are painfully aware of, but this is the same case with large consumptions of alcohol. Yet we see no possibility in the future of making this campus “dry.”
So then why is it acceptable to only allow certain lifestyle choices and selectively outlaw others?
It’s not. We come to college as adults, making our own decisions and accepting those of others. When we start to say some of those decisions—although they may not be our own—are wrong, we lose that sense of comfort.
Furthermore, Hallick explained that in order to enforce this seemingly inevitable policy, a “group effort” would be required.
How would one work with CPS as part of that effort? Are we expected to grab people by the shirt collar, dragging them to the city owned curb whenever we see them light up on campus?
Once again, in this sense, the policy would only bring unnecessary embarrassment to those who partake in this legal activity. All for policing that is, to be honest, not a full proof, effective system.
Pacific is our home and what we chose to do outside of our class time is our decision as adults.
It should not be someone else’s decision to take away our rights of home in order to prove a point.
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