Posted on 07/02/2008 5:55:32 AM PDT by Freedom Dignity n Honor
STILLWATER: Oklahoma State University today becomes the largest campus in the state to ban tobacco.
Getting Burns Hargis to work early sure has paid off for OSU.
OSU President Burns Hargis said the policy aims to make OSU a clean and healthy environment.
"We have enough afflictions that affect the human condition without voluntarily adding to the problem, he said. "It sets a strong example and a consistent example of our commitment to be a healthy and attractive campus.
OSU's wellness center offers cessation help and, in some cases, medication and nicotine replacement products, to students and employees.
Student Charles Asbery sought help in October and has managed to stay cigarette-free for eight months. But he's still not happy about it.
Asbery said he felt forced to quit his 10-year habit because walking off campus to smoke would take away from his studies and studio time as an architecture student.
"I still personally believe there's nothing wrong with smoking, said Asbery, 25. "They forced me to choose between being successful in college and continuing smoking. I'm not a very school-spirited person right now.
Hargis said no one is forced to quit using tobacco.
"We think it's a very minor inconvenience to those that want to continue smoking, he said. "It's not like we're cutting their leg off.
OSU will not actively enforce the new policy unless a student or employee continues to violate the rules, said Robin Purdie, director of the Seretean Wellness Center.
"We aren't going to have people out ticketing, she said.
"We are going to make people aware of the policy and hope they want to comply.
Today, OSU students and employees are asked to mark the start of the tobacco ban by donning gloves and picking up cigarette butts across the campus.
Teams that collect the most trash will win a prize.
OSU-Oklahoma City went tobacco-free on Jan. 1 and has had few repeat violations of the ban, said spokeswoman Evelyn Bollenbach.
Cessation classes began three months ahead of the ban and continue, she said.
"I went back to the campus last year for homecomming and I got my lungs full of smoke from some idiot student walking in front of me at the walk around."
Wow, what a courageous slayer-of-dragons you are.
So where's the homosexuality ban? I mean that's only one of the worst voluntary lifestyle choices a man can make that will shorten his life expectency by almost 35 years.
I guess this guy- who presumably hates the smell of tobacco smoke - decided to stand amongst the crowd of smokers in between classes.
I'd bet a week's pay he will not be an honor's graduate...and that he will wind up working for the government.
Thanks for the ping!
*Monty Python reference*
I haven't had time yet but I plan on emailing dear Mr. Hargis and letting him know of my views, then, maybe I should go up the chain starting at our local reps to our federal reps.
I'm trying to stop smoking but I still don't like where this nanny state mentality is going. They'll have to pry my Dr. Peppers and cheesecake out of my cold dead hands!
BTW, to whoever mentioned about Denmark's? pot smoking laws, I've never smoked pot before but it looks like we'll have to start smoking pot soon so as to be legal here, when they legalize pot smoking, in the semi-Socialist State of Oklahoma.
I'm off again to school. Thank goodness my university is still half way sane as of now.
And for goodness sakes folks! Stay away from myspace.com. I went to 2-3 pages there yesterday looking up some business stuff for my daughter and I’ve got major malware/viruses/trojans/keyloggers, etc. I’m dealing with that stuff now and will continue tonight after I get home.
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