Arizona State University will become a tobacco-free campus beginning next summer, but in protest and to raise awareness of the ban, one student-led group passed out cigarettes to students on the Tempe campus Wednesday.
“Their message isn’t that they want to protect other students; it’s to protect others from themselves,” said Carlos Alfaro, a senior majoring in economics and American history who is a part of Students for Liberty. “They’re trying to save society with what they think is correct. It’s the same thing with the war on drugs and same-sex marriage.”
Outside of the Memorial Union, the student union building which houses a number of student and faculty services, Students for Liberty checked IDs before passing out cigarettes to students.
“It’s not about health; it’s about freedom of choice,” Alfaro said. “Being an adult is all about making your own choices.”
While people understand that eating junk food is bad for them, it is not the place of the government to make personal decisions about someone’s body, Alfaro said. To demonstrate the analogy, Students for Liberty also passed out apples and bananas in juxtaposition to doughnuts and chips.
“Most of us don’t smoke and a lot of the people who are signing the petition are non-smokers as well,” Alfaro said. “It’s a public space.”
In addition, the group passed out smoking cessation information.
The ASU Faculty Senate passed a motion in September, which recommends to the university president and provost to make all campuses, ASU-owned and ASU-rented facilities tobacco free.
“The health effects of discouraging tobacco use by moving to such a policy are well documented,” the motion states. “We also believe that such as policy would have the additional economic benefits of increased productivity and decreased usage of sick time. Finally, we are confident that prohibiting tobacco on campus will result in decreased maintenance expense for our facilities and grounds.”
ASU will join the Maricopa County Community College District campuses in a tobacco-free ban. MCCCD Chancellor Rufus Glasper announced last fall that it would begin a tobacco-free ban on its campuses beginning July, 1, 2012.
ASU is joining more than 600 colleges and universities around the country that have pledged to be completely tobacco free.
In a perfect world, Alfaro hopes that the ban would be repealed so that more students could be involved in the discussion, he said.
“I would be completely OK with having smoking sections,” he said. “We’re not using the public space correctly.”
As long as a person’s choices don’t infringe on others’ choices and health, it shouldn’t matter, Alfaro said. Smoking areas would create that middle ground between letting adults make their own decisions and keeping smoke away from those with medical conditions, such as asthma.
This is the compromise that Ryan Zambonini, a business management communications senior, who has been a smoker for a little over a year, would like to see.
“It’s a large enough campus with enough open areas (to separate smokers from non-smokers),” Zambonini said.
But some agree with the tobacco ban.
“ASU is an institute of higher education and it calls itself a New American University; we should be leading the way as far as tobacco,” said Nick Fradkin, a Legacy Youth Fellow, a part of Legacy for Longer Healthier Lives, which advocates for tobacco prevention and control.
Fradkin thinks it is hypocritical to not be in support of tobacco, yet pass out cigarettes.
“We need to encourage people to make healthy decisions,” he said.
Because the ban will not be enforced by the campus police, it may take time before the culture changes, Fradkin said.
“ASU community members are asked to help create a tobacco-free environment using community enforcement,” the ASU website states.
Visitors, volunteers and tailgaters will also be held to the tobacco ban, which includes cigarettes, pipes, smoke-less tobacco, chew and hookah.
The ban goes into effect on Aug. 1. For more information, visit https://students.asu.edu/tobaccofree/faqs.
Contact writer: (480) 898-5645 or sspring@evtrib.com
chuckles3 posted at 11:10 am on Thu, Nov 15, 2012.
Poor children. Want to be treated like adults, but live off their parents, get free healthcare and have loans they don't have to pay back. Stay in college. The real world sucks.
They almost all voted for Obama and the nanny state too.
Are they too stupid or naive to understand?
The only thing liberals are pro choice about is killing babies and smoking pot.
Transfat? banned. Big sodas? Banned. Happy Meals? Banned. Guns on campus? Banned. 'Controversial' speech by conservatives(hate speech) Banned.
Religion? Banned. Prayer? Banned. The list goes on.
Now go back to your dorm room and talk about how cool it was that Obama was re-elected.
DrJCA1 posted at 2:23 pm on Thu, Nov 15, 2012.
First of all, it's NOT a public space. It is a private space owned by the university. Secondly, for supposedly smart youngsters, why would they want anyone to smoke anywhere? Of course, these typical libreals will want the government to take care of them when they get lung cancer, brain damage from pot or other drugs, liver disease from drinking too much alcohol, or mental problems from being on their tech toys for 12 hours a day.
deportthemall posted at 2:24 pm on Thu, Nov 15, 2012.
[beam]poor babies, why should students at a state university be allowed to smoke on campus and we the privet citizen can not smoke in any public place?! wonder if they know what karma is???[smile]
truncate posted at 2:40 pm on Thu, Nov 15, 2012.
Chuckles, what does Obama's election victory have to do with a smoking ban at ASU? Someone get that boy a whaaaaaaaaaaaaambulance!!!
mwmike posted at 4:30 am on Fri, Nov 16, 2012.
Chuckles - In case you didn't see the election results, a large majority of your fellow Americans disagree with you. You're one of them MINORITIES.
downtownresident posted at 10:52 am on Sun, Nov 18, 2012.
This says it all, to me, "Ryan Zambonini, a business management communications senior, who has been a smoker for a little over a year"
Tell us Ryan, was it peer pressure, style, or just sheer stupidity that would cause a, supposedly, intelligent adult to start inhaling toxic chemicals.
So, you have proven health problems with smoking, wasted time when they should be studying or working, but also the cost of picking up the butts that smokers feel empowered to throw onto the ground wherever they may be when finished with the smoke, not to mention the problems with sewer system and the environment that must absorb them.
Grow up, you little brats, and get a life without smoke.
USMC4Liberty posted at 2:47 pm on Fri, Feb 1, 2013.
I seriously cant believe the above comments im reading. For those of you saying they must have voted for obama it shows you really dont understand the issues. These students are members of Students for LIBERTY not some left-winged socialist group ur assuming they are, in fact they are the most staunch opponents to Obama because he treats the constitution like trash and i can guarantee not one of them voted liberal. Your putting them in the same category as democrats which is pretty ironic because they are the very people they fight the hardest against. I dont understand why you think they support the nanny state... your brain must not be able to process mildly complex issues such as these.
The very issue they bring up is against the nanny state and as for all the other issues you brought up "Transfat? banned. Big sodas? Banned. Happy Meals? Banned. Guns on campus? Banned. 'Controversial' speech by conservatives(hate speech) Banned. Religion? Banned. Prayer? Banned. The list goes on." Do your research, they support none of these and are actually more upset about them as you are. To the person that claims its not public land, sorry to break it to you but yes. Yes it is public. The simple fact that it is a STATE school meaning it is funded by the STATE and owned by the STATE as in NOT privately owned = Public property. As a former Sun Devil i can tell you they take advantage of their power and take land over by means of imminent domain (fraternity houses) and continue to expand the school property. I assume most of you consider yourselves republicans which further depresses me because it is apparent that many of you can be just as ignorant as the liberals. God gave you a brain to think with so use it. I know its easier to go with the group and take positions before really putting any effort into it but now more than ever we need to stick together and defend our rights granted to us in the Constitution. Im not even a smoker because i feel its unhealthy but i stand behind these students 100%. When you defend our basic rights only when it is convenient, when it effects you uniquely, how can you expect others not effected by it to stand by you?
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