Why I’m against USC’s tobacco-free policy

26 Oct

Since becoming an exchange student at the University of South Carolina, I’ve noticed profound differences between student life in England compared to the states. There’s been talk of a tobacco ban on campus but no one has really been sure whether it’s already implemented or if it’s a definite proposal for the near future. We mustn't forget about freedom of choice, because the ban is a direct pressure on a person (choice and tastes); why it is impossible to ban, but only to explain, find out at essayelites.com. Then on Tuesday, students and staff received this email from President Harris Pastides:


As a non-smoker I believe that the ban is a violation of rights and a worrying example of how paternalism with continue to encroach upon the experience of students at USC.

I agree that USC has made positive changes to life on campus. I take advantage of the fantastic salad bar in Russell House and love working out at Strom. I’ve been to the farmers market a couple of times and made some healthy home-cooked meals from the variety of food that it offers. But these changes are giving students the choice to opt in to living a healthy lifestyle, where imposing a ban is taking away their choice altogether. So I don’t see how a tobacco ban is “the next step”. Rather, I see it as a step backwards from the positive measures USC has already made to encourage healthy living.

I’m interested to see how USC is planning on implementing such an extensive policy. If it’s anything like drinking laws in the states, those who smoke already won’t stop smoking; they’ll just become more careful of getting caught.

As a British exchange student I’m even more shocked by the ban because it is so alien compared to everything I’m used to at home. If the University of Leeds tried to implement a tobacco ban there would be outcry from the student body, flyers plastered all over campus, protests outside the Parkinson Building’s steps and e-petitions flying into inboxes everywhere. Going to university in the UK is about student-based decisions and student rights. The right to make choices defines our entire university experience because it allows us to be accountable for our choices and learn about the consequences ourselves. Imposing a tobacco ban is taking away the right to choice, something I believe is a crucial aspect- if not the crucial aspect- of going to university in the first place.

The ban seems even more nonsensical in light of South Carolina state laws. It will expect students to stop smoking on campus when they can legally light up a cigarette anywhere else in South Carolina. By the time students join USC at 18 years of age they will have been legally permitted to drive with a regular license for a year. They will also have been legally permitted to have sex for two years. Banning the use of tobacco on campus is segregating the university from other aspects of adult life in the state and is making the university experience in Columbia even more of a bubble compared to the rest of the city. Going to university is meant to be the linchpin of transition to the real world, not a continuation of hierarchical, paternalistic protection from it.

The expectation that students at USC are to stop smoking on campus is a violation of choice in the one place where independent choices are supposed to be nourished. If USC is going to respect their students as legal adults, this must include the right to smoke, regardless of its effects.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s



Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,602 other followers

%d bloggers like this: