Loading ...
Some say it’s better late than never. However, Thursday’s protest of the newly-implemented tobacco ban was the tardy party that campus wouldn’t have missed, one way or the other.
According to a Nov. 20 Kernel article, more than 100 smokers and non-smokers gathered at the Free Speech Area near the Student Center to continuously puff away on their cigarettes, stick it to the man, and make clear their distaste for UK’s tobacco-free campus.
While this group has every right to protest, especially in the Free Speech Area, the demonstration turned exceptionally childish when the assembly was relocated to Patterson Office Tower.
Smoking five cigarettes at a time, defacing the James K. Patterson statue and chanting “C-I-G-S, CIGS, CIGS, CIGS!” does not get positive attention from the UK administration. If the protestors were looking for some sort of compromise or to even be taken seriously in the future, they did everything in their power to destroy any possible goodwill.
While unlikely, it is possible that if this passionate outcry from students, faculty and staff was heard when the idea of the ban was initially announced, the university would be at a different stage in the process and may have possibly considered implementing designated smoking areas similar to Bluegrass Community and Technical College. Waiting until several thousand dollars were spent on installing signage and new trash cans certainly won’t get you very far.
If you’ve walked around campus at all since Nov. 19, you may realize the “culture of compliance” Tobacco-Free Campus Task Force co-chairs Ellen Hahn and Anthany Beatty have been preaching about is already starting to kick in. Whether you’ve been glared at for taking a smoke break behind White Hall Classroom Building after class, or you’re the one giving the evil eye to tobacco users, it’s happening — things are changing. And it hasn’t even been a week. That’s why in a few years having a tobacco-free campus won’t be a big deal.
While many feel the tobacco ban is a violation of their Constitutional rights, it simply is not. UK allowed protestors to exercise their real Constitutional right — the right to peacefully assemble — and the administration should be praised. UK Police officers were present at the protest but only to make sure things didn’t get out of hand. They didn’t rough anyone up or hand out citations, they just sat back and observed, which was the best decision. If the police had overreacted and caused a scene, things would have been drastically different.
But with UK’s cool and collected behavior, this tobacco ban protest will presumably be like the next big-time, five-star basketball recruit — one and done.
source: http://kykernel.com