Students only have one more month to smoke on campus before it is officially banned. Let the countdown begin.
On-campus smokers are usually the kind of people who keep to themselves. You can usually spot them in that little alcove around Turlington, the less-populated part of the sidewalk or in various other locations tucked away behind buildings or off the beaten path.
Apparently that is not enough for the good folks at UF, who have given smokers a firm deadline of July 1 to quit lighting up on campus. We think the university could do a little better than that - why not make everyone healthier by taking away the right to put anything unhealthy in their bodies.
Come July 1, we want to see Cheeburger Cheeburger closnig its doors and Subway only serving Jared-approved sandwiches with less than five grams of fat. Want that Chick-fil-A sandwich fried? Sorry, you are going to have to settle for half a grilled one without a bun. Thinking of picking up a Pepsi? Hope you like the sugarless, caffeine-free variety.
Smoking is a choice that people should be allowed to make on their own. So long as they are not blowing smoke in other people's faces, it really only affects them. It simply is not the university's right to make that choice for anyone.
If it has to do with cigarette butts being scattered around campus, then they can fine people for littering. If it has to do with smokers lighting up in inappropriate place, then take a page from Santa Fe's book and put down a few designated smoking areas.
If it has to do with anything else though, then UF should quit being hypocritical and take away everything unhealthy and fun from everyone.
