The Freedom of Choice

We live in a country that within reason lets people do whatever they want. Some choose to smoke cigarettes, which is perfectly fine. No one individual can stop you from smoking are they responsible for you increasing your chances of cancer. But smokers have a responsibility to be thoughtful of people who are non smokers, and to their wishes to not have to be too close to second hand smoke. A few weeks ago I found myself walking through a mushroom cloud of smoke at one of the entrances of the school and due to inclement weather, the smokers all wanted to stay dry. Is this fair? Absolutely not. Although their is not a designated smoking area on North Shore property, the smoking crowd needs to be placed in their own isolated area (I know of a few colleges that have smoking "gazebos" that students can go to and smoke and be away from the general public) or smoking needs to be outlawed all together on campus. To add a little fuel to the fire, the smoking crowd toss their filters into when they are done are total eye sores, and the worst part is some students don't even use them. I found myself enjoying some warm weather recently, and was sitting on the ledge which is abutted directly with grass and saw a insane amount of filters just sitting their. Change needs to happen, and it needs to happen soon. If you are a student who feels the same way, find someone on the Student Government, and voice your concerns.