I was glad to see this story on Inside Vandy about Vanderbilt Student Government’s stand against a smoking ban on campus:
The Vanderbilt Student Government Senate unanimously passed a resolution regarding smoking regulations on campus Wednesday night in response to recent actions taken to make Vanderbilt smoke free.
Executive Adviser Theo Samets, along with Senator Andrew Morse and Council President John Gaffney, decided to propose the resolution about two weeks ago, after the Dean of Students Office informed VSG’s Executive Board that a decision to move to a smoke-free campus with designated smoking areas was in the process of being approved.
The resolution states that “a smoking ban with designated smoking areas on campus is not in the interest of the student body.”
The story goes on to quote VSG president Wyatt Smith and Theo Samets, who I interacted with a bit while I was editor of IV and the Hustler. He always struck me as a sensible guy and his involvement doesn’t surprise me. Here’s a good quote:
VSG also emphasized the importance of this issue in the context of student’s rights.
“If the university administration says you can’t smoke on campus, what’s next? This is a bigger issue,” Samets said. “This is bigger than just smoking, and that’s why it’s really important. It’s about students being included in discussions about legal rights.”
This is exactly the sort of thing VSG can do and do well: advocate for what students really want and need. I won’t be surprised if the university ignores them and goes right ahead with their draconian smoking ban plans, but at least it seems our student representatives are aware of the implications of this ban and aren’t pulling the ol’ triangulation trick. That, of course, is when student government seems more interested in keeping favor with an administration by “explaining” to students how some new policy or plan will be good for us. This student government seems to want to advocate for students when we need it. I like that.
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Possibility: maybe the whole “geez, this is expensive–somebody else should have to pay for it!” health care narrative finally reached Student Health. The best way to cut costs? Determine people’s lifestyle choices for them. Sensible, right?