Standing in line for an ATM downtown, the woman behind me began to sneeze.

As I turned to bless her, she began to rant about smokers and the fact that all the cigarette smoke in the air is the cause of her allergies. She complained that it’s a free world and people have a right to smoke, but, more importantly, she had the right to breathe fresh air.

She said she was sick of getting clouds of smoke in her face and wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up with lung cancer. After I finished my transaction I wished her well and started to walk away. As I turned the corner I lit up a cigarette.

There have been countless occasions on campus when I have heard many protest the clouds of cigarette smoke that billow across the SF State main campus. This year the debate of smoking on campus will come to a boiling point with a new campus mandate that attempts to provide an almost smoke-free campus.

In April of this year the Academic Senate approved a resolution ordering SF State to be smoke free. The resolution limits the smoking of cigarettes only to designated areas of the campus.

This should not come as a surprise. In August of 2003 President Corrigan issued a University Executive order (#03-32) extending the limitation of smoking outside an SF State building from 15 feet to 30 feet.

Later that month, to the dismay of many smokers and the delight of those fed up with on campus smoking, the bookstore discontinued the sale of tobacco.

As an on-again-off-again (mostly on) smoker, I look at this new mandate with skepticism. Countless times I’ve come out of the Humanities building greeted by what seemed like dozens of people puffing away, huddled near the main entrance of the building. After all, most of the ashtrays on campus are located within feet of building entrances.

Seeming as a simple order requesting the tobacco inclined to move away from buildings while smoking is seemingly ineffective, I have a hard time believing those same people will seek out the designated smoking areas to have their last minute smoky treat in between classes.

It is laughable that a mandate ordering SF State smoke-free, offers designated smoking areas. If the administration really wanted to provide a smoke-free campus they would have an outright ban. Not that I am encouraging an outright ban, but it seems that would send a stronger message.

In my many attempts to quit smoking (I went almost a year one time) and especially when I am sick, I absolutely detest the smell of cigarette smoke. I am sympathetic to those who hate cigarettes. They’ve chosen not to take it up, so it is unfair that more times than not they cannot travel from the top of campus to the bottom without traveling through various clouds of cigarette smoke and having to hold their breath or breathe it in.

That is why it is important for all to keep in mind that this mandate is not law. Should a campus police officer approach a student smoking outside the designated areas, there is nothing written that the student can be escorted to one of the areas or that he or she even needs to put out the cigarette.

So it comes down to civility. The mandate comes in good faith: the university is trying to provide a safe and healthy environment for all students. The designated smoking areas are proof of good faith, an attempt to please both sides.

In a message announcing the new campus smoking policy, President Corrigan addressed the issues involved with on campus smoking.

“We have been moving in this direction for some time. The previous university policy prohibited smoking within 30 feet of a campus building. Given our compact campus, that actually left few legal opportunities for smokers,” Corrigan wrote. “With this policy, our hope is to protect all who live, work, study or visit the campus from a major health concern: secondhand smoke.”

“The designated smoking areas are easily reachable but separated from main campus traffic and are clearly marked,” Corrigan wrote in regards to the smoking areas. “Denying those who smoke any outlet is likely to prove counterproductive and prompt both resentment and violation of the policy. Further, mutual respect, a cornerstone of our campus values, leads us to seek a solution that addresses the concerns of all involved.”

The Administration seems to be providing student smokers with a choice: obey the policy or not, either way the decision is yours. Many will be happy about this policy and many will be pissed about it, no doubt this will cause at least a little stir on campus and much debate.

If you have anything to say about the new smoking policy, write me at madonna@sfsu.edu.