Can’t you smell it? It is that same aroma that fills your nostrils after every class: Cigarette smoke.

Whether you are a smoker or not you can’t deny the fact that it is prevalent in our school.

So what should we do? Ban smoking from campus? The current rules are obviously not making everyone happy. I do not smoke, but I do respect another’s right to smoke. I think we need to take smokers into consideration too.A recent study from a northwest Florida university stated that 33 percent of students smoke cigarettes. Let’s just say that percentage works for our school give or take a few percentage points. That means that over 7,000 students at Sacramento State smoke cigarettes.

The only reason people even complain is because of second-hand smoke. The idea that you will get cancer from walking through smoke for three minutes a day is absurd. People get cancer from second-hand smoke over a long period of time.

If a student is not going to get cancer from others who smoke, why are we punishing them for their choice to smoke? People might complain about the smell or that it makes them cough. Cars smell bad and pollute, but we don’t outlaw them.

I think it is worse that we have alcohol on campus than we have cigarettes. If a student smokes a pack of cigarettes and drives home the only problem that they could cause is development of cancer in the future. If a student drinks a pitcher of beer, they have a chance of getting in a car accident on the drive home. .Another census said 25 percent of adults 18-44 years of age smoke cigarettes. This means that college students actually smoke more than the rest of the population. This means that if we make more regulations here it is affecting a higher percentage than if they had made the same change at Disneyland or the Zoo.

People talking on cell phones are just as bad. When you are walking to class and bump into someone, is it because they are smoking a cigarette? Maybe it is because they aren’t even focused on what they are doing?

I get more bothered listening to someone’s loud conversation about some party they went to last than someone lighting up. I can’t remember the last time a cigarette went off in class causing a loss of concentration for everybody. I can remember a cell phone going off in three out of five of my classes last Wednesday.

That is why we have rules about smoking outside. If you can’t handle that I suggest you don’t visit the East Coast. I want to hear what happens when you go to Virginia and tell them that their smoke is bothering you.

I am not saying that everyone should go out and start smoking. I am saying just for once can you keep an open mind and shut your trap?