“It’s when people light up a cigarette without asking in a public space that people get annoyed.”
– Dan Gerszewsai, junior

When students walk into the lounge on the second floor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union, they would be greeted by other students reclining on sofas, reading papers, typing on laptops and smoking, which is what the lounge was most known for.

But under a proposal on the desk of Chancellor Carlos Santiago, onlookers would see students reclining and relaxing, but with one major difference: there would no longer be any smoking.

Many feel that this would make the environment on the second floor more healthy and relaxed, while others feel that this policy would discriminate against smokers unnecessarily.

Besides, supporters of the ban argue that smokers can go to other places in the Union to relax and smoke, such as the 8th Note Coffeehouse or the Gasthaus.

“I think that it’s just a few smokers giving the rest of us a bad name,” said junior Dan Gerszewsai. “It’s when people light up a cigarette without asking in a public space that people get annoyed.”

“I think (the ban is) a good idea because if you walk into the 8th Note, you know people are going to be smoking,” he said. “It’s an enclosed space, while the second floor isn’t enclosed.”

Others support the ban for different reasons.

“I think it’s a good thing because they want to get people to cut back and quit,” said sophomore Sarah Stoehr. “It’s healthier for everyone.”

This is the main reason that students support the ban, citing health-related studies that show that smoking is hazardous to your health, especially to non-smokers. Many said that the ban creates a campus that is safer, healthier and cleaner for students.

Some students however, are opposed to the ban.

“That’s the only place that smokers can smoke and study,” said junior Bastian Pope. “It’s too loud in the Gasthaus and the 8th Note to get any studying done.”

Students who oppose the ban said that non-smokers can go to the library and study.

However, students who smoke have no place they can study and smoke at the same time. Smokers also argue that there are a lot of UWM students who smoke and pay the same tuition as everyone else. Therefore they should have a place of their own where they can go to study and unwind on campus.

“Nonsmokers can study wherever they want,” said sophomore John Van Dyke. “Smokers can only smoke on the second floor.”

In the meantime, the debate about smoking rages on. Whether or not the majority of UWM students oppose smoking on campus or support it, one thing is clear: the debate is far from over, and not everyone will agree with the final decision.

“Smokers and non-smokers have to coexist,” said junior Dan Gerszewsai. “Smokers have rights, but the rights of nonsmokers don’t supersede ours.”

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