University needs to ban smoking on Main Campus

Editor,

I would like to comment on Peggy Spencer's column on secondhand smoke in Tuesday's Daily Lobo.

I work on North Campus and take classes on the Main Campus. Last week, I had to pass a smoker to get to class at Dane Smith Hall. I had to walk behind a smoker when I walked back to work.

What a difference it makes to me to be on North Campus, where I don't have to go around the block to avoid smokers when entering a building or cross the street to avoid walking behind a smoker.

I have allergies that are aggravated by cigarette smoke, and I am sensitive to the bad smell. There are still smokers on North Campus, but they go to a location that I can easily avoid.

They are no longer at the entrances of buildings or on the center of campus.

I would like to point out that not only are we breathing in secondhand smoke but also smoke that was in the smoker's lungs and mouth. That is really an unappealing thought.

I don't want to infringe on your rights, but I have rights, too. Smoke travels, and even if I walk 20 feet or more behind you, I can still smell it.

It lingers around the ashtrays, in the doorways and on your clothes. So just because you finished your cigarette doesn't mean the smell is gone or that it no longer affects my allergies.

Main Campus needs to go smoke-free. If North Campus can do it, so can the Main Campus.

Patricia Morris

UNM student