Excepting policy

There’s been a lot of talk around the IU campus as of late concerning a somewhat controversial decision from President Herbert to ban smoking. Take, for example, the following overheard conversation between a nonsmoker and a smoker:\nNonsmoker: Pretty soon you’ll have to go off campus for that cancer stick. Ha ha.\nSmoker: True. In the meantime I think I’ll put this cigarette out on your eyeball, jerk.\nMe (lighting a cigarette): Whoa, guys. Calm it down. \nTo be fair, that nonsmoker guy was a jerk. His eyeball had it coming.\nGranted there is still time for resounding debate on the topic, but one has to wonder: Will there be any special exceptions? Perhaps. That is, there will be if the University administration operates anything like the United States Congress.\nThere’s an old image about politicians, especially those in Washington, D.C., that most of their jobs are done by making inside deals in smoke-filled rooms. There’s a reason the smoke-filled rooms cliche stands: because it’s true. At least it was until reform-minded Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi came to town (boo, hiss, spit, cackle). Several weeks ago, the California Democrat put a stop to a practice that members of Congress had enjoyed for, well, as long as they’ve been around. Smoking was recently banned inside the Capitol’s Speaker’s Lobby, the last refuge for legislators wanting a quick nicotine fix before voting. \nWhat’s funny is not the fact that smoking had been allowed in various parts of the Capitol for so long, but that it had been outlawed in other federal buildings. That’s the nice thing about making the rules: You don’t have to follow them if you have the power to exempt yourself. And that’s exactly what Congress did, and does – frequently. For instance, certain federal laws guarding maternity leave do not apply to Congress, but maybe that’s because most of them are way past child-rearing age. Besides, who wants more little Trent Lotts or Hillary Clintons running around? Oh, and don’t forget the fact that handguns are prohibited in the nation’s capital, except for members of Congress. (Which begs the question: Does Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar carry a Lugar pistol with him to the floor of the Senate? But I digress.)\nWith the new ban from Pelosi, legislators will have to brave the cold winter air of Washington if they still want to grab a puff, or they can retreat back to their private offices across the street, where smoking is still allowed and doesn’t show any sign of being restricted.\nWe still have until at least Oct. 1 to light up on the IU campus. At that time, a more definite policy decision will be made by the University administration. Let’s hope that if it does decide on an outright smoking ban, it will be applied to everyone – including the administrators.\nOtherwise, there might be a lot of students showing up at Bryan House, the president’s residence, to shoot the breeze and, what the heck, take a few puffs. How much you want to bet this president doesn’t inhale?