Smoking ban as logical as weight monitoring

Indiana University is encroaching upon the rights of students, faculty, staff and anyone visiting Big Brother style. That’s right: A campuswide smoking ban is going into effect in October of this year. My guess is that pretty soon we will all be told what to eat!\nWhile perhaps that is a rather drastic conclusion to make, it makes as much sense as banning smoking. Currently IU limits smoking to be at least 30 feet away from any building entrance or ventilation system. I must admit that I have broken this regulation often. I would, however, be in favor of stricter enforcement of this regulation as opposed to a general ban.\nMany people would claim that secondhand smoke is reason enough to ban smoking from campus. While I would agree that smoking inside can create definite health hazards, the smoke created by smoking outside poses hardly any risk to others if it is done within the regulated area and nonsmokers stay away from these areas. I would say that the biggest offender, when it comes to outside respiratory hazards, are fossil-fuel-burning vehicles (big shocker!). So what I propose is a ban on any vehicle on campus that runs on gasoline or other petroleum-derived fuel.\nAlso, if the school’s administration is truly concerned for the health of its students, then all fast-food restaurants on campus should be banned. In addition to this, overweight students should not attend IU. All students should fall within weight boundaries that are considered healthy for their height and body type. In fact, I propose that these guidelines not only be imposed upon the student body, but upon every person at IU. That’s right, members of the board of trustees and the administration: You all had better lose some weight, or you’re all outta here, fatties. And while we’re controlling what people at IU put in to their body, caffeine should be banned from campus, citations issued to those caught consuming it, and random tests conducted to catch caffeinated offenders. It makes about as much sense as banning smoking from campus. So, why not?\nCliff Gagliardo\nSophomore