Smoking rules unenforced

Editor

On  Feb. 16, as I was leaving through an open door at Cloud Hall, I found  myself in a plume of cigarette smoke. Four students were hanging out at  the entrance, three of whom were smoking.

As someone who gets adverse effects from cigarette smoke due to asthma and other conditions, I was concerned.

The  officers seemed bothered when I asked about the ubiquitous no-smoking  signs around campus. After a brief verbal runaround, the officers  eventually told me it wasn’t really a policy, and that they would not  enforce it. Five minutes later, at the Deans office, I was told that -  not only is it a campus policy - but it is also part of the California  Educational code that governs community colleges.

When  I tried to speak to Chief Barnes I was directed to Sergeant Gaytan –  who just happened to be one of the same 6 officers that initially blew  me off. After prodding him with my new-found knowledge, he finally  admitted that smoking is so rampant on campus that it’s just easier for  them to not enforce the California Educational Code – something he could  have been up front with me about initially instead of lying to me.

I  find it outrageous that our campus police can exercise such logic. If  enough students started openly shooting heroin, or if enough students  were raped, would it become okay, and be tolerated?

Are  students even safe on campus with police that govern themselves outside  the realm of their own regulations? Shame on Chief Barne’s reign of  laziness and ineffectiveness. It seems that a colossal amount of money  (from our student fees and taxes we pay) is being wasted on campus  security. Especially as police officers, they certainly set a bad  example for the Student Body by picking and choosing what rules they  want to follow. CCSF’s finest? I think not.

Tobias Medina
Broadcast Journalism

Email:
editor@theguardsman.com