You take a deep breath before walking into the thick cloud of smoke.

Coughing, you continue on your treacherous journey to class. Your building is in sight, but before you make it inside, you have to pass through the final challenge. Multiple smokers crowd around the door, you politely squeeze through and make it inside the building, safe at last.

While many smokers on Wichita State’s campus are respectful of the policy, others are not and non-smokers pay the price.

According to WSU policy, smokers must be 10 feet away from campus buildings. This policy not only goes unenforced, but also has many flaws.

First, many of the cigarette receptacles are less than the required minimum distance away from campus buildings. Outside of Neff Hall, the pole is directly outside the entrance of the building.

On the west side of McKinley Hall, the pole is 10 feet away, but it is on the only narrow path to the entrance on that side of the building. Students and faculty must walk past the pole to enter the building.

Additionally, 10 feet is not enough room for non-smokers to enter a building without inhaling the smoke. While a ban on smoking is unrealistic on a campus as large at WSU’s, simply enforcing the current policy would be a huge step for the campus.

Non-smokers should not have to constantly walk through clouds of smoke on their walk to class.

While smokers have a right to make their own health decisions, other members of campus should not be forced to suffer because of the lack of enforcement of the policy.