Students To Protest IUS Smoking Ban

Thursday afternoon, students at Indiana University Southeast will protest the possibility of fines for violating the school's smoking ban.All IU campuses have been tobacco-free since 2007. An IUS committee is considering attaching fines to the academic penalties for violating the ban, but spokesperson Erica Walsh says that's unlikely to happen anytime soon."That is one of the things that is on the table, but there has not been anything presented, there has been nothing decided," she says.A group of students will march on campus Thursday to protest the possibility of fines and the ban in general. Under current rules, students can only smoke in private vehicles on campus. Protestor Ian Girdley says he would like to see the university set aside a few outdoor smoking areas."Some people don't drive, some people take the bus, sometime you're parked on the other side of campus and there's no reason there can't be designated spots, even shelters, where you can partake in a cigarette without negatively affecting people," he says.Girdley says he's expecting anywhere from 15 to 150 students to attend the protest. A smoking ban at the University of Louisville will take effect next month.