On Saturday, Oklahoma State University took part in national Kick Butts Day. The event’s goal was to urge tobacco companies to stop advertising their products to young audiences and encourage politicians to increase restrictions on tobacco sales to minors.

We believe this is an important event and were sad to learn OU and the city of Norman did not participate in the event. According to the event’s website, the closest celebration was at Noble High School.

With past discussions about a campus smoking ban, this would have been a perfect opportunity for both smokers and non-smokers to come together and discuss a solution for this problem. Due to the number of students, faculty, parents and visitors who have a smoking habit, an all out ban of smoking on campus would not be a feasible option.

We agree OU should not implement a smoking ban. However, OU should re-evaluate where it is OK to smoke on campus and there should be stricter enforcement of these laws. There are too many enclosed areas on campus where students smoke, creating a safety hazard for non-smokers.

Last week, OU had an opportunity to participate in Kick Butts Day and engage in a non-offensive learning experience. However, this didn’t happen. In the future, we hope those who are proponents of a smoking ban will find alternatives like Kick Butts Day to educate their peers about hazardous behaviors.

We have all seen the grotesque displays of the pro-life advocates, and heard damning statements from Preacher Bob and similar religious leaders on campus.

The event would by no means be as abrasive as the abortion protestors, but rather it would have been a means to get a message to our elected officials and Big Tobacco that we need stricter tobacco laws.

We believe education is a much better alternative to a complete ban. Everyone has heard the dangers of smoking, but it doesn’t hurt to remind people of the damage smokers do to themselves and others.

Yes, anti-smoking groups could use this as an opportunity to display grotesque imagery of a smoker’s lungs, cancer and the other physical effects of smoking, but we would hope a similar event would occur on campus to educate students about the hazards of smoking.