Not content with banning smoking on all outdoor university property, administrators at Ball State University are cracking down on off-campus smoking as well.
Police officers working for the Indiana university have issued tickets to at least three people for dropping cigarette butts outside the boundaries of campus, according to a local ABC news channel.
A spokesperson for the university said that residents complained about students smoking on their property. One area in particular–a narrow road off campus–has become a go-to spot for student smokers.
“I feel bad about being here,” said Kevin Krauter, a student smoker, in a statement to The State Press.
The students have no other choice, since Ball State prohibited smoking on campus over the summer. Violators receive $100 fines. (RELATED: Ball State imposes strict smoking ban and $100 fine)
But the policy has turned Petty Road into a haven for smokers–and a massive annoyance for residents.
“Ball State University’s smoking ban is resulting in noise, litter and a traffic hazard in an adjacent residential neighborhood,” wrote the Indianapolis Star.
Ant-smoking zeal has become common at universities around the county. Hundreds have prohibited smoking in outdoor spaces, even though the hazard of inhaling secondhand smoke while outdoors is very low.
Ball State’s fine puts the university in an elite tier of nannying institutions, however.
“We are cooperating with neighbors who have concerns, and we are talking with students and employees who are smoking in an adjacent neighborhood and urging people to be respectful of the residents,” university spokesperson Joan Todd told the Daily Caller. “We are sensitive to the issue and have placed receptacles near the area, and ground crews clean the area daily.”