Smokers must now smoke 25 feet from all campus buildings

Thanks to a swift University Senate vote yesterday, smokers must now light up 25 feet away from all campus buildings — a 10-foot extension from the previous rule.

The legislation passed yesterday 72-21-4 after about a five-minute debate and awaits final approval from university President Wallace Loh. The proposal also recommends the Department of Administrative Affairs and the Department of Building and Landscape Services place "no smoking" signs and cigarette receptacles to help members of the campus adhere to the policy.

And while advocates for an entirely smoke-free campus did not get what they wanted, officials said the 10-foot extension satisfies LEED certification requirements.

The senate last year considered a proposal to make the campus completely tobacco-free after a student complained to representatives about the prevalence of second-hand smoke. A subcommittee ultimately scrapped the recommendation — citing legal complications that outweighed any potential health benefits — and instead recommended strengthening anti-smoking policies.

Some staff and faculty members suggested ways to ensure the policy was enforced, including putting up signs in different languages so foreign visitors understand the policy.

While the policy expands smoking restrictions, Marcy Marinelli — chairwoman of the campus affairs committee, which drafted the proposal — said it will likely be the last step taken to create a smoke-free campus.

"Some campuses do have no-smoking rules, but a lot of people said that would be too difficult here," she said. "This policy seemed like a good compromise for those that wanted to ban smoking on campus entirely." Undergraduate student senator Evan Ponchick — who spoke on behalf of undergraduate student senator Alex Miletich, who was in class — said additional anti-smoking policies will be futile if the rules aren't enforced.

"He thinks going from 15 to 25 feet is a great idea, but it may as well be 100 feet if it's not enforced," Ponchick said. "If students were more aware of the rule somehow, it may be more effective."

Some smokers, such as senior philosophy major Tim Ossi, said the new policy is a good compromise between smokers and those who want an entirely smoke-free campus.

Ossi, who transferred from Montgomery Community College — an entirely smoke-free campus — said enforcing stricter rules is a safer alternative to banning smoking altogether.

"I think it's a really tough issue for the university to take on. I know it's really annoying to walk through a cloud of smoke, especially if you're quitting, but you don't want to alienate the people on campus that enjoy it," Ossi said. "But the only way to enforce it is to exert hard power through fines, or else everyone's going to ignore it."

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