It is unfortunate that people who smoke choose to “not know” or “not understand” a policy that clearly states no smoking within 20 feet of building entrances. At the University of Kentucky, a student was photographed smoking right outside of an entrance and yet suffered no punishment. Smokers do not have to follow the policy because no one appears to be forcing them to. A new revision would ban smoking completely from campus, and if accepted will take effect by November, but enforcement may remain an issue.
Fullerton College in Southern California has a no smoking policy, as many other colleges around the United States, but are they enforcing it, and do people take them seriously? As the policy is stated now, campus police can ask smokers to please put out their cigarettes and wait for them to do so. People around campus believe they can smoke on campus as long as they do so before police come along and ask them to put it out. If a more dramatic penalties were in force, would people be more apt to quit smoking? This smoking ban only appears to minimize smoking on campus, not ban it.
Indiana students seemed annoyed when the no smoking within 15 feet of an entrance policy went into effect, and some do not even follow that rule, but how would students, faculty, and staff react if they were forced to follow the new East Tennessee State University policy? ETSU’s new policy goes into effect Aug. 11, 2008. The new policy bans smoking on all university grounds, and the only place smokers can smoke are private vehicles. ETSU plans to have programs for people who wish to stop smoking and believe this revised policy will not only provide more clean air but help people break the addiction.
The policy of no smoking while on the public sidewalk outside the buildings at IUPUI may be too extreme, so has University of North Carolina taken it too far? Previously UNC had a smoking policy that did not allow smoking in or within 25 feet of university buildings, but now the campus wants to make the policy state no smoking within 100 feet of any university-owned building. The campus does not even plan to have any smoking areas because they want the university to be completely smoke free. On the other hand, isn’t that what a smoke free university means, no smoking areas?
At the Central Michigan University, the 25-foot rule, no smoking within 25 feet of an entrance, is being taken a step further. Students and staff are trying to find ways to actually enforce that, instead of it being a rule that people feel there is no consequence if broken. Tammy Griffin, the health manager, believes the policy needs to be revised to state how to enforce the rule. The new policy is stating that students will be reported to Student Life and fines will actually be issued. CMU’s plans to have ashtrays in designated areas where the smokers should smoke.
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