Talking Stick - January/February 2009 - (Page 19)

outdoor room is 8 square feet of Plexiglas with a metal roof, costing the school $8,000, and the larger one is 16 square feet with a solid roof, costing $18,000. Executive Director of Auxiliary Services Diane Rawicz believes the price is worth it “if smokers have a place that’s comfortable, and it reduces the litter and smoke that goes up into the residence hall rooms.” There are also five other smoking areas on campus. Steve Heaslip, manager of auxiliary services at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, argues that there should be residence halls specifically for smokers: “The residence hall is your home if you are a student, and you should have a right to be comfortable for the price you pay. Smokers are deemed as monsters and villains. People are giving up their freedoms without a fight and it’s pathetic.” Though wishing to accommodate the rights of smokers, schools find that today’s general student population prefers a smoke-free environment, and they must cater to the needs of the majority. In July 2007, the State University of New York Board of Trustees implemented a policy (which they adopted in January 2007) that banned all smoking on campuses and in residence halls. The remaining nine percent at SUNY schools that still allowed smoking in residence halls, including SUNY Morrisville, thoUgh wishing to worried at first about the AccommodAte the student response. However, rights oF smoKers, students reacted positively. “The schools Find thAt transition was a lot easier than we anticipated,” says Armanda todAy’s generAl King, director of residence life at stUdent PoPUlAtion SUNY Morrisville. “The concern PreFers A smoKe-Free from the faculty and staff was environment, And if students couldn’t smoke in residence halls, it would affect they mUst cAter to their decision to come here. That the needs oF the wasn’t the case at all.” led by the student government, which was a big success among the campus population. “Student government is the way to go,” says Duke Divine, director of business services at Washburn, who was disappointed that the trial policy wasn’t permanently put into effect by the university. “Administration doesn’t want to push a policy on their other administrators.” Many institutions have found creative ways of encouraging compliance. At the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, the housing department once provided smoking rooms in residence halls and apartments but eventually instituted a smoke-free policy with a 30-foot restriction requirement, due to health concerns and fire hazards. To ease the transition, housing staff added ashtrays and picnic tables 30 feet away from the buildings and presented residence hall programs to create clay pots for cigarette butts. “We walk a fine line within housing,” says Laurie Berry, director of housing and residence life. “We’d rather you not smoke, but we won’t tell you that you can’t. We treat our students as adults. It’s legal and it’s their choice to make.” However, Berry also recognizes that there must be consequences from the housing standpoint, and sanctions are given to violators to persuade them to clean up cigarette butts outside on Saturday mornings, deemed “Super Saturdays.” The transition to being smoke-free can bring its difficulties. Kenn Marshall, media relations manager of PASSHE, says that, with the new Pennsylvania ban, “there was some pushback initially, like there is with any new policy, but the vocal complaints have died down.” The residence halls at California University of Pennsylvania had previously gone smokefree with ease. “It went fairly well when we banned smoking in the residence halls because we give plenty of notice and we informed, communicated, and educated,” explains Shawn Urbine, associate dean of residential facilities. “That’s what is needed when major changes are made. It’s important to have a plan, such as designated smoking areas.” Combating smoking on campuses goes beyond creating stricter policies. Colleges and universities must also work with mAJority. At Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, the student government voted twice to restrict smoking, but the policy was never implemented by the university. Finally, students took action to execute a 30-foot-restriction trial for 30 days, January + February 2009 1

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Talking Stick - January/February 2009 Contents Online Now Vision Just In Your ACUHO-I Transitions Res Life Facilities Business Special Focus Calendar Assessing Assignments On Your Honor Conversations First Takes Reporting Out Welcome Snapshot

Talking Stick - January/February 2009

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