American University’s first step towards a new smoking policy shows just how long and complicated the process will be to achieve the goal of having a smoke-free campus.
The first step is a revision of the current policy which would ban students from smoking within 25 feet of all buildings on campus; however the policy is already confusing and contradictory so it is likely to be a long road towards new rules.
Currently, smoking on University grounds and outside campus buildings is permitted, according to the Student Handbook. However, there are some contradictions to this policy. New signs have been put up outside the Mary Graydon Center which prohibits smoking within 25 feet of the building. These signs are not enforced and since the Student Handbook does not mention them they are largely ignored.
“It’s hilarious that there were these smoke-free area signs, no one seemed to know anything about them and where they came from and there was no enforcement. I can’t really blame smokers for not yielding them,” said Noah Jacobs, a graduate student in the School of Communication.
Jacobs produced a film about the smoking issues and policy at AU and is in favor of stricter policies.
Director of Sustainability, Chris O’Brien, started drafting a new revised policy last year which would include a policy in the Student Handbook to enforce the smoke free area around campus buildings.
Chief Michael McNair of Public Safety said he does not see the need for a revised policy.
“If [Noah] Jacobs thinks there’s a problem and O’Brien thinks there’s a problem and they’re willing to fix it, that’s fine, but I don’t see it,” he said. “The [current] policy makes good sense for us and as far as I can see its working pretty well for us, I don’t see evidence of this big problem.”
Jacobs’ film features groups of ten or more students on campus smoking in front of MGC and the library. McNair said he has not seen situations like this firsthand and believes Jacobs exaggerated the issue.
The revised policy is still working its way through the administration. There are a lot of bureaucratic hoops within the administration that have to be jumped through, said Jacobs.
The President’s Council, made up of students, faculty and staff, is scheduled to discuss the proposed policy in January. After that meeting the next step for the proposal is currently unknown, according to O’Brien.
The proposal has two phases, according to O’Brien. Phase 1 creates a 25 foot smoke free area around all the buildings on campus. Phase 2 is a plan to make AU a smoke-free campus in three years.
O’Brien said the three year period allows a time for transition which should make it easier on everyone. He is hoping that a smoke-free campus will discourage people from smoking. The transition period will also give ample time to create smoking cessation groups for people who want to quit smoking, said O’Brien.
The enforcement for the policy will be similar to what is currently written in the Student Code of Conduct, according to O’Brien. He does not think there should be a fine for violations.
Jacobs believes otherwise.
“Look there’s going to be a fifty dollar fine or whatever kind of fine, I think there will be a period where you have a couple tickets written but I have faith in the American community to communicate the policy,” he said.
McNair disagrees with the fines and does not think they are needed. He thinks it would create animosity amongst people for no reason.
“We have to stop putting things that a person can smoke at right there near the building…the easiest thing is to move the smoking pole,” McNair said.
“Some of those are easy fixes, I don’t think they require policy changes, just a little common sense of where we put the smoking pole,” he said.
Jordana Condon, a sophomore in CAS, believes the new policy and plans to make campus smoke-free will receive a great deal of opposition from students.
“They should enforce the boundaries but the boundaries should not include the entire campus, a person smoking a cigarette while walking to class is not really polluting the whole campus,” she said.
She believes there should be a balance met for smokers and non-smokers. Foreign students who are used to a culture where smoking is very acceptable will have a difficult time adjusting to a place where smoking is not allowed, she said.
She feels the university is trying to take away a main stress reliever for many students.
“What else do you expect me to do to relieve the stress you put upon me, you cannot infringe on my right to smoke outdoors when there could be a solution that is acceptable to both sides of the discussion,” Condon said.
It is going to be a culture change, said O’Brien. He understands that this issue will affect many people but said that no one has outwardly said they oppose the idea of a smoke-free campus.
“We are having the conversations and making sure everyone is heard. I have gone through fifteen drafts of the policy already and sent it through for feedback from representative groups on campus” he said.
Several other colleges in America have been moving towards stricter smoking policies.
Montgomery College recently enforced a no smoking on campus policy. It is a small campus so people have just been walking to the edges to smoke. However, they throw their cigarette butts in the neighbor’s yards which are creating problems with the neighborhood, according to McNair.
Carlson University discussed a campus wide ban last year and by August 1st of this year the entire school is smoke free, according to Jacobs.
Jacobs is in favor of more rights for non-smokers and a faster change in the policy.
“I think there is a basic civility issue, smokers need to be more aware that they need to do it in a place where it’s not affecting non-smokers right to breathe clean air,” Jacobs said.
“There’s a universal Wonk campaign but there’s not a universal smoking campaign, I think that’s the problem.”
The question of smoking on campus has been under debate since at least 1936, according to Eagle archives, perhaps this new policy will finally make a decision one way or the other.
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