Smith to present smoking plan to unions on Wednesday
Five step punishment plan for students to be proposed
By Josh Rizzo
Rocket Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 6/23/09 Section: News
A possible change in the student code of conduct to limit smoking to designated areas was approved by SRU's Council of Trustees on June 19. On Wednesday, President Robert Smith will present the idea to all of the labor unions on campus to see how they feel about the plan.
The unions won't vote on the plan on Wednesday, but will be represented to hear the proposal.
Constance Foley, Vice President of Student Life, said the plan won't be passed unless the unions agree on it.
Foley said the ban was ignored because of the lack of enforcement around campus.
"After smoking was banned, it only took people a short amount of time to realize no one was around to enforce the rule," Foley said. "It was supposed to be enforced by public health officials and police officers aren't public health officials. The closest health officials were 20 minutes away in Butler."
The plan calls for there to be designated smoking areas in parking lots on campus. Some parking lots will still be smoke free, specifically around Old Main, North Hall and the Alumni House.
Any student caught violating the plan would be disciplined as part of a five tier system. For the first offense, a student would have to attend a smoker education program, which students would have to pay $5 for a one hour program.
On the second offense, students are required to write a three to five page research paper with five sources on the detrimental effects of smoking, including the effects of second hand smoke.
For the third step of the program, the student would be required to cleanup cigarette butts from campus areas by filling a container provided to them. The student will also be required to pay $25 to help fund smoking cessation literature and programming through health education.
The fourth offense would lead to the student being assigned cleanup duty and have to pay $45 to take a smoking cessation class.
On the fifth and any subsequent offense, the proposed change calls for the students to be referred to judicial programs for disciplinary action.
If a student refuses to comply with any of these steps, the university would hold their transcripts and registration until they comply.
Foley said she hopes that both sides will be able to compromise.
"We want to keep the campus smoke free," Foley said. "The proposed plan is pretty flexible and can change. People can always smoke in their cars and we are planning on putting the large ashtrays around the designated smoking areas."
The meeting will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday in 104 Old Main. The meeting is not open to the public.
The unions won't vote on the plan on Wednesday, but will be represented to hear the proposal.
Constance Foley, Vice President of Student Life, said the plan won't be passed unless the unions agree on it.
Foley said the ban was ignored because of the lack of enforcement around campus.
"After smoking was banned, it only took people a short amount of time to realize no one was around to enforce the rule," Foley said. "It was supposed to be enforced by public health officials and police officers aren't public health officials. The closest health officials were 20 minutes away in Butler."
The plan calls for there to be designated smoking areas in parking lots on campus. Some parking lots will still be smoke free, specifically around Old Main, North Hall and the Alumni House.
Any student caught violating the plan would be disciplined as part of a five tier system. For the first offense, a student would have to attend a smoker education program, which students would have to pay $5 for a one hour program.
On the second offense, students are required to write a three to five page research paper with five sources on the detrimental effects of smoking, including the effects of second hand smoke.
For the third step of the program, the student would be required to cleanup cigarette butts from campus areas by filling a container provided to them. The student will also be required to pay $25 to help fund smoking cessation literature and programming through health education.
The fourth offense would lead to the student being assigned cleanup duty and have to pay $45 to take a smoking cessation class.
On the fifth and any subsequent offense, the proposed change calls for the students to be referred to judicial programs for disciplinary action.
If a student refuses to comply with any of these steps, the university would hold their transcripts and registration until they comply.
Foley said she hopes that both sides will be able to compromise.
"We want to keep the campus smoke free," Foley said. "The proposed plan is pretty flexible and can change. People can always smoke in their cars and we are planning on putting the large ashtrays around the designated smoking areas."
The meeting will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday in 104 Old Main. The meeting is not open to the public.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
carla o'neill
posted 6/24/09 @ 8:50 AM EST
The fact that this plan skips the all important "...and then we will call your parents, fine them one thousand dollars for each instance...and send you home" tier is problematic. (Continued…)
KBR
posted 7/04/09 @ 11:46 AM EST
I am a non-smoker and agree that smoking ought to be banned in confined areas that cannot be reasonably avoided by non-smokers. But, this policy treats smokers like what they are doing is illegal. (Continued…)
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