Walking down campus between classes, small clouds of smoke are seen rising above the crowd. Many of these clouds are not of condensing breath but are, rather, plumes of exhaled cigarette smoke. Many students are used to simply dodging others’ smoke clouds, but some students are taking a stand against smoking and asking smokers to “quit it” across most of campus.
Michigan Tech’s current smoking policy is outlined in the Michigan Tech Board of Control Policy Manual and states that “Smoking is prohibited except where permitted by the administration.” Many of the entrances to buildings on campus have been designated as non-smoking entrances. However, the enforcement of these non-smoking areas proves to be a challenge for Public Safety officers. Public Safety Chief Dan Bennett said that since the University’s smoking entrance policies are not an official law, they are very hard to enforce. “The strictest thing we could do is forward a name to Judicial Affairs if we catch someone [smoking],” Bennett said. If the offender were staff or faculty, their name would be sent to Human Resources for review.
Bennett stated that “if someone was smoking inside a building, we (the police) have the authority to cite them for a civil infraction for violation of the Public Health Code…” However, since this level of authority does not carry over to outdoor offenses, officers are left with a punishment that is no more than a “slap on the wrist” from University Judicial officials. Bennett said that he hopes smokers exercise good judgment when choosing a location to smoke, but “if everybody uses good judgment, we wouldn’t need police.”
Carissa Miller, a second-year Business Management student, recently proposed a partial smoking ban on campus. In an e-mail she sent to Student Affairs, Miller states that she would like to “start some sort of petition or student surveys” to research student reception of such a ban. Miller proposed “allowing people to smoke where there are designated smoking entrances” and “in private vehicles” while also asking for the construction of smoking shelters on campus since she believes the availability of shelter is the main reason smokers choose to smoke next to buildings in areas that are designated non-smoking entrances. Miller also explains that she believes the main reason she has found initial support among students for her proposal “stems from the fact that the university is not enforcing its current policies about not smoking within x amount of feet from the academic buildings.”
While the enforcement of smoking entrances is spotty at best, the problem originates from the lack of an enforceable law with which Public Safety could cite offenders.
Michigan Tech needs to consider changing its 23-year-old smoking policy in order to enable Public Safety to enforce the school’s existing smoking policies. Perhaps the threat of a fine or a more severe judicial punishment would curb the number of smokers outside non-smoking entrances. Although I don’t agree with the proposed partial smoking ban on campus, I do agree that the existing rules regarding smoking need to be consistently enforced. I believe that the first step toward effective policy is enacting effective enforcement measures.
If officers were able to punish wrongdoers with more than a report sent to Judicial Affairs, Michigan Tech smokers might think twice before lighting up next to a non-smoking entrance.