SGA senators debate what to do about students who ignore designated smoking areas

The Student Government Association talked about the campuswide smoking ban and controversy surrounding the designated smoking areas on Wednesday evening.

Since the implementation of Ball State University’s partial ban in March, there have been many issues between smokers and non-smokers, said various senators.

At the weekly meeting, Senator Daniel Willart stressed the importance of getting in touch with the people in charge of enforcing the smoking areas and handing out citations.

“We need to find out what’s being done to combat the growing problem of people smoking outside the designated areas,” Willart said.

SGA will try to emphasize awareness of the smoking areas around campus to reduce the number of citations handed out, he said.

Senator Jennifer Julius said she wanted to see more awareness and enforcement within the residence hall smoking areas, which have seen an increase in complaints due to noise and proximity.

“The areas and rules should be followed by everyone, but we can’t force residential advisors to discipline smokers outside their jurisdiction,” Julius said.

Julius also said that one reason people don’t address these situations is because they might be afraid of stepping on people’s toes.

Current policy states it is the responsibility of academic department heads, public safety personnel and faculty to enforce the ban and administer the $50 citation, but these people are not always present when violations occur.

Many ideas were presented during the discussion including the possibility of structures in which smokers may smoke during bad weather. Another idea that was presented was moving the smoking areas away from buildings and making them easier to distinguish from nonsmoking areas. The designated area behind the LaFollette Complex, for example, is positioned in a wind tunnel that forces the smoke into open windows and causes problems for students living in Brayton-Clevenger halls.

According to Julius, a bigger problem than the secondhand smoke at LaFollette is the noise, which is constantly violating quiet hours and distracting residents on the first three floors.

“It’s not just hall directors who should be enforcing the smoking ban rules,” Julius said. “People should be courteous to non-smokers.”

5 comments

Phil

Sat Oct 24 2009 19:40

A frighteningly large segment of the anti-tobacco crowd have moved to the level of overt fanaticism. This is not a good thing, regardless of how one feels about smoking.
It is a mistake to continue to conform to the rantings of some of those people, especially when there are calmer, quieter, and more rational minds available in that group - who are not being heard.

Tweety

Sat Oct 24 2009 10:19

I despise tobacco. As an ex-smoker of a pack-a-day for ten years I have a first hand understanding of what tobacco smoke does to the lungs, muscles, and nervous system. To say it plainly, smoking is a slow suicide, but a much faster killer of one's youth.

However, I am concerned when any society pretends it has the right to enforce codes that limit what one would do to one's own person. Smokers may be emotionally damaged and/or terminally foolish, but if that smoke is not directly impacting me, I should have little say over what an adult is doing to themselves.

That said, I am directly impacted by smokers when I pass them on the sidewalks/streets as my lungs are now asthmatic and sensitive (thanks tobacco!), so I appreciate the physical application of limits to smoking areas, as it keeps those of us who are impacted by carbon-monoxide and nicotine in direct and exhaled smoke from randomly gasping for air.

It sounds to me as though the campus has created a new social spot nobody has any clue what to do with. Perhaps smoking areas could be thought of as social spots, instead of quiet trash-bin areas, and adjusted appropriately for smoke, sound, and convenience?

If anyone is thinking of it, those smoking boxes that resemble enclosed bus-stops are NOT a solution. They create a foul smell and such a condensed cloud as to render the area toxic.

Until a better solution is found, it would behoove smokers in areas next to dorms to keep their socializing sounds to a minimum during evening hours. You don't have the right to impede others learning by keeping them from sleep.

Zach

Thu Oct 22 2009 21:51

I love how Ball State is basically trying to hide the fact that people still smoke by sweeping them under the rug and shoving them into corners with "designated smoking areas." It's ESPECIALLY awesome that they then slowly and systematically begin removing the "designated smoking areas."

I don't smoke, but honestly I'm amazed the smokers aren't rioting. It seems like they're getting screwed left and right.

Steven

Thu Oct 22 2009 15:50

If smoking is banned all together, I am going to be really upset. As a smoker, I've taken the partial ban in stride and have not once violated the rules, even when I knew I could get away with it or when smoking in a designated area seemed inconvenient. I fear for BSU workers who will be forced to go off campus to smoke on their breaks, because it's my belief that these aren't the people violating the rules, yet they'll be punished indirectly.

Since the ban, I have seen five people smoking outside of the smoking areas. That is a very small number, taking into consideration that perhaps they were guests and unaware of the ban. I really hope that a few bad apples don't ruin it for the rest of us, as we've already been pushed into dark, unsafe, and uncomfortable areas as it stands.

Jonathan Sanders

Thu Oct 22 2009 15:35

"Current policy states it is the responsibility of academic department heads, public safety personnel and faculty to enforce the ban and administer the $50 citation, but these people are not always present when violations occur."

I think academic department heads and faculty are better off actually spending their time in the classroom teaching than wasting their time handing out anti-smoking citations.

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