Smoke free bill passes for Spring
“We did take a survey and had a very good turnout on the poll,” SGA President Ryan Greene said. “I want to say around 1500 people, possibly more.”
With such a large voter turnout on such a controversial issue, the vote came close: 60 percent of students polled voted for a smoke-free campus while 40 percent voted against.
Even though the votes leaned toward going smoke-free, the results were not as definitive as SGA desired.
“In response to the results, SGA made a committee to look into smoke free-campuses,” Greene said. “They did extensive research.”
The SGA committee, headed by Billy Grace, discovered that most students in favor of a non-smoking campus are concerned with people smoking at the entrances of buildings.
“I do not smoke and do not have many friends that smoke,” Molly Rhynes said. “It is annoying to have to hold my breath just to walk into a building.”
In response to the research conducted, SGA noted that most students felt little concern about smoking in open areas like Front Campus. Thus, SGA decided to not go smoke-free, and instead, wrote a resolution making it illegal to smoke within 30 feet of any on-campus building.
GCSU dorms abide by a similar policy, but the new policy applies to every building on campus, not just the dorms.
“The main thing that we want students to know is that we plan on enforcing these policies,” Greene said. “SGA will go through public safety enforcement.”
After learning of this new policy, students reacted with mixed emotions.
“I do not smoke, but I know a lot of people who do,” Jessi Lail said. “Ten to twenty feet would be fine, but thirty is a little excessive.”
Some students support the new smoking policy and feel that SGA took the correct action in response to the poll.
“Personally, I like the new policy,” Brent Jones said. “I think it’s fair. Smokers still smoke on campus, but other people do not have to smell like it.”
While many people reacted positively, others noted the negative effects of further restricting smoking on campus.
“I think it is a good idea,” Maggie Fell said. “But it probably will make people angry; this is their home.”
Patrick Burns noted, prior to the decision of SGA to not go smoke-free, that the right to smoke is a basic freedom that accompanies a liberal arts education. Even with SGA’s current decision to not go completely smoke-free, students feel the pressure of more restrictions on smoking.
“I do not smoke regularly,” Katy Graham said. “But in the long run, since this is a liberal college, I think [the policy] will backfire.”
The bill proposed to adjust the smoking policy now awaits approval from the university senate.
“A decision at the end of the year will likely happen,” Greene said. “But realistically the policy will not go into effect until fall 2009.”
As the possible new policy looms over the university like a cloud of smoke, students eagerly anticipate a decision.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Nov 14 2008. Filed under News.
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