Smoking policy nearing finalization

October 8, 2007 —

After weeks of accumulating comments on the online forum and a live discussion forum held last Tuesday, SVSU administrators are going back to the drawing board when it comes to reshaping the campus smoking policy.

The newest suggestion up for debate is the possibility of smokers' territory being rezoned to campus parking lots. A final decision is being delayed to allow for a second round of student opinions to be voiced, via a new online forum on SVSU's website.

The first mention of the suggested parking-lot policy came from administrators at the live forum. The initial proposal for smoking shelters that had sparked hundreds of online posts yielded a surprisingly poor turnout on the student body's behalf.

Despite the strong opinions the issue has evoked in recent weeks, only three students showed up to voice their concerns.

"I think the attendance of the event shows just how much students care about the issue," said Student Association President Jeremiah Stanghini, who was present at the forum.

Administrators in attendance included Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management Robert Maurovich, Assistant Vice President of Campus Facilities Steve Hocquard, and Director of Career Planning and Placement Mike Simon. Simon served as moderator for the discussion.

Stanghini began by introducing statistics taken from the on-line forum. According his data, 92 of those who responded were in favor of smoking shelters, 66 wished to see no policy change, 62 favored a ban on smoking, and a remaining 63 responded with either indecisive solutions or "rants and raves."

Stanghini also mentioned a memo recently passed to SVSU President Eric

R. Gilbertson, recommending a smoke-free campus by the 2008-09' academic year. The recommendation was developed by a committee composed of Stanghini, Simon, representatives from the University Resident's Association and SA, and the President of the Faculty Association Gary Thompson.

"I was told there was going to be a decision made very soon about the smoking policy, and I wanted to have some sort of recommendation to President Gilbertson from a few populations at SVSU," Stanghini said.

When the floor was turned over to the students, they immediately brought forth their strong opposition toward a smoking ban.

The students stressed the unenforceability of a total ban, and urged the administrators to consider improving the current policy before taking drastic leaps.

They also pressed for the addition of an advertising campaign on campus that would serve to better inform people of the existing smoking policy. The recommendation was noted by the administrators.

"It is only going to work if everyone sees this as something they should step up to the plate for," said Maurovich, referring to the necessity of a communal enforcement effort.

The students showed support for smokers' rights. Political science senior Aaron Brown, an admitted former smoker, addressed what he thought to be the stress-relieving factor associated with smoking cigarettes.

"For some students, smoking is a release. After a bad exam, after a heated debate in class, or from a bad day in general, smoking offers that sense of relief," Brown said.

There were also concerns that the committee issuing a recommendation to President Gilbertson did not represent the all of the smokers' point-of-view.

"My biggest concern is that the students aren't being accurately heard," Political science senior Eric Read added. "I am also concerned that a few individual students are abusing their privileges given to them by the students, and are making decisions that don't reflect the views of students, but rather work for their own political agenda."

Communication and secondary education senior Keith Tacey was equally dissatisfied with what he viewed as a lack of equal student representation during the opinion-collecting process.

"There were no surveys actively walked around campus," he said. "Why not create non-biased surveys with questions that are posed in such a way to draw out an honest response and actively pursue people to take these surveys to get a more accurate representation of the student body's sentiments."

Although the next step in the process does not involve an on-campus survey, students are encouraged to express their opinions on the second online forum, which will be open for comments between Oct. 8 and 17.

The forum can be accessed at http://www.svsu.edu/smokingforum.