Community Council recommends 'soft

Author: Joseph Bergan

Community Council began the month of May with a decisive meeting dedicated to resolving the issue of the smoking ban on campus. After a short executive session in the beginning of the meeting to discuss Judicial Board nominations, the Council reconvened to discuss the smoking issue that was brought up several months ago by concerned staff members at the College.

The Council began by discussing the removal of "butt's bins," the cigarette bins placed outside the doorways of most campus buildings and dormitories. The cost for removal of the bins would be around $300 - not including labor. When Pete McSherry '06 asked if there was a budget, Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson replied that there was none, but said, "Worst case scenario, we could figure out what we needed and put in a request for next year's cycle."

The attention then turned to SGA Senator Max Nardini '08 and his idea for a "soft radius." He said, "Signs should be put in problem spots, worded in a respectful and cordial manner." His comment was followed by a discussion about where the problem spots actually are. Dean of the College Tim Spears added, "It might be better off going in a more staggered direction - there may be cheaper, more effective options out there".

Hanson brought the issue back to the bins when she asked Director of Public Safety Lisa Boudah if there have been many complaints this year specifically about smoking.

"I don't know of any time when we have gone to a building and someone had been smoking in the entryway and someone on the inside was complaining," said Boudah. Additionally, Boudah said that there have not been many incidents of students smoking indoors this year, and noted that people are being more respectful and exiting the building to smoke.

Spears voiced an opinion about "hard" versus "soft," noting that he wants to see other plans implemented in addition to the soft plan. Hanson clarified that, to her, "hard" suggests "do not smoke" while "soft" can be interpreted as "please do not smoke." She then made the suggestion of putting benches outdoors at a reasonable distance away from entryways.

"You could go out in front of your building, sit down, smoke your cigarette and have a place to put it out," said Hanson. Abby Blum '08.5 noted that this might not be the best idea because of how cold temperatures are on campus for most of the year.

As the issue drew to a close, the discussion moved to the enforcement of the principle. Boudah wondered what she would tell her officers if the plan goes into effect. "We aren't talking about enforcement or rules [smokers] would be breaking, so Public Safety would just encourage them," Hanson offered. Hanson added that first the officers would encourage respect and if that did not work, there would be a hard radius. Therefore the Council would prefer to "try and go the educational and people take responsibility route first."

Boudah still had reservations about exactly what the radius entails. "There are dining halls where they designate a door to smoke in, now do they tell them to walk 20 paces? To the right? To the left?" This lightened the mood, especially when Spears suggested a campus-wide contest "about the appropriateness of the language" on the signs.

Hanson noticed a general agreement in the council and moved to a vote. The new motion will read:

1. Community Council recommends that the College smoking policy be modified to include a statement that smoking should not take place in areas where smoke is likely to enter buildings, including in building entranceways, near open windows and especially near building air intakes.

2. Community Council recommends that especially at locations where there currently is a high frequency of smoking, that signs be placed to discourage smoking in the area.

3. Community Council recommends that an annual reminder be sent out to faculty, staff and students about the smoking policy to help educate the community.

With a vote of 15-0-0, Hanson commented that the Council will send the recommendation to President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz.

After the meeting, Hanson remarked, "We are trying to encourage a sense of personal responsibility and support for the community. This recommendation means that we are going to ask community members to take responsibility for their own actions and to think of others."