Royal Purple

Issue date: 9/10/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Michael Rybicki Juniors Shelby Helmbrecht and James Kirk smoke a cigarette while waiting for class to start. The university is in discussions over a campus-wide smoking ban.

Tentative discussions for a campus-wide smoking ban have begun to arise as the risks of secondhand smoke have become more apparent to students and staff.

Vice Chancellor Christine Clements said the proposed ban is "just being discussed now."

She also said if the ban were to become a reality, it would "come out of the Chancellor's office."

Although nothing final has been set into place, discussions are taking place among the university's faculty and staff, as well as students.

Sophomore Heather Olson said she would support the ban if it evolves any further.

"I agree with [the ban] because smoking is an unhealthy habit and it's self-destructive," she said. "But on the other hand, it's not illegal and if they don't do it here they'll just do it somewhere else and bug the neighbors."

However, many smokers feel the current policy of 25 feet away from campus buildings should be sufficient.

"I don't think it's a good thing, two thumbs down," sophomore and smoker Lavaughnta Allen said.

Currently, more than 130 colleges in the United States have a campus-wide smoking ban in place.

As of July 1, five schools in Wisconsin were 100 percent smoke-free including UW-Baraboo/Sauk County.

Before a campus-wide smoking ban proposal could be approved, Chancellor Richard Telfer and his staff, Whitewater Student Government and the university's faculty would evaluate it.

No specific dates for when the ban may be discussed further are known.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools