As the University of Idaho faculty senate moves forward with discussions about the campus tobacco policy, it becomes possible that students will see a campus-wide smoking ban within the next several years.
However, there are still many viable alternatives to such a hard-lined crackdown that need to be explored, said ASUI President Max Cowan.
Surveys conducted by ASUI found that most students are in favor of changing the tobacco policy, but it was unclear to what extent they supported a ban. In a resolution passed last year, ASUI Senate aligned itself against a full smoking ban, but in favor of re-evaluating campus tobacco policy.
Cowan said with tobacco policy, the question is one of public health.
“Students would like to see that we deal with issues relating to secondhand smoke,” Cowan said. “I think that’s a reasonable thing to want, and we need to do our job to do that. Discussion needs to be how to implement (the change) … other campuses struggle when they go completely smoke free.”
Smoking bans come with the removal of
receptacles for cigarette butts, but as other campuses have seen, this comes with an increase in litter, according to Cowan. Better than a full-smoking ban, he said, would be to mark designated smoking areas.
In the event that faculty senate did reach a consensus to implement a smoking ban, Cowan said it most likely wouldn’t go into full effect until 2015 or 2016, and that the ban itself would be preceded by a lengthy period of community education and posting of clear signage.
Cowan, however, hopes that the conversation expands before it reaches that point.
“It’s not for our institution to encourage students to change a behavior unrelated to academics,” he said.
Hannah Shirley can be reached at [email protected]