Mitchell College snuffs out smoking

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Mitchell College snuffs out smoking
Campus ban to start when students return from break
By Amy Renczkowski Published on 1/17/2009

New London – When Mitchell College students come back from winter break Tuesday, they’ll be greeted with a new sign at the main entrance notifying them that the main campus is now smoke-free.

Places where students, faculty, visitors and everyone else used to light up – outside the classroom buildings, the dining hall, the common area near the statue of Nathan Hale and the administration and faculty offices – are now off-limits to smokers, no butts about it.

SAMPLING OF SMOKING BANS

# Connecticut College prohibits smoking inside all buildings and smoking is not permitted within 20 feet of outside doorways or residential houses. On campus grounds, smoking is permitted in designated areas only.
# Fairfield University prohibits smoking in all areas of the university’s eight residence halls. Students who violate the policy will receive a $100 fine and 10 hours of university service. Additional violations will result in a housing reassignment or loss of other privileges.
# Quinnipiac University prohibits smoking inside all buildings but allows smoking in outside common areas.
# Trinity College prohibits smoking inside all buildings and smoking is not permitted within 20 feet of outside doorways or residential houses.

# University of Hartford prohibits smoking inside all buildings. Smoking is allowed outside the campus grounds.

# University of New Haven prohibits smoking inside all buildings. Smoking is confined to outdoor space.

Source: College media relations departments and school handbooks.

This week, administrators are removing the cigarette-butt receptacles around the main campus and preparing for the smoking ban by sending e-mail blasts to the school community. During the first month, those in violation of the policy will be reminded and educated about the regulation, but after that, college officials said there will be consequences for violators.

Christine Gallagher, director of Residential Life & Judicial Affairs said college officials are still discussing how they’ll enforce it.

”Ultimately, it will provide a nice environment,” Gallagher said. “If it’s done correctly, we won’t alienate anyone.”

Students will only be permitted to smoke at least 50 feet away from the school’s nine dorms. And if the college gets its way, allowing smoking outside the residential halls will only be temporary.

The ultimate goal of the president’s cabinet, made up of the president of the college, the vice president, the dean and the chief financial officer, is to be completely smoke-free by 2011.

The smoking policy has been in the college’s Code of Conduct since 2003, the same year they stopped selling cigarettes in the school store. But the rule hasn’t been enforced until now, said Julie Liefeld, interim dean of students and director of life and wellness.

”We’re a small college, and I think it was difficult to enforce,” Liefeld said. “I think it just slowly crept up.”

College officials said there have been problems with students leaving cigarette butts on school grounds and occasional issues with people smoking inside the dorms or tampering with the smoke detectors, but most of the school community has been good.

In a November survey, the college found that more than 85 percent of the school community wanted a smoking ban to return to campus. The survey also revealed that about 20 percent of the student population has either experimented with or smoked a cigarette. Liefeld said the national average is 27 percent.

”Students tend to smoke in college, but it’s usually temporary,” Liefeld said.

College officials said they are trying to be sensitive to members of the school community who smoke, since they know the habit is difficult to quit and it is legal for those age 18 and over to do so.

”We don’t want to make a move that says there’s something wrong with what they’re doing,” Liefeld said. “We know it is a difficult process (to quit smoking) and we need to be respectful of that.”

Student Affairs will enforce the smoking ban on students, and the school’s faculty and staff members who violate the regulation will report to the college’s Human Resources Department.

The Health and Wellness Residential Group will help the school community by providing assistance to those trying to quit and continuing education programs with events like National Smokeout Day in November.

Students won’t return to campus until next week, but a small group has started a group on the social networking Web site Facebook. The group, named “Mitchell Smokers UNITE and REBEL,” has 23 members.

Via Pell, a Mitchell freshman and a smoker, said she didn’t think it was fair for the school to start the smoking ban in the middle of the school year. She is against the regulation.

”The students who smoke are over 18 and are adults. It’s our choice if we want to smoke and it is not right for them to tell us we can’t,” Pell said. “School officials should know I’m not the only one who’s not going to be listening to their so called ‘ban.’

”And if they think they can control the campus to such extremes as that, they are very misguided.”

Other Mitchell College students from the Facebook group who were contacted did not reply.

Source: http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=20a1f0cd-7cff-4b3b-af93-6b475b559f8d

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