STLCC passes new tobacco-free policy for all campuses. Tobacco ban to take effect in early 2011.
Rory Sullivan
– Staff Writer –
Smokers are in for it again at STLCC-Meramec, only this time they’re not alone. Administration has been working since August on a new policy that, according to the STLCC Board of Trustees, will not only prohibit the smoking of cigarettes, but the use of all tobacco products throughout the district as well.
An ordinance for St. Louis County, effective on Jan. 2, 2011, states that smoking in specified public places is prohibited. The policy put in place for St. Louis County applies to Meramec since it is both a public place and a place of employment. Sidewalks, driveways and open areas within 15 feet of any entrance to a building open to the public are also non-smoking areas.
The decision to go from a smoking ban to a tobacco ban is due to the failure to find any designated smoking areas.
“There are very many restrictions which tell us what has to be done,” President of Academic Affairs Zerrie Campbell said. “As we as campuses tried to identify those locations, we weren’t able to comply.”
Because each of the STLCC campuses are physically different, there were no areas found that would apply to each campus.
“We have many students who attend more than one campus, and we want to make sure that the policy is applied equally wherever students go,” Campbell said. “Because we were unable to meet the restrictions and the boundaries, we moved to tobacco-free.” The ban will prohibit the use of all tobacco products, including cigarettes, snuff and chewing tobacco.
Campbell said earlier this year that the entire process of making Meramec a smoke-free campus would have to be resurrected. Since Meramec isn’t individually accredited, enforcement of the policy would require cooperation from each STLCC campus.
Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Linden Crawford was asked by Campbell to gather information on smoking bans in St. Louis. She worked with colleagues Yvonne Johnson, the dean of humanities and social science, and Bonnie Sanguinet, manager of the Meramec library, to see what the area was doing in regards to the non-smoking policies.
“As we started researching, we identified the fact that Kirkwood was adopting a no smoking policy in public places, that St. Louis County was, and that St. Louis City was as well,” Crawford said.
According to Campbell if STLCC had not complied, the college and the board would have been subject to daily fines.
When the Wellness Committee surveyed students, faculty and staff in 2008, the majority of them said they would be in favor of a smoke-free campus.
Many Meramec students, however, were hoping for designated smoking areas as opposed to losing tobacco altogether.
When the original policy was in place, smoking was limited to the parking lots, but the new policy reads that “There will be no designated smoking areas within the property boundary.”
Some students are still upset with smoking being prohibited, including Meramec student Maria Bruno.
“Considering how many people smoke cigarettes, I think it’s kind of ridiculous,” Bruno said. “I definitely disagree and I even recently quit smoking.”
Students don’t need to worry about fines for ignoring the policy, but they will be subject to disciplinary action. First-time offenders will have their information taken down and will be issued a warning.
Second-time offenders will be enforced to meet with the vice president of student affairs, and continuing offenders will have their grades held, making them unable to transfer course credits to other schools.
“That’s the current disciplinary process for any violation of a student code of conduct,” Crawford said. “I don’t know that there will be any kind of fine attached. There are no fines for other student disciplinary issues, so I don’t think that we’ll make this different.”
Campbell said that assisting people in kicking their smoking habits is also a priority.
“We want to help people, because we know it is a hardship for them—those that are habitual smokers.” Campbell said that the school will be offering smoking cessation workshops to help smokers quit.
Students who don’t plan on quitting may want to enjoy their cigarettes and tobacco while they can because next semester they will have to become accustomed to a tobacco-free campus.
