Designated smoking areas have been installed at four different locations around the STLCC-Meramec campus
Liz Neuner and Jenn Roberts
-Staff Writers-
Designated smoking areas have been installed at four different locations around the STLCC-Meramec campus: in the quad between the Lecture Hall and the Student Center, in the benched area outside of Humanities, at the east entrance of campus between the gym and the Social Science buildings, and by Continuing Education. Each area has been marked with signs stating “Temporary Smoking Area.”
Students may see the temporary smoking areas throughout campus, but many choose to ignore them. Student Chris Birkett had plenty to say about the campus becoming entirely smoke free beginning in the fall 2009 semester.
“I pay tuition here therefore I feel as if my freedom and my right to smoke is being taken away from me,” Chris said. “I now feel as if I am being segregated because I am a smoker. When it’s raining outside I have to go stand in an uncovered area to smoke.”
Luke Jones, a smoker, also disagrees with the decision to create smoking areas.
“[The smoking areas] make me feel like an animal, like they’re caging me in,” Jones said.
Other students feel the temporary smoking areas are only going to create larger problems.
“Now there will be an issue of having too many people in the parking lot,” Amanda Simpson, student, said. “Or since they’ve taken away the ash trays now the trash cans will start to catch fire.”
Still, other students, like Jess Trenter, support the forced relocation.
“I’m for it definitely. Get rid of [the smoke], I don’t want it in my face.” Trenter said.
The designated smoking areas are temporary and beginning in the fall of 2009 the campus will be smoke-free within the parking lot perimeters.
