Cement-filled cigarette receptacles have put a near concrete stop to on-campus smoking since Aug. 1, when the University implemented its tobacco-free policy.
Because the policy was established under an honor system, SmokingWords adviser and mass communication professor Judith Sylvester said it has worked.
“I’ve spoken to students on campus and, recently, with the Dean of Students, and they all feel students are complying,” Sylvester said. “The only problems we’ve had are some issues with bus personnel, but that was taken care of quickly.”
Sylvester said the goal of the policy this semester was not to see a dramatic decrease in the number of cigarette butts in students’ hands, although she said this appears to be the case. Rather, the goal was to be more aware of the ill smoking habits on campus.
“I didn’t expect 100 percent compliance this semester — really, all I wanted was for gamedays to be better,” Sylvester said. “And so far, with the exception of the Mississippi State game, they have been.”
Sylvester said since the policy implementation, she has received numerous signs of gratitude. The primary comment students have made is how great it feels to safely breathe again on campus.
Biochemistry freshman Carter Pesson said student health improvement has been the greatest benefit of this policy change.
“It’s just been nice not having to deal with the threats posed by secondhand smoke,” Pesson said. “And I hope it stays that way.”
The tobacco-free atmosphere has, overall, been successful, Sylvester said. However, the remaining challenge rests in the handful of students who still smoke as they walk across campus.
“The ‘hot spots’ are what we, as a University, have got to tackle now,” Sylvester said.
Sylvester said the students she sees still smoking on campus are ones who use the habit to combat their school-related anxieties.
“The simple solution is just quit,” Sylvester said. “Not enough students consider that as an option, but so many people at the Student Health Center are working to change that.”
Students are not the only ones stuck in their old habits. Sylvester said some faculty and staff members have yet to comply with the University’s tobacco-free living terms.
“This is all still a process in progress,” Sylvester said. “We’ll get where we want to be in time, but for now — for this semester — we’ve done what we can.”
Biochemistry freshman Florencia Scaglia said the attempt, alone, to promote a tobacco-free environment on campus is appealing to current and prospective students.
“The policy is just a good idea, and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Scaglia said.
Scaglia said student health is something she wishes the University would emphasize more. Deciding to boot the butt has the potential to improve overall student health and put the University in a better light in the future.
Petroleum engineering sophomore Justin Naylor said he is indifferent about the recent smoking ban. When the presence of tobacco was permitted, he avoided the popular “hot spots” Sylvester spoke about.
Overall, he said the policy is accomplishing what it was created to do — getting people to lower their tobacco usage — and it has been successful because it has created a fear among the student body.
“Minus the chain smokers, students now are worried about getting in trouble and getting called out, so to avoid that, they’re just no longer doing it,” Naylor said.