KENT, Ohio – There’s no butts about it.
Kent State may soon be a tobacco-free campus.
After the Ohio Board of Regents encouraged all public universities to go tobacco-free last summer, the school is now surveying students for their opinion.
“As soon as I saw that, I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Really?’” said student Megan Schimmoeller.
Schimmoeller enjoys smoking on campus, though she said it’s already limited. The school allows people to smoke 20 feet away from buildings.
“We already have these specific things we have to follow. Why is there a need to take it away?” she asked. “I doubt I would do it, follow the ban. They don’t enforce the rules as is.”
Fellow student Garrett Barrera said the new ban would pose its challenges and benefits.
”I think it’s better for the environment and the people around. Keep healthier lifestyles,” he said. “Maybe it’ll decrease the number of the population that do use tobacco.”
“People feel the right that they can do what they want,” Barrera continued.” It is their life. They can make their own decisions, so I think students would protest against it.”
The university is asking students – no matter their stance – to participate in public forums this week, so the university can move forward with a plan that represents the entire Kent State population, said college wellness coordinator Rachael Decker.
Kent already conducted a survey in the fall, and could have a new policy made by spring.
“We want to take our time to make sure we are analyzing the data appropriately, so we hope in the next couple months to have a recommendation to the office of the president, who will then take it on to the board,” Decker said.
Yet, Sarah Silbaugh wants the school needs to factor what that new policy will mean for smokers like her. A ban will limit her legal right to smoke too much, she said.
”With as many students as we have here, to try to eradicate smoking is a little outrageous,” she said. “I understand problems with second-hand smoke, but we are courteous. I understand not smoking in the buildings, but saying we can’t smoke on campus is just mean.”
According to the American Lung Association, more than 250 colleges across the country are completely smoke-free.
If Kent State does ban tobacco on campus, that ban would go into effect as early as 2014.
The Kent campus will host two more public meeting son the ban this week. The hour-long meetings will be at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Thursday in the Governance Chamber at the Kent State Student Center.