2008 Woodie Awards
Students find campus smoking ban desirable
Noting health concerns, campus administrators agreed to ban smoking.
By Monte Ashqar
Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: News
Originally published: 9/13/07 at 3:36 PM CSTLast update: 9/15/07 at 9:09 PM CST
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This smoking ban was first discussed during the 2003-2004 academic year, when students, faculty and staff discussed a smoking policy in forums and agreed to prohibit smoking on the San Antonio College campus for health reasons.
The new smoking policy can be found at www.accd.edu/sac.
According to that policy, out of 422 students surveyed, 70 percent supported smoking restrictions, including 39.6 percent of students who self-reported as smokers.
The policy also mentions that smoking is a primary cause of fires, which cost schools $5.9 million in direct property damage in 2002.
Yet in a phone interview Sept. 6, Ron Schiller, environmental health, safety, and risk manager with the district, said that this smoking ban was enacted with no considerations to risk management.
Since 2005, incremental restrictions have been in place. What changed on Aug. 27 was that smoking became illegal even in the parking lots.
Cpl. Leonardo Nieves, campus police coordinator, said students can smoke inside their vehicles as long as they do not get out of their cars or flick the cigarette butts out the window.
"Violating this ban will result in a ticket that will range from $12 to $18 just like all the tickets on the campus," he added.
"There was an incident where a trash can caught on fire a couple of years ago on the northern end of Loftin and McAllister," Nieves said.
Sgt. Robert Tomlinson with campus police said that the students can smoke on the sidewalk of the campus as long as it is on a public street.
"The only exception to that is the sidewalk of Dewey Street from McAllister to the loading dock in front of Loftin," Tomlinson said. "That part of the street is owned by the college."
Minnie Balderas, shift foreman with the custodian's office, said that the cleaning crew's job has gotten easier since the removal of the ash bins.
"We haven't been noticing a lot of cigarette butts," Balderas said. "I actually like the fact that they removed the ash bins."
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Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Paul
posted 9/14/07 @ 8:54 PM CST
It's about time that tobacco smoke be kept out of the lungs of non-smokers. Second Hand Smoke has serious health consequences for all non-smokers. And those with respiratory problems can be effected very quickly and very seriously. (Continued…)
OUTLAW DIET COKE AND LUNCHMEAT AND FRAGRANCES
posted 9/20/07 @ 6:49 AM CST
MSG and Aspartame (a very toxic artificial sweetener only made legal by corporate-political graft and Donald Rumsfeld) and sodium/potassium nitites/nitrates and many other artifical additives in our food are actually more dangerous than smoking. (Continued…)
Rennie Murrell
posted 9/21/07 @ 3:23 PM CST
It seems that a smoke-free environment at San Antonio College and all of it's district facilities is incorrect. The environment at the Northeast Lakeview College is a tobacco-free environment, completely different from smoke-free, but it seems you are allowed to smoke in the parking lot at the Notheast campus, whether in your private vehicle or one-inch off the campus property in the parking lot. (Continued…)
www
posted 10/05/07 @ 7:26 PM CST
Pollution from your car exhaust is just as deadly, so why make such big deal about people smoking? When people smoke, they do not smoke in front of your face. (Continued…)
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