2008 Woodie Awards
Smoking, parking policies confuse
By Monte Ashqar
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: News
Originally published: 11/29/07 at 3:00 PM CSTLast update: 11/29/07 at 3:04 PM CST
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There has been some confusion among the district's department of public safety officers, security personnel and college officials regarding the enforcement of the smoking and parking policies at this college.
Business management sophomore Amanda Dekay, 27, got a ticket for smoking on campus Nov. 1, while she was sitting on a brick wall under a tree about 6 feet away from the sidewalk between Candler Physical Education Center and Gonzales Hall near San Pedro Avenue.
"He drove his patrol car to McCreless, parked it there, then came over and gave me a ticket for smoking on campus although he never saw me smoking," Dekay said. "He said we couldn't smoke there, and if we wanted to smoke, we had to go across the street where the public library is.
"He said I was on campus property, therefore, I couldn't smoke there," Dekay added.
"Five days later, a homeless man was bothering us at the same spot so Meagan (Fromer) called the police," Dekay said.
"The responding officer was (Cpl. Michael) Nemcic, and we asked him if we could smoke there, and he said we were fine," Dekay said.
That day, Dekay and Fromer, liberal arts sophomore, went to the office of President Robert Zeigler to get a map of smoking areas on campus.
"His secretary told us he was not available that day," Fromer said. "She told us that there was no such map because smoking was prohibited on campus.
"She told us if there was a question about smoking somewhere on campus, then we should not do it," Fromer said.
Robin Collett, administrative secretary to the president, said Nov. 15 she told them that all Alamo Community College District campuses are smoke-free and if there is an area that someone is not sure about, then that person should not smoke there.
"That was my personal advice," Collett added.
Cpl. Leonardo Nieves, former campus coordinator with the department of public safety, said in a story published in The Ranger Sept. 7, that as long as the person smoking was standing on the sidewalk of a public street, then that person was not in violation of the district's no-smoking policy.
Business management sophomore Amanda Dekay, 27, got a ticket for smoking on campus Nov. 1, while she was sitting on a brick wall under a tree about 6 feet away from the sidewalk between Candler Physical Education Center and Gonzales Hall near San Pedro Avenue.
"He drove his patrol car to McCreless, parked it there, then came over and gave me a ticket for smoking on campus although he never saw me smoking," Dekay said. "He said we couldn't smoke there, and if we wanted to smoke, we had to go across the street where the public library is.
"He said I was on campus property, therefore, I couldn't smoke there," Dekay added.
"Five days later, a homeless man was bothering us at the same spot so Meagan (Fromer) called the police," Dekay said.
"The responding officer was (Cpl. Michael) Nemcic, and we asked him if we could smoke there, and he said we were fine," Dekay said.
That day, Dekay and Fromer, liberal arts sophomore, went to the office of President Robert Zeigler to get a map of smoking areas on campus.
"His secretary told us he was not available that day," Fromer said. "She told us that there was no such map because smoking was prohibited on campus.
"She told us if there was a question about smoking somewhere on campus, then we should not do it," Fromer said.
Robin Collett, administrative secretary to the president, said Nov. 15 she told them that all Alamo Community College District campuses are smoke-free and if there is an area that someone is not sure about, then that person should not smoke there.
"That was my personal advice," Collett added.
Cpl. Leonardo Nieves, former campus coordinator with the department of public safety, said in a story published in The Ranger Sept. 7, that as long as the person smoking was standing on the sidewalk of a public street, then that person was not in violation of the district's no-smoking policy.
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