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Printer-Friendly ModeSmoking policy fair, if imperfect
October 29, 2007 —
SVSU's new smoking policy is closer to what seems to be the trend in public legislation, which is simply the complete prohibition of smoking in the public sphere. Smokers are now relegated to the parking lots, which addresses the common complaint of walking through a "cloud" of smoke to get to or leave class. Yet, the policy is balanced and carefully crafted, if necessarily imperfect.
The smoking issue has proven divisive, but SVSU has done a fine job of making sure to get a comprehensive set of opinions on the matter before actually settling on a decision. Think of it this way: the administration could have just as easily banned smoking completely, or even instituted a similar policy without consulting the students, staff, or faculty.
The University should be commended for taking into account a wide range of viewpoints through the two online forums - which produced some spirited discussion - and the face-to-face forum, all of which allowed the campus community to share thoughts on the matter.
SVSU should also be applauded for the speed at which it moved on the issue. Those that work in the public sphere should know that more often than not, work tends to get done very, very slowly. But in this case, SVSU's decision makers recognized how serious people were taking the issue, and immediately took steps to resolve it.
Yet, the policy isn't perfect. But a perfect solution doesn't exist. There are simply some people that are just not going to be convinced one way or the other, since this issue is essentially one of individual preference. And simply speaking, the preference of college types seems to lean in opposition to the habit.
So it's quite possible that a revision of the new rules in the not-so-distant future will probably ban the practice altogether, but there is also a chance that public pressure that will work against the policy - specifically, the persistent problem of enforcement.
If you look at the map, it's easy to see more than a few places where you could have one foot in a nonsmoking area and another in an area where smoking is allowed. What person in their right mind is going to complain to the police about that? And assuming the policy is strictly followed, the parking lots will be strewn with cigarette butts.
The latter point is likely one that the people involved in crafting the policy worried about the most. What's worse: wading through a sea of ashes to get to class, or hacking through a cloud of smoke? Both are surely exaggerations, but those are the types of complaints that the administration had to weigh when formulating a new smoking policy.
The formal, written policy on the matter states that enforcement of the policy is the responsibility of everyone. That seems optimistic. No one wants to be the bad guy.
So we'll have to see where this policy takes us. It seems reasonable enough, but depending on the reaction of the campus community, we could see another change to the policy, and likely one that bans smoking on campus gronds altogether.