Three puffs, you may not pass
Smoking, vaping and all other tobacco products were banned from campus on Aug. 19.
Campus Safety Supervisor Ben Macias described the repercussions of being caught smoking in an email. Macias referred to the new campus policy regulating tobacco products, AP 3570.
“Students reported to Campus Safety as well as students observed by Campus Safety shall be issued the following: First Offense: Verbal Warning, Second Offense: Written Warning,Third Offense: Referral to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action,” Macias said.
Dean of Students Maryann Tolano-Leveque decides the consequences for those who are caught.
“There will not be fines, but there will be disciplinary actions,” Tolano-Leveque said.
Tolano-Leveque said designated smoking areas have been removed from campus. Smoking is permitted on city sidewalks around the perimeter of campus.
“I think it’s a positive thing; it’s a health issue,” Tolano-Leveque said. “I think it is encouraging people to quit.”
Despite the ban’s recent enforcement, Tolano-Leveque said it is “very rare” to see people smoking. She said students and faculty have been “very respectful” of the ban.
Freshman psychology major Britney Milligan criticized the rule.
“We’re all adults here,” Milligan said. “I think we should do what we want.”
Another sophomore student, Tatiana Olavarria welcomed the new policy.
“I think it’s good,” Olavarria said. “It’s kinda gross smelling all that smoke everywhere.”
Olavarria said she had still “seen someone vaping” during the first week of the fall session.
The policy has already taken a noticeable effect — cigarette butts no longer litter the grounds except on some campus sidewalks.
We observed people smoking around the outskirts of campus, near the MA building, in parking lots and around the Automotive Technology buildings. In the Campus Center Mall, where a majority of students spend their time, smoking has noticeably declined.
The Citrus student government passed a resolution in 2016 recommending a ban. Last spring campus governance committees including the Academic Senate, ASCC and the Board of Trustees approved the tobacco ban.
