With seven months until UK goes tobacco-free, more questions than answers remain.
The Tobacco-Free Campus Task Force met for the sixth time Monday afternoon and discussed issues from compliance with the tobacco ban to smoking in parking garages.
Most of the discussion focused on how to communicate the message of the ban to people on campus and how to enforce the policy.Tyler Montell, Student Government president and leader of the Task Force’s Compliance Committee, held a meeting last week that discussed compliance issues with faculty, staff and students on his committee.
Members of his committee wanted to know who was going to police the policy, Montell said, and what they could do about it.
“ … Not why (there is a ban), but what can we do about this,†Montell said.
Other members of the larger committee questioned how to enforce this policy, as well. The question of how it would appear in the Student Code of Conduct was discussed. The consensus of the group was that the policy must be consistent in approach – discipline and enforcement.
The topic of the current policy — no smoking within 20 feet of buildings — was approached. Committee members said the policy is rarely enforced.
Ellen Hahn, co-chair of the task force along with Anthany Beatty, the vice president for public safety, said that this policy would be different from the 20-foot rule.
That policy was decided one day and was not properly planned, Hahn said.
“This is different,†Hahn said. “We’ve been given nine months to figure it out.â€
Hahn said this smoking ban is not about taking away rights, but rather helping people.
“Rights issue doesn’t hold any water for me,†Hahn said. “If you don’t want to quit, that’s fine. But we have an ethical obligation to help them.â€
Describing herself as an optimist, Hahn said she believes all people are naturally law abiding but knows that there will be some resentment.
Jimmy Stanton, member of the task force and executive director of public relations at UK, said this is a large project that will take a lot of time to develop and plan but will eventually end positively.
“It’s a large project, but a valuable one,†Stanton said.
“If you don’t want to quit, that’s fine. But we have an ethical obligation to help them.â€
Just like it’s our obligation to “help” those poor people around the world who still haven’t accepted The Jesus into their hearts and souls yet, right? Who the hell do you think you are? Your ethical obligation is twofold:
1. Stop spewing your egotistical bullshit, and
2. Stop pretending that breathing in 3 seconds of second hand smoke a day is really harmful to you.
Your attitude is unbelievable. I can only hope that your fate is in line with that of over zealous missionaries.
I don’t care if it is/isn’t harmful. I don’t want to have to walk to class behind anyone have to smell their second-hand smoke.
That being said, people should have the right to smoke (as I do to not) and a complete ban on this seems ridiculous for those who live on campus.
So, if someone lives in Haggin or Donovan wants to get their “fix” they have to walk to Limestone or farther?
Having a limited number of designated smoking areas around campus seems more reasonable, but when have we ever seen UK be reasonable?
A UK medical center employee was fired on Friday April 4, 2009 for smoking. FIRED for smoking. What?????
What a waste!!!
Also – the fate of smoking on campus has already been decided. Wasting time and money on committees is unbelievable. These committees, five in total, are going to submit bidgets to the President of the University for silly tasks including educating the public and providing neighboring property owners the option to place signage on their properties too.
Police state much?
Since this has been decided … just place stickers all over campus with a start date and be done with it. What is it about the older generation that needs “to meet about stuff.”
You have stated it is a done deal, so why are you discussing something that is already decided.
Again — waste of time.
I could care less if people smoke, but designated smoking areas are a MUST. From a pedestrians standpoint there is already an issue from the hospital’s smoking ban alone. Large amounts of people are crowding sidewalks all around the hospital, in some places to a point where you have to ask them to move so you don’t have to walk in the street [limestone]. This is ridiculous, to say the least. And not only is it an annoyance for people that are using the sidewalks around the hospital, but its a BEAUTIFUL addition to the new hospital, and just what everybody wants to see when they drive by UK’s campus…a bunch of people standing next to one of the busiest streets in town smokin cigs and lookin classy [have a look next time you're on limestone near the ambulance entrance]. The campus smoking ban is just going to increase this problem, because there will be thousands more smokers being forced to hit the street corners for a cig. MAKE DESIGNATED SMOKING AREAS, it will save everybody a lot of trouble.
john, i believe april 4th was on a saturday.