The Student Government Association Senate voted to make a proposal that Residential Services add a prohibition of the smoking of tobacco within the residence halls’ common and private areas to the Code of Student Conduct.
According to Jaret Hubbell, SGA president, and Hollie Garrison, SGA public relations director, there was only one student besides the SGA officials who was present at the Oct. 22 SGA Senate meeting to give his opinion on the non- smoking policy. Hubbell described the student, John Smith, as being “pro-smoking” and very much opposed to the non-smoking resolution.
“This is only a resolution,” Garrison said. “This means that it is only a recommendation to the administration; this is by no means a rule yet.”
After a lengthy discussion in the SGA meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 22, there were 10 votes in favor of the non-smoking policy, four votes against and two abstentions. An idea that came from the meeting was to have a referendum for the student body to vote on whether or not to have smoking in the residence halls.
“At first I thought that (the idea for a referendum) was a good idea,” Hubbell said. “The problem is: if it is an SGA referendum for the entire student body, it is not fair for the resident students to have commuter students vote on something that affects only them. If any kind of vote should be taken, it should be just among the residence halls’ students, and the SGA is not specifically designed to represent just the residence halls’ students.”
Approximately 400 surveys were submitted to Gray Bekurs, director of residential services to give the estimated number of smokers and non-smokers in the residence halls. The result of the surveys was that the vast majority of the students surveyed identified themselves as non-smokers. According to Garrison, three hall directors, Lisa Pierce, Larry White and Sedarrick Johnson, were present at the meeting on Wednesday, and Pierce said that she would like to have seen every individual living in the residence halls surveyed.
According to Hubbell, the resolution gives way to several “gray” areas that Residential Services will have to address. Firstly, the resolution implies that the current situation in the residence halls prevents the separation of smoking and non-smoking areas within each hall. Secondly, the precise meaning of what is “inside” residence halls may need clarifying. North Babington, Calecas and Zeringue, residence halls with courtyards or rooms not leading to interior hallways, may be considered special cases since the smoking would be outdoors. Lastly, the resolution does not refer to a tobacco use policy that addresses chewing tobacco, and it is not the recommendation of the SGA Senate to ban chewing tobacco.
With the resolution, Hubbell said he will speak to the Residential Hall Association. Hubbell said he will see if the RHA needs the SGA’s help in putting together the actual vote of the resident students in the halls to either have the same smoking policy for every hall or each hall have its own policy.
“I don’t live in the dorms, but if I did, I don’t care if you’re smoking all the way down the hall, I’m still going to breathe your air,” Garrison said. “I don’t want to smell your smoke. I’m being forced to live next to you, and I understand that you’re addicted, but you can at least stick your head out of the window. Take a stroll outside, smoke your cigarette and keep me from hacking up phlegm.”
When asked about their opinion on the non-smoking policy, all interviewed students were in favor of it.
“I think the non-smoking policy is good because smoking is disgusting,” Barbara Gannon, a freshman from Houma, said.
“I think the policy is a good idea because some people are allergic to (cigarette) smoke and some people just don’t like the way (the cigarette smoke) smells,” Erica Camp, a nursing junior from Houma said. “Out of consideration for everyone else, smokers should have a designated area.”
Hubbell said: “If I had to live in the residence halls, I wouldn’t want smoke around me, but it’s up to the residence halls’ students. If (students) want the residence halls to be non-smoking, we need to respect that decision; if they want it to be smoking, we need to respect that decision too.”