SGA and the Faculty Senate created the policy to improve campus health and qualify for additional grant funding. University President Dr. Baker Pattillo delegated the task of outlining the policy to the Employee Wellness Advisory Board, according to Jessica Waguespack, SFA employee wellness coordinator and Employee Wellness Advisory Board member.
“We wanted to protect the health of the students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus,” SGA President Jessica Taylor said. “The [previous] 20-foot rule [you must be at least 20 feet away from a building to use tobacco] was not being followed around dorms, the student center and other areas around campus. The fact is that smoke affects the health of everyone in the vicinity, not just the individual who is smoking. Ultimately, we wanted to make SFA a healthier place.”
The policy states that cigarettes, cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, vaporizers, vape pens, hookahs, blunts, pipes, snuff and any other tobacco or vape-related products are banned on SFA campus or any property owned by SFA.
Campus reaction is mixed, as some now face the challenge of quitting the products altogether or leaving campus to use tobacco.
“In life, there are always things that you don’t agree with, but I don’t think it’s the responsibility of other people to tell adults how they should be able to live,” SFA student Azune Achmad said. “As a student here for years, people have always been very respectful in regards to smoking. Never have I seen anyone disrespecting another student by smoking too close to them.”
SFA has provided free Quit Kits containing educational information and tools to quit using tobacco. These are available at Human Resources in the Austin Building, Campus Recreation in the administration offices, the Health Clinic and counseling services.
“We had some grant money [Peers against Tobacco Grant] that we put forth into purchasing the supplies that went into these Quit Kits,”
Waguespack said. “The Quit Kits are available to students, faculty and staff [part time and full time]. It is completely anonymous to pick them up whenever you want. We asked around to find out what helped prior tobacco users quit, and so we took that into our research into what to put in the kits.”
According to Waguespack, there is no rule that students and faculty must quit, only that they hope this will motivate them to do so while making the campus healthier for everyone.
“I’ve had quite a few tobacco users come up to me and tell me that it was the kick in the butt they needed to quit using,” Waguespack said. “It makes it less convenient than just going right outside the building or residence hall to light up a cigarette or chew tobacco.
“We got a lot of feedback from students with asthma and faculty with asthma. This policy was great for them, too, because some of them had strong symptoms from cigarettes, that even just walking behind someone that was smoking was difficult for them.”
As for punishments for breaking the policy, SFA has found in other universities that it would be unnecessary. The campus will currently use other methods to maintain the policy.
“As a university, we have a culture of living by the SFA Way of respect, responsibility, caring, unity and integrity,” Taylor said. “So this initiative was planned to be led by the students, faculty and staff to hold others accountable in non-confrontational ways. If there is a blatant disregard for the policies of the university, there is the possibility of fines and punishments being implemented.”
However, some students find this will not stop their tobacco habits in their personal time.
“I grew up with it,” SFA student Brett Smith said. “My dad dipped, his dad dipped, so it’s kind of around my household. Everyone has their little addictions and things they have to do. Mine makes me focus more. I mean some people take medicine or use energy drinks, but I just use dip.”
Now that SFA is a tobacco-free campus, it will be eligible to receive funds from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, as explained in the policy. Some students feel this is why the policy was established.
“I don’t agree with the new policy,” Achmad said. “I know it was done strictly for funding reasons from the state, not for student health. I think that as an adult, you should be able to have the choice of what to do with your body. I think there should be designated areas for people who would like to smoke between classes.”
In response to that, Taylor explains that students are welcome to speak to SGA about concerns or opinions.
SGA holds meetings Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. in the Commons room of the Baker Pattillo Student Center and are available in their offices throughout the day.
“It was not about potential funding,” Taylor said. “It was about health. We now have a chance to be competitive for grants that can help cancer research, employees are saving money on their insurance because we are smoke-free, and we have a healthier campus. Funding may come and go, but the fact remains that this initiative has made our campus a better place.”
Resource: http://www.thepinelog.com/news/article_f4114eb0-74a8-11e6-ba69-7f9b5d3e836f.html
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