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At a University Council meeting, smoking on campus was a main issue brought up by the council. BJ Moore, a CSU Bakersfield professor, pointed out that many of the international students smoke too much and throw their smoke buds on the floor making the campus dirty. Though international students are not the only smokers on campus, the issue was made universal as some students do smoke.
Vice President of Student Affairs Thomas Wallace and CSUB’s president, Horace Mitchell answered Moore’s concern with a new policy that has been created. Both Wallace and Mitchell said that over a year and a half ago, the CSU campuses turned to human resources where a committee, and a new policy was created to resolve the smoking issue on campus.
The new policy is CSU and UC system-wide and is already taking effect in most college campuses. CSU and UC campuses will get a draft policy about no smoking on campus whatsoever, including e-cigarettes, vaping and tobacco related products. CSUB is in the process of the ban.
The no smoking policy is hoping to improve cleaner university campuses and the health of students, faculty and staff.
“We’re in college, and we know what smoking does to the body…the ban is not fair but I do think that the smoking area should be away from people…where it doesn’t affect non-smokers…there could be a benefit, we’d have a cleaner campus with less cigarette buds,” said sophomore Israel Camorlinga, a psychology major.
Few students on campus question how this new policy will be enforced considering many people who work for campus and who are students on campus smoke. Though it is agreed that smoking is an unhealthy habit, some students believe this system-wide ban is not justified.
“Vaping is different from smoking in general…to say something like that kind of discriminates people in a way because that’s singling them out and not giving them (smokers) anywhere at all,” said Roberto Davalos, senior and kinesiology major. “I’m against smoking, but it’s unfair to others.”
Six of the 23 campuses already ban smoking, while the rest are in the process. Spokesperson of the CSU Chancellor’s Office Elizabeth Chapin said that nothing has been done yet, but there is a task force that would review the creation and implementation of the plan and are currently consulting with campus leadership on the best way to achieve the new policy.
At CSUB, there are 21 designated smoking areas but not many students and faculty are aware of them.
“Chronic smokers will have a harder time not being able to smoke which could lead to them smoking anyways and disobeying the band or possibly a strike of some sort,” said senior and business management major, Aaron Castro.
If CSUB adopts the potential no smoking ban, the 21 designated smoking areas will no longer exist. If or when the policy is ratified, smokers will either have to leave campus to smoke, seeking help to quit smoking, or smoke secretly, despite the ban.
