2008 Woodie Awards
Council debates implementing smoking ban
Scott Greene
Issue date: 3/9/06 Section: News
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The controversial issue of cigarette smoking came before the Community Council on Monday, Feb. 27, as Council members debated possible restrictions on smoking near the doorways of campus buildings.
Reference and Instruction Librarian Brenda Ellis, the Staff Council's member at-large, presented the issue for discussion on behalf of a fellow staff member who was unable to attend the meeting. Ellis sought to amend Middlebury College's current smoking policy, which prohibits smoking in all campus buildings but allows for smoking outdoors. College students tend to gather around the doorways of buildings to smoke cigarettes, a situation that presents problems for those who need to walk through the smoke to enter buildings. Furthermore, this problem is exacerbated in places with large overhangs such as the library.
The proposal recommended that "a minimum distance requirement of 50 feet be imposed on smokers to keep them a minimum fixed distance away from building entrances." Many of Middlebury's peer institutions already have such restrictions in place, including Amherst and Williams. Each requires that smokers remain a minimum of 25 feet away from doorways.
While the Community Council did not pass a resolution, tabling it until they reconvene on April 3, the proposition prompted widespread discussion on the presence of smoking on campus in general.
"Why is there even smoking here at all?" Student Government Association (SGA) President Eli Berman '07.5 asked, noting that the Council members found smoking to be a common-sense issue. "It violates other people's sense of space, sense of self and sense of comfort," he said. The SGA will debate the issue during its meeting on Sunday, March 11.
The Council outlined five possible approaches to reforming the College's smoking policy, the first of which would be to simply retain the current policy. If the Council does develop restrictions to the policy, such restrictions may include designating at least one smoke-free entrance to every building at which smoking is prohibited. The Council could also choose to make individual specifications for each building, depending on the placements of windows or overhangs. The most extreme option would ban all smoking on campus.
Reference and Instruction Librarian Brenda Ellis, the Staff Council's member at-large, presented the issue for discussion on behalf of a fellow staff member who was unable to attend the meeting. Ellis sought to amend Middlebury College's current smoking policy, which prohibits smoking in all campus buildings but allows for smoking outdoors. College students tend to gather around the doorways of buildings to smoke cigarettes, a situation that presents problems for those who need to walk through the smoke to enter buildings. Furthermore, this problem is exacerbated in places with large overhangs such as the library.
The proposal recommended that "a minimum distance requirement of 50 feet be imposed on smokers to keep them a minimum fixed distance away from building entrances." Many of Middlebury's peer institutions already have such restrictions in place, including Amherst and Williams. Each requires that smokers remain a minimum of 25 feet away from doorways.
While the Community Council did not pass a resolution, tabling it until they reconvene on April 3, the proposition prompted widespread discussion on the presence of smoking on campus in general.
"Why is there even smoking here at all?" Student Government Association (SGA) President Eli Berman '07.5 asked, noting that the Council members found smoking to be a common-sense issue. "It violates other people's sense of space, sense of self and sense of comfort," he said. The SGA will debate the issue during its meeting on Sunday, March 11.
The Council outlined five possible approaches to reforming the College's smoking policy, the first of which would be to simply retain the current policy. If the Council does develop restrictions to the policy, such restrictions may include designating at least one smoke-free entrance to every building at which smoking is prohibited. The Council could also choose to make individual specifications for each building, depending on the placements of windows or overhangs. The most extreme option would ban all smoking on campus.