Student Congress sent out an online survey to gauge how Doane students feel about the current smoking policy on campus. StuCo president, senior Mady Vogel said that the survey was purely for informational purposes and that no policy changes have been formally discussed within StuCo. “There is nothing in place as of right now or in the near future to change policy. The survey was sent out to gather information only,” Vogel said. Concerns about the policy were brought up in the fall of 2018, according to Vogel.
Two different surveys were sent out to all Doane students on the Crete campus regarding smoking and vaping habits on campus. From the information gathered, three students said yes to being a regular smoker, making up 0.2 percent of the entire campus. While there is a larger amount of students who use e-cigarettes and Juul devices, StuCo vice president, junior Tyler Garder said that, “[The concern is] probably more with the cigarettes… It is mostly the smoke in general.”
The data from the StuCo survey showed that 62 percent of respondents would want a change in the policy, specifically regarding cigarettes. Vaping and e-cigarettes were less of a concern for students, although 32.7 percent of those surveyed want them banned from campus. Junior Jean Chevalier is one of the few students on campus that smoke regularly. “I feel it is unrealistic, I feel that it is childish, and I feel ostracized as a person and made into a bit of a social pariah, more so than I already am,” Chevalier said.
Chevalier noted that while students say she can quit smoking if it is banned, she has been smoking for 10 years and has tried many times to quit. She wants to quit in the future, but when she is ready. “I won’t be forced to quit smoking when I am not ready to or don’t want to. I won’t be forced to leave campus grounds every time I need a cigarette,” Chevalier said.
Chevalier said she supports the idea of putting in designated smoking areas, so long as it is not only a smoker’s outpost. She suggested areas with a bench or two, along with coverage from rain or snow so smokers do not feel the need to break policy. Junior Shay Rosseter, a nonsmoker, noted that she has always been sensitive to cigarette smoke but does not support a total ban. “It makes me sick but I just avoid it. If people are smoking I walk away because I have legs and I can do that,” Rosseter said.
While StuCo has only gathered information so far, students have already begun talking about the implications of a ban. There were some concerns recorded in the survey that a ban on tobacco would lead to a ban on alcohol eventually as well. No changes to the smoking policy have yet been proposed by StuCo officially.
