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Student Government Launches Smoking Survey
by Sable Adams
Jessica Fish and Travis Hayes lighting up outside the Soda Shop
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Are you interested in smoking anywhere on campus without being persecuted for it? Or ---are you sick of walking through a cloud of smoke on the way into your classroom building?
The Student Government Association has distributed a survey asking students if they want a smoke-free campus. A survey has been placed in each student's mailbox.
SGA held a forum last fall, but the turnout was low. The Executive Board of SGA wanted to give students another opportunity to voice their opinion and wanted to make this opportunity more inclusive.
Smoking on campuses is becoming a national issue because more places are slowly becoming smoke-free, even including private schools such as Gardner Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, said SGA President Ryan Hubbard.
The survey SGA is hosting is completely confidential and cannot be used to track any individual. The survey is supposed to "Help the Student Government Association improve student life on the Mars Hill campus."
Under existing Mars Hill College rules, people cannot smoke inside buildings, and smokers outside must be further than 50 feet away. Some feel that this rule already isn't being enforced regularly. Hubbard said, "You can't say it is never enforced; I see it enforced and have enforced it myself."
The rule could be changed so that no smoking is allowed anywhere on campus or so that smokers are allowed only in designated areas. If such a change is made, "Hopefully, students will understand the change in policy and respect it and their fellow students," said Hubbard. "As far as a punishment, smoking in a non-designated area would be written up as a Code of Conduct violation," he said.
The survey asks if you live on campus, if you've ever smoked before, if you're allergic to smoke, if smoke bothers you, if you would have an issue if students could smoke and faculty could not, and should there be designated areas to smoke. It also asks for pros and cons of a smoke-free campus and for additional comments.
To make sure your vote is tallied, drop it in the "On-Campus Mail" slot.
The last day to turn in surveys is March 14. "A student who doesn't fill out the survey doesn't have a right to complain once the vote is finalized," said Trini Fares, SGA Secretary.
The results will be announced as soon as school resumes after Spring Break. After the survey has been tallied, SGA will host another smoke-free forum. SGA will keep students posted on the next forum date.
Reader Comment:
Matthew Wilson, MHC 2005, former President of Theta Chi Fraternity, 3/25/2008, 3:05 p.m.
I'm really excited that Travis decided to wear his fraternity letters in a controversial article. I hope you caught the sarcasm.
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