{"id":9269,"date":"2013-10-01T19:58:33","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T00:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=9269"},"modified":"2014-05-20T13:23:31","modified_gmt":"2014-05-20T18:23:31","slug":"possible-change-to-sinclairs-smoking-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2013\/10\/01\/possible-change-to-sinclairs-smoking-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Possible change to Sinclair’s smoking policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"centerpiece\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sinclair Community College enforces a smoking policy that requires smokers to light up in various designated areas around campus.<\/p>\n

This means that smoking should be done within 10 feet of the ashtrays and 25 feet away from doors on campus.<\/p>\n

If a student breaks this policy, they will be asked to move to the correct areas and could possibly be referred to Student Judicial Affairs.<\/p>\n

However, there is a possibility that this policy could change.<\/p>\n

Mary Gaier, vice president for Organizational Development said in an email interview, \u201cIn July 2012, the Ohio Board of Regents voted unanimously to approve a resolution recommending that each Board of Trustees of the University System of Ohio consider implementing its own policy to establish its campus as tobacco-free.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also said, \u201cAdditionally, Organizational Development is currently working with Research, Analytics and Reporting (RAR) to customize a survey that will help the college understand the opinions of the students and employees regarding the suggestion from the Ohio Board of Regents.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that the survey results will be presented to the board.<\/p>\n

The Clarion asked Gaier for additional information regarding when the survey will be released. However, at the time of publication, we had not received a response.<\/p>\n

Some students feel strongly about the possible change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a democratic society, I believe that as an American citizen, it is my choice to freely choose to smoke anywhere outside,\u201d Brian Ortega, Business major said. \u201cUnderstanding that it\u2019s not my right to inflict my habits and my smoke on somebody else inside of a building, but anywhere outside and on campus grounds, it\u2019s my right as an American to smoke a cigarette, cigar or anything for that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other students have a relaxed outlook.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mind it at all,\u201d Annie Cavaliero, an Art major said. \u201cI\u2019d prefer it be away from doorways, at least like 20 feet \u2026 because smoke can come inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Gaier, at least eight Ohio college campuses have already endorsed a smoke-free campus policy.<\/p>\n

Some students can see consequences in the possible policy change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a long walk across the street,\u201d Fred Bach, a Liberal Arts major said. \u201cI\u2019d be late all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some students feel it\u2019s no different than other outside pollutants.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anything like that should be illegal,\u201d Gavin Hauk, a Communication major said. \u201cPeople are free to make their own choices. If \u2026 it\u2019s outside, it\u2019s not affecting anybody anymore than driving a car [with the] fumes from that, or the fumes from the companies that build the plastics \u2026 If they don\u2019t want us to [smoke] on campus, then we\u2019ll go stand in the middle of the street that we\u2019re not allowed to j-walk in and we\u2019ll smoke there. Like, it doesn\u2019t matter what the principle of it is, people are going to do what they\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gaier said Sinclair would like to provide a healthy environment<\/p>\n

\u201cSinclair is committed to providing a healthful environment for both students and employees, ” she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Students currently enrolled in Introduction to Journalism surveyed some Sinclair students regarding how they felt about a possible change in the smoking policy.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a smoker, but I\u2019m in favor of it. I quit two years ago when I got pregnant, but started again because my husband smokes. I think if it\u2019s easier to smoke, it\u2019s harder to quit. But if it\u2019s harder to smoke, it\u2019s easier to quit.\u201d \u2014 Jessica Eaton, a Nursing major<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good question; I have mixed feelings about that. Obviously there\u2019s a big part of the campus that smokes and a large part that don\u2019t smoke. I personally don\u2019t smoke, but I don\u2019t mind if others do as long as they stay the required amount of distance away from the entry door.\u201d \u2014 Nate Dumtschin, an Energy Management major<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf there were some designated areas it would be okay, because sometimes it\u2019s frustrating to walk and have smoke blown in your face.\u201d \u2014 Amanda Cappel, a Paralegal major<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m switching schools. I smoke in between every one of my classes.\u201d \u2014 Christina Freeman, a Nursing major<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a wonderful idea. I hate cigarettes; smoking kills people. As a nurse, I see the damage that cigarette smoking causes.\u201d \u2014 Cheryl Moore, a Nursing major<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI would be pissed because I smoke regularly.\u201d \u2014 Shea Oniate, a Social Work major<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t smoke that often, so it wouldn\u2019t bother me much. But I\u2019m sure it would discourage people that do smoke.\u201d \u2014 Mic Green, an American Sign Language major<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really care. I\u2019m a smoker but I\u2019ll go on the sidewalk to smoke.\u201d \u2014 Cliff Montgomery, a Medical Assistant major<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSinclair should allow students to smoke as long as they provide a designated area. They pay tuition as well, and should be respected.\u201d \u2014 Chris Williams, a Communication major<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt will hinder the social aspects of campus.\u201d \u2014 Robert Williams, a Geography major<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sinclair Community College enforces a smoking policy that requires smokers to light up in various designated areas around campus. This means that smoking should be done within 10 feet of the ashtrays and 25 feet away from doors on campus. If a student breaks this policy, they will be asked to move to the correct […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tartan-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5s3vR-2pv","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9269"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9271,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9269\/revisions\/9271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}