IU Southeast is the first campus in the IU system to consider citing violators of the tobacco-free policy that has been in effect since Aug. 1, 2007.
Gross disregard of the policy by tobacco users has forced the administration to reconsider the existing methods of controlling tobacco use at the university.
“The problem is throughout the campus,” Dana Wavle, vice chancellor of Administrative Affairs, said. “It’s not isolated to any one area or any one building.”
Policy enforcement currently relies on voluntary compliance by tobacco users with anyone seeing a violation reminding the offender of the policy, Ruth Garvey-Nix, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, and Jenny Johnson Wolf, director of University Communications, said in an e-mail.
The recommendations focus on fines, community service picking up cigarette butts around the campus and referral to Garvey-Nix.
The first offense would justify a warning. The second and third offenses would warrant a fine not in excess of $50 or community service not in excess of two hours. Third-time offenders would also be referred to Garvey-Nix.
A citation form similar to the parking citations would be used by the IUS Police, community advisers and other Residence Life personnel to enforce the policy.
Sean Oestringer, accounting junior, said citing people who break the policy would be a good idea.
“In a similar way, a citation would be like a parking ticket,” he said. “The rule needs to be enforced.”
IUS Police Chief Charles Edelen said he had not heard of any recommendations requiring his police officers to issue smoking citations to students and neither he nor his dispatchers had received a lot of complaints about policy violations.
“We won’t do anything until we get something official from the university,” he said.
Policies set by university administrators must be enforced by the police, even if an action isn’t against a state or federal law.
“Smoking isn’t a criminal thing, it’s an administrative thing,” Edelen said. “The university sets policies that the police must follow.”
“It’s not a matter of legality,” Wavle said. “It’s a matter of campus policy.”
A program that deputizes student organizations and faculty or staff volunteers to issue citations was also recommended.
James Bonsall, Student Government Association president, said the deputy program proposal did not have a lot of support because it could potentially alienate the student body from groups at the campus.
“I don’t think one student organization would volunteer to be a deputy enforcement organization,” he said.
Hiring part-time personnel to issue tickets from the revenue produced by the fines was also suggested.
Revenue would also go toward smoking cessation programs at the university and marketing materials to spread the message about the changes in policy enforcement.
“Those are all just recommendations at this point,” Wavle said. “There are a lot of details to be worked out. It’s very complicated.”
A committee was formed during the summer to consider possible alternatives to help maximize enforcement and compliance and included representatives from Student Affairs, Human Resources and the IUS Police, Garvey-Nix and Wolf said in an e-mail.
The Administrative Council, Campus Executive Council and the SGA have all seen the recommendations, they said.
“There’s such a high degree of noncompliance,” Wavle said. “We’ve got to take proactive steps.”
Under the tobacco-free policy currently in effect, students and faculty are only allowed to smoke in their vehicles with the windows up or down, and are responsible for properly disposing of the cigarette butts.
If students or faculty are smoking in a parking lot outside of their privately-owned vehicle, they are breaking the tobacco-free policy.
“Essentially, the cars became the designated areas to smoke,” Wavle said.
No appeals process would be available for the citation recommendation because it involves one-on-one communication between the offender and the authority figure.
“At this point, no final decisions on how to improve tobacco-free policy enforcement have been approved,” Garvey-Nix and Wolf said in an e-mail.
University Communications will be given enough time to inform the campus community of any policy changes in enforcement that will be taking effect.
Garvey-Nix, Wolf and Wavle said a timeline forthe enforcement changes had not been set, but Bonsall, who was at the Executive Council meeting, said some form of increased enforcement will be in effect by Nov. 1.
Nathan Park, general studies senior, said he was neutral about the tobacco-free policy, but he said he thought the informal method of enforcing should be changed.
He said administratively and procedurally, issuing citations would make sense but was concerned about the added burden it would potentially place on the IUS Police.
“Then, cops are running around looking for people smoking,” he said, “and they have better things to do.”
The 2007 tobacco-free policy was the first upgrade since former Chancellor Leon Rand banned smoking indoors and within 15 feet of any building in 1991.
By TRAVIS STURGILL
Editor
trsturgi@ius.edu
