A Tobacco-Free Policy Task Force met in November 2009 to review the policy that was approved in 2007 and to look at proposed changes.
As of August 2007, all sale and use of tobacco products on university property was banned. Students or university employees are allowed to smoke in their cars, but are otherwise prohibited from smoking.
This policy is enforced through the IU Southeast Faculty Manual and Staff Handbook or the Student Code of Conduct. This could include counseling or programs to help students or employees quit smoking.
The policy requires student and staff cooperation with the rules and requires peer pressure or encouragement to keep would-be offenders in-line.
Recently, Dana Wavle, vice chancellor for Administrative Affairs and Finances, and other people on the Tobacco-Free Policy Task Force have been looking into possibly implementing more serious enforcement to crack down on violations of the smoking ban.
This task force met in October and looked at proposed policy changes for IU Southeast’s campus. They conducted a survey about the proposed changes in November and received 63 responses.
“Responses were not predominately negative or positive,” Wavle said.
The task force plans to meet again on Feb. 2 to look at campus feedback and check on the development.
Wavle alluded to heavier enforcement policies as part of the proposed changes, including fines and citations.
“Other campuses are experiencing similar levels of non-compliance and have expressed interest in our proposed enforcement provisions,” Wavle said.
It is taking longer to approve the new policy than was originally expected. It is likely that work on the proposed changes will continue through the spring semester and the policy would not be ready until the upcoming fall semester.
“As such, no enforcement changes have been implemented at this time, and a timeline for finalizing the review has not yet been established,” an IU Southeast press release said on Jan. 6.
Tobacco-Free Policy Task Force is working with Bloomington to see what else has to happen in order to get this policy rolling. There are still many details to be worked through.
“In the meantime, members of the campus community are encouraged to remind others of the policy and report violators to the appropriate individuals and departments,” Wavle said. “The handling of violations has not changed. There are consequences to violating this policy, whether its student referrals, staff discipline or faculty misconduct.”
By MICHELE HOP
Staff Writer
mhop@ius.edu