After a nearly twenty-year battle, Bradley is going smoke free…once the logistics are all worked out

May 9, 2016
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In 1997, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, then-wellness coordinator and later director of wellness, began an initiative through her office to combat smoking on campus in the fall of the 1997-98 school year, a fight she never expected to go nearly twenty years.

In an effort to get students to kick the habit, Sage-Bollenbach’s office worked to understand why students were smoking.

“We noticed smoking to be a big problem,” said Sage-Bollenbach, now retired, on the subject. “Students were looking for different outlets to escape.” The battle’s multiple facets

Sage-Bollenbach relied on most of her office’s programs to send the message that smoking is not the way to go on campus. In Bradley H.E.A.T’s (Help, Empower and Teach) freshman presentations on small groups and social norms, they emphasize the importance of recognizing smoking is not a norm and should not be treated as such. In SONOR (SOcial NORming), advertising, marketing and public relations majors use special branding to get the message across and an annual “Smoke-Out” event aimed at getting students to pledge to be smoke-free even if it is for one day.

Lyndsey Hawkins, Sage-Bollenbach’s immediate successor, said the opposition that delayed the process was not from students, or even parents. It came from staff anf faculty.

“The administration, staff and faculty were concerned about how to effectively police things. Would students monitor things? Would we need to hire more staff to do so? All of those concerns weren’t addressed when Melissa was here and it wasn’t when I was in charge. The truth of things is there’s no real solution to the problem. Whose responsibility was it to handle complaints and violations? Wellness wasn’t equipped to do so, in fact, no office on campus was.”

In a town hall-style open forum held on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, then-Student Senate Vice President of Campus Safety Cody Lonigro told concerned students, staff and faculty that enforcement would be based on the honor system.

“I’m shocked the student senate actually passed this via referendum,” Lonigro, who graduated in May of 2015, said over the phone. “We were always hopeful, but we knew this was something discussed for years that never truly materialized. I’m proud of the Senate for finally finding a way to push this through. I am still concerned about the enforcement of things, but I’m sure they’ll find a way. It’ll be rocky for sure to start, but they’ll get there.”

Student Senate placed a referendum, based on getting enough signatures on a petition, on the ballot of the 2016-2017 school year student body elections. The question was “do you support the expanding of Bradley’s non-smoking policy to cover all campus grounds?”

The resolution’s purpose was “to make campus smoke-free for everyone’s health and create a cleaner environment.” It also said, should it be passed, then cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah, water pipes, and electronic smoking devices would be banned from campus.

Currently, according to Bradley’s Department of Human Resources, the department in charge of enforcing the policy, the Smoke Free Illinois Act mandates Illinois facilities are smoke free with very few exceptions. The Act also prohibits outdoor smoking within a minimum distance of 15 feet from building entrances, exits, windows that open and ventilation intakes. Smoking is also prohibited in any University owned vehicle. Outdoor cigarette receptacles have been removed from all areas where smoking is prohibited as stated above. “No Smoking” signs are posted at all entrances, exits and throughout all University buildings as required by the Act. The Smoke Free Illinois Act is in effect 24/7 and as a result smoking is not permitted in the above referenced areas at any time. Academic and business administratorsshall be responsible for ensuring that the non-smoking policy is upheld in their individual colleges, departments, and offices.

E-cigs are currently not allowed in any university-owned building.

The resolution passed 1,249 in favor, to 346 opposed and the vote had more votes cast than any other student body officer position on the ballot. Overall, of the 1,694 students who participated, 1,595 of them voted on the resolution.

The resolution said there would be six designated smoking areas on campus, ones student body president Sarah Handler said had the highest traffic of smokers on campus. Those were: in front of the Caterpillar Global Communications Center, the Alumni Quad, in front of Harper/Wyckoff Hall, Heuser Art Studios, Meinen Field and the northeastern corner of the St. James Apartment Complex.

However, as soon as it passed, questions were posed.

“You can’t call this a “smoke-free campus and then have six designated smoking areas. That’s a misnomer,” said Marissa Bacon, a junior biology major and someone who claims to smoke in front of the Student Apartment Complex daily, a place where she says, often times she’s the only one around. “I come out of my apartment and I sit and clear my head over a cigarette. Never have I bothered anyone nor has anyone walked through my smoke. But now, next year, I might not be able to smoke here. That’s crazy to me.”

Other logistical issues included during the forum, Jessica Draper, a representative from Peoria’ Hult Center for Healthy Living, someone who worked with Student Senate on implementation, said during the open forum on Apr. 7 that the school would need “bus-like” smoking shelters in the six designated areas, something the senate had no ideas on how to fund.

“Bradley has a long way to come in terms of implementation,” Sage-Bollenbach said. “ Because we spent so much time to make this a reality, no one ever took the time to think of what would happen if we got our way. That was true 19 years ago and it’s true today.”

“It needs to logistically make sense and not cost the university anything strenuous,” Hawkins said. “Additionally, the senate and the administration need to keep at heart the issue is doing what the majority of students wished for. Bottom line.”

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/smoke-free-campus-initiative

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