By Jenny Handke
Murphy News Service

A smoke-free campus policy put in place over the summer by the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities’ has received relatively little pushback during its first full semester of being in effect.

The “Share the Air” policy serves to promote healthier people and a clean environment on campus by keeping the air free of smoke, the policy’s website declares.

“The University is committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of all campus community members,” University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler said in a statement on the website. “We all ‘share the air,’ and a smoke- and tobacco-free environment will provide many benefits to our community,”

The university prohibited smoking within 25 feet of campus buildings in 2004. Smoking is now banned on all campus property.

“Share the Air”was formally introduced to the campus in July. It prohibits any use, sale, advertisement and free distribution of tobacco and electronic cigarettes on campus property, with exceptions involving Native American tribal routines and other special occasions.

Eric Jensen, marketing and communications manager at Boynton Health Services, said the policy has so far been successful at keeping smoke outside of campus boundaries. He said Boynton has received more positive feedback about the policy than it has received complaints. While follow-up research has yet to take place, Jensen said the support from the community has been overwhelming.

“If you count the number of complaints, they’re miniscule,” Jensen said. “Smokers get it. They want to quit and they understand these policies.”

One non-smoking student, Lucas (who asked that his full name not be used) is a postsecondary enrollment options enrollee. He said he supports the administrative decision.

“I’m of the opinion that the better we take care of our air and the environment, the better it will turn out for us as people on the planet,” Lucas said.

Boynton offers ongoing smoking cessation programs for university students, staffers and faculty members who are trying to quit smoking. Because the no-smoking policy is in its early stages, Jensen said, the cessation programs have yet to show an uptick in participation, perhaps, he added, because many people are still unaware of the campus-wide ban.

Some students, such as Magdalen Marion, a senior at the Carlson School of Management, are choosing not to seek help in kicking the habit, regardless of free smoking-cessation programs.

Marion said she has been a smoker for nearly six years and that he isn’t planning on quitting in the near future.

“I just have no impetus to quit smoking,” Marion said. “I just know that any efforts to do so would be ineffective. Obviously health reasons are a motivation [to quit], but not for me at this time.”

Jinyoung Wang, a transfer student at the U, said he has been smoking for eight years and is aware of Boynton’s cessation programs, but also said he isn’t trying to quit. Wang said he does not believe the program necessarily creates a supportive environment for smokers, contrary to the policy’s stated purpose. He added that though he respects non-smokers and “clean air,” the policy is too strict.

“I want [the university] to make designated smoking areas for us,” he said.

Sharon Dzik, director of the U’s Office for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity, said she and her colleagues have experienced similar issues about boundaries when the student code of conduct was extended to properties outside of campus.

“It is quite confusing,” Dzik said of the university-set boundaries. “What is considered on campus?”

Dzik said “university property” applies to any building, space or street block that holds a building under its jurisdiction. That includes sidewalks surrounding university properties along Riverside Avenue on the West Bank, the Humphrey School of Public Affairs building and its surrounding sidewalks.

Determining the U’s property boundaries can be complicated. However, Dzik said, based on researching other colleges and universities that have integrated a smoke-free policy, the main concern of implementing the ban is not to have strong administrative or police reinforcement. Instead, she said, it is to ensure a clean and healthy environment based on support and awareness within the community.

“There was never any illusion that anyone was going to start yelling at smokers, start reporting them, citing them or even turning them into our office,” Dzik said. “It’s really about the right to keep the air clean for peoples’ health.”

The no-smoking policy states that students are expected to uphold the smoking ban on campus, and are subject to punishments outlined in the university’s student code of conduct, just like any other university policy violation. However, it’s unlikely that students would face severe punishments due to the community-enforced nature of the policy, Dzik said..

There is no student code of conduct equivalent for staff and faculty.

Boynton Health Services offers print-out cards that university community members are encouraged to hand out to people who they see smoking on campus. The cards briefly explain that the campus is now smoke-free and, if you must smoke, you should do so someplace other than on university property.

Jenny Handke is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.