Light up or lights out?

At the last meeting of the Student Government Association on Friday, SGA Comptroller Katie Moore introduced a new organization, Peers Advocating Smoke-Free Solutions (PASS) and its agenda to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke and gauge the interests of the student body for either a comprehensive smoking ban on campus, or the creation of a designated smoking area.

Moore, a member of PASS, said she had not yet spoken to any UM-St. Louis administrators about PASS' agenda. At this time, she was only interested in the initial response of the student body.

"I would like to get the students behind this before moving forward," Moore said. "The main interest is what do the students want."

Moore, a non-smoker, fielded the reactions from various representatives present at the meeting.

Questions concerning enforcement of any ban were raised with Moore responding that she did not believe using campus police to such ends was an appropriate use of their time.

Other representatives, who admitted to being smokers, insisted that many smokers try to be as respectful as possible towards non-smokers around the entrances of buildings and common areas.

Independent of their roles in student government as president and vice-president, respectively, Bryan Goers and Cadence Rippeto said they found the presence of smokers near the entrances of buildings bothersome, but they would not pursue a smoking ban or a proposal for a designated smoking area in their capacity as members of SGA unless there was a significant student interest behind it.

"If this became big enough, it could become an SGA issue. We would help push for a designated smoking area on campus if the students wanted it," Goers said, "but our job is to represent the students, and smokers are students too."

"I don't smoke on the shuttle, or inside. Can't they be happy about that? Outside should be free range," Leah Watson, freshman, psychology, said.

Zed Davis, sophomore, political science, said, "Our school spends a lot of money on diversity and accepting people who are different. Smokers are different, so they try to ban smoking? I don't get it."

Moore said that "there are people that feel that the campus should be smoke free, but that it won't ever be."

Moore also said that the goal is to move the smokers 25 feet from the buildings, since banning may not be an option.

"Every little bit helps, health is the number one and it [smoking] shouldn't be there at all, but every little bit helps," she said.

"The next step is to ask the assembly if they want to take a move on it, we can always go through the administration but I think it would be better if the students had a voice in it first," Moore said.

"PASS would like to be recognized by UMSL, right now we only have three members. We'll be doing a lot with the great American smoke out on Nov 15, T-shirts etc," she said.

Vice Provost of Student Affairs Curt Coonrod said, "I admire everyone's efforts to bring these kinds of issues into a public conversation."

"I am not a smoker and prefer to be in a smoke free environment. However, I respect the rights of smokers," he said.

More information about PASS and the smoking ban should be available to students soon.