The University has a new policy that bans smoking in outdoor high-traffic areas, such as the Quad. The change took effect with the start of the spring semester and as a result of a 2011 student referendum.
Students favored the further smoking restrictions, which prohibit smoking in Milner Library Plaza, the State Farm Hall of Business Courtyard, the DeGarmo Hall forecourt, Schroeder Hall Plaza, and the College Avenue pedestrian bridge.
The Student Government Association proposed the changes, which were approved by the Academic Senate. Among the concerns addressed by the new restrictions are that students with lung illnesses can be adversely affected by secondhand smoke and that students shouldn’t have to deal with smoke on the way to class. It was also a move to keep the campus clean.
The University has taken an incremental approach to restricting smoking. President Thomas Wallace banned smoking in and near campus buildings in 1993. One exception was residential housing. A ban there did not come until 2001, which was prior to a statewide mandate.
