Cal State Fullerton is about to see some changes in the coming months and it won’t just be in tuition. Associated Students, Inc. has voted to support the resolution that would ban smoking on campus.
The Academic Senate met earlier this month to discuss new regulations regarding smoking on campus. The current rule states that smokers must be at least 20 feet away from all buildings and parking structures.
The focus of the Senate meeting was a complete ban on smoking. However, students are unsure about whether or not a complete ban is necessary and if it even would be successful.
Kaori Suda, a junior business finance major, thinks there should be a campus wide ban on smoking.
“I just don’t smoke or anything and I don’t really like the smell,” said Suda.
The lingering smell of smoke from both the cigarette and on the smoker are a contributing factor in the campus’ smoking debate. Pat Cici, a junior history major, thinks the smell is just as much of a nuisance as the physical act of smoking.
“Smokers think that once they are done smoking they are done stinking, but it lingers on them and in their breath,” said Cici.
Other students, like Adam Piestrzeniewicz, a senior geological science major, favor more restrictions like designated smoking areas, but not a complete ban.
“I know there are a lot of non-smokers that don’t enjoy walking through smoke everywhere they go around campus so it would be nice to get a designated area for smokers that non-smokers can avoid it if they want to,” said Piestrzeniewicz.
Michael Alpert, a senior marketing major, shares Piestrzeniewicz’s belief that there should be a designated smoking area.
“People use that as a stress relief and it is also an addictive habit. Sometimes it’s not up to (the smoker) to stop right away, and why should we make it inconvenient for those students who do smoke?” said Alpert.
Many students don’t think that the ban will stop people from smoking on campus. Except it may work for Calvin Tran, a senior accounting major and smoker.
“I actually don’t mind (the ban), I think it’ll help me stop,” said Tran.
The decision of banning smoking is not the only problem; enforcing it is another issue that officials will have to face.
Some students think that, like the 20-feet limit, students would still smoke on campus at their convenience.
“It’s basically like telling somebody not to speed on the freeway. There is a limit, but that doesn’t mean we all do it,” Alpert said.
Sharon Chong, a liberal studies major, had some ideas on what the school can do to regulate the ban, if passed.
“Tickets, like how we enforce the biking system. I think they should do $30 at first or a warning and then make them pay for smoking anywhere on campus,” said Chong.
While the decision to ban smoking is on its way, there are other matters that are also changing on campus. ASI also voted to raise the health fee to pay for more mental health services.
The Campus Suicide Prevention Task Force is pushing for a campaign that would raise student health fees to hire more staff in the counseling center.
Students currently pay a $45 health fee in their tuition which pays for basic physical and mental health services. Some students don’t know about the free or cheap health services they pay for on campus.
“I wasn’t aware of this and I think that they should announce it more. I think they should make people and students more aware of those enforcements,” Chong said.
The proposed raise in the health fee has come as quite a shock to some students, especially since some don’t use the center’s services.
“I have my own health care provider and I don’t make use of the health center, so it’s kind of unfair for those who don’t really take advantage of the health center to have to pay for the fee increase,” Piestrzeniewicz said. “But then again, on the other side, I see the importance of having a place for people who don’t have a place to go to get health services.”
If there are an overwhelming number of students that need more mental health services on campus, some students, like Alpert, think that the increase would be a justified use of their money.
“If that’s where it needs to go because we see that mental health is an issue on this campus, then we need to address that,” Alpert said.