Oscar Ortega / Roundup
At the last Pierce College Academic Senate meeting of the semester, a member of the senate urged administration to take action on the current smoking policy after reading an article published in the Roundup newspaper.
Richard Follett, an English professor and member of the academic senate, presented his concerns after reading the article and his experience with students smoking near his classrooms.
“Several of us since last discussion (on the smoking policy) have been told off royally by students who are very angry and they have said, ‘It is not your business. I can smoke wherever I want,’ while they’re blowing smoke into our faces,” Follett said.
The editorial entitled “Empty Laws” was published May 6 in the Roundup. The article urges authorities at Pierce to enforce the smoking-area laws.
According to Follett, this isn’t the first time the issue has come up at the senate meeting. Nancy Pearlman, a trustee of the Los Angeles Community College District, has previously suggested turning district campuses “smoke free.” Pearlman was not available for comment.
Some students who are smokers apparently don’t have any problem with the current policy, but a “smoke free” policy could present some issues for them.
“I don’t have any problem with (the current policy), as long as they have a designated area to (smoke),” said Aaron Knied, an anthropology major.
“I’d rather take a ticket than stop smoking; it’s an addiction or habit for me,” he said. “It’s my choice to smoke cigarettes. No one should tell me what I can or can’t do. It’s not like cigarettes are illegal.”
Some students who don’t smoke still find it a non-issue.
“I really don’t mind (cigarette smoke) at this point. I always find my way to avoid it,” said Sandip Pitel, a computer science major.
Others find it a way of life on campus.
“I think a lot of people (smoke) on campus,” said Tunde Alele, a political science major. “It’s hard to escape from it. I personally don’t like it. If anything, it’s part of life. Not much you can do about it.”
Pierce authorities find themselves in the same predicament. Some find it difficult to enforce the smoking policy because of current construction projects.
“The smoking policy has been recently lax due to the major renovation on campus,” said Pierce President Robert Garber.
Others see it as a lack of communication from school authorities.
“We are waiting to hear from the administration office on what to do on this matter,” said Sheriff’s deputy Al Guerrero. “We’re supposed to hand a pamphlet out to people who are smoking but we don’t enforce it because usually we are patrolling the parameters of the school and when we ask someone to move to a designated area they cooperate.”
According to Guerrero, handing out citations is an unproductive effort by campus police and cooperation from other students is needed.
“We get calls from people reporting those who are smoking in a non-assigned area, but when we get there they are gone or the person who placed the call doesn’t want to write a report. Therefore there is nothing we can do,” he said.
The motion for the senate is to revise the current smoking policy next fall. The senate has two options. The first is to allow students to smoke in designated areas throughout the campus and enforce the policy. The second is to turn Pierce into a smoke-free environment.
“I am in favor of being totally a non-smoking campus,” said Diane Levine, an instructor of anthropological and geographical sciences. “I think it’s too confusing for the smokers and they need a clear direction. They need clear instructions: ‘No Smoking on Campus.'”
None of the other eight colleges in the district have completely banned smoking. Santa Monica College is the only smoke free campus in the L.A. county area.
In March, Pasadena City College’s Associated Students passed a resolution to approve a smoke-free policy, which was requested by the College Coordinating Council.
The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation reported there are only 14 campuses in the state of California that have a smoke-free indoor and outdoor policy. California has 144 public universities and community colleges.
There are nine designated smoking areas on the Pierce campus. Students can pick up a pamphlet at the campus police station with the locations.
“We are not telling them not to smoke at all. We’re telling them to go to the assigned smoking areas and do it there,” Follett said
