Smoking should be banned on campus
When former University President Michael Rao left over the summer, Central Michigan University lost more than just the architect of its nascent medical school.
It lost a steadfast advocate to make CMU a smoke-free campus, an initiative that stalled when Rao bolted July 1 for the presidency at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Tammy Griffin, manager of Employee Health and Wellness, said Rao “strongly supported a smoke-free campus down the road.” In February 2008, Griffin and others met with Rao to discuss the university’s smoking policy. They proposed a three-step initiative that would culminate with a full-campus ban on smoking.
Rao favored the plan, according to Griffin, and the university quickly initiated the first phase. It called for the stenciling of sidewalks as a reminder that smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of buildings.
Rao then recommended the university bypass the second phase, which would ban smoking in designated areas. According to Griffin, Rao wanted to skip to the third phase: a campus-wide ban on smoking.
“But as the outgoing president,” Griffin said, “he felt that was better decided by the interim or incoming president.”
Despite the hiccup, Griffin’s group is determined to press forward with the motion, she said. But it can’t happen without a proactive administration that makes it a priority.
“We’re hoping to keep the momentum going for this initiative,” she said. “We hope that whoever needs to make that decision will be as favorable as President Rao was.”
CMU is not alone in its push to end on-campus smoking. Hundreds of colleges nationwide, including several in Michigan, have already made the transition.
Saginaw Valley State University which, in January 2008, banned smoking in all areas of campus except in designated parking lots, has seen almost complete compliance on the issue, said Jim Muladore, the school’s vice president for Administration and Business Affairs.
SVSU previously shared CMU’s 25-foot policy. But with staunch support from the university’s president, SVSU was able to make the change, Muladore said.
For CMU to make the change, it also needs administrative leadership. When Kathy Wilbur, CMU’s interim president, was chosen for the position in April, she vowed not to simply be a caretaker for the university. Rather, she voiced her willingness to boldly advance CMU’s priorities.
Now she has an opportunity to act. A campus-wide smoking ban is a priority, and its approval shouldn’t have to wait until the next president arrives.
