COLUMN: Creating a healthier campus
Central Michigan University will soon be joining nearly 800 schools nationwide to fight against the unhealthy effects of smoking by going tobacco-free on July 1, and it's exactly the direction we need to be heading in.
If students take the policy seriously, it will become a healthier and cleaner campus for both our current and future students to live and learn.
The policy was created after sending a survey to students, faculty and staff across campus – and the results speak volumes. Around 70 percent of those surveyed favored the ban.
If a majority of students are ready to make a commitment to creating a healthier environment, the university is making a good decision by representing the voice of the students. It's a democratic decision.
After the tobacco-free policy is in effect, cigarettes, e-cigarettes and chewing tobacco will be prohibited from CMU property, with the exception of privately owned vehicles.
When entering and exiting buildings on campus, non-smokers will no longer have to unnecessarily breath in second-hand smoke.
By eliminating all tobacco products, CMU will be clear of the litter that tobacco inevitably leaves behind. No more butts will clutter our sidewalks or fill our ashtrays.
In addition to creating a healthier learning and living environment, CMU will also be doing its part to decrease our environmental footprint, reducing the amount of waste our students create on a daily basis.
By changing the current policy, CMU shows it is invested in making the university a healthier place to learn. And with the help of students, staff and faculty, campus can be a better place to be.
The plan lacks any real enforcement – but it shouldn't be an issue.
By relying on a "good neighbor" initiative to encourage others to abide by the policy, we can count on each other to keep campus smoke-free.
Those who choose not to follow the policy will not only lessen the threshold for a healthy learning environment, but they will encourage new students to violate the rules as well.
In order to create a healthy environment for students, staff and faculty, the responsibility to abide by and to enforce the policy lies on the entire campus community.
