On Sept. 14, 1993, change was in the air on the Gustavus campus–literally. All indoor areas, including academic and administrative buildings and residence halls, became tobacco- and smoke-free. “Walking into the campus center through a cloud of smoke isn’t always the best way to start out your day,” Junior Political Science Major and Communication Studies Major Amber Hanson said. Hanson reflects an attitude that has become more prevalent in recent years as public awareness of the health risks involved with tobacco use and secondhand smoke grew.

Members of the Gustavus community were not alone in the extra notice they paid to secondhand smoke. In 2007, smoky bars became a thing of the past in Minnesota: the state’s legislature passed the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, amended by the Freedom to Breathe Act. The two policies eliminated smoking in virtually all public indoor places and places of employment, including all bars and restaurants.

Many colleges nation-wide have also begun to change their smoking policies. According to a 2009 report by the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, there are currently 260 campuses across the country are smoke-free, meaning they ban smoking anywhere on campus, including outdoor and indoor locations. The University of Minnesota–Duluth and Winona State University are two Minnesota schools on the list.

Last fall, Student Senate discussed pursuing revisions in the smoking policy. Hanson, who served as the chair of the Residential Life Committee of Student Senate in 2007-2008, focused on the smoking policy. She recalls studying policies at other schools and discussions focused on possible alterations that might improve the Gustavus policy.

“The intention of that conversation was just to learn about the history of our policy on campus and what other similar colleges have in terms of smoking policies,” said Luke Garrison, Student Senate co-president and senior communication studies major.

Garrison pointed out that conversations within Student Senate considered developing specified outdoor smoking areas located in various places on campus. “The idea of a smoke-free campus was thrown around,” Hanson said, “but from students I had talked to there [were] a lot of mixed reviews.” As an alternative to banning all smoking on campus, Director of Residential Life and Assistant Dean of Students Charlie Strey said, “One possible suggestion would be to include … smoking lounges with well-[ventilated] systems.”

While these policy changes never developed beyond the discussion stage, there is a present policy restricting smoking. The current smoking policy at Gustavus states, “All areas within buildings of the Gustavus campus are designated ‘no smoking’ areas, as provided by Minnesota’s Clean Air Act. The policy includes identical limitations to the use of smokeless tobacco as well. Violations will be issued as citations.”

There are also certain campus buildings that people are not to smoke in close proximity to. “There are certain buildings that have air intake vents near a building entry. Therefore, those buildings have signs that say you need to be 25 feet away from the building,” Strey said.

As several colleges and universities within the state of Minnesota changed their smoking policies to ban all smoking from campus property, some Gustavus students have begun to question whether these provisions are enough, while others vehemently oppose the idea of a smoking ban.

“If they want to make portions of the campus smoke-free then that is fine, but making the entire campus smoke-free is ridiculous,” First-year Andrew Ajer said. “I am fine with smoking outside 25 feet from a building with no complaints, but they cannot expect us to just all of a sudden have to go off campus for a smoke.” Junior English Major Matthew Heider, a smoker, shares Ajer’s skepticism. “[A campus-wide smoking ban] would be a drastic change. There are enough smokers on campus right now that it would upset a lot of people,” Heider said. He feels that smokers already make concessions to accommodate others who do not wish to be exposed to cigarette smoke.

“I work really hard to make my habits non-offensive to other people,” Heider said. “I don’t want to give secondhand smoke to other people. I made a choice to smoke. [The non-smokers] haven’t, so they shouldn’t have to be subjected to secondhand smoke. I think we can reach a compromise.”Senior Political Science Major Katie Kammerude has a similar attitude. “I also tend to be a courteous smoker. If I’m smoking with a friend, I’ll try and walk on the side where the smoke won’t blow back into [him or her],” she said. Heider echoes that sentiment. “I’ve already made concessions for other people, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask in return to have … a place where I can smoke that’s not too far away,” he said.

The effectiveness of a policy often depends on its enforcement, and Kammerude has doubts about the school’s ability to implement a smoke-free campus. “I think it’s ridiculous. … There’s no way to enforce it,” Kammerude said. “[A smoking ban] is a way for people to impose their values on other people.” Kammerude’s doubts are rooted in issues she sees in the effectiveness of the current policy.

“We’re supposed to smoke at least 25 feet away from the doors, but having the cigarette butt stops right next to the doors doesn’t really advocate [smoking away from entrances]. However, if we do smoke next to the doors, there isn’t anyone reprimanding us. There isn’t any real enforcement of part of this policy. So how would they enforce a new policy change?”

Heider and Kammerude both agree that regardless of how courteous and discrete they attempt to be while smoking, they feel a stigma from the Gustavus community. “I’ll always get the funny looks or the people looking over their shoulders as they walk away,” said Heider. Ajer found that smokers are such a small minority at Gustavus, they often become friends.

“There is definitely a community among smokers at Gustavus,” Ajer said. “I would say I know about 70 percent of the smokers on campus. It’s hard to tell because some people are so secretive about it, but overall you tend to smoke at the same times and talk whenever you see them around. In co-ed this year, all of the smokers met and became friends during the first week of school.”

Whether or not it provides a social network, Senior Health Fitness and Health Education Major Catherine Osterhaus believes that the college’s current smoking policy needs to be updated to deter people from smoking. As a non-smoker, Osterhaus recalled multiple instances when she found exposure to secondhand smoke to be unavoidable, often while walking down the sidewalk.

“I feel that a campus-wide smoking ban would be a significant step in improving the environmental health of the Gustavus campus. The negative effects of secondhand smoke are proven,” said Osterhaus. If a campus-wide ban is not possible, Osterhaus feels that cigarette-drop containers should be moved away from building entrances and that smokers should be required to smoke in select locations that are easily avoidable. “I think that a realistic and fair policy change would be 25 feet away from all doors on campus,” Hanson said. “As great as it is that campuses around the country have gone completely smoke-free, I do not know if it is fair to ban it from the entire campus at Gustavus. A reasonable distance away from doors into campus buildings respects the rights of those who choose to smoke, as well as protecting those who choose not to [do so].”

Despite differing views on the possibility of a smoking ban, Heider, Kammerude and Osterhaus acknowledge that tobacco use is just one health-related issue among many the college faces. Kammerude believes those advocating for a smoking-ban should shift their focus to reckless behavior of a different sort: drinking. “Smoking is a choice we all make. We know the health risks. [However] if there [were] an issue that actually needed to be addressed with a ban … it would not be smoking. It would be drinking,” Kamerude said.

Osterhaus agrees that there are many important issues that the Gustavus community needs to address, but she does not believe that should stop anyone from considering alterations to the smoking policy. “I believe it is important for the college to address both smoking and drinking, as both are dangerous risk behaviors that have negative consequences to the individuals [who] take part in them,” Osterhaus said. She believes the distinction is that smoking impacts those who do not choose to partake as well as those who do. “The fact that one person’s choice to smoke has the potential to affect many other students’ health and well-being makes it just as an important of an issue as high-risk drinking, which tends to affect the individuals engaging in the behavior,” she said.

Those who oppose a campus-wide smoking ban are not limited to the smoking community. As a non-smoker, Senior Biology Major Asitha Jayawardena is opposed to a school-sanctioned smoking ban. “Smokers have the right to smoke. The health risks for individuals exposed to the secondhand smoke of Gustavus smokers are going to be minimal due to the small population of smokers and the low amount of exposure,” Jayawardena said. “It would be different if this college had a majority of the population smoking and the air was full of smoke. But it’s not. I feel [it would be] a little bit unfair,” Jayawardena said. He feels that the college offers an environment where he can avoid breathing in smoky air when necessary. “It is not going to ruin my health to allow the status-quo of smoking on campus because I can choose to walk the other way.”

While it is clear the campus is far from reaching any sort of consensus on this issue, and perhaps far from gaining a majority of Student Senate members, this conversation is not likely to end any time soon. Recently the University of Minnesota conducted a study exploring the possibility of becoming a smoke-free campus and the day when students must leave their campus to smoke may not be far away. As discussion regarding this issue increases at other schools, its prominence may increase on campus as well.