By: Shira Krimsky
Sophomore Kinesiology Major
SPH Student Ambassador
On June 30th, 2013, all University of Maryland
campuses will officially be smoke free.
The policy was cast to a vote last July and the board of regents voted
unanimously in favor. Many
students have spent the past two semesters preparing for the change in a
variety of ways. Some students are
excited about the change and have been anticipating the smoking ban for quite
some time. In November, a group of
students including representatives from the Student Health
Advisory Committee (SHAC) hosted the Great American Smoke Out in the
Stamp This event
helped educate students about the policy and also encouraged students to quite
smoking, both off and on campus.
Prizes were given to those who pledged to quit smoking and the
University Health Center’s Edie Anderson was there
to offer her smoking cessation services. 
Student Union.
The smoking ban has
been met with a variety of opinions: some supportive, some oppositional. Some students are excited to walk
around campus without the fear of ending up in a cloud of second hand
smoke. Others are less
enthusiastic and see this as an infringement on their personal rights. Many other institutions surrounding UMCP,
including Towson
University and The
Community College of Baltimore County, have already implemented smoking
bans and have faced similar opposition initially, but said that overall the ban
was effective.
One of the main concerns
regarding the effectiveness of the ban is that it won’t be enforced and people
won’t listen. The current law for
University of Maryland campuses is that individuals cannot smoke indoors or
within 25 feet of a campus building.
However, almost all UMCP students have seen the group of smokers that stands only 5 feet away from McKeldin library, leaving a
plume in their midst. Other
students have also complained of smokers standing outside their dorm room
windows and preventing them from getting fresh air. Many are worried that the smoking ban may not actually be
effective. In order for campus to
be smoke free, the ban must be enforced.
How do you enforce a
ban that affects over 30,000 students? Stay tuned for June 30th to
find out! Catch up on the issue with these news articles:
University Senate skeptical of Board of Regents' campuswide
smoking ban – The Diamondback Online
No designated
smoking areas in U. Senate-approved ban – The Diamondback Online
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