2008 Woodie Awards
Smoke Haze
Campus no-smoking policy not enforced by police, hard for admins to enforce
Paul Edison
Issue date: 6/16/08 Section: News
Dare to smoke on campus? No student is subject to fines or court citations for smoking on the De Anza College campus, and so far, no student been placed under probation for violating the campus's non-smoking policy.
According to the Student Codes of Conduct, students are subject to disciplinary probation by Dean of Student Development Michele LeBleu-Burns if they are engaged in "willful or persistent smoking in any area where smoking has been prohibited by law or by regulation of the college or district."
Yet an administrator or faculty member who catches a student smoking on campus cannot legally coerce a student into giving up his name or photo identification, making it nearly impossible for an administrator to punish a student without his consent.
A student cannot be cited or fined by police because there is no state law in California that forbids smoking outdoors on college campuses. "What we're trying to do is to be more educational rather than adversarial," said LeBleu-Burns.
Mary-Jo Lomax, the health educator in charge of a smoking cessation program offered by Health Services, said there is no definite risk in students' health from passing student smokers on the fringes of campus while walking onto campus grounds. Yet she is proud of the reduction of the second-hand smoke haze on campus since the no-smoking policy came into effect Sept. 1, 2005, she said.
The district no-smoking policy in effect is Board Policy 3217 and states that the non-smoking regulation relies on "the consideration and cooperation" of both smokers and non-smokers on campus.
LeBleu-Burns said the programs and policies are there to help students feel comfortable with the campus environment, smokers and non-smokers alike.
Under disciplinary probation, students are excluded from participating in clubs and activities for specified periods of time but may still go to class, graduate and even transfer to a university.
In November 2004, Foothill and De Anza faculty, staff and students participated in an online survey developed to assess opinions about smoking.
According to the Student Codes of Conduct, students are subject to disciplinary probation by Dean of Student Development Michele LeBleu-Burns if they are engaged in "willful or persistent smoking in any area where smoking has been prohibited by law or by regulation of the college or district."
Yet an administrator or faculty member who catches a student smoking on campus cannot legally coerce a student into giving up his name or photo identification, making it nearly impossible for an administrator to punish a student without his consent.
A student cannot be cited or fined by police because there is no state law in California that forbids smoking outdoors on college campuses. "What we're trying to do is to be more educational rather than adversarial," said LeBleu-Burns.
Mary-Jo Lomax, the health educator in charge of a smoking cessation program offered by Health Services, said there is no definite risk in students' health from passing student smokers on the fringes of campus while walking onto campus grounds. Yet she is proud of the reduction of the second-hand smoke haze on campus since the no-smoking policy came into effect Sept. 1, 2005, she said.
The district no-smoking policy in effect is Board Policy 3217 and states that the non-smoking regulation relies on "the consideration and cooperation" of both smokers and non-smokers on campus.
LeBleu-Burns said the programs and policies are there to help students feel comfortable with the campus environment, smokers and non-smokers alike.
Under disciplinary probation, students are excluded from participating in clubs and activities for specified periods of time but may still go to class, graduate and even transfer to a university.
In November 2004, Foothill and De Anza faculty, staff and students participated in an online survey developed to assess opinions about smoking.
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