DENVER – While the smell of tobacco may be dissipating over at University of Colorado in Boulder, it’s distinguishable scent remains at Auraria Campus, and it’s likely to linger into the unforeseeable future.
Last week, CU-Boulder administration approved a campus-wide smoking ban prohibiting anyone from smoking while on campus, which will be enforced through self-policing and education rather than ticketing. This raises questions about whether or not other college campuses have any plans to follow suit and implement a similar policy.
In the case of Auraria Campus, there are no such plans to do so.
“I am not aware of any plans to implement a similar ban,” said Blaine Nickeson, the Assistant Vice President of Campus Relations & Chief of Staff for Auraria Campus.
Some may question the effectiveness of the ban, given there will be no real penalty for it’s offenders, but others, such as Nickeson, believe CU’s approach is well-founded.
“Generally, more success comes from getting to the root of the problem and engaging the community in solving it,” Nickeson said. “I believe education and outreach would be critical in enforcing such a ban.”
CU’s plans include creating designated smoking areas around campus, and integrating the new policy into the school code of conduct.
With the recent legalization of marijuana, and of course the continued widespread of use of tobacco products, this ban comes during a time when people wonder whether or not a smoking ban is even necessary. Martha Eaton, assistant director for the Health Center at Auraria, believes one is.
“Considering the compelling clinical research and medical evidence we have, a ban is absolutely necessary,” Eaton said. “A ban is one step to protect those who choose not to smoke, while making an important step in the right direction for improving the health of the entire campus community.”
Smokers are bound to oppose such a ban, and even some non-smokers disagree with Eaton’s sentiments.
“They’re treating smokers like lepers,” said Trax Henderson, a non-smoking student at Metropolitan State University of Denver. “It’s just another way of stifling a form of freedom.”
CU-Boulder’s smoking ban is set to go into full effect on Aug. 19.
12. February 2013 at 8:53 AM
I found the article interesting and well-written. The transition from Auraria back to CU-Coulder at the end seemed a little abrupt.
12. February 2013 at 8:56 AM
Really loved this article. I didn’t know about Boulder’s smoking ban and I’m a little disappointed that Auraria isn’t following suit. Thanks for keeping me up to date!
12. February 2013 at 8:58 AM
“It’s” = contraction for “it is”
“Its” = possessive pronoun 🙂
Other than that, I liked it. Great quotes–maybe some of them should have been earlier in the story for more impact?
12. February 2013 at 8:59 AM
The angle of this story is a great approach for such a “Boulder” move. By that I mean Lambert did a good job of keeping his personal bias out of the story. I wasn’t aware that CU Boulder was making such a fuss over this.
12. February 2013 at 9:04 AM
Interesting topic. I have to say that your lead isn’t that great because of the excessive use of adjectives, such as “distinguishable” and “unforeseeable.” Sometimes it’s better to omit words that serve no purpose to the meaning of the sentence.
12. February 2013 at 9:07 AM
Intresting story. Reported well and good job writing from a non-bias stand point.
12. February 2013 at 9:20 AM
Good article, very informative.One of the bullets in the sidebar didn’t seem like it associated with everything but still great information.
12. February 2013 at 9:22 AM
Interested to see how that works out for CU. I liked it I would only say that it is effective to end on a quote so I would have moved the date it is going into effect up in the story and ended with, “It’s just another way of stifling a form of freedom.” I personally think that is a strong end.
12. February 2013 at 9:26 AM
This is great and as Davy said very non-bias. They actually started doing this at Colorado Mountain College and it seems to work well. The only problem is that it also seemed to divide the campus into smokers and non-smokers, but maybe that will become more incentive to quit. This is a very well rounded piece with good perspectives. I have one question on the last statistic in the side bar; which part of the statistic do college graduates fit in?
12. February 2013 at 9:28 AM
I thought it was interesting to see how other campus approaches this. I also liked all the different perspectives in the story.
12. February 2013 at 9:39 AM
Good article. Well written, in depth investigating the story and non-biased. Nailed it.
12. February 2013 at 11:04 AM
Subject matter made me curious about your story. I liked that you stayed non-biased on such a controversial topic. Very thorough.