The Health and Safety Committee is moving toward citing students caught smoking outside designated areas with monetary fines.
“The first fine would be $25, the second $50 and the third $75. We’re going to charge everybody the same thing. Students would be charged the same as employees and visitors,†said Jo Ann Buczko, coordinator of student health services and Health and Safety Committee member.
Buczko says that the reason for the delay in monetary fines was concern with a change in working conditions.
“Two union groups expressed concern at the College Council  that changing the smoking policy enforcement procedures may be a “change in working conditions,†said Buczko.
According to Campus police Chief Don Yoder, the smoking policy has not changed yet and the current smoking policy stands as is with no monetary fines being given and students just being directed to smoking areas. “We don’t have the authority to cite right now [but] we encourage everybody to smoke in the designated area,†said Yoder.
The policy has to be approved by the shared governance process before the school implements it as an official policy.
Mike Shamilia, undeclared does not agree with fining students because of the bad designated smoking area locations.
“There’s not enough smoking areas and the smoking areas they have are not good areas,†said Shamilia.
Noel Moreno, undeclared is for fining students because he feels that they are still given the right to smoke.
“I’m for it. They’re not taking away the right to smoke, they’re just saying smoke within the [designated] areas,†said Moreno.
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