By Danny Dunn
This fall Humboldt State University will officially become a tobacco and smoke free campus. This ban includes all tobacco products such as, but not limited to cigarettes, tobacco pipes, and cigars along with electronic smoking devices like vape pens and box mods.
Several California State Universities have already enforced this rule, and all 23 CSUs will eventually become smoke free.
There are some exceptions to this ban, though not very many. According to the Executive Order 1108 exceptions include: smoking in a university sponsored theater, as well as ceremonial campus events may be authorized by the President or designee only when a required part of a specific performance. This includes smoking and tobacco use for traditional ceremonial activities of recognized cultural and religious groups.
The use of nicotine cessation products such as Nicorette products are permitted under the order.
This order will help to create a safer and more healthy environment on campus, but not everyone is onboard with this new smoke free campus.
HSU student Jason Henkle believes that this new order treads on his rights as a smoker on campus and that it will give smokers a bad look among their fellow classmates.
“There will be a stigma now for smokers at CSUs,” Henkle said. “This ban is going to isolate smokers from the non smokers.”
Henkle went on to say that if he had not already planned on living off campus next fall, that this order would have made that decision for him.
HSU student Joseph Keith also believes that smokers and even some non smokers social lives will take a hit from this new ban, because of the connections that people make throughout the gazebos on campus, most notably the gazebo at the bottom of campus apartments.
“What are people going to do, we are not going to hang out our tiny ass living rooms all day,” Keith said. “I have friends now that I would have never had, not just through smoking, but me having a friend that I smoked with that introduced me to their friends.”
HSU student Oscar Arzate admits that he is relieved that HSU is becoming a smoke free campus.
“Honestly I am glad people will not be smoking or vaping on campus,” Arzate said. “The smell is very irritating to me.”
One Comment
“it will give smokers a bad look among their fellow classmates.” Sounds like a good thing to me!