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More restrictions target smokers SOU and RCC plan to attempt to move smoking away from the entrances to buildings after complaints from nonsmokers By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Student smokers at Southern Oregon University and Rogue Community College will soon have more to worry about than lung cancer. Both campuses are developing stricter policies to limit the exposure of other students to second-hand smoke. At SOU, the Student Senate is expected to pass a resolution tonight that would designate a 15-foot area around building entrances as smoke-free zones. RCC plans to bring in outdoor smoking kiosks this spring that will give students covered areas in which to sit down and light up without disturbing their peers. "It's kind of hard to think we're the lepers of the world," said RCC student and teaching assistant Sean Murray. "So we might as well have our own Molokai." Both campuses have received complaints from students who pass through rows of smokers puffing away near the entrances to buildings, particularly during inclement weather. "I'm up in arms about this," said SOU student Carla Price. "I've said to them wouldn't it would be nice if they could do this away from the door. One of them just lit up his cigarette and stared straight at me." RCC Dean of Students Kathy Burkey said about $2,500 would be spent at the Medford and Riverside campuses to install smoking kiosks, similar to bus stops. "Students have identified two things they want," said Burkey. "One is having a place to sit and another is to be covered." These kiosks won't be like smoking areas that were once inside the buildings, dubbed "cancer wards." Burkey said, "They were so smoke-filled you could go in there and not even see." RCC plans to buy lightweight smoking kiosks that could be easily moved in case the school decides to expand in Medford. Pending city approval, one of the kiosks could be placed in the alley behind the school's main building at the corner of Central Avenue and Eighth Street. School officials are still debating how many feet away from doorways people should be allowed to smoke. It's difficult to completely curtail the spread of second-hand smoke, said Burkey, who said she occasionally smells it in her office. It also may prove difficult to enforce the new nonsmoking areas, so RCC will look to other students to remind smokers of the rules. "Peer enforcement is a big part of this process," said Burkey. RCC student Laura Barley said she thinks it's a good idea to designate areas for smokers, especially if it means they might get a more comfortable place to light up. "Right now, there's no place to sit down." But others are not so sure. "They could be using that money to upgrade our computers," RCC student Dean Skaw said. Burkey said student government leaders have agreed to help foot the bill for the kiosks. At SOU, student body President Kansas Callaway said there has been little discussion about penalties, but 84 percent of respondents in a survey conducted last fall indicated support for smoke-free building entrances. Callaway said the Student Senate resolution would be proposed to school officials, who are considering a similar measure that would restrict smoking to 15 feet or more from entrances and intake vents. SOU hopes to secure about $2,000 in grant money to pay for new outdoor receptacles for cigarette butts. Callaway said she has smoked near entrances before but still supports the resolution. "People who don't want to be around second-hand smoke shouldn't have to be," she said. SOU student Danielle Johns said she supports a smoking ban near the entrances to buildings but doesn't think it should be imposed elsewhere. Sitting on a bench surrounded by other students enjoying the sun and eating, Johns said, "It gets kind of messed up when they regulate it to the point where I couldn't smoke right here." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.