Elise Nelson/Guest Reporter

In the four years since Winona State University passed its tobacco ban, the majority of students have not known anything other than a tobacco-free campus.

However, there is some disagreement over whether the smoking ban on  campus has been effective.

Karen Johnson, Winona State’s dean of students, said, “The biggest challenge is enforcing this. Because there are people that still refuse to comply with the rules.”

According to Johnson and Winona State’s Tobacco-Free Environment Policy, tobacco use is not permitted anywhere on university property.

Stephanie Russell, a Winona State senior who smokes, said specified places for students who smoke would help cut down on the number of students who do not follow the tobacco-free policy and help clear up confusion over the policy.

“I don’t know a single smoker who’s out there looking to offend [non-smokers],” Russel said. “The problem is just right now we don’t have a place where we can go where we won’t offend them.”

Johnson said she is not sure what the purpose would be of designating a spot for smokers or building a shelter. She said a “student proposed a smoking hut, and there really wasn’t any support for that” when the original task force was working on implementing the policy.

Amanda Chartrand, a Winona State student who is allergic to cigarette smoke, said she thinks the university does an “okay job” at enforcing the ban but that actual designated places on campus or on its perimeters would help keep things fair for students who smoke.

Russell said, “When they first enacted it, they were really strict about it.”

Johnson said the university has never given a student a fee or ticket for using tobacco on campus.

Russell said the first week it was in effect she received a $35 fine for smoking on the wrong side of the sidewalk. She said she went to the security office, complained and did not have to pay.

Russell said security is not enforcing it as harshly as they did when it was first implemented.

“As time has gone on, they’ve gotten really lax about it,” Russell said.

Mitchell Zastrow, a student who works for Winona State security, said if security notices an increase in smoking on campus, they increase the number of security guards on duty and direct people to a permitted smoking area.

Chartrand said she believes the enforcement of the tobacco-ban has gotten better. She said she used to avoid certain areas of campus because of individuals who smoked in those places.

“I know there are some places that are designated with an unwritten rule that you can smoke there,” Chartrand said. She sees some places as undesignated smoking areas on campus. She referenced the loading dock by Minne as one.

Chartrand chose Winona State because she knew it was a tobacco-free campus. Johnson said this was the goal when the administration decided to go tobacco-free.

“That was a hope and dream of ours that it would help attract students. The worry was that it might deter some students from coming here, but I think it had quite the opposite effect,” Johnson said.

Johnson said before the smoking ban was implemented, the campus had a 25-foot rule, allowing people to smoke on campus but not within 25 feet of buildings. She said it was difficult to monitor, and it was easier for security if they just said no to any smoking on campus property.

The process, she said, was not an entirely smooth one, since some students did not agree with the possibility of a tobacco-free campus. She said there was a minor protest, but the majority of individuals agreed with the decision to go tobacco free.

Justin Hiniker, a member of the task force, said the first year had a rough start. “Although the policy went into effect in January of 2009, it is my opinion that most people ignored it for the first year.”

Johnson said, “the transition was a little bit tough” but the campus is “in such a good place now.”

Students interested in confronting individuals who are not abiding by the tobacco-free policy are encouraged to stop by Karen Johnson’s office in Kryzsko Commons to pick up cards detailing the tobacco-free movement. These can be given to individuals who are not following the policy.

Contact Elise at [email protected]