Pershing smoking ban presents possible model for campus

Some residents say the amount of Pershing area smokers has decreased.

By John Henry

Published Oct. 28, 2008

As some at MU consider the idea of introducing a campus wide smoking ban, Pershing area residents have seen a decrease in the amount smoking there following a ban implemented in the area.

In April, the Department of Residential Life prohibited smoking in the Pershing Commons area after students from Stafford and Cramer residence halls complained about too many smokers in the area.

Smokers are now confined to only three smoking areas in the Pershing courtyard, two of which are designated for students, while the other is for University Hospitals and Clinic staff.

Sophomore Emily Vick from Cramer Residence Hall has seen fewer smokers around the Pershing picnic tables since the ban has been put into effect. Vick said that sometimes she is annoyed by smokers who hang out around the doors of Cramer, but she believes this year has seen overall improvement.

"I still see people smoking, but it is not nearly as bad as it used to be," Vick said.

Sophomore Shannon Whitney also lives in Cramer Hall. She said the tobacco smoke can sometimes make the first floor smell, but she finds the residence hall's atmosphere healthier.

"It makes it a friendlier place to live in general," Whitney said.

Wellness Resource Center Director Kim Dude said there is evidence that shows when smoking is regulated in the workplace, there are a large number of people who quit smoking.

Dude said the idea of a smoking ban across all of campus, instead of just in workplaces, is currently being held under consideration. She said a campus wide smoking ban would be beneficial for the university because of the health threat secondhand smoke poses.

"Because secondhand smoke has been proven to be harmful, it needs to be isolated," Dude said. "We need to be able to work and recreate in a smoke-free environment."

Freshman Spencer Cole said he does not approve of MU's smoking ban at Pershing nor would he support a ban across the entire university because it would further isolate people who have an addiction.

"I think it is unfair," Cole said. "People should have a preference to stick with their own lifestyles. Some people do not understand that some people are actually addicted and will want a cigarette and need a cigarette, and that is kind of bullshit that they will have to go find a bench because they won't be able to smoke on the way to class."

Dude said smokers must understand that their choices impact everyone around them.

"That is just a consequence of being a smoker," Dude said. "To understand that that behavior does not just impact them, it impacts those around them."