In one of the last acts of the current legislative term, the Undergraduate Senate is focusing on how to reform the university's smoking policy. The current policy prohibits smoking in dorms and academic buildings, including in entranceways and on stairs. All members of the university community are supposed to enforce the policy.
The Senate is looking for input from the student body on how to reform the policy. Students are invited to the Senate's meetings on Sundays and the Senate is looking into other ways to get more student input.
It will be interesting to see what policies are formulated out of student input. Smoking seems to be one of those issues that the opposing sides can never agree on. Smokers will always assert their right to smoke wherever they want, and non-smokers will always claim the right to clean air.
It will also be interesting to see if any potential new policies will be enforceable. Smokers disregard current policy as it is. In theory, students should be able to get to class in Ward and up the stairs to the dorms on South side without walking through a cloud of smoke. If smokers aren't obeying current policies and the university community isn't enforcing them, how well are stricter policies going to work?
