Freshmen learn to handle smoking ban

As freshmen Molly Blazak and Stephanie Courtney sat smoking outside the steps at Wright Quad, students passed by eager to eat dinner.

After only the second week since move-in, both agreed the freshmen were dealing well as the first incoming class to come to IU with the smoking ban in place.

“I’ve never really heard it talked about,” Blazak said. “It just seems pretty accepted.”
Both students said they first heard about the ban through word of mouth before coming to Bloomington, not through IU.

In fact, Courtney learned about the ban from her mother and initially thought there weren’t smoking sections outside the dorms.

“I understand why it’s here,” she said. “The majority of people don’t smoke, and some people are offended by it.”

IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said the University is relying on peer pressure to help enforce the ban rather than officials patroling the campus.

“We’re not sure such a thing would be feasible or appropriate at this time,” MacIntyre said.

MacIntyre said visitors and an open campus would make enforcement difficult.
Resident assistants could refer students to the dean of students but didn’t know if any had been referred, he said.

Courtney said that some of her friends have been asked to move to designated smoking areas by RAs.

“Some people were smoking hookah near the volleyball net and an RA asked, ‘Can you move that 15 feet that way and then you’ll be fine?’” Council said.

While freshmen might not think much of the ban, older students see a big change in the enforcement from last semester, especially with RAs asking students to move.

“They weren’t enforcing it,” said sophomore Nick Rypel. “There’s definitely less people walking and smoking.”

The ban went into effect on all eight IU campuses at the beginning of this year, and sophomore Sean Raftery, who went to IU-Purdue University Indianapolis last year, said the enforcement there was a lot stricter last semester.

“It can definitely be enforced more,” he said. “They could put up more signs. They had a lot of them at IUPUI.”

Students feel the University can do a better job alerting students about the ban.

“I didn’t even know there was a smoking ban. I’ve been here for two weeks,” said freshman Mark Rodriguez.

Other students said they have seen posters and signs around campus, particularly dorms.

Rypel said while not all students have stopped smoking, the situation has improved.

“Some don’t, obviously, but you’ve always got that,” Rypel said. “It’s definitely a lot less.”