If the Ball State University Board of Trustees approves a smoking ban, smokers will need to be careful where they light up unless they want to pay a fine, according to the Smoke-Free Implementation Task Force report.
Kay Bales, vice president of student affairs, said the Task Force released the report late last week, and it explains how the university will institute a smoke-free campus policy if it is passed.
"We had a lot of discussion about what we thought was right at this time," Bales said. "We looked at what other campuses were doing. What the task force came up with is not a complete ban."
According to the report, the task force recommended 11 permitted smoking locations on campus.
Students caught smoking outside those areas will pay a $50 fine, according to the report.
"When the task force was put together and we started our discussions, we looked at the well being of our campus as a whole," she said. "Smoking is an addiction, and our goal is that people will comply with reducing the amount of secondhand smoke on campus."
Bales said the task force will begin a communications blitz to alert students to the policy change if the ban is approved.
President Jo Ann Gora's cabinet received copies of the report on Dec. 1, and the Board of Trustees will vote on the ban Dec. 14, Bales said. If the board passes the ban, the university will implement it March 17, which is the Monday after Spring Break, she said.
According to the report, $20,000 of budget will go toward signage for the smoking areas if the ban is approved.
Tom Morrison, vice president of business affairs and task force member, said that price also included additions such as benches, lights and ashtrays.
"That was put in before we actually went out and started to scope where things were," Morrison said. "I think the costs will come down greatly. Some of the areas have become defacto smoking areas already."
According to the report, the task force decided on the smoking areas that they considered popular locations for people to congregate that are away from the main flow of campus traffic.
The recommended smoking areas included locations such as LaFollette Complex and Robert Bell building, according to the report.
The task force overestimated costs to err on the side of caution, Morrison said.
"We were concerned, for instance, if we had a designated smoking area, we might have to pour concrete in a pad so people wouldn't have to stand in mud," he said. "Just last Wednesday we went around and specifically looked at the locations."
The expenditures for signage will come from the facilities budget, Morrison said.
"Speaking from the business affairs side, I don't see it as an extra cost to our university," he said. "It's not going to put the university in a deficit."
Bales said enforcement of the smoking ban will not lie solely with the Ball State Police Department.
"Everyone's responsible to make the university comply," she said.
According to the report, Ball State staff and faculty, such as building directors and department chairpeople, are responsible for giving out fines to smoking ban violators.
Bales said the Office of Bursar will collect fines, but the University Traffic Appeals Subcommittee will handle contested fines.
"We don't aniticipate having very many citations," she said.
The university will provide an "Oops" voucher to students to use during the first six months after the policy's expected implementation date, Bales said.
"This will give people the opportunity to not pay the fine, but by six months, everybody should know about the policy," she said.
Bales said if the Board of Trustees approves the smoking ban, the university will immediately begin a communications campaign to alert everybody at Ball State about the policy change and promote smoking cessation classes.
According to the task force report, the university will use about 25 ways to communicate with students such as flyers, e-mails and newspaper advertisements.
Bales said the task force wants to ensure that everybody is aware of the policy change before it would be implemented.
"When people return [from Spring Break] in March, they cannot say they were not aware," she said.
Designated smoking areas- south side of L.A. Pittenger Student Center- southwest rear corner of Elliott Hall- west side of Emens Garage- north side of Worthen Arena- between East Studebaker and West Studebaker halls- south side of Art and Journalism building- west side of LaFollette Complex- west side of Johnson Complex- southwest corner of Robert Bell Building- southwest area of Ball Gym- Scheumann Stadium parking lots
Budget breakdown:Campus signage - $20,000Publications (flyers, brochures, posters) - $5,790Advertising (DN ads, IPR, local radio) - $2,850Table tents (two weeks in Atrium, dining halls) - $795Flyswatter banner - $350Mailings - $250Total - $30,035
Leaders of the following places are responsible for enforcement:- individual units- departments- buildings- student housing units- those who supervise personnel- Public Safety personnel- others designated by the university
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