Ohio University has been tobacco-free since the beginning of August.
Ohio University banned smoking on campus weeks ago, and a crew is going around to catch smokers and gain feedback from students on where it should be looking.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well it’s been going,” Catherine Lee, coordinator of Ohio University’s Tobacco-Free Campus initiative, said.
There is a tobacco-free task force that has been going around campus in pairs in order to remind people who are smoking that OU is a tobacco-free campus. The task force goes out two or three times a week and each time has only seen a handful of people smoking.
Students can text tfree@ohio.edu to report tobacco use.
“It’s for reporting a hot spot, like if you see one person, it’s not really for that,” Lee said.
Rather it is used to report if people consistently are smoking at certain location and time, Lee said.
“What we can do with that information is we try to send our ambassadors out at that time for a walkabout and just help get that group aware,” Lee said.
Jared Kelemen, an undecided freshman, is benefiting from being in a tobacco-free environment.
“I’m really glad there is a smoking ban,” Kelemen said. “I have asthma, so walking through smoke wreaks havoc on my lungs.”
Rachel Addlespurger, a sophomore studying pre-pharmacy, said she still sees people puffing away on West Green and near the new South Green residence halls.
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“(The tobacco-free initiative) is good to an extent, but I still see people smoking,” Addlespurger said.
Anna Onderisin, a sophomore studying biology, also said she sees people smoking on West Green and on Morton Hill.
“(The tobacco-free initiative) is awesome. I love it even though I still get smoke blown in my face sometimes,” Onderisin said, adding that she sees a decrease in people smoking compared to last year.
Lee has gotten emails from people asking where they can go to use tobacco.
“We are really grateful that people are trying to make an honest effort,” Lee said.
A tobacco-free ambassador program for students is also starting up, Lee said. At first, students will be paired with people from the task-force and eventually the students will go out in their own pairs.
There is a banner on Court Street reminding people about the tobacco ban as well as posters and signs throughout campus.
The policy is all about compliance right now, Lee said. There are currently no consequences if a person is caught smoking on campus.
Previously, Lee said that a Code of Conduct charge could be possible if students continued the use of tobacco products after several conversations and documentations have been noted.
A president's council, which is a group appointed by OU President Roderick McDavis to advise him on certain campus topics, decided against the Code of Conduct ruling at a recent meeting.
Even after thousands of Bobcats returned to campus last weekend, those seen smoking by the task force has remained low.
“The really amazing thing is, this week it’s been the same number, so it’s been zero to two people. Even with all the students, it hasn’t increased,” Lee said.
Lee said a couple of international translations of a brochure about the initiative are available, including ones in Chinese and Arabic.
