Public relations major Justin Lavelle smokes outside of Cafe Diem.
Christina Urban | The Montclarion
The campus community, ranging from administration to fellow students, can report people who smoke outside of the designated zones on campus.
Director of Student Conduct Jerry Collins said the smoke policy is a part of Montclair State University’s Code of Conduct. If it is broken, the rule-breaker can receive anything from a warning to suspension.
“We’ve not had someone be reported,” Collins said, “but individuals can be reported.”
The first offense is just a warning from Student Conduct. However, if the student breaks policy repetitively, they could potentially be suspended because the student commits a breach in conduct of multiple violations at that point.
It is illegal to smoke inside of buildings, and police can be involved if there is a violation.
Collins said it’s up to the community if they want to report someone or not, but right now the school is taking this as an educational period.
Health Promotion holds informational sessions and programs to help students quit smoking. Their website states that 80 percent of students support a tobacco-free policy.
There are a few signs around campus that display the fact that the campus is smoke-free.
Christina Urban | The Montclarion
Public relations major Justin Lavelle still smokes outside of the zones but says he always stays to the side and away from doors.
Lavelle was unaware of the zones and thinks there should be more publicity for them.
“One hundred percent I think [it] is too much,” Lavelle said about the initiative to go completely smoke-free. “I think they should be giving us a spot to smoke. I’m not sure if that’s going to stop anybody, I think they will still find a spot to smoke.”
Senior nutrition major Veronica Kot said she has not seen anyone smoking outside of the zones. She thinks designated areas should remain because it is a right to smoke.
Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life Karen Pennington is confident with the new program and has not noticed too many people deviating from the zones.
“For the most part, we just don’t see what we thought we might see, which is flaunting the rules and not using the smoking areas,” Pennington said. “A lot of students have expressed their support for it.”
Regardless of if students continue to disobey the new policy and complain about the policy, the school will still move in the direction of being 100 percent smoke-free.
“We just [have to] work harder at getting people to stop smoking, to be educated, to understand the risks and understand the importance,” Pennington said.
The policy was reviewed and approved by the University Senate and Student Government Association before it was implemented.
“I think more often than not, people are used to not being able to smoke in places,” said Pennington.
