Dr. Marie Cascarano, Dr. Saundra Collins, Dr. Lisa Lieberman and Susan Graziono were some of the faculty members at the tobacco free forum.–
Photo by Wellington Gomez
With Montclair State University moving towards becoming a tobacco free campus by the fall of 2020, faculty members are hosting numerous open forum events to hear the thoughts of the campus community.
“This is not something new,” said Dr. Saundra Collins, a professor from the department of psychology at the forum this past Monday.
Faculty members that are and have been passionate about this situation have been trying to make Montclair State a tobacco free campus for over five years.
According to staff, there was a university urgency with smoking on campus which led to this initiative. They expected a lot of negative feedback from students and faculty members about making Montclair State a tobacco free campus; however, the feedback was mostly positive and in favor of the change.
“There was a strong, strong concern,” Collins said.
She spoke about the public health issue that the school is facing and how they are trying to keep the health of students on the top of their priority list.
“Now we’re just working on branching out more and getting the feedback we need in order to implement it into the change,” Collins said.
George Cabascango, one of the three students who appeared at the forum, attended because he was concerned about this change.
“I feel bad for my friends that smoke,” Cabascango said. “I feel like Montclair State should be inclusive and allow people to at least be able to go to a designated smoking area if they need to.”
The tobacco free goal is to take away the current designated smoking areas implemented this semester by the fall of 2020. Until then, students can find any of these designated areas near Machuga Heights, Dinallo Heights, Blanton Hall, Webster Hall, Bohn Hall, Falco and Accipiter in Hawks Crossings, Sprague Field, Chapin Hall, the service parking lot along the University Promenade, the Student Center, Williams and Sinatra Hall, the Feliciano School of Business and lastly the Center for Clinical Services.
The smoke free task force will also be hosting “Wanna Quit?” sessions throughout the semester for any students seeking help in order to quit smoking, or who want to find out about available resources.
The next Tobacco Free Forum is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017 in room 417 in the Student Center.
