The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, April 19, 2010 - 7A
SMOKE-FREE
From Page 1A
once the ban is launched.
Simone Himbeault Taylor, associ-
ate vice president for the Division of
Student Affairs, oversees the Smoke-
Free University Initiative Student
Life Subcommittee - a committee of
24 students, staff and faculty mem-
bers from the University's Ann Arbor,
Flint and Dearborn campuses. Taylor
said one of the committee's main jobs
is to seek feedback on the smoking
ban from University students.
"The whole notion is that our
approach should have great trans-
parency; it should have a lot of stu-
dent involvement," Taylor said.
Taylor said committee members
range from "being militant non-
smokers to militant smokers," as
well as people who are ambivalent
about the issue.
"We were quite intentional
about having a group of folks that
ran the gamut because we felt that
that brings the greatest voice to the
table," Taylor said. "And if you can
surface what the issues are, you are
most likely to make decisions that
are based on full input of the com-
munity at large, and you know what
the controversies are and you can
address them."
Malinda Matney, senior research
associate in the Division of Student
Affairs, is in charge of gathering
student input on the University's
decision to move toward a smoke-
free campus.
Last October, Matney compiled
a survey that was sent to 5,000 ran-
domly selected University students.
The University's three smoke-free
committees - focused on student
input; health and wellness; and
education - planned to use survey
results for determining how to help
smokers on campus and make the
smoking ban effective.
According to Matney, 1,332 stu-
dents responded to the survey - a
number she said is "pretty miracu-
lous."
* The survey evaluated students
on their smoking behaviors. Results
showed that about 23 percent of
people surveyed reported partaking
in smoking behaviors.
Matney said this data, as well as
information from the University's
first-year student survey, University
Health Service surveys and Coun-
seling and Psychological Services
surveys, show that relatively few
University students smoke.
Though the majority of students
don't smoke, the Smoke-Free sur-
vey sought to evaluate how the ban
would impactstudents. When asked
"to what extent will a non-smoking
campus affect you?", 27.4 percent
responded "not at all," while 21.4
percent responded "a great deal"
The rest indicated that they would
be "slightly," "moderately" or "con-
siderably" impacted.
In addition, the survey asked
students to report their ethnicity,
gender, origin and involvement in
student organizations on campus,
among other characteristics.
Despite differences among
respondents, Matney said a com-
mon theme students articulated
in the survey was their concern
for fairness for all students, facul-
ty and staff regarding the Smoke-
Free University Initiative. She
added that many expressed mixed
views of the University's decision.
"The students aren't of one
voice within this," Matney said.
"Some students are very stri-
dently against the initiative, and
some students are very stridently
in favor of it and saying'Let's do it
tomorrow. Now. Let's do it now."'
In March, a similar survey was
sent to a new sample of 5,000
students to compare results with
those of the first survey and for the
smoke-free committees to use for
making policy recommendations.
Matney said she is currently
sorting through the data. Though
she did not have any specific
information, she said there was a
10-percent response rate.
When asked why 5,000 stu-
dents were sampled in the sur-
veys, Matney said it was a number
large enough to get a "powerful"
response. She added that the Uni-
versity doesn't want to "burn out"
students by sending a ton of sur-
veys because they don't want stu-
dents to stop responding.
While these surveys questioned
students about the Smoke-Free
University Initiative, a separate
committeeisinchargeofsurveying
theUniversityfacultyand staff.
One of the main differences
between results of surveys sent
to students and those sent to fac-
ulty and staff was the fear of gain-
ing weight as a result of quitting
smoking. Matney said it came as
a surprise that faculty and staff
were concerned about this effect,
but students were not.
"One of the big concerns that
people have is issues around
weight. If I stop smoking I will
gain weight. It was just assumed
that our students would have that
same concern," Matney said.
However, students reported
that they smoked for reasons other
than weight loss or gain. Accoxd-
ing to survey results, the most com-
mon listed reason that students
smoke is to alleviatesstress, followed
by smoking as a means of relaxation
and an activity to do while drinking.
The majority of students responded
that they smoke while at parities.
CAPS Director Todd Sevig, co-
chair of the health and wellness
division of the Student Life Sub-
committee, has been working with
several focus groups of University
students - who indicated in the
Smoke-Free surveys that they would
be willing to participate - to gather
students' advice for ideas on how to
improve health services for students
who may need resources when the
ban is in place.
Sevig said feedback from the
focus groups matched the outcome
of the survey, which found that stu-
dents smoke when feelingstressed.
As a result of information gath-
ered from these discussions, Sevig
said UHS is going to try to create
new stress management programs
for students as well as "repackage"
existing CAPS and UHS services to
cater further to students' needs.
Sevig's committee has also looked
at what other smoke-free universities
across the country have done to help
students quit smoking.In its research,
Sevig said the committee discovered
that traditional quitting methods
like smoking cessation products and
weekly support sessions are not nec-
essarily effective for students.
"The thing is gum, patches, sup-
portgroups, they may work once we
get out in the work world - older
adults so to speak - but for some
students that's not a good fit," Sevig
said. "That's not going to work. We
need to think of different things,
creative things."
As of now, Sevig said he does not
know if CAPS or UHS will offer
smoking cessation products for free
or for purchase, but he said the com-
mittee will do further research dur-
ing the spring and summer terms to
determine how best to helpstudents
who want to quit smoking.
Taylor said one of the main goals
of offering new programs through
CAPS and UHS isnto assist students
in "self-conscious decision making."
"We're not presuming to make
decisions for people," Taylor said.
"What we'd like to do is create the
avenues for them to make informed
choices about their own behaviors
because, ultimately, smoking is a
very personal choice."
According to Taylor, the edu-
cational measures committee is
examining ways to enforce the
smoke-free policy. Taylor explained
that the committee is recommend-
ing educational approaches instead
of disciplinary actions, adding that
the ban will serve as an opportunity
to teach students how to engage in
"peaceful conflict resolution."
"It's not at all about law and
order," Taylor said. "Itcreally is about
education and development and try-
ing to really capture that moment
and use it as a way for students to a
lot of times engage with one another
in holding themselves accountable."
Taylor added that Department of
Public Safety officers will not issue
citations to students smoking in the
Diag. However, she said there might
be consequences for repeat offenders.
LSA senior Michael Rorro, for-
mer Michigan Student Assembly
vice president, was one of the stu-
dents who sat on the Student Life
Subcommittee and gave input on
how to enforce smoking penalties.
Rorro, who is a smoker himself,
said committee members agreed
that there should be no severe sanc-
tions within the first two years of
the initiative. Instead, the Univer-
sity should focus on educating stu-
dents about the initiative so that
there are "no surprises," he said.
"We wanted to make sure people
know what was going on rather than
slapping fines on people," Rorro
said. "We didn't want to see people
getting tickets right off the bat."
To promote education of the
smoking ban, Rorro said the com-
mittee made recommendations for
the University to set up information
tables throughout campus as well as
send online and print materials to
incoming freshmen informing them
of the initiative.
While forming recommendations,
the committee reviewed policies at
other smoke-free Big Ten schools.
According to Rorro, committee
members liked Purdue University's
"campus concern form," in which
anyone on campus could anony-
mously fill outa form and share con-
cerns about smoking issues.
LSA senior Chris Chiles, a mem-
ber on the Student Life Subcommit-
tee who founded the University's
chapterof Studentsfor SensibleDrug
Policy, said he thinks building man-
agers will ultimately be in charge of
addressingthese concerns.
"It would not be right to burden
DPS with anything like this," Chiles
said, adding that he thinks the poli-
cy is "pretty unenforceable."
In committee discussions, Chiles
said he advocated for the University
to keep cigarette containers on cam-
pus - saying that removing them
would result in unnecessary litter of
cigarette butts.
Though Chiles said he doesn't
agree with the idea of a campus-
wide smoking ban because it
infringes on students' rights, he said
he understands the University's
mindset in wanting to promote a
healthier campus.
"My personal view is that (stu-
dents) should still have the right (to
smoke) because they're not harming
anyone else," he said. " However, I
think the University is trying to
create a culture of health and well-
ness, which is an idea I support!'
While much work still needs to
be done to figure out the logistics
of implementing the ban and pro-
viding students, faculty and staff
appropriate health resources,
Sevig said he thinks the Smoke-
Free University Initiative will
benefit the campus community's
knowledge of smoking.
"I think there's actually a lot
of misinformation about smok-
ing, smoking behaviors (and) the
effects and consequences, so I
think one really cool outcome
will be reducing some of the
myth and misinformation around
it," he said.
Ann Arbor firefighters investigate car fires early Saturday morning. Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Matthew Lige said or
morning that upon preliminary investigation, no injuries had been reported.
FIRES
From Page 1A
roughly 2:45 a.m.
Brown emphasized that while
DPS is not directly involved in the
ongoing investigations, officials
are concerned about the proximity
of the fires to the University com-
munity.
"These (fires) are happening in
areas which are heavily populated by
students, and we want to ensure stu-
dents are aware of that," Brown said.
As of Sunday evening, Ann
Arbor Police Department officials
said they would not comment on
the incident, but said they are cur-
rently working with the Ann Arbor
Fire Department in the investiga-
tion.
In interviews Saturday after-
noon, students who live in the area
said they witnessed commotion
and smelled smoke around the time
of the fires.
LSA senior Alicja Sobilo, who
lives in an apartment complex on
the 700 block of South Forest Ave-
nue, said she went into the lobby
of her apartment building at about
1:45 a.m., soon after the fire there
began.
Sobilo said a large group of
women from Alpha Delta Pi soror-
ity house located across the street
at 722 South Forest Ave. had con-
gregated in the apartment com-
plex's lobby, adding that the lobby
was packed.
"There were girls with blan-
kets," Sobilo said. "Some of them
seemed really worried."
Sobilo said several of the women
in the lobby told her a truck was
on fire in their parking lot. Sobilo
added that though she smelled
smoke, at no point did she see actu-
al flames.
When contacted Saturday, Busi-
ness School sophomore Ashley
Anderson, Alpha Delta Pi's presi-
dent, declined to comment on the
night's fires.
Another member of Alpha Delta
Pi answered the door of the soror-
ity house today but also refused to
provide comment.
LSA senior Harrison Taylor,
who lives on South Forest's 700
block, also said he smelled smoke
but did not see fire.
"I saw an ambulance, fire trucks,
a bunch of cops and I could smell
smoke, but I didn't see any fire,"
Taylor said.
Another fire occurred in an alley
behind The Abbey, according to
another tenant of the apartment
complex.
Jessica Miller, a student at Ann
Arbor's Washtenaw Community
College who shares an apartment
in the complex with several Uni-
versity students, said she was in
her apartment at the time of the
fire and witnessed the commo-
tion.
"People said they had been
walking and then they saw bright
lights and realized it was fire,"
Miller said.
In a similar incident two weeks
ago, a blaze charred three cars
beneath The Abbey complex. That
fire caused smoke damage to some
of the units near the flaming cars,
according to an April 3 article in
The Michigan Daily.
Miller expressed concern and
fear about the two separate inci-
dents occuring so close to one
another.
"It's really disconcerting, it's
really scary," she said.
The Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment is offering up to a $5,000
reward for information on the
fires. As of 9 a.m. Saturday morn-
ing, authorities said there were
no suspects. If anyone has any
information about the "suspicious
behavior around parked cars,"
they're being asked to contact
police immediately.
Saturday's string of fires come
exactly two weeks after a similar
series of fires in Ann Arbor. Though
all of the April 3 fires reportedly
started outside of buildings, the
blazes did reach at least one build-
ing and caused structural damage.
That fire gutted a rental house at
928 S. State street, killing 22-year-
old Eastern Michigan University
student Renden LeMasters and
injuring two others.
According to an April 7 report
in the Daily, Ann Arbor's police
and fire departments are split over
whether or not the fires on April 3
can be classified as arson.
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