Ohio University’s smoking ban task force convened Monday for the first time to discuss a July recommendation from the Ohio Board of Regents.
Fifteen out of the 19 task-force members were present Monday to talk about a tentative timeline regarding the Boards’ resolution on promoting tobacco-free campuses across the state.
During the next five months, the committee will create a timeline to survey students and faculty on tobacco usage, discuss how to enforce current university tobacco policies and consider the possibility of banning tobacco products on campus.
“The Board of Trustees will make the final decision,” said Ryan Lombardi, chair and interim vice president of Student Affairs. “We are the main source for information for them, so our job is pretty big.”
The committee is focusing on creating a recommendation for OU President Roderick McDavis in February that will later be presented at the April Board of Trustees meeting. Lombardi said the university will first survey students and employees at OU about how to best pursue the regents’ recommendation.
One of the main concerns discussed during the meeting was about the lack of enforcement of the current university policies regarding tobacco usage.
“Enforcing the policies could possibly drive tobacco usage off campus,” said Andrew Powers, a committee member and chief of the OU Police Department. “We need to be mindful while working with the city in the matter.”
Powers said he wants to make sure the task force’s recommendations consider everyone on campus.
Three open forums will be held in January and February to allow faculty and students to voice their opinions about a possible shift in the policy, Lombardi said.
“We need to make sure those voices are represented,” Lombardi said. “We need to collect data on students and faculty who do smoke and use tobacco.”
The task force is in the process of creating an online survey for students, faculty and staff to answer questions about their tobacco use. However, there are concerns about banning tobacco from campus, said Joe Adams, associate vice president of Risk Management and Safety.
“We can’t force people to stop using tobacco,” Adams said, “but we can stop them from using it here (on campus) and possibly get some designated areas for them to use tobacco.”
The main concern to take from the meeting is the idea of protecting the health and safety of all who live on campus, said Suzanne Holt Ballard, faculty representative for OU’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“OU has the responsibility to protect students and the people around them,” she said.
The next tobacco-free task force meeting will be held on Dec. 10.
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