Staff Report
Several students sat down and started smoking cigarettes about five minutes into a forum Wednesday on the east side of the SUB about banning smoking on campus.
Student Brice Sawin, one of the smokers, said a campuswide smoking ban doesn't make sense.
"Not smoking indoors, not smoking in hospitals, not smoking in high-fire-danger forests - all that makes sense," he said. "But not being able to smoke when you're walking to class is just ridiculous."
The event was co-sponsored by the Coalition for a UNM Smoke-Free Campus and Expose, anti-smoking student groups.
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It included presentations about the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke, as well as a question-and-answer session.
About 30 people attended the event.
Kristen Woodruff, the coordinator for Expose, said the event was successful.
"I think it's very important to get both sides of the issue," she said. "I'm glad we had people show up who disagreed, so we could hear their viewpoint."
It is important to ban smoking on campus to prevent people from being exposed to secondhand smoke, she said.
Banning smoking within a certain distance of buildings is not enough, she said.
"I don't think it would be enforced," she said. "UNM doesn't have the resources to have people walking around making sure people are 30 feet away from doors."
According to the UNM Business Policies and Procedures Manual, smoking outside is permitted "a reasonable distance away from doorways, open windows, enclosed walkways and ventilation systems."
The policy is not specific enough, Woodruff said.
Sawin said he wouldn't mind a policy banning smoking near buildings.
"As long as there's somewhere we can smoke - as long as there's a bench and an ashtray - I really don't care," he said.
Woodruff said the process of banning smoking on campus would be similar to banning smoking inside.
"When smoking was banned indoors, people just kind of caught on and accepted it," she said. "I think if we banned it all over campus, everyone would be able to get used to it."
Woodruff is going to talk to ASUNM about issuing a resolution supporting banning smoking on campus, she said.
