This ban has been in place for a while and SGA expanded it two years ago. Many students don’t seem to take it seriously, so this issue has the possibility of reappearing this year in the SGA elections.
The smoking ban prohibits lighting up for at least 35 feet of doors, air conditioning units, windows, covered walkways, and bus stops. But those rules are rarely followed.
Many students ignore the ban and smoke particularly outside the walkway and bridge by the MLC. One student took a breath between puffs to tell us why she thinks the ban is ineffective: no on enforces it.
“Taking the ash trays away when the did the partial smoking ban just gives more work to like custodians who work at the mlc, they just have to come up here and sweep it all up. i don’t see why, why bother. you don’t own the air… i’m going to smoke all over this air,” student Blair Ivy said.
Students could also be disregarding the ban because the warning signs about smoking are mostly small or in awkward places.
There are signs all over campus informing you of the non smoking areas and uga officials are relying on peer pressure rather than police to enforce the ban.
SGA is aware of the problem and though they will not be discussing it in tonight’s debate, wants it to be resolved by next year’s administration. A common tactic used by the national government.
“I noticed this semester that students are not necessarily following that rule that was set out a couple years ago… but that is an issue that that we need to look in to and that would be something great for either of the two parties running this year to address,” said Marshall Mosher.
The ban was voted on in late 2010 and has slowly become nonexistent/taken not seriously. UGA is the only campus in Athens, however, that partially allows smoking in general. Live in the newsroom, I’m Cody Godwin
