When it began Jan. 1, the University’s campus-wide smoking ban was met with both relief and annoyance. Those who supported it were happy to be able to walk around campus without the threat of secondhand smoke and littering of cigarette butts, while those who smoked saw it as the University infringing on their personal right to choose to smoke.

The University put up signs to tell students and visitors of the new rule, classes were held to help smokers try to quit and student ambassadors were trained to help others comply with the new rules.

But as time went on, it remained unclear as to how strict the University was being about enforcing the ban. In fact, we still find this concern particularly unclear, which is problematic considering it is approaching its one-year mark. 

After such a large push for this policy to be implemented, we hoped that the campus community would be kept in the loop about its impact and progress. We have yet to receive an update from the University on the effectiveness of the smoking ban, as well as the effectiveness of the punishments in place for noncompliance.

In the official Urbana-Champaign Smoking Policy, punishment depends on whether an individual caught smoking on campus property is a student, employee, visitor, contractor or subcontractor.

Noncompliant students are referred to the Office for Student Conflict Resolution, and University employees are referred to either the employee’s supervisor, Academic Human Resources or Staff Human Resources, whichever is applicable. 

Visitors who do not comply, according to the policy, may be asked to leave campus.

But we are unaware of how often these punishments are actually carried out, and we question whether these measures actually prevent people from smoking on campus.

The ban has not seemed to stop smokers from smoking; those who want to smoke will continue to do so, and they have found locations — particularly vague and not well-defined locations — where the ban does not apply.

Walk down Gregory Avenue across from the Ikenberry Commons, and you’ll see students and dining hall staff smoking across the street in front of the various fraternity houses. The church on the corner of Wright Street and Armory Avenue has outdoor ashtrays due to the number of people standing outside to smoke during the day.

We believe that it’s noble of the University to want to protect the health and safety of students, but has the policy been effective? We aren’t sure, nor are we clear on what the University is doing at this point to push for its effectiveness. 

If a smoke-free campus is something the University wants, this policy needs to be taken seriously for it to make a significant difference. Otherwise, the University’s focus would be better placed elsewhere.