The smoke-free campus initiative that was unanimously voted on by four subcommittees has been postponed, pushing the enforcement date from November to January. 

Heather Horn, faculty co-chair of the Faculty and Staff Well Being committee and Labor & Employee Relations employee, said the subcommittees realized the original date was at the end of November, only a few weeks before final exams and project deadlines.

“We thought it would be a tough time with students getting ready for finals,” Horn said. “We don’t want to make more stress.”

Michele Guerra, director of the UI Wellness Center, also said this would be interrupting the college football season, a time when alumni visit campus and tailgate. She said it wouldn’t be fair if people were able to smoke at one game, but unable at the next.

Guerra said the subcommittees decided January would be the best time for enforcement because it’s a new year and a new semester, and therefore, an appropriate time for a new policy.

The enforcement date change also gives the subcommittees the entire fall semester to communicate and prepare students for the transition, Horn said.

The four subcommittees, formed by Chancellor Phyllis Wise last October, include: Student Well Being; Faculty and Staff Well Being; Communications and Culture; and Facilities, Grounds and Property. The UI Wellness Center helped coordinate these subcommittees and is actively involved in decision-making. Each of these subcommittees have a faculty member and student, who together serve as co-chairs, in addition to staff and student members.  

Guerra said although they have been communicating with students about the transition through informational tables in the Activities and Recreation Center and Illini Union, along with the “Blooms Not Butts”  event that was held during Earth Week, they plan to “ramp up” informational events in the fall.

“We want to make sure we do this the right way,” Guerra said. “We need to make sure people get their needs addressed.”

Currently, the main task for all subcommittees is creating an official policy. Guerra said the policy would address things like the use of electronic cigarettes and the ritual use of tobacco for culture events on campus.

The Student Well Being subcommittee is working on ways to communicate the various services and education for students looking to quit smoking.

“We have discussed that the resources will need to include support programs and services to help students who want to quit be able to do that successfully,” Trish Anton, faculty co-chair for the Student Well Being subcommittee and senior assistant director of Housing, said in an email. “But (we) also recognize that there will be students who will choose not to quit who will need help with strategies to get through their day while they are on campus.”

The Faculty and Staff Well Being subcommittee is working to inform the University’s faculty and staff of these support services, as well. Services include those offered by McKinley Health Center, SmokeFree.gov and the Quit Line.

Horn said they’re looking for ways to enhance and personalize these services to the University community. One of the services includes a serious of inspirational text messages that can be sent to those trying to quit smoking. Horn said they are looking at ways to supplement and enhance the program.  

Students are also eligible for six weeks of nicotine replacement therapy where they can work with a counselor and chose a smoking cessation method for that student, said Hannah Tomlin, a graduate assistant in the UI Wellness Center who works with the Student Well Being subcommittee.   

The Facilities, Grounds and Property subcommittee is working on a map of smoke-free and smoke-friendly areas. The University only owns about one-third of the streets on campus, the initiative will only apply to those areas. Guerra said the committee is also communicating with the city to determine a way to ensure students don’t smoke on personal property on campus.

The Communications and Culture committee will notify students of the official policy, quitting resources and benefits of a smoke-free campus.

“We know this will be an adjustment for campus,” said Kirsten Ruby, co-chair for the communications committee and assistant director of housing for marketing. “But we’re excited to create a healthy community for everybody.” 

Kat can be reached at [email protected].