Smoking campuses

fogfog · 10-28-2009, 02:33 PM

Wondering--are there certain campuses where you noticed a habit of smoking more than others?

We looked at BC, BU, Tufts, Holy Cross, Dartmouth, MIT and Harvard back in March...

At BC, on the tour--I noticed LOTS and LOTS of cigarette butts on sidewalks, entrance ways and stairs along BCs campus..which was a shame because its gorgeous.

I mentioned it to the admissions receptionist--that its such a shame that students/faculty drop butts around. She said something about the recent snow meltoff.....but all I could think was so...
where are those ashtrays..
and why is smoking so popular here?

Wondering is smoking is more prevalent in some schools than others.

poetgrl · 10-28-2009, 02:40 PM

Many, many college campuses are actually entirely smoke free environments. Of course, if a college is not a distinct land-based campus, then it would depend on the municiple laws.

SmithieandProud · 10-28-2009, 02:42 PM

I think smoking is actually surprisingly prevalent among college students. Even though we're now a generation that have grown up without smoking on TV (except for Mad Men), Joe Camel cartoons, smoking in movies, and with a lot anti-smoking info being thrown at us all the time, college students still seem to smoke a lot.

Most colleges (I think) now ban smoking in the dorms or classroom buildings though, so that tends to drive a lot of people outside to smoke, and a lot of them don't bother to use the ashtrays, because they're located farther from the building steps or wherever they happen ot be hanging out smoking.

JustAMomOf4 · 10-28-2009, 03:34 PM

go to the website and look at the smoking policy. I remember visitiing the univeristy of south carolina and being amazed at how clean it was. absolutely spotless.
then the guide mentioned no smoking anywhere at all on campus. more and more are moving in this direction.

mom2collegekids · 10-28-2009, 03:49 PM

I'm a Southern California native, so I'm not used to seeing many "college-bound" or college-educated people smoking - at least not in recent decades. So, I have been shocked when visiting Midwest and some NE campuses where it seems like many more kids smoke.

TwistedxKiss · 10-28-2009, 03:51 PM

They are having a protest here at Michigan against a smoking ban in public places, I don't know if they meant on campus or the city of Ann Arbor-- I'm not even sure where one ends and one begins, and they were actually handing out free cigarettes at the center of campus. I am severely asthmatic and allergic to smoke and have really not been pleased, but smoking really seems to be like part of the culture for people my age. I hope the ban passes and was glad the protest brought it to my attention so I can support it. :P

"Most colleges (I think) now ban smoking in the dorms or classroom buildings though, so that tends to drive a lot of people outside to smoke, and a lot of them don't bother to use the ashtrays, because they're located farther from the building steps or wherever they happen ot be hanging out smoking."

Yeah, that sounds about right for the few schools I've been to. You are supposed to stand like 6 or 10 feet away from the building so thats where the ash trays are, but people smoke in the doorways because it's cold. Makes it hard for an asthmatic to get in and out of the buildings.

fogfog · 10-29-2009, 08:16 AM

We are in FL
--a non smoking home
--and DS is a high performance athlete. He doesn't even drink soda.

So it never occurred to me that smoking is popular on college campuses. I had figured after all these many years, that smoking was very frowned upon....and a vestige of an older generation.
I can't think of anyone we know that smokes: adults, teens or college aged students...

and my late FiL died of stage 4 lung cancer--He was a heavy smoker for years (long before I met my DH)...so our family has seen that...

Thats why I asked about it here--it was a surprise at BC to see so much trash and cig butts all over-- and disappointing because it takes away from a lovely well maintained campus. Dropping butts everywhere is just disrespectful. When I see someone just drop and grind a butt with their shoe--I give them "the look"...so they know I saw it..and hope some shame or remorse will cause them to pick it up

We don't let people smoke in our house or cars.

momofthreeboys · 10-29-2009, 08:56 AM

fogfog, I don't know if this is your first going off to college or not, but use those visual cues as you tour colleges. The biggest thing you will learn is that there are cultural differences from campus to campus regarding "social aspects" whether it is drinking, pot, smoking or any lifestyle choices. As any parent who has trod the path, your kids will be happiest at a school that meets their social needs as well as their academic needs. Some kids can thrive anywhere...others not so much. You know your child better than anyone, but what bothers you may or may not bother your child. You can shape and inform, but ultimately they are the ones that will spend four years or more in that environment.

TrixieAnn · 10-30-2009, 10:41 PM

This brings back some memories. I went to Holy Cross over 30 years ago. Back then we could smoke in class if you can believe it. But even back then I was in the distinct minority. I bet you would have a hard time finding a smoker there now.

jbusc · 10-31-2009, 12:23 AM

USC has a pretty stringent smoking policy, but a lot of that has to do with complying with the strict smoking laws in california.

rocket6louise · 10-31-2009, 12:49 AM

I grew up in a smoking household and most of my close friends smoke(it's a theatre thing) and I find most of these smoking bans ridiculous.

I understand banning smoking inside dorms or classes, but the outdoor laws make no sense to me. Seriously, it's OUTSIDE. Does it really matter if you are 5 feet from the door? Where else do you propose they smoke? I find these laws very overbearing and just ridiculous

I agree with David Sedaris on this issue. By 2020, you will be able to buy handguns from vending machines, but you won't be legally allowed to smoke anywhere.

jbusc · 10-31-2009, 01:08 AM

any time anyone smokes, it forces everyone else within a certain distance to breathe in smoke. It doesn't matter whether it's inside or outside. Outside, the distance may be smaller but still exists.

Maybe you think the law is overbearing, but for a nonsmoker, being forced out of a public area because of a smoker is overbearing also.

Everyone deserves equal access to public areas, and when someone smokes in a public area, it denies access of that area to anyone who does not wish to breathe smoke.

fogfog · 10-31-2009, 09:20 AM

Thanks for your thoughts.

It really suprised us to see so many butts laying around (really dirty and disrespectful) be
We don't ever see any of the students in our area smoke...(our kids are at a private school in Fl)
We don't see faculty smoke.

In fact the only time I see a smoker it seems in in a car and it looks so odd that I notice the smoker.

Since smoking is such a health concern and banned in restaurants, schools, oublic office etc...and with so many years of education, I guess I thought smoking was passe and even had fallen out of fashion.

When we lived overseas several years ago, all of the moms of the kids in my children's school smoked (keeping hunger at bay and maintainng very very trim figures) But now even some of my freinds there have since given up smoking because of the bans there.

I just wondered whether it was more popular in certain parts of the country. originally from the northeast, I went to school in the southern part of the country, but even with a strong tobacco industry years ago, smoking wasn't very prevalent 25 yrs ago among college students.

hellojan · 10-31-2009, 09:41 AM

I used to work by the Villanova campus. I remember there being a saying about Villanova girls; no outfit is complete without Parliament Lights.

First, I went to a community college. There, smoking was really a non-issue. It was banned on campus and smokers were resigned to the edges of the parking lot. There, smoking to their hearts' content, they had cans to park their butts.

On particularly cold days, or just days where they could get away with it, smokers would poke their head out a door or window for a quick one. Those butts would end up on the ground.

A friend of mine, a smoker, attended Eastern College in PA. A small, evangelical Christian school, Eastern was both a dry and smoke-free campus. Of course, all one had to do was wander ten or fifteen yards into the woods to find a clearing that acting as the unofficial "smoke-spot" for the whole college. At any given time, morning or night, there were dozens of kids lighting up.

Now, at school in New York, I've yet to notice a single person smoking. Of course, it is Manhattan where charging someone $12.00 for a single pack is considered perfectly reasonable.

My verdict? Smoking, among girls especially, is still somehow cool. Maybe it's the appetite suppressant paired with the stoic I-know-it's-dangerous-but-I-don't-give-a-damn resolve that comes along with the habit. I remember reading a poll that suggested that female non-smokers were significantly less likely to date a male smoker. However, men were less concered with whether or not a woman smoked. So, there's maybe a little less social pressure on women to give up the habit?

bluebayou · 10-31-2009, 11:02 AM

fogdog:

momofthree is correct is that it's important to be aware of visual cues. But, it you also need to dig into them. For example, a certain NE college (one that is on your list) is technically smoke free, but still allows smoking in dorms -- well technically they don't allow it there either, but no one enforces the no-smoking rule (just as the sub-free dorm rule is also not enforced). Thus, you won't see any butts outside those buildings!