MCC proposes new smoking ban

Monroe Community College could soon be making history by being the first college campus in the Rochester area to implement a smoking ban. The ban would cover a third of MCC’s campus in Brighton.

MCC wants to create a non-smoking perimeter around the athletic fields and classroom buildings. The ban would also move all smoking receptacles onto the sidewalks outside the new perimeter.

"Our prime concern is the health and safety of the staff, students and visitors. We want to make sure it's a healthy environment for everybody," said Cynthia Cooper, a spokesperson for MCC.

But not everybody is on board. You would expect smokers to be opposed to the plan, but some non-smokers are against the ban, too.

"You have to walk through a cloud of smoke to get to class," said Matthew Lawson, a non-smoker.

"It's too harsh," said Dan Elliott, a smoker and Student Body President.

“I don't know if that will work,” said Lawson.

That's how students reacted to the proposed smoking ban on MCC’s Brighton campus. But these opinions are not that of smokers, they're that of non-smokers.

"A smoking ban would be a great idea, but enforcing it too would be a great idea," said Lawson.

Currently, MCC allows smoking at 17 different locations sprinkled near classroom buildings. The administrations proposes a non-smoking perimeter outside those buildings and athletic fields.

"My classes are generally back to back to back, so to actually try to get a cigarette in before next class and have to go way over yonders that wouldn't be beneficial to me at all that would be very inconvenience," said Damiano Smith, a smoker.

There are non-smoking policies already in place on campus, but many students say they're not being enforced. So they don't think this new ban will make a difference.

"I think the school is relying on peer enforcement and I don't agree with that because as a non-smoker I'm going to come up to a smoker and tell him to put out the cigarette but I don't know if that will work or if they will listen to me," said Lawson.

"A vast majority of the students are opposed to it," said Elliott.

And that's what he expects to hear at Tuesday's Student Senate meeting. The administration wants students to weigh in on the issue before they make a final decision.

"Really all they're doing is pushing the cloud of smoke back from the buildings," said Lawson.

The administration will have the final say on all of this. If passed, the ban could start this school year.