“(The Union smoking ban) will force us to police the facility more. We might have to increase some of the dining services staff … We might have to hire some more people, but I believe we could do it.”
– Scott Gore, Union operations director

Say goodbye to indoor smoking on campus. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union Policy Board unanimously approved a measure Friday to ban smoking in the Union.

The ban, which will take affect April 1, will apply to all areas currently permitting smoking, including the Recreation Center, the 8th Note Coffeehouse, the Gasthaus and the second floor study lounge.

The ban is part two of a four-part plan that aims to ban smoking entirely from the UWM campus by July 1, 2007. The board’s decision was supported by previous recommendations from the Physical Environment Committee and the Healthy Campus Committee.

Jacob Wu, retiring chair of the Union Policy Board, opened the issue to discussion before the vote.

“I think there is a perception that smoking is more prevalent on campus than it really is,” Wu said.

Wu cited an online survey conducted by Norris Health Center in November in which 64.4 percent of respondents supported a campus-wide smoking ban. Seven-hundred sixty-five people responded to the survey and 81 percent of respondents were undergraduates.

Wu said the Student Association was in support of the ban.

“The Student Association put their voice in,” Wu said. “They put a recommendation through the Student Association Senate that we ban it in the rec center and the second floor lounge.”

Acting Vice Chairman Robert Madison pointed to the findings of the Norris Health Center survey as the key reason for his support of the ban.

“I think (the survey) supports the notion that we really should move towards a smoke-free building,” he said.

Wu admitted that some issues surrounding the ban were not settled.

“We don’t know what, if any, kind of support there is from the rest of the campus for smoking cessation programs or how the enforcement will be carried out,” Wu said. “We don’t have an answer to that yet.”

Day-to-day enforcement of the ban will be handled by Union staff members, but campus police may be called on to issue citations for some offenses, said Union Operations Director Scott Gore.

“It will force us to police the facility more,” Gore said. “We might have to increase some of the dining services staff.… We might have to hire some more people, but I believe we could do it.”

The Union smoking ban will be followed by increased enforcement of rules requiring smokers to remain 30 feet away from campus buildings on July 1.

Gore was unsure what financial impact the ban would have on the Union. Under the ban, the Union Station convenience store will stop selling cigarettes, and establishments long known for their smoky air will go smokeless.

In its official response to questions posed by Chancellor Carlos Santiago last year concerning the ban, the Physical Environment Committee pointed to the position of the American College Health Association. The association has among its goals banning smoking from all American colleges by 2010. Currently, 37 percent of campuses in the United States ban smoking.

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