Student Life

Dorms Go Smoke Free

SMOKE FREE: A proposal by Avril Little ’04 (top), Mary LeBrun ’04 (middle), Kira Epstein ’04, and Tiffany Siu ’04 (not pictured) to ban smoking in River Campus residence halls was adopted last fall (Photo: Elizabeth Torgerson-Lamark).

Freshmen who arrived on campus last fall can no longer hold late-night, smoke-filled gabfests in their dorm rooms.

Not that the members of the Class of 2007 are any less prone to staying up late or to discussing college’s weightier subjects with newfound friends.

But as of this fall, smoking is prohibited throughout freshman housing, including in individual rooms. It’s the first step of a two-year plan to ban smoking in all residence halls on the River Campus.

The change was adopted in response to an undergraduate project examining the effects of smoking in dormitories.

“I think the research we presented clearly shows that many students are concerned about the health effects of secondhand smoke in residence halls, not to mention the fire risks posed by smoking in dorm rooms,” says Kira Epstein ’04, one of four students who led the project.

“And certainly the fact that other peer institutions are beginning to address the issue and adopt similar policies made it important for the University to take a leadership role.”

In April, Epstein, Mary LeBrun ’04, Avril Little ’04, and Tiffany Siu ’04 presented their proposal for a smoking ban to the Deans’ Advisory Committee, and the recommendation was approved by the College in June.

As part of the course Action for Health, a class administered by the School of Nursing and the Health and Society major, the undergraduates conducted research, completed a tobacco survey, and gained support from students and staff.

The group found that 75 percent of the Rochester students who responded to their survey do not smoke and would prefer smoke-free housing. Another 13 percent smoke only once a week or less. Nationally, 27 percent of colleges have smoke-free residence halls, the students learned.

Over the summer, Logan Hazen, director of residential life, and Ralph Manchester, director of University Health Service, jointly wrote a letter to incoming students, letting them know about the change.

Until this fall, smoking had been allowed in student rooms but was prohibited in common areas of the River Campus residence halls. The Eastman School’s Student Living Center has been smoke free for about seven years.

In the class, taught by instructor Noelle Andrus, students divided into groups for team projects that address real-life issues in the community. Linda Dudman, associate director for health education at University Health Service, along with graduate student Katherine Valdutiu, worked with the smoking project group.

“This project was the perfect example of identifying all the pieces and then putting them together to accomplish a goal,” says Dudman.

To further promote the issue, the participating students have formed Students in College Against Tobacco (SCAT), a group whose mission is to educate students about tobacco use and secondhand smoke.