LBCC Smokers get burned in ASB vote

The luxury of smoking on the campuses is soon to go up in smoke.

The ASB has voted to ban smoking on both campuses. Currently, smokers are allowed to smoke in designated areas on campus. LAC has eight designated smoking areas and PCC has four.

 The ASB vote does not make the new policy official, but it is a recommendation that the Board of Trustees tends to follow.

Carolyn Joseph, a PCC Senate Club board cheer member, said, “The board had been debating for quite a few weeks as to what stance the ASB would take on smoking regulations on campus and finally one meeting we decided with a 10-4 vote to ban smoking.”

A policy to band smoking on campus is sure to raise an uproar from many students. Some students have already voiced their opinion to Brett Bruhanski, the representative of academic affairs for ASB. He said, “I think it will have a negative impact on both campuses, I actually voted no on the policy, we have to embrace every single student we have on our campus and were not doing that with this vote.”

Not every smoker on campus disagrees with the decision. Cristina Stricklin, 19, an art major, said, “Banning smoking on campus has its health benefits. There are pregnant women on campus, people who bring their children on campus, and it could lead to a cleaner campus with less cigarette butts.”The health benefits are not all that Stricklin is worried about, “There’s a camaraderie of hanging out in the smoking section and meeting new people, but I think banning smoking on campus is a bit harsh. It’s a bit Nazi status.”

The penalty for smoking on school property has yet to be determined, but it’s sure to be a strong enough penalty that deters smokers from smoking on campus.