Smokers who live on campus may soon have to smoke outside of their dorms.
A new proposal is being considered by the Student Government Association to make all residence halls smoke free.Maegan Ratliff, sophomore dietetics major, is one of the senators co-sponsoring the initiative, and she feels the health concerns are one of the biggest reasons the bill should be adopted.
"It will make the living environment healthier for everyone," she said. "Research shows smoking is harmful to everyone, even the non-smokers, so we want to take the initiative to promote healthier living."
The residence halls on campus have always allowed smoking rooms. There is a space on the dorm applications to check if a student prefers a smoking room or if they are willing to accept a roommate who smokes. According to Danny Armitage, director of residence life, 18 percent of campus residents check yes to these choices.
He said that The U of M and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville are the only two public institutions in the state to still allow smoking in the dormitories.
While The University has the authority to change the policy on it's own, he said he wanted to have student input on the matter before any decisions were made.
"This is the student's campus, and those dorms are their homes," he said. "I always want to know how the residents feel before we make major changes, so I asked SGA and the Residence Hall Association to look into it."
Armitage said that the Tennessee General Assembly mandated last year that every institution of higher learning may choose for themselves if smoking can be permitted in the dorms. However, he feels it is only a matter of time before the state enforces the change.
Kirby Carlock, a freshman undecided major, lives in the Carpenter Complex. He thinks the proposal is a good idea.
"I have friends that smoke, and I don't want to inconvenience them, but it is better for everyone if there would be one place set aside for smoking," he said.
The SGA and Residence Hall Association have sent out surveys to the residence halls for student input on the issue, and they are hoping for a good response. Students can also voice their opinions at SGA meetings.
Michael Lipe, speaker of the SGA senate, said that every meeting provides time for citizen forum. He strongly encourages any students who have an opinion on this issue to come to the meeting Thursday night at 7:15 in the University Center Senate Chamber room.
Lipe is a smoker himself, but he understands the health risk smoking causes to non-smokers and is supporting the proposal.
"It's the way everything is going now anyways," he said. "Everywhere you turn you are having to smoke in designated areas. It's better for everyone though to change it before we are forced to."
