Any campus smoking policy adopted by Reed College must provide facilities for smokers to smoke with a roof, canopy or umbrella overhead. Lewis & Clark College has a “designated smoking areas (DSAs) only” campus smoking policy. All twelve of Lewis & Clark’s designated smoking areas have picnic tables with large umbrellas serving as protection from the elements. Indeed, Lewis & Clark’s campus smoking map indicates the locations of the DSAs by bright green umbrellas.
Reed could simply copy Lewis & Clark’s model for smoking areas. However, a better idea would be to include canopy covered and even roof covered picnic tables (picnic shelters) as smoking areas. There is no reason to engage in complicated planning and building of specialized smoking structures such as gazebos or unsightly plexiglass walled boxes, at least until other alternatives have been tried. The purpose of smoking areas is to provide smokers with a viable place to smoke and congregate at a distance from buildings and from non-smokers. Any effort to impose a greater distance from buildings regulation (i.e. 30 feet) without providing smoking areas will result in further violations of state law (at Vollum air intakes or the breezeway) and possible further fines against the college.
Moreover, neither the issue of smoking litter nor that of a fire hazard have been examined in consideration of what smoking policy the college should have. To allow smoking just anywhere, as long as it is a specified distance from buildings (or a “pedestrian pathway”?), creates a problem with cigarette butt litter over large areas of the 116 acre campus. The same is true with a fire hazard where tossing a smoldering cigarette butt anywhere without ashtrays may ignite a mulch or other fire. Therefore, smoking should be confined to ashtray-equipped designated smoking areas as a matter of practicality and expense.
Reed should adopt or plan to adopt a designated-smoking-area-only policy, after smoking areas have been established and equipped. Of course, this requires effort on the part of the college’s administration and campus facilities to equip, monitor and maintain at least eight to ten smoking areas including ones on the north campus. The college needs to get rid of its attitude that students should pay for smoking facilities from student activities fees. Any campus smoking policy is a facilities policy that applies to everyone and not just to students.
R.H. Gravatt ’77