As students returned to campus at the end of summer, a new campus-wide rule accompanied them. The rule is that smoking, or tobacco in any form, is no longer allowed on campus. The rule was enforced as of Sept. 1, but the approval for the new policy was approved in December of last year.
While this might not be news to those returning to campus this fall, what might surprise you is that students have been trying to prevent smoking on campus for years, dating back as far as the 1930s; it was even regarded as a campus tradition.
In a 1940 edition of the Western Herald, an editorial titled No Smoking on Campus, Please, stated:
“We write this for those who either disregard or are ignorant of a Western tradition, which we are proud of. That tradition is that there shall be no smoking on the campus of the college, with the exception of the Union building (Walwood Hall). Since summer school started, many students have been seen smoking right outside the administration building. Please abstain on campus and uphold our tradition.”
A week later, the Western Herald posted another story, stating:
“We hate to mention the subject two weeks in a row, but we wish to respect one of our few traditions—even those of us who do smoke.”
The tradition was still not being completely upheld a decade later, as this editorial from the Jan. 6, 1950 Western Herald shows. It was at this time that University officials decided the issue was best left to be resolved by students:
“A long-standing institutional regulation prohibits smoking in all classroom and laboratory buildings, but many students have been deliberately violating it. The college administration feels that it is a student problem and, as such, should be dealt with by the students under the direction of their representative body, the Student Council. Therefore, your student council is now responsible for enforcing regulation.
As a reminder for students, posters have been placed in all buildings where smoking is prohibited. “Ignorance of the law” no longer will serve as an excuse. The laxity of the students in observing this regulation has evolved itself into quite a serious problem, which can be corrected only through the cooperation of the students.
Along with this problem, it seems quite necessary to give prompt attention to the students’ habit of throwing cigarette butts carelessly about without any thought of what affect they have on the appearance of campus. This practice is particularly bad around the entrances of buildings. Most buildings have trash cans provided, and with very little effort on the part of the students, most cigarette butts could be placed in these trash cans.
Let’s all work together and see if we cannot better out campus by complying with the no smoking regulations and by being more careful where we throw our cigarette butts. – Student Council Auditor, Paul Pihlstrand."
The final clipping shared here from the Western Herald raises some questions about the tradition of a non-smoking campus. The clipping was found, unfortunately, undated, but sheds light on just how much has changed over time--even if attitudes regarding smoking on campus may have not:
“OK Smoking. At a recent house meeting the residents of Spindler Hall voted to allow guests to smoke in the lobby of the dorm. Dates of the girls, fathers, and other guests are granted this privilege but the girls themselves are still prohibited from doing so. This question was voted on once before but was defeated by one vote. Many of the girls did not like the idea of the lobby becoming a smoke filled room.”
While the tobacco-free policy was approved last December, the topic has been on the table for quite some time. In December 2012, the Office of Sustainability issued its review of U.S. Campus Tobacco and Smoke-Free Policies and Programs. The following month President Dunn named Provost Tim Greene and Vice Presidents Diane Anderson and Jan Van Der Kley to determine whether WMU should become tobacco free. After various surveys and meetings, the policy was put into place.
For more information regarding the tobacco-free policy, please visit www.wmich.edu/tobaccofree.
Posted by Stan Sulewski and Catherine VanDerMaas