Statesman

Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Ted Norgaard A student fills out the smoking survey sponsored by SA last march

After determining that the smoking-policy survey given in early March was technically valid, UMD administration has said that it is willing to listen to recommendations from the Student Association (SA) in regards to shaping the future of the University's smoking ban, according to Vice Chancellor of Academic Administration Vincent Magnuson.

The survey, which was given to over 2,700 students, faculty and staff by the SA, asked a series of questions about potential changes to UMD's smoking policy. It found, among other things, that while only 29 percent of students admitted to smoking regularly, over 75 percent responded that there should at least be a designated area to smoke on campus.

The survey's results were initially called into question by administrators, who noted its lack of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. It was later determined that the survey was exempt from such approval, leading to administration's current receptiveness to recommendations based on the survey, according to Magnuson.

"We've crossed over that," said Magnuson of the initial confusion. "We are committed to listening carefully to whatever plan they might present."

The new SA president Joshua Gillson said that the SA has not yet formulated smoking-policy recommendations, but that at the start of fall semester, it would be at the top of its agenda.

"It's going to happen right off the bat," he said.

While Gillson wouldn't speculate on what the details of those recommendations would be, he did say they would be based not only on the survey results, but on the thoughts of the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), members of the student body, administration and the SA members who initiated the survey.

Last week, Gillson, outgoing SA president Ashley Brown, Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin and Magnuson met to discuss potential recommendations based on the survey, according to Gillson. He said Martin was receptive to holding an open forum on the policy sometime next year.

Creating the survey

Initiating the smoking-policy survey was all about putting the SA's policies in line with the actual opinions of the student body as a whole, according to Eric Adams, an SA member who helped to administer the survey.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools