J.C. Albritton, Campus Carrier Staff Reporter

College President Stephen R. Briggs announced Tuesday that, effective Aug. 1, 2015, Berry will become a tobacco-free campus joining 975 colleges nationwide, including those in the University System of Georgia.

This new policy will ban tobacco products from all areas on campus, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and vaporizers. This will not only affect Berry students, but also faculty and staff members, guests visiting campus and outside contractors.

The discussion to move to a tobacco-free campus started in 2009 with the formation of a student life task force consisting of students, faculty and staff to discuss the possibility of Berry becoming a tobacco-free campus. The task force was created in response to students wanting Berry to be a leader in the tobacco-free campus initiative.

“In the spring of 2011, the task force sent its report forward stating that while they believed there was merit at the time to go tobacco free, it did not seem the right time to do so at Berry, ” Debbie Heida, dean of students and vice president of student affairs, said. “At that time it did not have broad-based support, in no small measure due to the fact that there were very few resources in the community and our campus for helping students, faculty and staff with smoking cessation.”

The conversation continued during the 2011-2012 academic year while the strategic plan was being developed.

“One of the recommendations we received from multiple communities was that if we wanted to be leaders in campus health and environmental stewardship, that we needed to look at the possibility of becoming a smoke-free or tobacco-free campus,” Heida said.  “The cabinet, which consists of the president and the college’s vice presidents, made the decision this fall that we would announce in this academic year.”

Jason Huynh, Photojournalism Editor Dean of students Debbie Heida announced the tobacco-free policy at the SGA meeting Tuesday evening.  SGA president Paton Roden and SGA vice president of administration Ree Palmer listened and helped facilitate the discussion that followed.

The announcement, however, came as a surprise to many of those in the Berry community especially students.  During the SGA meeting on Nov. 19, several students voiced their concerns about how they thought there was a lack of transparency between students and the administration.

Sophomore Matthew Johnson was one of the first to speak out during the SGA meeting. He thinks the policy is a good idea, but he was not pleased with the actions of the administration.

“I don’t think the administration communicated properly with the current students,” Johnson said. “I know that in past years there were discussions about Berry becoming a tobacco-free campus, but there hasn’t been any discussion in recent years, so students were surprised.”

Senior Colby Chapman said he agrees that the administration should have communicated better with the Berry community.

“Berry says that we are a close community,” Chapman said. “But the way this was done, it doesn’t seem like they really value what students have to say … Most of the people I’ve talked to think it’s a great idea, they just wish that students would have been included in the decision making.”

Freshman Alexander Eissa was especially not pleased with the decision.

“I use electronic cigarettes which have no form of tobacco in them, but they’re still not allowed here because if it looks like smoke, it must be bad for you,” Eissa said. “I think it’s good that Berry is going to offer help to students, but that’s not enough. Students will have to want to quit, and e-cigs can help with that. E-cigs deliver nicotine in a vapor form, and it’s not as harmful.”

Heida did note that current students were not consulted in the making of the decision, but she also added that many programs and policies of which students are beneficiaries were made with the consultation of a previous student body.

Even though some students are upset about the way the administration announced the policy, most agree that it is a good move for the campus.

“I wish current students could have been involved in the decision, but at the same time the cabinet is making a decision for the good of the college as a whole and we should be considerate of that,” sophomore Gabby Evans said.  “I wish that students would put themselves in the position of the cabinet members and try to be more understanding.”

To help prepare for the Aug. 1 ban, Berry has partnered with Harbin Clinic to offer smoking cessation classes for faculty and staff. These classes are already covered under the insurance provided by the college. For students, the Peer Educators and A New Year, A New You will be able to help students quit smoking.

Trey Weldon, a freshman who uses a vapor pen, thinks these programs will have a positive effect on campus.

“I would be interested in participating in one of [the programs] because I stopped tobacco use before college, and I started again once I came here,” Weldon said. “I think it’ll be good because it is hard to quit on your own.”

The information from the 2009-2011 task-force used to form this decision can be found on VikingWeb.