Rachel Yeates, Campus Carrier Managing Editor
On Aug. 1, Berry officially launched its new tobacco-free initiative, but the nuances of the policy and its enforcement are still up in the air for many in the Berry community. This policy marks Berry’s transition to a completely substance-free campus.
Though the campus has been marked tobacco-free, textual changes to the policy are, at the time of publication, unavailable. Dean of students Debbie Heida said the updates will be available on the 2015 -2016 Viking Code which will be uploaded to Berry’s website in the next few days.
“There are some schools that have done really elaborate whole page policies on it,” she said. “We already have existing policies that cover it … [Berry] went tobacco free, and what we did was weave it into the Viking Code.”
Lindsay Norman, assistant dean of students for residence life, said her department, especially RAs, will be involved in the bulk of the enforcement of the policy – as Heida said, “The RAs are prepared to make sure they’re in conversation with students.”
“The goal is for a sustainable change,” Norman said. “We’ve talked to our staff about approaching people with respect and kindness and understanding.”
The procedure for handling people who violate the policy, as explained by Deerfield RA Kisa Watson, will involve multiple warnings before any referrals are made and begins by asking the person if they are aware of the policy change.
“Our job is not really to set out any punishments,” Watson said. “It’s just to record what’s happening, and then everything else gets sent to residence life, so if residence life sees that’s it’s happened – two to three times maybe – they might talk to that person and have a conversation about what’s going on.”
She also noted that, in these instances, RAs have been instructed to dispose of the product.
Heida corroborated.
“We’re going to approach you, we’re going to ask that you put it out, we’re going to remind you of policy,” she said. “If we have to do that more than a few times then it’s going to be a conduct referral.”
Visitors, contractors and vendors will be held to the same standards.
“They’ve all been informed,” Heida said. “The key folks are going to be at the welcome center making sure that people know, and we’ve got a little sticker that’s on the maps that visitors are getting that would indicate that we’re a tobacco-free campus.”
The reason for policy, she continued, is Berry’s commitment to “the health and well-being of our community,” smokers and non-smokers alike.
This sentiment was echoed by senior peer educators Alex Sorohan and Rebecca Treadaway.
“Part of the goal of being at Berry is a brighter, better future,” Treadaway said. “What’s great about Berry is that extends even outside of education.”
The policy is aimed at at health on an individual level, Sorohan said.
“We want students to know why instead of just saying ‘This is a rule. You have to follow it,’” Sorohan said.
“It’s here to help you, and we’re a resource,” Treadaway said.
They work with director of recreation Michael McElveen, who also heads campus cessation services, to offer confidential group and individual cessation classes free of charge.
Group sessions this semester will be held Tuesdays Sept. 8 through Oct. 6 from 5 – 5:45 p.m. and Thursdays Oct. 15 through Nov. 11 from 11 – 11:45 a.m.
Individual sessions are on-going and can be arranged by contacting McElveen.
CVS granted Berry’s cessation programs $12,000 with the CVS Health Community Grant.
McElveen said the money will go toward helping students with the cost of otherwise expensive prescription nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products.
“We’ve broken that barrier down,” McElveen said. “We can now get those products to students.”
These NRT products also help maintain student anonymity for those who would have been unable to file for a prescription without the notification of their parents.
“That’s where I find my place,” McElveen said. “Giving people those resources and encouraging them that they can do it. It’s so much more than a bad habit. I’ve seen people who’ve kicked hard drugs like cocaine and heroin, who still can’t kick cigarettes. They go ‘those things were easy.’”
Senior Carson Kay makes the same argument.
“It’s an addiction,” she said. “It’s not something someone can just switch off like a light switch … I think it would’ve been a much more positive and much more feasible feat if the decision had been made and announced a few years in advance.”
Other students voiced similar concerns.
Senior Carly Overbay said they don’t feel as though Berry is providing sufficient resources to smokers.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re giving people who smoke many options to stop smoking, that’s not going cold turkey,” Overbay said.
Junior Kyle Huey added that he thought he didn’t think it was the smoker’s job to “convenience” others, and wondered why non-smoke-producing products were banned if they were something that only harmed the individual.
“It’s your body,” he said. “It’s bad for you, but it’s your decision.”
Last semester an implementation committee made of members of faculty, staff and students recommended that, to provide answers to policy concerns, a website should be made detailing the nature of policy, its enforcement and cessation resources, but Heida has said the Viking Code and email will remain the primary methods of communication.
“There are some schools that have done really elaborate whole page policies on it,” she said. “[Berry] went tobacco free, and what we did was weave it into the Viking Code.”
Carson Kay is still of the opinion that private policy should not exert this much control over people’s smoking habits.
“It should be an internal choice and less of an external ultimatum,” she said.