Reprinted with permission.
Opinions, Page 6A
April 26, 2012
It Seems to Me: UW-Stout a leader in anti-tobacco
efforts
By Doug Mell
In April 2006, UW-Stout students, in the largest turnout ever for a student election, voted
overwhelmingly to make their campus a healthier place. More than two-thirds of the students
approved an advisory referendum asking that their campus become smoke-free. A year later, students
approved another referendum, asking that UW-Stout ban the use of all tobacco products on campus.
Thus was born the UW-Stout Tobacco Free Campus Initiative, which took effect Sept. 1, 2010,
making UW-Stout part of a growing number of universities and colleges that have listened to their
students, faculty and staff concerning the issue of tobacco use. More than 700 campuses nationwide
now ban smoking on campus, according to the American Nonsmokers Rights Foundation.
The initiative changed the tobacco-use culture at UW-Stout. No longer are students, faculty and staff
forced to walk through clouds of cancer-causing smoke to enter or leave an academic building.
However, not everyone has chosen to comply with this student-led initiative.
The Tobacco Free Campus Initiative Implementation Committee, which comprises representatives of
students, faculty and staff, researched options to persuade the small number of people who choose to
use tobacco products on campus to comply with the policy. We wanted to be able to issue a citation
for a nominal amount to increase compliance. However, the General Counsel's Office at the UW
System advised us that neither state law nor administrative code contained that authority, so other
options were explored.
The committee developed the idea for a pilot program involving the use of "tobacco monitors,"
students who would have polite conversations with those who were using tobacco on campus. The
program is based on the belief that the vast majority of our students, faculty and staff want to comply
with our policy, but some need more encouragement. Chancellor Charles Sorensen accepted the
proposal, and the details are being worked out.
However, an editorial in Monday's Leader-Telegram criticized the program before it even has been
developed. Some points need to be clarified:
Reprinted with permission.
-- It is incorrect that the monitor program was adopted in lieu of "lobbying for a change in the
administrative code or pursuing other avenues." In fact, I have already informed our legislators of the
issue and asked for assistance, and the chancellor will be lobbying UW System leaders for
administrative code changes. These avenues take time, and the monitor program can be implemented
by the start of the 2012-13 academic year.
-- There was an implication that tax dollars will be used. We are pursuing a grant from the American
Lung Association to pay for part or all of the first year of the program. Other funding also will be
investigated.
-- It was suggested that UW-Stout copy UW-Eau Claire, which has established 18 designated smoking
areas to address tobacco-related complaints. However, UW-Stout is a totally tobacco-free campus
because that is what our students voted for, not once, but twice. Any changes to the policy would have
to come from our students, not the administration (or the Leader-Telegram). The editorial also doesn't
address the issue of how UW-Eau Claire will enforce its new policy.
Every campus is different and must follow its own path on tobacco use. Many other UW System
campuses are debating this issue and are edging closer to becoming tobacco-free. We are proud at
UW-Stout for leading the way on this important health issue.
Mell is executive director of communication and external relations at UW-Stout in Menomonie and is
chairman of the university's Tobacco Free Campus Initiative Implementation Committee.