Smoking resolution does not pass
Elizabeth Koch
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: News
When it came time to vote on the smoking resolution at the Student Senate meeting Sunday night, the result was a seven to seven tie. One member abstained from voting, and the resolution did not pass.
The resolution began as a campus-wide smoking ban and then turned into a discussion about regulating designated smoking areas. The final result was a resolution stating that smoking must be done at least 20 feet away from all buildings.
Current rules say students must be 10 feet from buildings.
Senior Kristyn Potter, the student affairs chair, said she thought more senators would vote for the resolution. After crafting a compromise at the forum hosted about the resolution and reading feedback forms, it was anticipated to pass, she said. At the forum, 57 students supported a campus-wide smoking ban, 26 opposed the resolution and four were indifferent. Potter said one of the main reasons it did not pass was because the students who voted against the resolution did not view smoking on campus as a problem, not because of the quality of the resolution.
"It just shows that a controversial issue cannot be won over on either side," she said.
The student affairs committee met Wednesday to discuss the resolution, but nothing drastic will be done as a result, because the committee fulfilled its responsibility. Potter said the next step is accepting feedback from students and observing the campus environment.
Normally, once a resolution is voted on, it is not allowed to be brought up again until the next session, but because the vote resulted in a tie, the resolution could be mentioned again after it went through certain procedures, Potter said.
Reactions from the resolution not being passed are varied from very happy with the result to not understanding how the resolution did not pass, she said.
"The vote of the resolution wasn't black and white, and it's not ever going to be an issue you can just easily resolve," she said.
The resolution began as a campus-wide smoking ban and then turned into a discussion about regulating designated smoking areas. The final result was a resolution stating that smoking must be done at least 20 feet away from all buildings.
Current rules say students must be 10 feet from buildings.
Senior Kristyn Potter, the student affairs chair, said she thought more senators would vote for the resolution. After crafting a compromise at the forum hosted about the resolution and reading feedback forms, it was anticipated to pass, she said. At the forum, 57 students supported a campus-wide smoking ban, 26 opposed the resolution and four were indifferent. Potter said one of the main reasons it did not pass was because the students who voted against the resolution did not view smoking on campus as a problem, not because of the quality of the resolution.
"It just shows that a controversial issue cannot be won over on either side," she said.
The student affairs committee met Wednesday to discuss the resolution, but nothing drastic will be done as a result, because the committee fulfilled its responsibility. Potter said the next step is accepting feedback from students and observing the campus environment.
Normally, once a resolution is voted on, it is not allowed to be brought up again until the next session, but because the vote resulted in a tie, the resolution could be mentioned again after it went through certain procedures, Potter said.
Reactions from the resolution not being passed are varied from very happy with the result to not understanding how the resolution did not pass, she said.
"The vote of the resolution wasn't black and white, and it's not ever going to be an issue you can just easily resolve," she said.
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