Two Miami employees smoke outside of the Shriver Center Monday night (Michael Pickering)
More change is in the air at Miami University since the state passed the Smoke Free Workplace Act Nov. 7, which bans smoking in all restaurants, bars, public places and workplaces in Ohio.
"The new law and Miami's policy compliment each other very well," said Richard Little, senior director of university communications. "The new law gives Miami more parameters to work with."
The Smoke Free Workplace Act, which appeared on statewide ballots as Issue 5, applies to all buildings outside the home except for tobacco shops, designated hotel rooms and enclosed areas in nursing homes.
The new law is expected to go into effect Dec. 7.
Sept. 25, Miami's university senate passed a new Smoking Regulations Policy Proposal that prohibits all faculty, staff and students from smoking within 25 feet of all university facilities, including buildings, indoor and outdoor athletic facilities, indoor and outdoor theatres, bridges, enclosed or sheltered walkways, residence halls and parking garages.
Miami is enforcing this new policy by posting "No Smoking" signs in appropriate places across campus, moving ash trays at least 25 feet away from all university facilities, promoting assistance available through the university to help individuals stop smoking, and identifying the new policy in Web sites.
On top of this, the passage of the Smoke Free Workplace Act also requires Miami to post "No Smoking" signs at entrances to all buildings. The signs must include a telephone number for people to call to report violations.
Robin Parker, Miami's general counsel, believes violations will be called into the Ohio Department of Health.
She also believes that posting new signs could become expensive for Miami.
The Smoke Free Workplace Act also requires Miami to ensure that smoke doesn't enter buildings through entryways, windows or ventilation systems.
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According to Parker, even though ash trays will be placed 25 feet away from all buildings on Miami's campus, if there's a chance that smoke can still enter buildings, the ash trays will be removed from buildings that are affected.
"The challenge will be deciphering which ash trays to remove and which to keep," Parker said.
Parker is the head of a small working group comprised of administrators out of Roudebush Hall, physical facilities and benefit services, who will work on implementing the ban on Miami's campus.
"Our goal is to take the new senate policy and the new law and fuse them together into one single policy," Parker said.
Parker also said that in Ohio's new law, public places are defined as anything having a roof - including bus shelters - which was an ambiguous topic in the university senate's Smoking Regulations Policy Proposal.
Throughout Miami's campus, reaction to the passage of Issue 5 was generally positive, from smokers and nonsmokers alike.
"I support the new law even though I'm a smoker," said Michael Templeton, an assistant English professor at Miami.
"Because everyone has to adhere to the new law, I don't think any one person or business will have an advantage over another," said sophomore Stefanie Schroth.
According to Claire Wagner, assistant director of university communications, Miami will be distributing a notice to the university as soon as specifics are known.
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