Smokers’ Alley, located in the Peace Quad, has become a well-known hot spot for Loyola smokers. They bond over coffee, complain about professors, share notes and eat lunch – all the while puffing away on tiny, stress-relieving cigarettes.

Upon that last puff, there are times when that cigarette lands on the grass rather than in an ashtray.

Lucie Barnard, history senior, usually tries to find an ashtray but admits that she is sometimes absent-minded. “There could be more ashtrays around campus. They all seem to be clustered together, or in weird places,” she said.

Barnard said people will always litter and that it would be tough to keep the butts off the ground.

Elizabeth Beard, biology professor, thinks smokers should consider the environmental effects of this kind of littering and realize the degree of harm placed on the ground with one cigarette butt.

“There is the tobacco and whatever else is mixed with it to make the cigarette, not to mention the paper, the bacteria, and the viruses left on the butts from people’s mouths,” Beard said. “They become disgusting trash that should have been discarded properly rather than tossed on the campus.”

The butts on the ground may create an eyesore for non-smokers, but it becomes tedious work for the people who have to pick them up. WFF Facilities is responsible for the grounds maintenance at Loyola and is therefore responsible for cleaning up those tiny butts.

Ann Moss, Physical Plant assistant director, estimates that the grounds crew spends about two hours each day on cigarette-liter cleanup alone. “We locate ashtrays in many convenient places on campus. I guess people just don’t take the time to find them,” she said.

Non-smokers, such as history senior Jaclynn Maxwell and Spanish senior Trevor Boffone, view it as an eyesore for the campus more than anything else.

Boffone said cigarette butts around campus make Loyola look dirty. “When people interested in Loyola come to visit and see a ton of butts lying around, it may make them think twice about our environmental concern for our campus,” he said. Boffone’s solution: Don’t be lazy. Walk the extra ten feet and throw the cigarette in an ashtray.

Maxwell couldn’t agree more. “The butts take away from the aesthetic appearance of the campus,” she said. “Either stop smoking or be more considerate of your fellow peers and our campus.”

Katy Bodin can be reached at [email protected].