Walking 25 feet to smoke a cigarette could be a hassle, but to some members of the Loyola community, 25 feet is a gesture of respect.
Robert Reed, Student Affairs assistant vice president, issued a statement through email earlier in September about smokers disregarding the campus smoking policy. Reed said there have been numerous complaints to Public Safety about the issue.
“As members of the community, it does affect all of us,” he said in an interview.
In order to ensure non-smokers’ health rights, federal law requires anyone smoking to be at least 25 feet from the entrance of any building. Loyola designated 10 areas for smoking throughout campus.
Also, disposal of cigarette butts is an environmental concern since they are not biodegradable, Reed said.
Amy Boyle, associate director of Residential Life, has had experience with the issue.
“I’ve definitely had to call people out and say, ‘Excuse me can you put that in the ash tray and not on the ground?’ Even though there’s an ashtray like three feet away from them,” she said.
She also said the litter has become problematic enough that entire conduct sanctions have entailed picking up cigarette butts in the quad.
Boyle said that many students are unaware of the policy, so Physical Plant placed “No Smoking” signs on the residence halls’ porches.
Boyle said that if multiple offenses of disregarding the policy occur, a hearing could be held, and if found responsible, the student will receive a fine.
Taylor Loreto, English writing senior and non-smoker, acknowledges the problem, but said he is not bothered by it.
“Anywhere you go in the United States there’s going to be people smoking outside of buildings, because honestly, walking 25 feet away is a hassle if you need to get back quickly, like for a class,” he said.
Veronica Aviles, English writing freshman and non-smoker, disagreed.
“If you have designated areas to smoke, then you should smoke there out of respect for everyone else. That’s their choice to smoke, but I don’t think they should subject their choices onto other people,” she said.
Maria Mendoza, political science sophomore and smoker, said she believes the policy can be inconvenient but still follows it.
“The designated areas are a bit inconvenient because you can’t just stop in your tracks and smoke a cigarette if you want to. But I’m still conscious of other people so I follow the policies,” she said.
Jennie Gutierrez can be reached at
