When Susana Aramburu, mass communication junior, walks around Loyola’s campus, she cannot help but come across the smokers who crowd the designated smoking areas.

“There are designated smoking areas for every dorm and building, and I think that most­—not all,­ mind you­­— follow the rules,” Aramburu said. “The main problem is the number of smokers at Loyola. There are too many, and it comes to a point where it not only harms the students but also the environment.”

Aramburu is one of many people who have had such concerns. After concluding that its existing tobacco policies are not very effective, the university has started a new committee to review and possibly revise them.

This committee, led by Andrew Crawford, staff counselor with the University Counseling Center, and Jenna Vercillo, assistant director of student leadership, is meant to help improve the social awareness of tobacco usage and the enforcement of its policies on campus.

Currently, the smoking section in the student handbook states that, “The smoking of cigarettes, cigars and similar legal substances is permitted only in designated smoking areas on university property.”

Crawford said he feels that even with the existence of this policy, its enforcement has not been as effective as it should be.

“Currently, there isn’t too much to fall in,” Crawford says. “This policy means we do have designated areas where there are signs that say it is allowed to smoke, as well as other areas where there are signs saying you can’t smoke. However, at the end of it, the enforcement isn’t really that effective.”

The new committee would work with Fresh Campus, a coalition already existing on many universities that campaigns to make campuses tobacco free through awareness efforts and by encouraging complete cessation of smoking habits.

“Before doing that though, I also want to know what are some of the feelings and thoughts that the students have,” Crawford said. “Because I also think that there are a lot of people that want to talk about the smoking habits on campus, not just the ones who are dealing with asthma.”

Some students like Nico Connolly, sociology freshman, feel that these policies are ambiguous and not well enforced.

“I feel like Loyola has a long way to go as far as creating and maintaining effective smoking policies that enhance the atmosphere on campus,” Connoly said. “When I first visited Loyola as a high schooler I was shocked about how many people smoked on campus, and that’s not a good image for the university to exhibit to prospective students.”

Crawford said he believes the smoking habits on campus are not only harmful for the university and the health of both smoking and non-smoking students, but that these habits might be even be a factor in not getting a job after college.

“Companies spend more money on workers that are smokers because they become ill quicker and more often,” Crawford said. “As a university, we would not be doing justice to the students if we started limiting them knowing that they can smoke here, but then once they leave, those same habits could limit the way they can get a job.”

The new committee currently is accepting the help of faculty, staff and students willing to help raise awareness and also those who are interested in talking about or overcoming their smoking habits.

Judith Corro can be reached at [email protected]