Our view: The toothless tobacco-free campus policy damages the integrity of the university and its administrators. The policy needs to be made enforceable or eliminated altogether.
We agree that the smoking policy is in serious need of revision. If campus constituents want a ban on tobacco products, then the policy should be updated to be enforceable.
Whether for or against a ban on smoking, one thing is clear: The policy, in its current state, harms the integrity of the university.
We in the news business know that credibility is everything. Even a misspelled name or typo causes readers to question just about everything else we publish, and this toothless policy and the “tobacco-free campus” signs do the same.
In essence, this broken policy sends the message that administrators will pass policies they either do not believe in, or have no interest in enforcing.
Read more: Smoking ban needs some teeth
