Ozarks community college moves to ban all smoking

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A southwest Missouri community college is believed to have become the second such institution in the country to ban the use of all tobacco products.

Ozarks Technical Community College officials said the policy means no smoking any time, anywhere after Aug. 1.

The policy will be implemented slowly during the first six months, said Ty Patterson, vice president of student services at the Springfield college. He knows there will be some resistance.

"The issue is how can you enforce it. We're seeking peer enforcement," Patterson said. "We don't make the assumption this is a slam-dunk thing. Some will be indignant about it."

Naturally, some smokers disagree with the change.

"I hate it," said student Cindy Roach of Rogersville, who was enjoying a cigarette Tuesday morning on campus. "I don't think it's fair. It's like segregation because we're smokers. We're not standing out here bothering anybody."

But smokers have created a nuisance to non smokers, Patterson said.

"We've had complaints about smokers at entrances and exits where non smokers have to go through them," he said.

There also have been complaints about people dropping their snuffed out cigarettes on the ground.

A recent student satisfaction survey showed 50 percent favored a smoking ban; 35 percent did not.

Underage smoking was one major reason for banning tobacco, Patterson said.

"There are about 600 high school students attending classes here, and since we weren't able to discern high school from non high school students, we were giving tacit approval of their smoking here," he said.

"We're not going to give a pass to high school kids to come and smoke at OTC."

An outside advisory committee will oversee the implementation of the policy.

The only other community college known to go smoke-free is the Riverside, Calif., Community College system. Smoking was banned in January -- although two of its three campuses still allow smoking in restricted areas.

"It's going pretty good. It's going to take awhile to educate everybody," said Patti Smith, director of health services at Riverside.

The school has its own police department and officers remind violators of the school's policy.

"There are willful violators," Smith said. "Continual violations can become a disciplinary problem, but we usually just have to ask people to put it out."

Ozarks student Rickey Barnes said he was planning to attend fall classes, but the new smoking policy might force him to change his mind.

"Why don't they make those who don't smoke stay home?" he said. "We're outside, not inside. Wear a gas mask."