Regents declare Southeast smoke-free, tobacco-free campus; raise room and board charges

Southeast Missouri State University will become a smoke-free, tobacco-free campus, effective with the beginning of the fall semester.

At the same time, students will pay more to live and eat on campus.

The school's board of regents on Friday adopted a tobacco-free and smoke-free policy and raised room and board charges by an average of 2.5 percent.

Southeast president Carlos Vargas-Aburto said the university has no plans to aggressively enforce the tobacco ban.

"I think it is better that we rely on the honor system," he told the regents.

Board president Jay Knudtson said campus police will not be "running out on the street and tackling people" who light up.

The new policy prohibits smoking and using tobacco products by students, faculty, staff and visitors on all Southeast properties and facilities and in school vehicles.

Southeast's satellite campuses and the university farm are included in the ban, school officials said.

Prohibited products include lit cigarettes, cigars, pipes, e-cigarettes and other smoking products, as well as devices used to smoke or mimic smoking -- such as hookahs and vaporizers -- and the use of smokeless tobacco products.

According to the policy, smoking and the use of tobacco products will be allowed only at designated areas outside of the Show Me Center and the River Campus Cultural Arts Center during public events or performances.

The smoke-free, tobacco-free status will take effect Aug. 21, the first day of the fall semester. This will allow time to educate the campus community on the new policy and offer smoking-cessation programs for students, faculty and staff, said Kathy Mangels, vice president for finance and administration.

Vargas said the experience of other tobacco-free schools shows compliance increases over time. He said the university plans to erect signs denoting the school as tobacco free.

Regent Phillip Britt of Kennett, Missouri, suggested it will be easier to enforce an all-out ban than the current policy, which allows smoking in designated outdoor areas across campus.

Regent Edward Gargas of Dexter, Missouri, questioned whether the ban might hurt recruitment of international students who come from countries where smoking is more acceptable.

But Debbie Below, vice president for enrollment management and student success, said only 14 percent of international students live on campus. As a result, the ban should not pose a difficulty for international students, she said.

As for the room and board charges, the average cost for students to live and dine on campus will amount to $8,564 for the next school year -- an increase of $210, according to school officials.

Average room rates will climb by 1.97 percent. Below said the increase reflects the cost for personnel, student labor, operations, maintenance and repairs.

The board rate will increase by 3.5 percent, consistent with terms of the university's new dining contract with Chartwells, Below said in a report to the regents.

She said Chartwells has made a number of improvements to its campus dining services and facilities.

The university operates its student housing as a self-supporting auxiliary service.

In conjunction with raising room and board charges, the regents approved a $26.3 million budget for residence-life services. Most of that revenue will come from room and board charges, budget documents show.

School officials said the increase in room and board charges is not tied to projected state funding cuts for the school's basic operations.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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