Like other University students, Kira Fonarow worried about deadlines, classes and time management. But for her, the few minutes she spent walking across campus between classes were the most stressful.
Fonarow’s sensitive lungs and vocal cords could not function efficiently when she inhaled cigarette smoke, and it took a toll on her daily life.
“I always felt the need to hold my breath every time I passed a smoker,” said Fonarow in a letter to University administrators in July. “When they smoked in the doorways, I felt like I was suddenly being attacked or halted each time I entered or exited a building.”
Fonarow graduated in June , but current students share her concern. She is a small fraction of the 69 percent of University students who reported feeling bothered by cigarette smoke on campus in a survey sent to 3,600 students conducted by the University Health Center in May.
That’s why, in anticipation of the annual Great American Smokeout on Thursday, the health center and its peer educators, who are students, are gearing up to promote a smoke-free campus.
A separate survey was sent to 500 of the University’s faculty and staff.
Considering the fact that 40 percent of University faculty smokers smoke on campus and 22 percent of students use tobacco, as reported in the surveys, the idea is controversial.
“I would hate it,” said sociology major Casey Kolendar. “To ban smoking from campus, when going off campus is a long walk away, is unfair.”
Kolendar said she wouldn’t mind designated smoking areas, which would make a good compromise and keep campus cleaner.
“I’m paying thousands of dollars to go here,” she said. “They should let me have my cigarette.”
Fellow student and smoker Jon Klumph agreed. “That would be infringing on people’s rights,” he said.
Junior Julie Charron sees smoking as an infringement on nonsmokers’ rights, however, and is determined to raise awareness about the dangers of cigarette smoke.
“It’s a health concern not only for students and faculty but also for the environment,” said Charron. “Ignoring such a large issue puts us at risk.”

Charron, also a member of the Peer Health Education Program at the health center, is part of a student contingent called the Clean Air Project, which was started in the spring. The group is currently waiting for approval from the ASUO to form an ad hoc committee.
On the faculty side, the initiative hasn’t yet gained momentum. When the Environmental Issues Committee sent out its 2006-07 annual report, a subcommittee dealing with tobacco use on campus included a proposal to encourage a smoke-free campus. Although the health center’s survey revealed that 79 percent of faculty and staff at the University were bothered by secondhand smoke, the committee’s University Faculty Senate representative didn’t bite.
“We have had no response to this recommendation,” said Paula Staight, a member of the Environmental Tobacco Smoke Subcommittee. “That is why student involvement is so important.”
Charron said the Clean Air Project and the Fresh Air Initiative, Oregon State University’s smoke-free promotion group, are considering holding a civil war “to get students excited about the idea.” Charron believes turning the initiative into a battle would prompt more talk about the idea.
“People would start guessing who would go smoke-free first, and that’s a conversation starter,” she said.
The University has made some steps to curb the prevalence of cigarette smoke on campus. Currently, it prohibits smoking indoors or within 10 feet of building entrances. In fall 2004, University vendors stopped selling tobacco on campus.
“That was a big step,” said Charron, “but now we want to push it further.”
The Clean Air Project will promote their smoke-free ideas at a table in the EMU all this week. Students who guess how many cigarette butts were picked up on Friday have a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to the Duck Store.
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