The demise of the durry on campus appears inevitable after the University Council affirmed that from 1 January 2014, the University will be completely smokefree. Previously smokers had been exiled from the shelter of building awnings when smoking within six metres of any building on the Dunedin campus was banned in 2010.
One group who will be left smouldering by the policy change is the NORML club, organisers of the 4:20 protests. The smokefree policy may ultimately mean the club will have to set their sights on alternative premises, with the Union Lawn explicitly targeted by the Council.
Critic spoke with a member of the NORML group and sometime attendee of the 4:20 protests who, when queried about the ban, surmised that the University are “gonna do what they’re gonna do.” He remarked that while he didn’t yet know what effect the smokefree policy would have on NORML, “if the group’s there, I will be there,” and he expected everyone else within the group would feel the same way.
Critic sought to gauge the general sentiment to the policy change on campus. One very self-loathing smoker remarked that “personally I don’t think that people should smoke around people who don’t smoke.” However, the general view from non-smokers was that some form of segregation would result from the policy. One unsympathetic non-smoker suggested that “there should be like a little smokers’ pen. It would be like a cage, really small and with glass walls, and you’d see them all in there and you’d laugh at them. Right in the middle of uni.”
University of Otago Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne remarked that the University “will be publicising the new policy widely to staff, students and visitors to ensure it’s widely known and understood.” The implementation of the policy is not believed to be problematic, and the expectation is that everyone will comply. “Other tertiary institutions that have brought in smokefree campus policies have successfully used an educative approach to foster compliance and we will adopt the same stance.”
Critic shares Prof Hayne’s optimism, and is sure that university staff and students, particularly those working at the top of Richardson or somewhere in the labyrinthine deathtrap known as Archway, would be extremely grateful to the University for forcing healthy options on them by making their lives as difficult as possible. Critic has also compiled a list for the University’s consideration, entitled “Health Nazi Policies for a Happier Campus.” Some of Critic’s suggestions include:
- No carparks within one kilometre of campus.
- Fat people must hula hoop for 30 seconds before they can buy a pie.
- The Law Faculty is to introduce a no-alcohol policy.
Smoke banished from campus; fire to follow?
