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With the recent debate popping up at the University of Texas in Arlington, Texas Wesleyan may soon find itself deciding whether or not it will become a smoke-free campus.
This fall Kasey Cantrell, a junior finance major at Wesleyan and member of SGA is petitioning to make Wesleyan a smoke-free campus.
Cantrell said he came up with the idea this past summer when he attended classes at Tarrant County College Northwest campus after the school banned smoking.
“I noticed they had a smoke-free campus and how much I liked walking to class without walking through any smoke,” Cantrell said.
Now he wants to see the same happen for Wesleyan.
Wesleyan’s official policy on smoking follows the city of Fort Worth’s ordinance stating that a person cannot smoke within 20 feet of a building’s entrance or exit.
Cantrell said the petition must have the signatures of 10 percent of the student body, roughly 350 signatures, for it to be reviewed by a SGA committee. He currently has more than 200 signatures for the petition, 50 of which are faculty and staff signatures.
Cantrell said he not only sees the petition as a chance to improve the environment of the campus, but as an opportunity to put an end to a privilege that is being abused.
“If you’re given a privilege and you don’t live up to your obligations, then you should lose that privilege,” Cantrell said. “That’s how I was raised and what I believe.”
He said many people do not follow the city ordinance or smoke within the designated areas on campus.
Sophomore exercise science major and goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team, Kayla Walton, agrees with Cantrell’s stance on the issue and is one student who has signed the petition.
But Walton has her own personal reasons for signing.
Walton said that having grown up in a smoking environment and around second hand smoke, she had become a strong believer in nonsmoking.
Her issue with smoking on campus also stems from her own experiences at Wesleyan.
“I was waiting outside the psychology building by the stairs, and people were smoking right by the entrance,” Walton said.
Currently recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Walton has spent the last month on crutches and depends on campus security to help her move across campus. “I felt stuck, unable to walk away, because I was waiting to get picked up and my lack of mobility,” she said. Walton said that since the rule wasn’t being followed, it becomes an issue of showing respect to other people.
But some students don’t agree with a smoking ban.
“I don’t understand banning smoking from the whole campus, that’s just taking it too far,” said freshman nonsmoker Eric Villanueba. He said was skeptical about what the petition could accomplish and how it would be enforced, but recognizes Cantrell’s efforts. “Of course [Cantrell] has his own right, and he has a right to petition for a ban,” Villanueba said, “but 10 percent is too small a percentage.” He said the petition should require more signatures.
The issue not only affects Wesleyan students, but the faculty and staff as well.
“What about the faculty and staff who smoke and are here eight hours a day,” said Dr. Linda Carroll, associate professor of English. “What about their rights in that regard.”
Being allergic to tobacco, Carroll said she would personally prefer the campus to be smoke-free, but not at the expense of others’ rights. “I don’t think 10 percent should have the authority to tell 90 percent of the people what they can do,” Carroll said.
Carroll said that her concern lies with the 10 percent rule, not the petition itself.
“I think it’s an admirable thing [Cantrell] is doing,” Carroll said, “but it needs to be a school-wide vote. I want everyone to have a voice in it.”
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