Student Clash Over Anti-Smoking Proposal
By Susan Hoang
News Writer

A group of irate smokers gathered in the Smith Campus Center at 8:00 p.m. on Monday to voice their opposition to ending the sale of cigarettes at the Coop Store.

The message, posted in the digester inviting all to a forum to discuss the proposal, attracted about ten smokers and almost no non-smokers. The members of the Coop Committee made up the rest of the people at the forum. The informal discussion led by the head of the Coop Committee, Vice President of the ASPC Julia Patzelt ’03, quickly became heated as the students strongly voiced their opinions about removing cigarettes from the Coop Store. There was consensus among the smokers present that this proposal was an attempt at “social engineering.”

Besides social engineering, there were a number of reasons given to oppose the proposal, including that if students could not get cigarettes on campus, they were likely to drive drunk to the store to get some, that secondhand smoke affected few people on campus and that since the Coop Store was a student-run organization, if there was a demand for the product within legal limits, the Coop should supply it. The forum became an intense exchange between the smokers and Patzelt.

Patzelt organized the forum to gauge student reaction to the proposal. She said, “As a committee chair, we are attempting to get student input on the cigarette issue and will use that input as a crucial variable in our decision. It seems that there’s a more vocal minority and a less vocal majority. Personally, I don’t support selling a harmful substance. It says that the student body endorses that type of behavior if we sell cigarettes. I don’t want to prohibit smokers from smoking but I don’t want to encourage it by apparently supporting it in our student-run store. My personal opinion is not as relevant as student opinion.”

The absence of those who endorsed the plan was noted when a question was asked as to how many people who actually endorsed the plan were there. There was some response via e-mail from students who were against selling cigarettes in the Coop Store. Evan Sirc ’03, a member of the Coop Committee and Residence Halls and Food Commissioner, was the one person at the forum to directly speak out in favor of the proposal. He stated that selling cigarettes was a health risk and that the school is already moving in the direction of smoke-free housing on campus.

After an hour, the students filed out of the room. One of the most vocal present, Nevine El Shabrawy ’03, said, “Secondhand smoke is not an issue on campus because almost every dorm is smoke-free and most outside areas are also restricted. Image is a hypocritical reason, and smoking will continue on campus even if cigarettes are not sold in the Coop store and people have to drive off campus, potentially drunk, to purchase them.”

Eliminating cigarette sales is a recurring issue that comes up every few years. According to Neil Gerard, Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Smith Campus Center, in the past ten years, debate over the issue has arisen five times. It has been brought about in a number of ways in the past, from concerned parents to students who oppose cigarettes as a health risk.

The Coop Store currently sells about 250 packs of cigarettes a week. They might net approximately $5000 to $6000 a year, which accounts for eight percent of the total sales at the Coop store.

“I don’t think that the decision should be made on [the basis of] profit or loss. It should be made for the right reasons, the notions of convenience vs. values. This is clearly a student government issue,” said Gerard, who also serves as advisor to the Coop Committee.

Regarding the failure of previous measures to pass, Gerard said, “In the past, what has happened is that convenience has been the deciding issue. They’ve come down on the side of students that are going to smoke.”

With student input, the Coop Committee makes recommendations to the ASPC, who ultimately has the power to decide if it wants to continue selling cigarettes in the store.

“It’s entirely a student-made decision. It’s up to the ASPC. We’re in charge in the Coop,” said ASPC President Phil Kopczynski ’03.

The Coop Committee will make its recommendations this Sunday.