Help Make CSUN Shine Brighter

November 22, 2013

To the campus community,

As part of the “Help Make CSUN Shine Brighter” initiative, the university introduced a new topic in October 2013 for the consideration of the campus community and asked for your suggestions and solutions relevant to the following questions:

Should CSUN become smoke-free? If you think yes, how restrictive should CSUN's policy be? Becoming smoke-free would limit or eliminate the use of smoke-producing tobacco. Becoming tobacco-free would limit or eliminate the use of any tobacco product. What about space? If smoking is limited to designated areas, how limited should those areas be and where should they be located? There are also questions of how best to educate and inform the campus community of a policy, and how best to enforce it.

As with our earlier “Help Make CSUN Shine Brighter” topics, the campus community provided much thoughtful and meaningful input. The questions engendered a large number and broad continuum of responses from students, staff, and faculty. I am pleased that a summary report is now posted on the Help Make CSUN Shine Brighter website. The results of the survey will be a valuable resource for the Task Force on Becoming a Smoke-Free Campus, chaired by Dr. Linda Reid-Chassiakos, Director of Student Health Services, and Professor Diane Schwartz, Department of Computer Science. The Task Force members listed below have been tasked with considering these important questions and making recommendations about CSUN’s policies and practices. Please direct any additional comments to any member of the Task Force.

Once again, thank you to all who participated for your input and for helping to make CSUN shine more brightly! We will be introducing a new topic in the spring semester and look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Sincerely,

Dianne F. Harrison, Ph.D.
President

Task Force on Becoming a Smoke-Free Campus:

Linda Reid-Chassiakos, Student Health Services (co-chair)
Diane Schwartz, Faculty, Computer Science (co-chair)
Jerry De Felice, University Advancement
Rick Evans, The University Corporation
Jang Hyungwoo, Student
Marla Joseph, Information Technology
Charleen Mikhail, Student and President of COUGH (Campuses Organized and United for Good Health) at CSUN
Bev Palmberg, Information Technology
Ken Rosenthal, Facilities Planning
Jill Smith, Human Resources/Employee Relations
Hai-Ling Tang, CSUEU President and University Library
Steven Thachuk, Valley Performing Arts Center and Faculty, Music
Nate Thomas, CFA President and Faculty, Cinema and Television Arts
Christopher Woolett, Associated Students President
Kathleen Young, COUGH Coordinator and Faculty, Health Sciences