Help Make CSUN Shine Brighter Topic 3

October 1, 2013

To the Campus Community,

During the Fall 2012 semester I invited the CSUN campus community to participate in an initiative - Help Make CSUN Shine Brighter - to tap into the collective wisdom of CSUN students, staff, and faculty around important campus issues. During Fall 2012 we welcomed suggestions pertaining to pedestrian and vehicular circulation on campus, and in Spring 2013 we invited ideas from the campus community about growing pride, spirit, and reputation. Thank you again to all who contributed ideas and solutions. Every suggestion was reviewed and considered, and summary reports are posted on the Help Make CSUN Shine Brighter website.

I am pleased to announce that a new question is now open, and again I invite your suggestions and solutions through the Make CSUN Shine Brighter website. This semester's question asks whether CSUN should become a smoke-free campus, and if so, how.

Perhaps you read the September 5, 2013 Daily Sundial story about campus smoking bans - a timely subject because the number of universities and colleges adopting smoke-free or tobacco-free policies is rapidly growing. According to a U.S. Department of Education report, as of July 2013, some 1,159 universities and colleges had adopted tobacco-free or smoke-free policies. At CSUN, smoking is prohibited in all university buildings, within 25 feet of building entrances and exits, and in outdoor dining areas posted as smoke-free.

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.

The direction CSUN chooses on this issue will affect every member of the campus community as well as visitors to campus. A university-wide committee will be appointed and charged with studying these questions, receiving and reviewing all input, and presenting a recommendation for implementation. Please help us by providing your input and ideas. Please take a few moments to complete a brief survey, and share your thoughts and solutions.

To all of you who share your suggestions on this issue, thank you for helping to make CSUN shine brighter.

Sincerely,

Dianne F. Harrison, Ph.D.
President
California State University, Northridge