What could smoke huts do for PSU?

As a non-smoker on campus, it is next to impossible to get to and from class without being exposed to second-hand smoke. Though there is currently a policy at PSU that states that smokers must be twenty feet from any building while smoking, this rule is rarely enforced and regularly broken. Smokers often crowd the doorways of buildings because they are trying to protect themselves from the harsh New England weather, making it difficult for non-smokers to travel around campus without breathing in a cloud of smoke. Samantha Setayesh, Craig Rhodes and I would like to propose the construction of fourteen smoking huts on campus to enforce fire code laws and reduce the amount of second-hand smoke on campus. Several companies specialize in the construction of these huts including the “No Butts Bin Company and “Handi Hut Incorporated”. Both companies manufacture structures that look very much like bus stops but include a vented roof to allow smoke to escape and a bench for comfort. Building these huts around densely populated areas on campus would make them easily accessible to smokers, in locations such as by academic buildings, dormitories, the HUB, and the dining hall. If these huts were built, people could smoke in these structures from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., when traffic around campus is most prevalent, and during other times if they chose. The biggest obstacle in building smoking huts is the price. The cost for a single smoke hut from the “No Butts Bin Company” would be roughly four thousand dollars and six thousand dollars from “Handi Hut Incorporated,” not including construction costs. The cost for the total amount of smoke huts we would like to build would be almost fifty thousand dollars from the “No Butts Bin Company” and over eighty seven thousand from “Handi Hut Incorporated”. Though the price may seem a large problem, we believe that there are ways to reduce these costs. In order to fund this project we have tried to contact the local high school, which has a fairly extensive shop program, to see if they could put the huts together for a discounted price. We have also contacted the American Lung Association to find possible funding. Unfortunately we have not received an answer from either group yet. Other schools, such as Pierce Community College, have built smoking huts and established rules that allow smokers to smoke only in these designated areas. The students were generally receptive to the idea because it reduced the amount of second-hand smoke for non-smokers, helped shield smokers from various weather conditions, and allowed them to meet friends in the huts. “It’s hard to tell how smokers (at Plymouth State) will feel about this change, and there are going to be people who are against it and people who are for it,” said PSU Sophomore Samantha Setayesh. “But I feel like the benefits are greater than the drawbacks… We need to look at the rights of non-smokers too,” she added. Though some smokers at PSU may at first reject the idea, there are many benefits of huts that could help change their minds.Building these huts would be beneficial to our campus because it would allow for a cleaner, safer and healthier environment. Non-smokers would no longer have to worry about breathing in polluted air and smokers would be able to smoke without being exposed to the elements or having to listen to the complaints of non-smokers. This campus needs to address the needs of all students on campus and building these smoking huts would be a simple way to improve the atmosphere at PSU.