2008 Woodie Awards
Are "No Smoking" signs effective?
Monty Vierra ; Freelance Writer
Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: News
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Last April, ISU began to comply with Idaho Statute sections 39-5501 and 39-5502 (2004), which prohibits smoking inside public buildings or within twenty feet of entrances. Almost a year later, university employees and students can still be found puffing away in these "no smoking" zones.
The first two no smoking signs went up in response to a letter printed in the Bengal last April, which enquired why ISU was not complying with Idaho State law. In a staff meeting held April 10, 2006, Interim President Michael Gallagher said he preferred "communicating this new law to the campus community rather than posting signs everywhere." However, Darrel Buffaloe, head of the ISU Physical Plant Department, did have signs posted in a couple of "hot spots" on campus, including near the Administration Building and the Education Building, where requests for compliance with the law had frequently been made.
Last summer, work began in earnest and on two fronts. The first was the removal of the old ashtrays mounted on the buildings. They seemed like a good way to keep cigarettes out of buildings when they were first installed, but smoke from the ashtrays easily finds its way into buildings. By the end of summer, all those ashtrays were gone.
Syed Hashim, who was assigned by Buffaloe to assess the need for signs and supervise their placement, led the second front. In the late summer, ISU employees began to put up no smoking signs around campus. When Hashim began his survey of buildings on the ISU main campus last year, there were hundreds of doors that needed signs. Currently Johanna Baker, an ISU student and part-time employee of the Physical Plant Department, estimates they are more than half way through with the project. She quoted Hashim, saying, "This is a work in progress." Baker said their target was to finish by the end of the current school year.
According to Buffaloe, each building on campus has special requirements, so "one sign fits all" won't work. For example, the Pharmacy Building has signs reading "No Smoking within 30 feet." On the other hand, the covered walkway between the Liberal Arts and Business Administration buildings is less than 40 feet across. As a result, Baker put up signs on the connecting doors overhead that read, "No Smoking on the Hypostyle."
The first two no smoking signs went up in response to a letter printed in the Bengal last April, which enquired why ISU was not complying with Idaho State law. In a staff meeting held April 10, 2006, Interim President Michael Gallagher said he preferred "communicating this new law to the campus community rather than posting signs everywhere." However, Darrel Buffaloe, head of the ISU Physical Plant Department, did have signs posted in a couple of "hot spots" on campus, including near the Administration Building and the Education Building, where requests for compliance with the law had frequently been made.
Last summer, work began in earnest and on two fronts. The first was the removal of the old ashtrays mounted on the buildings. They seemed like a good way to keep cigarettes out of buildings when they were first installed, but smoke from the ashtrays easily finds its way into buildings. By the end of summer, all those ashtrays were gone.
Syed Hashim, who was assigned by Buffaloe to assess the need for signs and supervise their placement, led the second front. In the late summer, ISU employees began to put up no smoking signs around campus. When Hashim began his survey of buildings on the ISU main campus last year, there were hundreds of doors that needed signs. Currently Johanna Baker, an ISU student and part-time employee of the Physical Plant Department, estimates they are more than half way through with the project. She quoted Hashim, saying, "This is a work in progress." Baker said their target was to finish by the end of the current school year.
According to Buffaloe, each building on campus has special requirements, so "one sign fits all" won't work. For example, the Pharmacy Building has signs reading "No Smoking within 30 feet." On the other hand, the covered walkway between the Liberal Arts and Business Administration buildings is less than 40 feet across. As a result, Baker put up signs on the connecting doors overhead that read, "No Smoking on the Hypostyle."
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