No Smoking Ban...Yet

In mid-September, 14 state schools in Pennslyvania banned smoking from their campuses, meaning that students, faculty, and staff are not allowed to smoke anywhere on the campus grounds. This decision came after legislation was passed in June that banned smoking from public places. As far as New York State Universities are concerned, a campus-wide smoking ban is not on the horizon yet. In some of the Universities, like SUNY Cortland, students are allowed to smoke in designated areas at least 20 feet outside of some of the buildings. However, the students we spoke to seemed worried that a full campus ban isn't in the too distant future. New York's Clean Indoor Act was passed in 2003, and that prohibited smoking in bars, restaurants, and other public places. Then in 2007, SUNY Board of Trustees voted to ban smoking in dormitories. So, although the trend in New York State has been slowly pushing smokers out of public places, a SUNY campus-wide smoking ban is not in the works. At least, not yet.