After banning smoking inside dorms, buildings and vehicles in 2007, the SUNY Board of Trustees voted to support legislations to ban tobacco from all campus buildings on Tuesday.
For local SUNY schools like SUNY ESF, this possible legislation is right in line with their university's frame of mind. Joseph Rufo, SUNY ESF Vice President of Administration, says this breakthrough makes sense for SUNY ESF as a whole.
"This policy and this initiative by the chancellor and the Board of Trustees is absolutely in lockstep with the kind of lifestyle and the kind of values that SUNY ESF holds," he says.
ESF is known for it's environmentally sound campus, which means that some of its students are more than happy about the possible ban on tobacco. Forrest Baird is a senior at ESF, but at one point attended college in Iowa, where they also did not allow tobacco on campus, something he grew fond of.
"It's amazing," he says. "It's always a breeze of fresh air, and in general it's nice to have cleaner air."
Others, who are smokers, say they don't understand the possible new legislation, and that it will not be convenient for them to take breaks to smoke.
There are over 64 SUNY campuses, and with more than 450,000 students, this possible legislation will affect all of them once they report back to school in the Fall.
