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University of Maine Faculty Senate rejected the implementation of a tobacco-free campus initiative Wednesday in favor of first hosting public forums and collecting data. Senate did not indicate when or how public forums would be conducted.
Dean of Student Affairs Robert Dana and Vice President of Financial Affairs Janet Waldron recommended Faculty Senate implement the policy. The initiative would ban all tobacco products on campus.
Daniel Belknap — chairman of faculty senate’s environmental committee, which issued a report of concerns regarding the initiative — spoke to senate about the problems the committee found with the proposed initiative.
“I’m very concerned about a prohibition, which would disproportionately impact a special class of users and, in particular, long-term staff members who are addicted. There are people who have been addicted for decades and would be severely impacted by [the initiative],” Belknap said.
The committee also identified the “additional burden” enforcement of the initiative would place on the university, and the negative impact the prohibition may have on recruitment and retention of students and staff. The committee also recognized that smoking is still legal in the United States, and outside public buildings in Maine.
Belknap stressed the importance of tobacco awareness and the discouragement of teen smoking, but explained that it would be unwise to adopt rules that could not be consistently enforced. He also noted that the problem of secondhand smoke on campus has already been addressed with the “20-foot rule,” and that the problem now is one of enforcement.
Sen. William Halteman argued that the current initiative passed, the university would be admitting students who smoke, and then prohibiting them from smoking once on campus.
“That seems to me to be unconscionable,” Halteman said.
In other business, the UMaine board of visitors attended the beginning of the meeting. James Goff, vice chairman of the BOV explained the board’s function, which is to position the university as an “essential, relevant and valuable resource,” according to the board’s Web site.
Sen. Kathryn Slott asked for clarification of the BOV’s position between the board of trustees and the university,
“Do you advocate for the campus to the board of trustees, or [do you] represent and enforce what the board of trustees wants on the campus?,” Slott asked. “Or is it a balancing act between the two?” she asked.
“We do report to the trustees,” Goff said. “We generally have the opportunity to meet with them once a year — that tends to be rather superficial, frankly — but our real role is to support this institution and establishment.”
Goff said every department at the university is “full of interesting stories,” and that the university should do more to get those stories to the students, the university and Maine.
Senators also questioned the educational quality and the relatively unregulated approval process for online courses. During the Fall 2009 semester, 277 online courses were offered at the university.
“I think the technology is changing very, very fast, at the current time,” Sen. Harlan Onsrud said. “I think ten years from now, that if we’re offering a course … we’ll be able to broadcast … I don’t think we have much of a choice and need to embrace it,” he said.
Sen. Craig Mason cautioned against a universal endorsement of online education.
UMaine President Robert Kennedy addressed concerns about online courses, saying the “mission and the quality of our courses are a distinctive hallmark of UMaine,” but that online education could be a source or revenue to help curtail budget shortfalls.
