MSU: Go Green, Go White...Going Tobacco-Free

MSU: Go Green, Go White...Going Tobacco-Free

EAST LANSING - Michigan State University just set up a task force to work out a policy that will make MSU a tobacco-free campus.

With nearly 50,000 students and 3,000 faculty members, Michigan State University has one of the largest campuses in the country. Considering that, the school's decisions may have a greater impact than many other institutions. The tobacco-free policy is one of them.

The Marketing and Communications Manager for MSU Student Health Services Kathi Braunlich said the tobacco-free policy and its execution will influence a wide range of groups from students and faculty who are long-term tobacco users, to thousands of Spartan fans who come to the campus for sports events.

Nancy Allen, Health Promotion Services Integration Coordinator at the University’s Physician’s Office, said the task force is divided into six subcommittees charged with different responsibilities in the process of developing, adopting, enforcing, and evaluating the tobacco-free policy.

They include Assessment and Evaluation, Communications and Marketing, Community Partners, Compliance, Education and Enforcement, Events and Public Facilities, and Health, Wellness & Sustainability subcommittees.

These groups will come up with a solution together that would specifically suit MSU's case.

With such a large population and diversity of students, their voices are also different.

Anthony Tesorero, a senior student majored in Computer Science and Engineering, said that although he is not a tobacco user, he believes in the right of those people.

In contrast, Haley Clayton, a Spanish sophomore, said going tobacco free is a great decision “because it can help the campus and the students become healthier, and it also helps others to not to expose to that as well.”

Right now the effort to make MSU tobacco-free is still in its initial period and the final recommendation will be ready by May, 2015 for the School Board of Trustees to vote.

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