Smoking on Campus

POLICY #:  CF 87-10

DATE OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVAL:  June 29, 2020

RESOLUTION #:  87-10, 89-14, 87-10B, 87-10C, 09-20, 16-7, 19-24

POLICY STATEMENT:  Smoking, including vaping, the use of Juul pods, and all other types of “e cigarettes,” as well as all other forms of tobacco use are prohibited entirely in all indoor and outdoor areas of the Herkimer County Community College main academic campus, inclusive of all athletic fields and facilities, all parking lots located on the College’s main academic campus, and all college vehicles.  This policy cancels all previous classification of certain locations on the campus as designated smoking areas, and establishes Herkimer County Community College as a 100% smoke and tobacco free campus. 

This prohibition does not apply to buildings and grounds that are the property of the Herkimer County Community College Housing Corporation (i.e. on-campus residential housing areas), which have their own policies and guidelines regulating smoking and tobacco use in those areas.  It also does not apply to land that is the property of the Herkimer County College Foundation.

The Campus Safety Committee will monitor the policy and recommend changes.

BACKGROUND:  This policy is a revision to CF 87-10, approved by the Board of Trustees on January 25, 2017, which prohibited all forms of smoking and tobacco use from the inner space of the upper and lower quads of the main academic campus, as well as around the entire PE Building, and required at least 25 feet distance from the entrances of any other buildings on the outer side of the campus and from the entrance to Wehrum Stadium.  This had been preceded by an amendment approved by the Board of Trustees on September 18, 2003, which reflected compliance with the New York Clean Indoor Air Act, Article 13-E of the New York Public Health Law, dated March 26, 2003.

Additional reference material is on file with the Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance. This policy was also amended in 2010 to update the title of the administrative official listed as maintaining additional reference materials on file.

This policy was further amended in 2017 to reflect the expansion of campus areas in which smoking, including the use of “E Cigarettes,” and all other forms of tobacco use are prohibited. The policy number was also corrected in 2017 by re-setting it to its original ‘CF 87-10’ with no additional letter designation, in order to resolve unnecessary complication of this number over progressive amendments to the policy.

Revised:  12/21/1989, 11/21/2002, 9/18/2003, 3/3/2010, 1/25/2017, 6/29/2020