Cigarette butts make the campus messy, but some say the problem can be solved by changing smokers' attitudes, increasing the number of ashtrays and eventually avoiding smoking itself.
by Shiho Sasaki
Many cigarette butts are on the ground near an entrance of the Knight Library.
When you leave a campus building at the University of Oregon, you may see many cigarette butts thrown on the ground. That bothers many people who want to keep the campus clean.
Jae-Bun Soh encountered a friend in front of Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, and they started smoking after a short greeting. Five minutes later, Soh's friend threw his cigarette butt on the ground. Soh said, "Hey, don't do that!"
The 29-year-old alumnus of the University of Oregon said most smokers, including some of his friends, do not follow campus rules about smoking. Soh, who has smoked for seven years, tries to find an ashtray, and does not throw cigarettes on the ground. He said he sees many smokers throwing their butts on the ground when he takes a walk or meets his friends on campus.
"It's really dirty," Soh said. "Most smokers tend to smoke anywhere they want without ashtray. It might be a small thing, but we should take care of all."
The number of ashtrays on campus is one of the biggest reasons why there are cigarette butts on the ground, Soh said. Smokers can easily find smoking areas, and the ground will be cleaner if there are more ashtrays on campus, he added.
Some smokers follow the rules, he said. "That should be fine because it's all smokers' responsibility, and it's all our effort."
Soh also said that creating a new smoking policy might be a good solution too. For example, in South Korea, if police officers find people who threw butts away, they usually make them pay a $50 fine, he said.
"I think it's a good system," he said. "If police officers find people, just give them a ticket. Otherwise, they should order them to clean up around 20 feet square instead of the fine."
Andrew R. BonamiciClick these for short movies
Andrew R. Bonamici, an associate university librarian for instructional services at the University of Oregon, said because of a shift to a non-smoking culture in the United States, the laws have become very strict for smokers. Smokers must follow the "10-foot rule" legalized by the City of Eugene Tobacco Ordinance in 2001, which prohibits smoking within 10 feet of any public building or entrance, according to Bonamici.
After the "10-foot rule" was enacted, the librarians and staff at the Knight Library asked Facilities Services of the University of Oregon to remove the ashtrays that were set within 10 feet of the entrances, Bonamici said. No ashtrays are currently at the Knight Library, and Bonamici said smokers tend to throw butts at the stone benches near the entrance of the library and other benches around the library.
"It's legal to smoke there, and we don't have to clean them up," Bonamici said. "But it's very messy, so we usually recommend smoking at PLC Hall or 'the gates,' [the nearest campus entrance to the library]. Also, I'll appreciate if smokers pick their cigarette butts up after smoking."
Page: 1. Front Page 2. The New Ashtray 3. Health Concerns