We must enforce the smoking ban

Nine months ago, the Undergraduate Assembly, in conjunction with the Office of Student Health and other groups and with student support, petitioned the University to end all smoking in the dorms. In implementing this change, Penn made the right call. Now, however, the University must face the reality that there are students living in dorms who will resist the rules. Penn must do whatever it can to enforce the smoking ban.

As it stands, there does not appear to be any set measures by which House Deans or residential Advisers can enforce the matter. That is unacceptable; this is far too critical an issue to be simply handled on a case-by-case basis. We recommend a graduated set of measures for each infraction: A first offense could be met with a set monetary fine, a second with imposed community service time and further incidents with more severe punishments, such as relocation to another college house. Whatever punishment policies Penn chooses to adopt, they should be universal and make it clear that this policy will be taken seriously.

A habit like smoking is a hard one to change, and to be fair, the University should make sure to make it as clear as possible that this new policy applies to everyone who intends to live in the college house system. But Penn has not taken measures as draconian as schools such as Stanford, which banned smoking not just in dorms, but on all university property, inside and outside. Peer institutions like Harvard and Brown, responding to similar student feedback, have instituted bans similar to Penn's.

The current policy is an absolutely necessary one, as an immense amount of medical literature has detailed the dangerous effects of second-hand cigarette smoke, especially in rooms and hallways that are not especially well-ventilated. In this case, it is not a matter of violating personal freedom, so much as it is a matter of convenience versus severe health risks. Non-smoking students, however, representing a very clear majority, will remain threatened by those very health risks unless Penn moves to enforce the smoking ban.

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