Sarah Lawrence bans smoking on campus

YONKERS – Following several other schools in the region, Sarah Lawrence College is banning smoking on its campus beginning Aug. 1.

The school now prohibits smoking within 25 feet of doorways and paths but students felt that the rule wasn’t being followed, said Mary Hartnett, the director of medical services at the college’s Health and Wellness Center. In response, the school formed a task force that in 2013 recommended making the campus smoke-free.

The school has been educating students, faculty and staff on the new policy and offering smoking cessation programs in the lead up to the change.

“It is a difficult policy to initiate, to transition to and then enforce,” said Hartnett, the chairwoman of the implementation task force. “We’re really looking to have buy-in.”

A survey in 2012 found about 22 percent of Sarah Lawrence faculty, staff and students identified as smokers. But the vast majority of incoming students in 2014 said they were non-smokers, Hartnett said.

Rockland Community College went smoke-free in 2009 and Westchester Community College began enforcing a tobacco-free policy in September 2012 after a voluntary phase-in. SUNY Purchase is in the midst of a transition to a smoke free campus. It has designated areas where tobacco is permitted. Purchase intends to be completely tobacco-free by June 2018.

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