No smoker has been officially cited for failing to abide by the smoking policy that states smokers must stand 30 feet away from buildings while smoking.
All Ball State University employees are responsible for the enforcement of the smoking policy, which was enacted at the beginning of this semester, Cathy Bickel, associate director of Housing and Residence Life, said.
The enforcement procedure is simply to ask the smoker to step away from the door or building, she said.
"It's a polite, respectful request," she said.
If smokers fail to follow this request, Bickel said the University Police Department would be called and would issue a citation to the violator.
Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president of Facilities, Planning and Management, said students should be responsible for asking smokers to step away from buildings.
University Police have not received many calls concerning violators. Police Chief Gene Burton said the policy seemed to be working fairly well and that they have issued no citations.
Kenyon said he was in charge of implementing the policy. The Office of Facilities, Planning and Management put signs on windows and moved the ash trays away from campus buildings.
Kenyon said that because of the policy, cigarette butts and trash are littered in areas that weren't before, but his office was trying to maintain cleanliness in those areas.
Smoking areas have been set up around campus, signified by green signs with a cigarette on them, Kenyon said. These areas typically have a place for people to sit and an ash tray nearby.
Kenyon said he was not looking into shelters for smokers.
"If the weather is that severe, they need to forgo smoking or smoke in their personal homes or vehicles," he said.
Senior Ethan White, Student Government Association senator and chairman of the on-campus caucus, said SGA looked into the possibility of smoking shelters but decided against them. White said some university officials worried that the shelters wouldn't be used because they would have to be more than 30 feet away from buildings.
Ball State senior Jon Schneider said he thought the smoking policy would gradually be enforced and respected. Previously, Schneider attended Indiana University, and he said the policy there was just beginning to be taken seriously, even though it had been in affect for several years.
Kelly Schoonaert, associate director and coordinator of experiential education for wellness management, said the policy needed to be enforced because of the health issues involved.
"It's really important to enforce it because we're learning more and more each day about second-hand smoke and its effects," she said. "The fact of the matter is it can hurt a lot for the people who are predisposed."
Schoonaert said people with asthma and other chronic breathing problems would be the most prone to effects of second-hand smoke, and even several minutes of exposure could be damaging.
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