Letter: Staff vote on smoke ban does not imply support

Editor,

Regarding the Opinion column by Joe Buffaloe on June 1, it was mentioned that "the process of banning cigarettes" passed through the UNM Staff Council. This is not the case.

At the request of a UNM staff member, the Staff Council approved and added a nonbinding question on the smoking debate to its recent staff election ballot. The question asked, "Are you in favor of making UNM a smoke-free campus? Yes or no."

Of more than 5,200 UNM staff members eligible to vote, 539 answered "yes" and 340 answered "no" to the question. The nonbinding question does not imply support either for or against the smoking debate by the Staff Council. It was simply an informational item.

David Groth

UNM Staff Council president