Editor,
Let the article in Wednesday's Daily Lobo be a rally call for all of us who want healthier lungs and are allergic to second-hand smoke.
At least 80 percent of Lobos stay away from tobacco. UNM President David Schmidly should take steps to improve the lives of all visitors to our beautiful campus.
The regents and administration assured the public and those concerned that after making the Health Sciences Center smoke-free, they would start the process on Main Campus.
The regents and administration should have a tobacco-free forum to address the issue. They should call for open comments at a board meeting and invite interested parties.
The Staff Council overwhelmingly voted to pass a resolution onto the regents and administration to make UNM a tobacco-free campus. A study on this policy should be conducted.
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The University should survey high school seniors, students, faculty, visitors and athletes to assess when the campus will be ready to be tobacco-free.
The Coalition for a UNM Smoke-Free Campus took the first steps by getting students and staff to vote and also conducted an awareness campaign. As many as 105 other colleges and universities have done so, too.
How did they do it? Same way the University made the Health Sciences Center smoke-free, by working with the community, students, staff, doctors and the administration.
There was a compassionate process in changing this policy. Currently, UNM enforces smoke-free building codes. It can use the same method by adopting the UNM employee, student and visitor codes of conduct.
What is the real smokescreen that is holding up UNM from going tobacco-free? More than 1,500 people have signed petitions or voted to make UNM tobacco-free or smoke-free.
The Daily Lobo Web site and blog site has a good ongoing discussion on the issue.
Juan Fidel Larrañaga
UNM student
