St. Thomas will officially become tobacco-free on Jan. 1, 2014; however, enforcing it will be up to the St. Thomas community, not Public Safety.

After three years of planning, President Julie Sullivan and her cabinet gave their approval on the ban last month, and Mary Ann Ryan, associate vice president for Student Affairs, said enforcement will be community-driven.

“We’re going to encourage all people to ask people to put out their cigarettes,” Ryan said. “We also have these cards that people can use if they are uncomfortable confronting another person.”

Students can get the cards from the Dean of Students office or Residence Life starting Jan. 1, she said.

However, Ryan said the cards are more of an aid, and she doesn’t expect students to rely on them heavily. The plan is for students to use the cards to remind peers that smoking is prohibited on campus.

“We have these cards if people need some encouragement, but most people will walk up to others and say, ‘Do you mind? We’re in a smoke-free campus, and you might not know that,’” Ryan said.

Ryan said a lot of research went into the approval process, including work groups and visits to other organizations and visits from other schools, such as St. Catherine’s University, which has already gone tobacco-free.

“(The work group) met for two years or more, and we did a lot of research,” Ryan said. “We went to a lot of different groups like Residence Hall Association and Undergraduate Student Government.”

Junior Lauren Van Beek said while she said she thinks that Public Safety fining students for smoking may be a more effective enforcement method, she said this strategy is appropriate for the initial implementation.

“I think fining would be more effective, but I think this may be a better strategy initially because then it’s not so harsh,” Van Beek said. “It gives the campus a chance to take what they’ve been asking for (a smoking ban) and gives them the responsibility.”

Van Beek also said she will practice the community-driven practice and may give out a card or two.

“I will (use the cards and tell people to stop smoking),” Van Beek said. “I don’t know how many students will, but I definitely will ask people to do that.”

Junior Andy Brown said using cards seems like an ineffective idea.

“Seriously? A card that says, “don’t smoke” is the extent of enforcement?” Brown said.

Brown, a cigar enthusiast, said he is upset about the ban.

“It just maddens me that this tobacco ban is being imposed on those of us who enjoy tobacco products,” Brown said. “Expect more cigarette and cigars to be on the ground than in an ashtray.”

Senior Sam Sutton is excited St. Thomas went through with the ban.

“Who wants to walk through a cloud of poison on their way to class? I am all for the ban on the campus,” Sutton said.

Ryan said it’s St. Thomas’ culture that helps promote a healthy lifestyle.

“It’s who we are at St. Thomas. If you see somebody littering you’re going to say, ‘Hey, that’s not who we are. Don’t litter,’” Ryan said. “It’s a community effort. We’re all going to be involved in it.”

Kayla Bengtson can be reached at beng2004@stthomas.edu.