Starting Jan. 17, the first day of spring semester, Skyline College will have a new smoking policy.

The current policy allows for smoking at any location 20 feet or more away from a building. This is the legal minimum. The new policy will set up four designated smoking areas chosen by the health and safety committee located in the following places: the quad between buildings 2 and 3, the area between buildings 7 and 8, the quad between buildings 1 and 2, and a location at Pacific Heights. All of the ash trays around campus will be moved to these areas and signs will be posted around campus to notify people of the location of the areas.

Dr. Victoria Morrow, president of Skyline College, describes this new policy as an attempt to “balance the health issues of those who don’t smoke with the comfort of those who do smoke.” The issue of smoking on campus has been around for several years and this new policy is a step towards other possible changes in the smoking policy over future years.

According to Dr. Morrow, the Academic Senate and Classified Council will host a campus wide forum during the spring term, in which the policy can be discussed. If it is found that the new policy is well received we can expect to see permanent structures put up at these areas to give shelter from the fog and rain. If the new policy doesn’t work out we can expect to see another policy change.