Recently, the E-House Administration Office and the Office of Safety issued a warning citing claims that a student was smoking within the dormitory and will take appropriate measures if such case occurs again in the future.
Students living in E-House receive a penalty of five demerit points for engaging in inappropriate behavior including smoking within the dormitory, which is quite strict as a student who receives 10 demerit points faces eviction.
Currently, there is only one nearby smoking area located between E-House and Hanwoori House. The problem is that the smoking area is thought to be too far for the students living in E-House, leading them to smoke in prohibited areas.
Instances of students smoking in proximity to the dorms have prompted many students to take the issue to the online school community Everytime. A considerable number of students complained about how they can smell cigarette smoke within the dormitory building as some students smoke right outside the building and even inside the restrooms where smoking is prohibited. Moreover, shortcomings in the ventilation system mean that cigarette smoke would flow into the building, causing discomfort for many.
In a survey among 43 students who are currently living in E-House, 39.5 percent of the students were unsatisfied with the rules regarding smoking. The reasons included concerns about secondhand smoke for non-smokers and discomfort for smokers as smoking areas are not close enough to E-House.
Surveyed smokers strongly asserted that it is impossible for them to smoke after the dormitory curfew and even during the daytime when it is raining or snowing. A few mentioned the need to create outdoor structures that would allow them to use the smoking area during bad weather conditions.
“I personally think holding campaigns about the harms of smoking or pasting posters on the walls saying ‘No Smoking’ would help as well,” said Kim Min-Seo, a freshman from the College of Nursing. “The most important thing is to minimize the harm caused by secondhand smoking, which would lead both smokers and non-smokers to feel comfortable living in E-House.”
Kim mentioned that the dormitory should focus more on raising the students’ awareness on the negative effects of smoking, as this would inform the smokers about the effects on the impacts of secondhand smoking, minimizing the discomfort faced by non- smokers as well as improving the health conditions of smokers.
For a more comprehensive view of the students’ desires and complaints in terms of smoking in the dormitory, Ewha Voice conducted an interview with the E-House Administration Office and the Office of Safety at Ewha Womans University.
“The Higher Education Act states that smoking areas can only be installed in spaces equipped with sufficient ventilation facilities,” a representative of the E-House Administration Office said. “This is why creating a smoking room inside the E-House building is not feasible.”
Even if it were permitted to do so, the Office of Safety expressed further concerns about the risks of installing a smoking area within the building. On top of that, there are few official reports or complaints from smokers regarding harms or discomfort caused by the smoking areas to the E-House Administration Office.
“Even if ventilated, the smell of cigarettes cannot be completely eliminated from the building,” the Office of Safety representative mentioned. “There is also a great risk of fires caused by cigarette butts.”
A few students have suggested about building a smoking area on the roof, but the Safety Officer indicated that there is a high risk of fire due to the many ventilation fans on the roof, as well as water leakage caused by cigarette butts accumulating within the drainage facilities.
“Currently, we do not have a plan for creating a new smoking area for the students as it poses significant risks,” the E-House Administration Office said. “In order to guarantee the safety of the staff and students in the dormitory, it is best to keep the smoking area outdoors.”