A bill banning smoking in and around UW System dormitories is one step closer to being passed after the state Assembly voted for it Wednesday.
The Assembly voice-voted and unanimously approved the bill, which would institute a $10 fine for those caught smoking within 25 feet of a residence hall.
According to UW-Madison political science Professor Donald Downs, the unanimous voice-vote is a good indication the bill will pass once it reaches the state Senate in the mid-March. He said the speed at which this bill is going through procedures is a positive sign it will become law.
Although some UW System schools do not have smoking policies, current UW-Madison policy warns students verbally the first time they are caught smoking, said Assistant Director of Resident Life Kay Reuter-Krohn.
\As a resident you're expected to observe a standard that prohibits the use of tobacco products,"" she said. ""Residents with multiple violations of the policy may be dismissed from the residence hall.""
UW-Madison sophomore Julia Dugan, a smoker, said she does not believe this bill will have much of an effect because the fine is too low.
""Students who are blatantly smoking in the dorms are probably drunk and too lazy to get out of their dorm rooms,"" Dugan said. ""They would be more worried about getting caught drinking or doing drugs, which puts getting a fine for smoking as the least of their worries.""
Though she smokes, Dugan said the bill is good in principle because smoking is a disturbance for non-smokers. She said smoking in the dorms is a legitimate issue because people often smoke in the stairwells.
UW-Madison senior Koji Yabumoto said he smoked all the time when he lived in the dorms, and added he thinks making a state law on such an issue is extreme.
Yabumoto summed up his entire view of the bill with the succinct statement: ""It stinks.\
