On-campus smoking is one of the most talked about issues at Bakersfield College, and has been for some time now, for probably longer than most students realize.
The Student Government Association’s current smoking agenda, which will eventually lead to a poll deciding the ultimate policy, has been going on since the spring semester of 2004.
But back in 1988, there was a similar, but fairly different battle going on at BC regarding tobacco use.
Until Jan. 1, 1988, smoking was allowed inside buildings on the BC campus, until SGA helped enact a new policy effectively ending indoor smoking.
And so started the conflict.
The only building on campus that allowed smoking was the teachers’ lounge, and student smokers used it to their advantage, but this led to a confrontation with the teachers that used the lounge, and the students going there to smoke.
Lisa Martinez, who was the self-proclaimed leader of the “crusade to establish an indoor smoking area,” was at the forefront in many of the issues, including the September 1988 clash over the teachers’ lounge.
“This is the teachers’ lounge, and they want their place just like anyone else,” Martinez said in a Sept. 12, 1988 issue of the Renegade Rip. “All we’re asking for is a little place to eat and smoke our cigarettes. We don’t want to cause trouble or infringe on the teachers.”
The conflict led to the establishment of a designated room for student smokers in the fall of 1988.
The room was located in the cafeteria, in an area closed away from the rest of the students.
“This was probably the best compromise we could come up with,” then-dean of instruction Charles Carlson said in an Oct. 17, 1988 issue of the Rip. “ That one room can hopefully be isolated so the smoke won’t bother other people.”
But the self-proclaimed leader of the “student smokers’ crusade” wasn’t satisfied.
“Once all the smokers are aware there’s a smoking area, will it prove to be too small, and if so, will the ASB be helpful in finding another, larger place to accommodate us?” Martinez said. “If not, we’ll have to go through the whole fight all over again.”
Eventually, the room was disbanded, and the complete ban on campus that was intended in the first place was enforced.
It wasn’t until seven years later, on Jan. 1, 1995 that smoking became prohibited in all enclosed workplaces in California.