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Je rey Howard/Roundup jhoward.roundupnews@gmail.com

The Work Environment Committee (WEC) proposed a tightening up Pierce College’s NonSmoking policy by designating parking lots 1 and 7 theas the only smoking areas, according to the minutes from their February meeting.

This tentative update would replace the “curb-to-curb” policy that made Pierce’s campus smokefree in Feb. 2010, according to a Pierce College News Alert release.

The new Non-Smoking policy areas have now been cut down to two specific areas of the campus’ parking lots: the public parking area of lot 1 and the area nearest to Victory Blvd. in parking lot 7.

Joseph Perret, professor of computer applications and office technologies, summarized the potential update’s effects.

“It basically bans smoking anywhere within the core of the campus,” said Joseph Perret, a member of the Pierce College Council. “I’d like to even see it banned from parking lots, just to make it clearer to students that they can’t smoke.”

If the policy is updated, Pierce would also post signs that would identify areas that were once designated smoking places.

“They put up little sawhorses with temporary signs, but there are nosigns all over to indicate that there’s no smoking on campus,” Perretsaid. “We need signage on campus.”

The WEC stated to make this change in policy to help provide a campusenvironment that is healthy, clean and safe.

Margarita Pillado, chair of the WEC, served a key role in helping thePierce campus update its policy from the previous “curb-to-curb” non-smoking rule.

“This is a cultural change,” Pillado said. “Not just some policy for the school. We are taking steps to make our campus a cleaner, healthier environment.”

Because the policy is in compliance with city law, the LA City Attorney’s Office has the right to issue an absolute ban on smoking on campus if it is violated.

[See SMOKE, Page 3]