Drug Free Campus Committee — Nov. 18, 2020
Members Present
- Rosemary Coffman, Associate Dean, Student Affairs, Student Affairs / LC
- Mike Spletter, Director, Student Activities, Student Activities / LC
- Howard Bushart, Chair, Allied Health, Academics / LC
- Tammy Holloway, Security Chief, Security / Lee College
- Tiffany Winchester, Veterans Center Coordinator, Veterans Center / LC
- Christopher McClure, Student Affairs/ Staff Assembly, Student Affairs / LC
- Nathan Lilly, Be Well Baytown, Lee College
This is a follow up meeting to continue the discussion of communication and enforcement of our tobacco free campus policy
Policy Updates
Policy — As a reminder, the College’s tobacco free policy is part of our Alcohol and Other Drug Policy that is required by federal regulations (Drug Free Schools and Campuses Regulations). This statement was changed to specifically include tobacco in the title. The most recent version of the policy has been uploaded to the web and the committee will be given the word document to continue to work on changes and updates. The tobacco policy is part of recommended changes
From our last meeting, these suggestions were made:
- Add "nicotine" to the definition as well as Electronic Nicotine Device Systems (ENDS)
- Add section to include the harmful effects of nicotine/Tobacco products.
- Review section on enforcement — changes need to be made based on our discussion today which may include enforcement procedures (first notice, repeat notices)
- The group will be send the document to review and suggest other changes such as what resources to include on the final page.
As of this meeting, the following feedback has been received:
- Howard — provided feedback to include clarification on noting board policy, adding a statement regarding the legal sanctions (not enforced by LC), and approved the resource page.
- Elizabeth (MDA) — changes in the tobacco section to change wording from "student" to individual to indicate that the policy applies to anyone on campus. She also suggested a link back to the website which has more resources.
- End Tobacco team — Still waiting for feedback
- Sgt Aaron Crowell (Baytown PD) — Still waiting for feedback
Responses to Violations
At our last meeting, we discussed having a follow up communication to those who were found in violation of the policy. As a first offense, this would not be punitive, but rather an email to share resources for cessation. The group today discussed who would reply to these:
- The Wellness Center (Jason Summers)
- Peers Against Tobacco Group — more peer to peer, but there was discussion on the reliability of using this group from year to year.
- Student Government — also a peer to peer response
- The Drug Free Campus Committee — representative of a variety of offices including student activities, peers against tobacco, community representation.
- Review of Tobacco Curriculum / https://www.tobacco-edu.org
The Peers Against Tobacco program at UT has completed the online tobacco curriculum. It is an interactive website with a homepage containing 5 tabs on different areas that include tobacco history and marketing, nicotine addiction and cessation, products, and cost. The pages will contain facts and visuals specific to the topics as well as optional activities and/or quizzes. A certificate of completion is available (optional) for those who complete all the activities/quizzes for all the sections.
Several faculty have been notified and have agreed to use the curriculum within their classroom. The online training takes about one hour to complete and students can receive a certificate as proof of completion. The committee was encouraged to complete the training.
Next Meeting — We will meet again December 2 / 1 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rosemary Coffman, PhD, CRC, LCDC
Dr. Rosemary Coffman, Associate Dean of Student Affairs