The notorious smokers who once gathered behind Shima have all migrated since Delta College be- came a smoke-free campus on July 14, 2014.
This ban declared that no smoking shall be permitted on campus, thus changing the “Shima Smokers” to the “Bus Stop Smokers.”
Since the sidewalk by the No. 40 bus stop is considered Regional Transit District (RTD) property, smokers are allowed to smoke only in the small area, or face a rather pricey ticket – up to $100 for a third offense.
This leads to a perdicament.
Where are the smokers leaving their butts?
All over Delta College property.
More than 10 students admitted to throwing cigarette butts into the grass or on the sidewalk.
It’s convenient, but it’s killing the grass and makes the campus look trashy and dirty.
Some students proposed a solution: buy the plastic and portable cigarette ashtrays.
“I usually either throw them in the trash or in my pocket,” said Mathew Mason, a math major. “I think
we should invest in plastic cigarette ash trays to clean up the front of the school, to make it look more presentable.”
Good idea, but who is going to be responsi- ble for the costs of these ashtrays?
Not Delta college, since the smokers are on RTD property.
This leads to another dilemma; RTD bus stops are officially smoke-free as well. Apparently, the bus drivers don’t know this, because the majority of the time there will be a bus driver smoking away at the bus stop.
Since students and bus drivers together are littering the front of the school, we should both pitch in to make the school look more aesthetically pleasing.
Maybe someone can bring a bucket to school for people to dump their butts in.
Whatever the answer may be, the smokers of the bus stop need to do something to clean up the front of our smoke-free campus.