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Rutgers Senate hopes to create a 'smoke-free' campus

The Student Affairs Committee, a part of the University Senate, furthers student goals and issues in the Rutgers governing body. – Photo by Brandon Younie


The Student Affairs Committee is currently reexamining the school's on-campus smoking policy with the hopes of having Rutgers evolve into a smoke-free campus.

The SAC was originally instructed in March of 2013 to “examine the desirability, feasibility, impact and means of evolving into a smoke-free Rutgers," according to a response by the SAC.

The SAC has been conducting research regarding the issue since its initial charge to investigate and its most recent findings revealed that 8 out the 14 universities in the Big 10 were smoke-free schools, according to the response.

Emily Arezzi, a School of Arts and Sciences senator at-large, said the SAC was still working on the charge for a smoke-free Rutgers.

“There are plans to rewrite and revise some of the language in the initial response to the charge,” the School of Arts and Sciences senior said. “Hopefully, if all goes well, it will be put forth toward the Senate next semester.”

The other major change the SAC has been working on concerns inter-campus course equivalency. This revolves around problems with class credits students may face after transferring within Rutgers.

Viktor Krapivin, the Student Affairs chair, said students often ran into difficulties because they could not see if the classes they took at one Rutgers campus would satisfy core and major requirements at another campus.

“I personally know of a case where a student took an introductory course in Camden, then had to retake the same introductory course after transferring to New Brunswick,” said Krapivin, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. “The student received credit for his Camden course after transferring, but the course didn’t count toward his core requirements and it didn’t count toward his major.”

After investigating the problem, the SAC developed several potential solutions it thought could mitigate difficulties experienced by transfer students.

One solution consisted of working with the Office of Information Technology to create a web service capable of indicating course equivalency across campuses. 

Last Friday, at a Rutgers University Senate meeting, Krapivin and the SAC presented their solutions to senators from the various committees in a report.

After much deliberation, a vote was put forth and it was determined that the SAC’s report would be sent to University President Robert Barchi’s administration for appraisal.

After the meeting, Krapivin said he was confident about the work he and his peers had accomplished. Moreover, he felt positive about the Rutgers University Senate as a whole.

“The Senate is so important because it allows for shared governance across the various Rutgers campuses,” Krapivin said. “Furthermore, its makeup is very advantageous because it consists of students, faculty, alumni and administrators. We have input from various constituencies helping us deal with the different issues the University is faced with.”

Krapivin said student participation was necessary for the success of the Rutgers University Senate and its committees.

“Come talk to me, come talk to your student senators and tell us what issues you think are important so that we can address them and make positive changes on campus," Krapivin said. "We want to hear your opinions.”

The Student Affairs Committee (SAC) is a subset of the Rutgers University Senate that is partially comprised of University students and attempts to act as a link between pupils and administration.

The SAC’s student members, who peers elect to serve as senators, take it upon themselves to make sure the student body’s voice is consistently heard. They do this by working with various individuals and organizations throughout the University.

Rachana Kelshikar, a School of Arts and Sciences senator, said she thought the SAC’s attentiveness played a large role in its value to the University.

“They take into account the perspectives of students, staff and faculty alike,” the School of Arts and Sciences junior said. “This allows them to address various projects and policies that will help the University function at a higher level.”


Nicholas Simon is a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore. He is a contributing writer for The Daily Targum.



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