Smoking banned in the Union
A motion to ban smoking in all Union buildings except the Union Dining Hall (UDH) was passed by an overwhelming majority at Union Council on Wednesday, 3 May. The original paper presented to Council included the UDH in the ban - however it was decided in the final amendment to omit the dining hall from the paper. Imperial College Union President, Sameena Misbahuddin, attempted to exclude both the Union Bar and UDH in a prior amendment, but Union councillors dismissed such a compromise: Sixteen voting for the motion, eight against and three abstentions.
The motion was proposed by Alex Guite, Ex-President of the Physical Sciences Union. Speaking to Felix, he said: "We brought this proposal to Council because we were asked to by students put off by the Union's smoky atmosphere. We've had a lot of support from across College since we tabled this paper; this is first and foremost a victory for democracy. It's great to see Council representing the views of students and not just its own views."
Tim Aplin, Deputy President (Finance and Services), provided strong opposition to the paper throughout, stating that the ban would be of detriment to the Union. He projected that the ban would result in £60,000 lost revenue and said that "students should be given the choice of whether they want to be in a smoky atmosphere or not". He told Felix: "10% of our `wet' sales are likely to be lost as a result of the smoking ban coming into force a year early."
Over eighty students replied to the Union's `Your Say' initiative, designed to gauge student opinion, 75% of whom were in agreement with a ban and were happy to see the Union bar become a smoke-free zone. Trade in the adjacent non-smoking Da Vinci's bar, where a non-smoking trial has been in place since April last year, has seen a 21% increase, however this could be attributed to the closure of Southside as opposed to the smoking ban.
A poll conducted by Alex Guite revealed 90% of students do not smoke and that 60% felt the Union has a smoky atmosphere; this was disputed at Council as the poll took place in the JCR, a venue deemed unrepresentative of campus as a whole.
The exemption of the UDH will mean that the popular Union shisha nights can continue; Ms. Misbahuddin described the nights as being "lucrative" for Union finance and "very well-liked" amongst the student body. This was, however, an unfortunate compromise in the President's eyes; she said: "Many students wanted more non-smoking areas, so it's good that this has happened...but when winter comes and it's raining or cold, where will they go?"
In protest to the ruling Mr. Aplin left Council and later returned with some shisha, proceeding to illustrate the ban's exemption in immediate effect. Despite raising a laugh during a long Council Meeting, ICSM SU President Daniel McGuinness, amongst others, described the act as "immature" and told him to stop.
Mr Collins had to frequently remind councillors, "remember you are meant to be representing the interests of the students", while making sure all in attendance were giving the issue their full attention.
Councillors went on to raise concern about the welfare of student staff in the current smoking environment; Felix took these Concerns to Union Senior Steward and Engineering student Meurig Thomas, who said: "If the health of student-staff is a main concern, why do the Union feel the need to allow shisha and put our stewards at even greater risk from passive smoking?" Mr. Thomas told Felix that there was a feeling of disappointment amongst the staff who thought "common sense would prevail". He added: "A lot of non-smokers who object don't come to the Union anyway."
Despite vocal opposition to the ban, many students who spoke to Felix were pleased that the motion passed. Samantha Perera said, "I think it's a good idea, it's admirable the Union are taking an active stance to promote their students' health."
The ban stretches only to South Kensington Union buildings, however a similar ruling has recently been passed at Silwood where a substantial majority voted for a non-smoking bar and pool room.
The ban will come into effect on 1 June, pre-empting the 2007 government law that bans smoking from all pubs and private members' clubs in England.
Chris Miles & Rashmi Wimalaratna
Felix's View
Last week Union Council voted to `effectively' leave ULU and ban smoking in all Union bars. But should they have the right to do this, or in fact anything else?
Yes, councillors are elected to their position, but the turnout of voters is woefully poor. This week Council Chair John Collins had to frequently remind councillors that they are "meant to be representing the interests of the students". Do they really represent your views? Do they actually consult with the students or are they just stating their personal opinions?
Fifty-three people have a vote on Council, but fewer than forty of them bother to turn up. You can't blame them for their lack of attendance. Council is the most absurd farce in town. In October, whilst discussing the Friday Prayers crisis they spent over 45 minutes debating the inclusion or exclusion of a single word in a motion that was sure to pass whatever the precise wording.
At other universities, hundreds of students attend Union politics meetings. But here at Imperial, Council never attracts more than ten ordinary students. This is largely due to IC's notoriously apathetic student body, although who in their right mind would attend a marathon (council generally lasts from 7pm `til after midnight) talking shop?
There needs to be root and branch reform in the way our Union is governed. Felix believes Council should be abolished and replaced with weekly General Meetings. These meetings should be limited to an hour and held at lunchtime to maximise the number of students able and willing to attend. Everyone that attends should be given a vote, not just the quasi-elected representatives.
