By Kayla Raynak and Shane Houston
Individuals at SRU have recently been working together to promote a tobacco- and nicotine-free campus.
Rock’s Pledge for a Tobacco- and Nicotine-Free Campus is a program created which gathers students, professors and faculty to promote change at SRU.
Kaila Jones and Julia Gesing are public health majors at SRU who are currently involved in this program.
“Our job is basically to bridge connections between staff and students, and to advocate for a campus where tobacco and nicotine use is not necessarily allowed, but it’s not about just taking people’s right to do that away. It’s about promoting quitting programs and giving them resources to be able to do that on their own as well,” Gesing said.
Last semester, Jones volunteered to give a presentation on the topic of gambling addiction.
“I really enjoyed doing that, and then our professor, Dr. Ahuja, reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in being a college leader with him to help promote quitting resources for tobacco and nicotine, and getting this program started up. And I thought it was a really good idea, so that’s how I got started,” Jones said.
Gesing also did outreach for gambling, nicotine and tobacco addiction, as well as resources to help individuals quit.
Truth Initiative helps provide funding to promote the program in colleges.
“That’s kind of how it all got started, [Truth Initiative] wrote a grant to [Rock’s Pledge], we got the grant and we moved forward with starting content creation…to just try to promote,” Gesing said.
The students then discussed their roles for the program.
“We’ve created a lot of posts and stuff on Instagram…so that we can promote EX Program, which is the resource that Truth Initiative is using to help people quit tobacco and nicotine use. And then we’ve also just been creating flyers and other stuff for the events that we’re hosting in the spring,” Jones said.
Through this program, the students feel it is the “first step in the right direction to get this campus healthier, to help people find the resources they need to quit, and to prevent peer pressure from being so active on our campus too,” Jones said.
“I also think that the stress students experience can lead to behaviors like this…when you kind of break it down and allow people to have the resources they need, and talk them through what steps to go through, it can help with that,” Gesing said.
SRU students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in this anonymous survey to help gather thoughts and opinions about the program.
Individuals can also sign this petition for a tobacco and nicotine free campus.
Individuals are also encouraged to attend upcoming events hosted by the program, including Spring Clean Your Lungs.
The event will be held on March 24 in the Quad from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m and will include giveaways, games, education and quit support.
The event will teach individuals about the EX Program, which helps individuals quit smoking and vaping.
On April 9, during National Public Health Week, the program is hosting another event, which will be in the Smith Student Center Theater during common hour.
For more information and updates, individuals can follow sru_tobacconicotinefree on Instagram.
Students are also encouraged to reach out to the program’s Instagram to ask questions and get involved.
