MORAN — Signs. Signs. Nowhere, a sign.
A group of Marmaton Valley High School students searched high and low on the campus last fall, looking for a sign of the district’s tobacco-free policy.
They checked the football stadium, and found a large collection of discarded cigarette butts not far from the bleachers.
They checked the restrooms, and found places where it would be easy for a student to hide and “vape.”
They checked the entrances to the building and parking lots, and realized how easy it would be for someone to sit in a car and smoke or vape despite numerous cameras around the campus.
Finally, on the door to the district office, they found a faded, 3-inch by 3-inch sign that said, “No smoking.”
“It looks like it came from the 1980s,” one of the students remarked.
That one little sign is the only physical indication of the district’s policy that designates the school campus as tobacco-free. The student handbook, which students and parents are supposed to read each year, outlines the policy. But there’s no way for visitors, such as those who come to watch sporting events or other activities, to know that tobacco use is prohibited.
As a result of the students’ survey, two local organizations plan to ask the state to provide signs to educate the students and general public about the policy and, they hope, discourage the use of tobacco and vaping products.
THE SURVEY came as part of a requirement for a Drug Free Community (DFC) grant that provides education and material to educate Allen County youth about the dangers of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.
It also fit the key objectives of MVHS’s KAY (Kansas Association for Youth) Club: a duty to promote a healthy lifestyle and be an example in the community.
Six KAY students and adviser Kelci Botts teamed up with DFC Coordinator Jessica McGinnis. They reviewed the school’s existing policy, then broke into two teams to conduct the “Smokeout Scan.” They walked around the school and campus, took photographs and made notes.
The students were Haylee Meiwes, Rachel Shaffer, Kamryn Boyd, Allison Heim, Kira Stahl and Cadience Cook.
They were surprised to discover the lack of signs. They also identified problem areas like the bathrooms, and especially at the entrances to the gym and football field. Adults tend to congregate in those places to smoke; those who attend sporting events often complain about the smell and walking through a cloud of smoke to enter the facilities, Botts said.
As a result, McGinnis plans to team up with Thrive Allen County to ask for “no smoking” signs from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The students will suggest the best places to put signs.
Students also said they would like to obtain vaping detectors for the restrooms.
