SURPRISING SERVICE: CAMPUS CLEAN UPS LEAD TO DISCUSSIONS ABOUT TOBACCO USE ON A TOBACCO-FREE CAMPUS, MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY, MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE

Beginning in Spring 2016, undergraduates enrolled in one section of a Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) general studies introductory Earth Science course participated in one or two ~55 minute campus clean ups each semester. The section enrolled up to 96 students each semester and each semester 46-61 students submitted a list of items picked up. The professor initiated the clean ups as one component of an Interdisciplinary Teaching About Earth for a Sustainable Future (InTeGrate) implementation project. During 2016, students participated in the clean ups in conjunction with use of the “Hazardous Waste and Love Canal” unit of the InTeGrate “Environmental Justice and Freshwater Resources” module. The MTSU Stormwater Program facilitated the clean ups and provided waivers, gloves, buckets, trash bags, and grabbers. Although the professor conceived of the clean ups as a way to educate students about water quality, cigarettes were the third most commonly picked up item during Spring and Fall 2016, and “cig butts” were the fourth most common item during Spring 2017. Students picked up much tobacco-related waste even though MTSU was signed as a tobacco-free campus. The relatively large amount of tobacco-related waste led to class discussions about regulations, air pollution, human health, personal freedom, enforcement, and management of non-compliance. Student proposals to establish designated smoking areas and to provide cigarette waste receptacles were popular among the clean up participants. Campus policy approved in June, 2017 does not provide for these, but does note that students can smoke inside private vehicles situated on MTSU property.