By Theresa Ebden
Butts could soon be joining beers in the Ryerson’s pub as an RSU-hired consultant investigates installing a separate ventilation system to accomodate smokers.
“We have to ensure smoke that’s within this area cannot get into other areas (of Jorgenson Hall),” said Andre Boudreau, manager of The Edge. By September, students could be lighting up at their campus pub for the first time since 1988. “It’ll put us at an even keel with our competitors,” he said. “It’s a good start.”
The consultant is currently reviewing various by-laws and codes necessary for equipping The Edge space for smoking. A final proposal, complete with budgets and costs, will then be taken to the administration by the RSU. If administration approves it, then reconstruction can begin.
“The actual work itself is not as long a process as the approval, which will take the longest,” Boudreau said.
Boudreau, who is a non-smoker, says he’s had nothing but positive feedback from people regarding smoking in his pub. “We’ve lost a lot of customers,” he said, referring to The Edge’s current ban on smoking. “They’ve got somewhere else to go.”
The entire process is funded by the RSU. “I don’t see (legal smoking in the pub) as a step backwards, as much as a step towards reality,” said Liz Devine, RSU’s operations manager. “There are groups that actively boycott The Edge because of the non-smoking rule.”
Boudreau said smoking could improve The Edge’s atmosphere as a bar. “It’s very possible that live entertainment attracts clients that are accustomed to smoky, dingy bars.”
First-year Aerospace Engineering student Jamie Rueffer disagrees with a smoke-free campus bar.
“I don’t mind having to sit in a designated area where it’s ventilated, but having to smoke outside is ridiculous,” he said. “It’s the only bar I know where you’re not allowed to smoke.”
Not every student shares Rueffer’s opinions.
Alice choi, a second-year Mechanical Engineering student, said she wouldn’t go The Edge if as often if smoking were allowed. “I don’t like people smoking,” she said.
If the plan goes through, half the pub will be designated for smokers. The smoking area will probably be at the east side of the bar, near the patio doors.
Boudreau says the change in The Edge’s policy is a move towards getting smoking customers back. “We just want to play at the same level (with other Toronto bars),” he said.
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