MSU will be the last remaining Big Ten university to designate rooms in its residence halls by smoking preference, if University of Michigan housing officials ban smoking from their residence halls.

If the new policy is approved it will begin in the fall of 2003.

Psychology junior Shakthi Kumar, a member of Olin Health Center's Community Action Team, said MSU needs to make changes to the current residence hall smoking policy.

He said the group has been working to establish smoke-free dormitories similar to those at U-M.

Smoking is banned in all MSU residence hall public areas, and an additional 2,800 smoke-free zones have been designated across campus, Kumar said.

But he said smoke-free areas do not solve the problem of secondhand smoke.

"Smoke does come out of the (smoker's) room," he said. "It affects other people that are not smokers."

Amy Keller, U-M's Residence Halls Association executive vice president, said her group supported a ban on smoking for health and safety reasons.

"The Residence Halls Association thought it was important to protect the rights of students who didn't want smoke in their room," she said. "We don't allow candles and incense so why would we allow cigarettes?"

Keller said the ban would help those with health ailments affected by secondhand smoke. Housing officials at U-M still are considering the ban.

Angela Brown, director of MSU University Housing, said she anticipates an increase in smoke-free environments.

Brown said placement of the 14,960 students living in residence halls depends on whether they honestly identify themselves as smokers or nonsmokers. The questions have always been a part of the housing application, she said.

"More than not, students don't want their parents to find out they smoke," she said. "That makes it difficult."

Kumar said the wording forces freshmen to make a choice without providing them with information on smoking.

"The problem is if you look at the freshman housing application, how it is written, you have the option of choosing a smoke-free room," he said. "The applications have been like that for so long."

But Brown said students are already bombarded with information when they apply and might miss the information on smoking. She also said University Housing is willing to provide new students with health behavior information when they attend orientation programs.

She said it is up to the student, RHA or other student organizations to make a request for a smoke-free area.

"Usually when they come to us they have done their homework," she said. "We like to see peer-to-peer communication."

According to the 2002 National Collegiate Health Assessment Survey, 20 percent of MSU students said they are smokers.

Jasmine Greenamyer, health educator for Olin Health Center, said secondhand smoke may have the same affects as firsthand smoke and should concern housing officials.

She said short-term effects such as upper respiratory problems as well as lung cancer can result from inhaling someone else's smoke.

"From a health educator standpoint, we support smoke-free housing," Greenamyer said. "It seems we should be representing the healthy majority."

But physics sophomore Anthony Doemer said smokers should have the same rights as nonsmokers.

"They're paying for school just the same," he said.

Doemer, who is a smoker, said there should be a balance between the rights of both groups, instead of banning the smokers.

But nonsmokers can run into difficulty when residence halls provide smokers with outside ashtrays, that can block nonsmokers as they enter the building, Kumar said.

"If there's a smoke screen every time you enter, that's a problem," he said.

Brown said students who smoke in public areas will be asked to move, but the ashtrays have been moved as far away as the university allows.

"It's the responsibility of the student, not only do they have the right to smoke, but they need to be aware of other students," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Stephanie Korneffel can be reached at korneff2@msu.edu.