Sinclair Community College will survey its staff and students on banning tobacco products on campus before taking any action in response to a call from the Ohio Board of Regents for all Ohio universities and colleges to go smoke-free.

The Sinclair Board of Trustees indicated they will consider gradually reduce the number of outdoor smoking areas — making the college the first in the area to discuss the possibility of a ban. There are currently 15 designated smoking areas on the downtown campus.

“We’re not going to enact a policy now. We’re still in the research mode,” said trustee Paula MacIlwaine. “I think it’s something we need to do, but I’m not really sure how to do it or how far to go.”

Sinclair spends $10,000 annually to clean up litter from tobacco products, and also incurs damage to gardening areas, building exteriors and the irrigation system as a result of smokers littering, the college reports. In 2011, campus police issued 305 warnings to people smoking outside the designated areas.

Tobacco products are not sold on the campus and smoking is not allowing on the multiple Learning Centers. There is one designated smoking area on the Courseview campus in Mason.

During their meeting Tuesday, Sinclair trustees also approved a new campus use policy, which takes effect immediately and replaces a former policy, which had been in place since 1990.

The former policy and an effective ban on signs and leafleting led two students and a speaker at a June 8 “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” rally to file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court claiming Sinclair police violated participants’ First Amendment rights by ordering them to put down their protest signs.

The new policy clearly outlines the public’s ability to distribute literature, circulate petitions and display signs during the hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those activities are allowed anywhere on the downtown campus, except parking lots and garages, and the driveways, plazas, walkways and steps adjacent to the College Conference Center, which is building 12, and child care center, which is building nine.

“Those areas are not available because of the nature of the functions served by the conference center and the child care center,” the policy reads.

The noise level and number of people on the plaza surrounded by buildings one through seven may also be limited because of its proximity to classrooms, libraries and work offices, according to the policy. The college also requires three days notice for events likely to draw more than 50 people.

Trustees also authorized President Steven Johnson to spend up to $75,000 for an architectural and engineering design study and other planning work for the property purchased for the Courseview campus by the Sinclair Foundation. The foundation purchased 33 acres of land, including one building, adjacent to the campus for $4.5 million.

The president will present a final recommendation on how to move forward with expanding the campus at the trustee’s November meeting.