Volunteers contribute to rid campus of cigarette butts

The Arthur Ashe Center hosted an event Wednesday afternoon in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the tobacco ban and Earth Day.

The event, called “Move Your Butts,” consisted of four different sessions at different locations; each session included a ten-minute fitness break followed by a cigarette butt collection.

UCLA’s tobacco-free policy banned cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco and electronic cigarettes on university-owned and -leased property.

Nikita Gupta, a health educator for the department of community health sciences, said she took part in “Move Your Butts” because cigarette butts are a major complaint for pedestrians and runners. She said she has noticed that since UCLA implemented the tobacco-free policy, people moved from smoking inside UCLA to on its perimeter. People go to her and complain about running through smoke and seeing cigarette butts on the side.

She also said that she notices faculty and staff smoke more than students inside the school. Other locations where faculty and staff smoke include: the ground level between Royce Hall and Fowler, around Lu Valle Commons and the courtyard behind Franz Hall.

Sally Kim, a third-year political science student, said that her goal is not to keep people from smoking. She added that members of the UCLA community are role models and should set an example for grade school kids who visit the campus.