When secondhand cigarette smoke wafts through a classroom’s open windows, merely a whiff can cause students to experience discomfort and lose focus. As attention diverts from the lesson to the students smoking outside, many have been forced to recall which areas around the school truly permit smoking.

Secondhand smoke has most recently affected the classrooms at the back of the building, many of which are used for world language classes. According to Section II-D of the handbook, the back of the school along Welland Road is not designated for smoking. Students are not permitted to smoke anywhere on school grounds but are granted the four “off-campus” benches that face the main entrance for smoking.

Spanish teacher Astrid Allen noticed students smoking outside the doors next to the Language Lab and outside her classroom in Room 231 as early as the beginning of this year.

“It has happened every year,” said Allen. “People stand outside of those doors or to the right of the doors on the grass, so smoke travels into the classroom in 231 if we have the windows open.”

Although the smokers do not cause an audible or physical disruption, according to Allen, the smell of their cigarette smoke has affected her students. On occasion, she has been forced to close the windows.

“A lot of students have allergies, and if the windows are open, they can smell it,” said Allen. “People have sneezed or have noticed the smell and think it smells bad. It upsets them, and that’s disruptive.”

Spanish teacher Emily McGinnis, who shares Room 231 with Allen, also noticed the smoking outside of her room as early as the first week of school. Now, the smell of smoke has returned to her classroom as they have started opening the windows in the spring weather.

“Any time the windows are open, we have a problem,” said McGinnis. “So whenever the weather is nice enough to have the windows open, which has been a lot of the school year, we smell the smoke. It’s frequently a problem, nearly every day.”

Although McGinnis has not seen the same group of people smoking each time, she said their cigarette fumes never cease to divert attention from class.

“It’s a huge distraction,” McGinnis said. “It interrupts our whole class. Earlier in the year, I had to get out my inhaler when the smoke came in because it really irritated me and made me start coughing. The kids often want to close the windows. I used to go out there to try to confront people every time and ask them to move, but that was also just so disruptive, as I had to leave my class.”

Often, according to McGinnis, the smokers had already managed to put out their cigarettes and leave by the time she went out to approach them.

Sophomore Robert Richards, a student in McGinnis’ class, has noticed that the smoke smell causes the class to sidetrack from a lesson.

“It isn’t everyday, but when it does happen, it’s pretty annoying,” said Richards. “Usually when we smell it, people start to complain and we shut the windows.”

Both Allen and McGinnis noted that signs have recently been placed at the back of the building to remind students of the smoking policy. According to Assistant Headmaster Hal Mason, four signs were ordered and installed over April vacation in areas where smoking close to the building had been reported. However, this has not discouraged all of the student smokers.

In retaliation, a male junior who wished to remain anonymous said he makes a point of walking through the school with his lit cigarette and extinguishing it on a no smoking sign located inside.

On another note, ophomore Keith Diaz said he is unsure of how his back-of-the-building smoking has affected ongoing classes but that he has made slight changes in his routine since the signs have been placed.

“I still smoke a couple times a week at the back of the building because all of my classes are back there,” said Diaz. “I’ve seen the signs, so I move a little bit down the street.”

However, junior Huna Kim, who used to smoke frequently at the back of the building, has recently stopped smoking in this area entirely. Yet, she said she still questions the idea that secondhand smoke could be so disruptive.

“Smoking in the back of the building can’t be causing that big of an issue,” Kim said. “Whether we are smoking in the front or smoking in the back, it still smells of smoke and we all go back into the building smelling of smoke. We are smoking, and there is smoke either way.”

Miriam El-Baz can be contacted at [email protected].