Iowa State students walking past the Memorial Union next month may see more smokers using the cigarette ashtrays whilestanding outside, due to the Maintenance Shop’s new no-smoking policy.

Smokers, non-smokers, students, faculty and employees of the Memorial Union debated last week in an open forum about whether the M-Shop should adopt a no-smoking policy.

On Friday, the smokers were left out in the cold when 11 of the 13 Memorial Union Board of Directors voted to make the bar-like setting smoke-free.

“It really kind of boils down to a health issue,” said Rob Wiese, member of the board. “We can’t be creating an unhealthy environment like that.”

For more than 10 years, efforts have been taken to make the Memorial Union a smoke-free environment.

With the renovation of the Union’s Food Court, the smokers’ Trophy Room was eliminated and the area was made smoke-free.

Until Friday, the M-Shop was the only remaining inside facility on ISU’s campus designated for smokers.

Brendan Greiner, promotions director of the M-Shop, was one of about four opposers of the new no-smoking policy present at Friday’s decision.

“I have an obvious biased opinion because I am a smoker,” he said, adding that the Union didn’t look at the issue the right way.

Greiner said he sees the decision as a step in a chain of events planned to eliminate the M-Shop. “There’s a lot of talk with doing away with the Maintenance Shop all together, but I don’t want that to happen,” he said.

Instead of hurting the M-Shop’s clientele, Kathy Svec, program coordinator of the Union, said the new no-smoking policy will target the broader community by offering a variety of programs and entertainment.

“It will certainly have a very immediate impact for those that came to the M-Shop to smoke,” she said, adding that she’s more concerned about the policy’s long-term impact.

But Greiner said, “It’s definitely going to affect the type of crowd that we get. The next year is going to be hard to get a change over of customers. Now we are going to have to find something to appeal to the non-smoking crowd.”

Wiese agreed that prohibition of smoking would create a different clientele, but he said it wouldn’t hurt the M-Shop’s business.

Rusty Poehner, coordinator of the M-Shop, said as a smoker she was against the no-smoking policy.

“I am an employee of the Memorial Union, and I support all standing Union policies,” she said. “I don’t think people will stop coming to the Memorial Union because of the no-smoking policy.”

In an attempt to accommodate contract performers, the Memorial Union Board of Directors has decided to allow smoking in the green room if an adequate ventilation system can be installed.

Wiese said the board also had looked at installing a ventilation system for the entire M-Shop, but that the cost of the project was too expensive, with prices ranging from $68,000 to $85,000.

Greiner said he would have preferred a compromise. “I would have liked to have seen them cut smoking during the day,” he said.

Wiese said he doesn’t think the M-Shop is in the business of providing a place for smokers.

He said smokers shouldn’t have a place inside on campus to smoke if it affects other people.

Although smoking will only be allowed in five of the Union’s hotel rooms, Onion’s Convenience Store will continue to sell cigarettes.

Wiese said the next objective of the board will be to discuss removing all tobacco products from the Union.

The M-Shop is tentatively scheduled to be closed this summer, but Svec said the no-smoking policy will be effective May 11.