Students, staff, faculty and Kent community members will be able to voice their opinions on the tobacco-free campus ban in a series of town hall meetings beginning Feb. 26.

These meetings, along with online surveys earlier this year, will help a committee decide whether to recommend the ban to the president, said Rachael Decker, wellness coordinator and committee member.

“The committee is non-biased and gathering feedback from the Kent State community,” said Decker. “We hope to have a good turnout to gather as much feedback as possible.”

The main campus meetings will be Feb. 26 at 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Governance Chambers, according to the university website.

Each meeting will last about one hour.

The committee members thought it was important to collect responses beyond the surveys, said Chelsea Knowles, graduate student trustee and committee member. Knowles worked at the Ohio Board of Regents during the summer.

“We sent out a survey, and we allowed a lot of open area for comments that the questions did not include,” Knowles said. “However, we want the students to actually feel like they have a presence and a voice, so if there are students who have really deep concerns or really unique ideas, they can come and present them at these upcoming town halls.”

The Ohio Board of Education recommended universities consider banning tobacco in July 2012, according to the OhioHigherEd website.

Contact Lyndsey Schley at [email protected].