“It was not appropriate for anyone to walk through or by the ‘smoker’s corner.’ Even the gym class had to walk through it,” said Czarnick. Added Dyer, “The Tiny Tots pre-school program, located within the high school, had to walk through cigarette butts discard on the ground.”
EASTHAMPTON - Easthampton High School students Paige Czarnick, Emily Dyer, Bryan Delany and Jacob LaPrade were determined to eliminate the “smoker’s corner” at their school where as many as 30 students would gather before and after school to smoke.
Fellow students, visitors and even the “Tiny Tots” toddlers walked by the “smoker’s corner” on a daily basis.
Czarnick and Dyer, both 2014 graduates of the high school, and incoming seniors Delany and LaPrade were highly instrumental in initiating the process of changing the school’s smoking policy.
Delany and LaPrade have been involved since their freshman year. All of the students have been part of “The 84,” a statewide movement of youth fighting tobacco. The 84 represents the 84 percent of Bay State youth who do not smoke.
The 84 Easthampton chapter is under the direction of teacher Nancy Dunn, who is called a “passionate leader” by the students.
Czarnick and Dyer together wrote a grant proposal to address eliminating the “smoker’s corner” and were successful in receiving a $2,500 grant from the 84 Movement to impact public policy. With the funds, they created a photo voice project which they presented to the city’s Board of Health.
Before the new high school was built, students had to walk through the “smoker’s corner.” Although there was a no-smoking policy on school grounds, the Nonotuck Park property line abutted the high school and students would smoke there.
“It was not appropriate for anyone to walk through or by the ‘smoker’s corner.’ Even the gym class had to walk through it,” said Czarnick. Added Dyer, “The Tiny Tots pre-school program, located within the high school, had to walk through cigarette butts discard on the ground.”
A bench and trash can also encouraged use of the area for smoking, Dyer said. “It was not acceptable because that became the new norm.”
The photo voice project involved taking pictures, which affected the students and expressing what it meant.
The school’s first step was removing the bench and trash can.
The students then took their case to the Board of Health, which in March, passed comprehensive tobacco regulations that included no smoking in public parks.
Enforcement, as well as providing support and incentive for smokers to quit, have been among the concerns which emerged from the project.
The health board received a $14,000 grant from Cooley Dickinson Hospital to plant a garden at the site. It was started this summer, and the names of the students involved will be added to the fence outside the park.
Smokers in Dunn’s summer school health and physical education class volunteered to plant the garden, and their names will also be added to the tribute. Several have already indicated their desire to stop smoking, and one of the goals of the garden is to encourage more young people to also quit smoking.