NEW BERN
A North Carolina college cracking down on smoking says a student-made artwork depicting an instructor with a cigar goes against the campus tobacco policy.
The Sun Journal of New Bern reports that officials asked Craven Community College automotive instructor Robert Hall to remove the image. Students had airbrushed the hood of a drag racing car with a portrait of Hall gripping wrenches and smoking a cigar.
"I think the depiction of a faculty member or anyone else smoking sends a message that we don't want to send," college spokesman Sandy Wall said.
The school has cracked down on campus smoking, initially banning it from all areas of campus. That policy was revised earlier this month to allow designated smoking areas because smokers had been going out onto streets and woods to light up.
"We had just been through a long, lengthy discussion with the trustees revisiting this issue, and they had made clear that they wanted an educational component with any changes they would make to the policy, and (the image) did not fall in line with that," Wall said.
Hall said a student gave the car to him a few years ago and that dozens of students have helped rebuild it over the years. He's used his own money to buy parts for the car and said it's a great hands-on experience for students.
Some of Hall's students expressed disappointment that the image was removed from the student center. Anthony Powers, a student in the college's auto body repair program, said he worked more than 50 hours last year stripping and priming the car hood.
"We felt it was a violation of our rights," he said. "It was showing our contribution to society and the community."
Added student Michael Ebert, "It's kind of offensive to the automotive program (to have the image removed). It just feels like they're trying to step on our toes all the time."
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement