SLCC Dental Hygiene Students Update Tobacco Signage

Dental Hygiene students who posted tobacco signage at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus

On a frigid Saturday morning, Dental Hygiene students posted tobacco signage all over Jordan, South City and Taylorsville Redwood campuses to ensure that Salt Lake Community College is in regulation of the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act (UICAA). “Some doors had signs, but they were not the correct ones. They did not include all the information, such as e-cigs, hookah and other information,” says Erin Allred, a second-year Dental Hygiene student.

Surveying SLCC Campuses on Tobacco Signage

Dental Hygiene students walking in front of the Constructions Trade Building

It all started in the summer of 2022 when three dental hygiene students, Masina Brady, Erin Allred and Shaquel Sperry, signed up for a project. They partnered with the Salt Lake County Health Department and audited three of Salt Lake Community College campuses on their tobacco signage and found out that many of the signs were not up to date and many doors did not have signs.

This undertaking would provide Erin, Masina, Shaquel with community service opportunities and offer others in their program the same chance while helping SLCC as an institution by updating three campuses. “We started the project in the summer and we would survey the campuses during the weekends until we got the project down,” says Masina Brady, a second-year Dental Hygiene student.

Dental Hygiene Program Placing UICAA Signage on Three Major SLCC Campuses

SLCC Dental Hygiene Students etting trained on how to post tobacco signage throughout the campuses properly

SLCC Dental Hygiene students must complete community service hours on top of their work at the SLCC Dental Clinic. In efforts to have SLCC buildings comply with the UICAA, first-and-second year dental hygiene students got together and placed signs all over three of the major campuses. It not only educates others that smoking is not strictly tobacco but also includes other forms, such as e-cigarettes and helps maintain clean air and reduce secondhand smoke exposure.

Updated Tobacco Sign 

“People may think that using electronic cigarettes and vapes is cool because they do not think it is bad, but they do not realize how damaging they are. They are worse than traditional cigarettes,” says Aubrey Salazar, a first-year Dental Hygiene student.

Two Dental Hygiene Students Putting Up Tobacco Signage

The Dental Hygiene students presented their findings to SLCC administrators, who were grateful for their work and worked with the students to obtain the appropriate signage and training to place the new signs. Moreover, thanks to them, three SLCC Campuses are compliant with the UICAA.