"I wish there wasn't a ban because it's such a hassle," said junior Daniel Weiss. "A regular smoker wants a cigarette before bed, and at other times when it's a pain in the ass to drop what you're doing to go outside."
Other students, even some smokers, realize the reason behind instituting the ban.
"It doesn't bother me," junior Lauren O'Donoghue said. "I always smoke outside anyways because I don't want my clothes and all my stuff to smell."
Ostrower said the issue is a safety one for the entire dorm. He said smoke travels throughout the dorms via the buildings ventilation systems causing second-hand smoke to potentially disturb all the residents of the building. Ostrower encourages students to smoke outside rather than in the dorms.
"We don't have anything against smokers," Ostrower said. "If students want to come together, sit outside of their dorm building and smoke cigarettes or smoke hookah on University Yard, that is fine. We just don't want to start a fire in a dorm room."
Walking through University Yard or Kogan Plaza on a Friday or Saturday night, students can often be seen sitting in a circle, passing around a hookah, a device used for smoking flavored tobacco.
"I understand what the University is trying to do in protecting the students, I just feel that they are a lot more uptight than they used to be," said one hookah smoker requesting anonymity.
"We hookah smokers have proven that we can handle the responsibility of smoking in our rooms," he said, "and that the privilege should not be taken away from us just because of the irresponsible actions of others."
Other students, even some smokers, realize the reason behind instituting the ban.
"It doesn't bother me," junior Lauren O'Donoghue said. "I always smoke outside anyways because I don't want my clothes and all my stuff to smell."
Ostrower said the issue is a safety one for the entire dorm. He said smoke travels throughout the dorms via the buildings ventilation systems causing second-hand smoke to potentially disturb all the residents of the building. Ostrower encourages students to smoke outside rather than in the dorms.
"We don't have anything against smokers," Ostrower said. "If students want to come together, sit outside of their dorm building and smoke cigarettes or smoke hookah on University Yard, that is fine. We just don't want to start a fire in a dorm room."
Walking through University Yard or Kogan Plaza on a Friday or Saturday night, students can often be seen sitting in a circle, passing around a hookah, a device used for smoking flavored tobacco.
"I understand what the University is trying to do in protecting the students, I just feel that they are a lot more uptight than they used to be," said one hookah smoker requesting anonymity.
"We hookah smokers have proven that we can handle the responsibility of smoking in our rooms," he said, "and that the privilege should not be taken away from us just because of the irresponsible actions of others."
