The Muhlenberg Weekly

Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News

If you have noticed the new red buckets sitting around on campus or heard your friends talking about them, you have probably realized that hookah smoking is now permitted at the College. This change went about last year when Blaine McFeeley '08 and Sara Efronson '07 wrote a letter about the issues that students have with the banning of hookahs. The letter was approved as an official view and letter from the student council on behalf of the student body, and submitted to the administration.

A meeting was then set up between Karen Green, Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Affairs, Aaron Bova, Director of Residential Services, and Ken Lupole, Director of Campus Safety. Through this meeting it was agreed to repeal the ban. Only in situations where it is proven that an illegal drug is being used in the hookah, will the hookah be confiscated.

Many students responded indifferently when asked their opinion on the repeal of this ban because they feel it does not affect them. McFeeley, however, points out that this ban affects every student at the College. He explains that "if the administration bans items such as hookahs, which have a perfectly legitimate, legal use, then it is possible they will feel that they can ban other items, which the students have a right to have and use on campus."

McFeeley wrote the letter not because he smokes using a hookah, but because he believes that it is the right of students to participate in an activity that is legal everywhere else in the country. He believes that it is not only important, but our responsibility to stand up for student rights and to make sure that the school does not slowly chip away at those rights without ever consulting the Student Body.

Jane Schubert, Assistant Dean of Students, reinforced the comment that students do make a difference in determining the College's policies for the following year. She explained that the reason the ban was reviewed and reconsidered was because of the response from students during the Fall '06 semester.

Schubert also stressed that although hookah smoking is now allowed, it is extremely important to abide by the policies found in the Student Handbook which states that the ashes must be disposed in the red cans marked "charcoal and tobacco ashes only". She also expressed some concern for non-smokers who have to smell the tobacco and for hookahs being mistaken for bongs, which are not allowed on campus. Schubert explained that, "just this past weekend, the Office of Campus Safety received a call from a neighbor stating that a bong was sitting in front of a house owned by the college; it turned out to be a hookah."

Despite these concerns, Schubert does not foresee any changes to the hookah policy. A change would only occur if students were not abiding by the policies regarding hookah smoking. The main concern of the administration is that students' are not bringing hot coals or ashes back inside the buildings and putting others at risk because as Schubert explained, "there is a huge safety factor present."

As long as students are smart and safe about participating in hookah smoking it will continue to be allowed on campus, showing the Student Body a clear example of how students have the power to create change at the College.

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