Smokers and non-smokers typically get along
For freshman physiology major Lindsay Tricoli, having a non-smoker as a roommate can get uncomfortable.
“I smoke about a pack a day,” Tricoli, who lives in a Darley North triple, said. “One of my roommates smokes and the other doesn’t. It’s always more comfortable for me, when she’s not there.”
The CU housing department deals with complaints from students in residence halls, but problems with smoking roommates are minimal.
“We get some complaints from students regarding issues with smoking roommates, but it’s not constant,” said housing representative Jake Davighon. “It’s actually pretty low on the list.”
Depending on the evening, the outside smoking areas at William’s Village are sometimes full of students, but other times the clouds of gray are minimal.
“I don’t smoke enough to bother running downstairs all the time for cigarettes,” Daniel Seashore, a freshman anthropology major, said.
Some students just accept the lifestyle choices of their roommates, and don’t complain even if the smoking is bothersome.
“My roommate smokes quite a bit, but what am I going to do, switch to a new room?” Hannah Boyle, a freshman open-option major living in Stearns East, said. “I like her, we get along, I’m not going to find a new roommate because her clothes smell like smoke all the time.”
It can’t be accurately determined whether certain dorms have more smokers than others, despite the different sizes of the smoldering circles outside.
“Even if a student writes that they are a smoker on the housing application, their hall choices are still considered,” Davighon said. “The only non-smoking hall is the substance-free dorm.”
The housing department tries to pair roommates based on their answers on the housing applications.
“We’ve been pretty successful getting smokers to live together,” Davighon said.
Though they try, sometimes it is not always possible to put smokers with other smokers.
“I selected non-smoker on the housing survey and ended up with a smoker,” Boyle said. “Initially it mattered, but now seeing how many people there are that smoke here, I really could care less.”
Though students can smoke almost anywhere outdoors on campus, there are specifically placed smoking stations for students.
“Students don’t utilize those enough,” Davighon said. “Even when I walk into work I see students outside the door cranking butts.”
But students don’t always take advantage of the stations.
“I smoke when I can and I don’t really care where I am,” Tricoli said. “I would probably litter less if they had more of those around.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Clare Lane at clare.lane@colorado.edu.
