Hookah At College

[TheScreaminDemon]

I'm a freshman moving into my dorm at O.U. tomorrow. Got my hookah and shisha all packed up. I don't know of anyplace that I can smoke inside there, but I enjoy smoking outside, plus there's parks and stuff to hangout in. Any tips on having a hookah at college?

[Click]

Buy some good quicklites.  Either HJ, 3 Kings, or Golden.   Buy butane torch lighter or a tealight candle and rig up some metal wire suspension system that you can place the coal over the candle to light.

Keep a water bottle with your hookah supplies just in case the sink is too small to fill up the vase.  

You will have people randomly just sit down and start talking to you because you have a hookah.  It can be annoying especially if it becomes crowded and you only have a one hose hookah, in addition to paying for all the supplies.  But, it is also a great way to meet new people.  

If you are going to be packing the bowl inside your room and then transporting the assembled hookah outside, make sure that the bowl it secure so that it doesn't fall off while you are walking downstairs/outside.  I lost a great bowl that way.

There isn't much to it.  The hardest part is lighting the coals and the clean up.  Maybe bring some crappy hand towel from home that you can use to dry off the hookah stem and bowl when you are done smoking.  Don't forget the foil and toothpicks/bowl poker utensil. 

[rahl071]

All of the above, but I use a sewing needle instead. A zippo and a tealight candle will light coals cheap and efficiently. A lid to a mason jar sitting on a window sill make a good tray for the coal to catch; line it with foil to make ash cleanup easy. have a fan to direct smoke out the window if you wish. Our detectors are dumb, so I just set up in our living room thing. Invest in a case or bag to hide your hookah. Meeting new people is great, but having a trail of frat boys following you in an informal hookah parade really sucks. Get a coat hangar to hang hoses on. I also like to have a box to keep 5 or 6 flavors of something like AF 50g packs in. Adds some variety, since I know for a fact I can't carry all my shisha on my person.

[Patrick]

If you're in a dorm, you can't smoke inside. At least here in Houston you can't, ask an upperclassman in your dorm about it.

[joanna]

I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to smoke in the dorms at any campus. But it can be done.
You pretty much have to use quick lights, which is fine. I would always light them by a window, and one the sparks started flying, I would just keep blowing the smoke out the window (perhaps a fan would have been a good alternative).
After that, it really doesn't give up much smoke, so it's hard to set off the smoke detectors with a hookah.
I found that smoking outside is really annoying, because, as people said, EVERYBODY will come sit with you and expect you to share. Even if you are doing homework and you look busy, people don't care. All they want is to mooch off of the person with the hookah. So I suggest smoking inside if you find it possible.

[Patrick]

[quote name='joanna' timestamp='1283446167' post='481035']
I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to smoke in the dorms at any campus. But it can be done.
You pretty much have to use quick lights, which is fine. I would always light them by a window, and one the sparks started flying, I would just keep blowing the smoke out the window (perhaps a fan would have been a good alternative).
After that, it really doesn't give up much smoke, so it's hard to set off the smoke detectors with a hookah.
I found that smoking outside is really annoying, because, as people said, EVERYBODY will come sit with you and expect you to share. Even if you are doing homework and you look busy, people don't care. All they want is to mooch off of the person with the hookah. So I suggest smoking inside if you find it possible.
[/quote]

At the campus I go to, the detectors pick up the smoke even from hookah, but what some people do is tape bags over the detector (results in a fine if you're caught). After one semester I decided to get a job and get an apartment, you can't beat privacy.

[porksandwich9113]

Smoking in dorms is a bad idea.
My friend set off the smoke detector once even with the thing covered up, and got in deep shit for it when they found the smoking paraphernalia. (It was only hookah stuff too)

I would definitely take it outside, but I'd check your campus' smoking policy as well, because my campus is 100% not smoking anywhere on the grounds. - And they can actually fine me for it as well.
The good thing is - I live off campus and can smoke whenever I want.
It would be a great way to meet people, even if you just leave your door open and the hookah out in plain view.
People will just come in and ask if your going to light up a bowl. If they look creepy say no, if they look like they could be a potential friend, say yes.
And the campus police/RA's/any authority can't do anything because it's a tobacco device as long as your not smoking inside.

[IainUM]

yea, check policies for hookahs and ask RA's. i go to UMiami and hookahs are considered drug paraphernalia since you can, technically, smoke NHT out of it. they instantly assume that is what you are doing and take it away and give you a huge fine. pretty much bullshit

[ntur]

i smoke inside my dorm/apartment all the time and have never had a problem, just make sure that your RA doesnt like to randomly stop by. and if outside not all schools consider hookahs drug paraphernalia, i go to GA tech and have never been bothered by the campus police. they just smile and wave at me.

[mushrat]

keep it hidden in your room. A's and other "official" types will often mistake it for soemthing else and its just good to avoid the hassle. Keep it for shisha only, if you do get hassled you get to tell them to fuck off because there is nothing illegal in it nor has there been. DN' mess with your smoke detector to smoke inside, that'll get you tossed out of school and a federal criminal charge as well. When you do smoke it outside, be polite and answer questions, even stupid ones, and if the police do come by, be extra polite, explain everything to them, and record everything on your cell phone for later use if it turns ugly.

[agunn1231]

When i lived in a dorm, there was no smoking allowed inside, but i still smoked hookah all the time. A lot of people would come and ask for coals and shisha for their own hookah, So i started charging them a dollar for each coal. any how....Best to keep it out of sight, don't want someone to steal it, or use it with out your permission.

[TheScreaminDemon]

Thanks for the advice guys! I've already met a few people through my smoking even though I've only been here a couple days. I don't have to keep it hidden since it's for tobacco. I don't think I'm even gonna try to smoke in my room...might be kind of a bitch in the winter...but hey, I bet putting the base in the snow would be pretty sweet right?

[brigita]

You're going to OU. I'm sure it's no problem!

[Chreees]

[quote name='TheScreaminDemon' timestamp='1283825291' post='481452']
Thanks for the advice guys! I've already met a few people through my smoking even though I've only been here a couple days. I don't have to keep it hidden since it's for tobacco. I don't think I'm even gonna try to smoke in my room...might be kind of a bitch in the winter...[b]but hey, I bet putting the base in the snow would be pretty sweet right?[/b]
[/quote]

Haha, there's pics on here of another member doing that! I personally hate smoking in the cold, so I keep it inside during the winter. In fact, I hate smoking in the extreme hot weather too, so I only smoke outside on nice days when it isn't too hot nor too cold.

But yeah, keep it hidden, make sure your RA's don't do surprise checks often, and just showercap the smoke detector (I work at a hotel so showercaps are free for me, although my apts smoke detector is no problem)... Maybe throw down a towel at the bottom of the door.

[Chris K]

sophomore here. i agree with taping over the detectors. i also agree with removing it whenever there is a chance that an RA or room inspection could happen (breaks). I had a buddy who left his covered up, $125 fine for each person. 

i never really smoke outside, i think it would just be too awkward to have people come up and ask about it all the time. i have a buddy with a 2nd and 3rd floor porch, perfect for smoking.

[3uphrat3s]

Sup dude. I used to smoke in my dorm as well. For a while my roommate and I were paranoid. But we used to wait until night when the RA's were done making their rounds of patrol, then we would smoke. We didn't even use QL's, there was a mini kitchen on the first floor and we took turns lighting the coals on the stove down there, haha. It was smooth and nothing ever went wrong, the worst thing that happened was our friend accidentally knocked a coal on the carpet, but I quickly picked it up. So basically just be very careful, and be picky about who you let in your room while smoking. You don't need any unnecessary noise or crowding in your room that would draw attention to you. As far as the smoke detector goes, we took a chance and never removed it. It didn't ever go off and didn't give us any problems. Good luck in college man, enjoy your first year.

[Venger]

this was from the rss news feeds today.
http://www.lsureveille.com/news/hookah-water-pipes-no-longer-allowed-in-dorms-1.2323264
hookah banned on the whole campus and they take them away. Read the handbook and ask around
Ray

[A13lackFish]

Yeah enjoy your first year man, i have smoked in my dorm the past 3 years and the only way (though im not condoning it if you get in trouble) is covering the detector with either a plastic bag or a sock.
Outdoors yes you get alot of people who will come up and smoke with you from time to time, and though some on here may find that a nuisance, isnt that the point of smoking? To socialize? So generally just enjoy it and meet some new peoples! Who knows one could end up being real cool or a hot new girlfriend haha

Otherwise invest in a larger bowl then the usual that comes with the hookah and make sure you have everything before you go outside cause its always a pain when you realize you forgot your tongs or perhaps even the water in the base!!

[srawas89]

I would check your handbook to make sure that Hookahs are allowed on your campus. I am pretty sure they are but check to make sure...nobody wants their hookah confiscated. Enjoy your first year and have fun smoking outside. Also if you do want to smoke in your room, try removing your smoke detector first (my friends smoke detector in his dorm simply screwed off and you could disconnect it). Quick lights and a fan like everyone has been saying will help as well. And if I were you try to buddy up with an RA this way they will be more lenient toward you if something were to happen (they find out you are smoking in your room).

[The Greek]

It's also my first year at college and tobaccos banned, which i assume includes hookah, but you guys have any words of advice? unfortunately there's no hookah bars close and i dont have a car yet.

[LJ04]

[quote name='The Greek' timestamp='1284138073' post='481820']
It's also my first year at college and tobaccos banned, which i assume includes hookah, but you guys have any words of advice? unfortunately there's no hookah bars close and i dont have a car yet.
[/quote]

get some herbal and tell em "this isn't tobacco." i smoke in nonsmoking places all the time and never have problems. even nonsmokers like shisha smoke. it's like incense, not a stogie. i would recommend getting to know your RA. if they're cool, you're golden, bc dorm resident complaints generally go directly to them, right?

[Lucy Ford]

i just got into my third year at iup and i'm in a new apartment building. i just put cling wrap over the smoke detector n pop the window. My first two year thought i lived in the dorms and wasn't able to smoke inside. I always took it right outside to the quad n smoked it while i did homework or just hanging out, people always stopped to admire it or take a hit. The cold months my hookah just sat n collected dust though [img]http://www.hookahforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif[/img]

[TheyCallMeDave]

Everyone pretty much has the right idea. If you have to look over your shoulder while using it, it's not worth the hassle. Many universities, (Including EKU, where I attend), have strict, but fair laws on tabacco usage. Mine is 25 feet or further from a building, which gives me access to all the courtyards, and all the scenic areas where I feel like smoking anyways. As for the authorities, any campus that permits tobacco usage, is usually equipped with a campus police department, well aware of what hookahs are, and what their purpose is. I've smoked with a couple off duty cops here on campus once in a blue moon.

As is everywhere, don'[t let a couple of your friends smoking a bowl turn into a 16 person hookah circle. It will happen, if you don't simply say "Sorry man, enough people here".

Smoking on campus is much more enjoyable. The areas you smoke in (In hand with good weather) are usually very nice, and It doesn't get any more social with your session that smoking on campus.

I'm actually in collaboration with a few friends right now about throwing a "HookahPaloozah". We have an outside ampitheatre, where we are gathering all kids form campus and surrounding areas to come and listen to live and recorded music of all kinds, and smoke with one another. I'm hoping the event turns out well. We even have sponsorship from a couple local hookah cafes and smoke shops who will be setting up booths st the event. I'm really excited, and hope it works out.

Long story short, READ THE HAND BOOK. Follow the rules, and some of the best sessions will come from college hookah smoking.

[IainUM]

plus it is always fun to get hot chicks curious about the thing. just happened to me and a few friends in front of my dorm while we were smoking. two hot Australian exchange students hung out with us and asked us about it. it was pretty sick

[RingsMaster]

i only have one thing to say, GO POKES!!!! lol sorry didn't read the rest of the post but i go to OSU, so does my GF and her sister goes to OU its a nice school, keep in touch if you come up for bedlam maybe i can accommodate you in your shisha needs lol