Alex Moore Bellevue Community College student Chris smokes Hooka at a local hooka bar, Zanie in down town Seattle on Saturday, April 2.

Freshman Megan McDonald says she likes to spend occasional Friday and Saturday nights downtown in Seattle near Pioneer Square, hanging out at local hookah bars.

The ambiance and atmosphere, coupled with the draw of hookah, bring McDonald, among others, to violate lifestyle expectations.

Freshman Chris Matsuo says he hears about hookah, but doesn't know a lot about it. "It doesn't sound like a really healthy thing," Matsuo said.

Hookah, or narghile, is a Middle Eastern water pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a glass bubble partially filled with water. The water partially dilutes the tobacco, which sits on top of the hookah being heated by an aluminum foil-covered ember.

Hookahs are smoked with a blend of tobacco and honey, molasses or dried fruit, and the mixture is cooled as it is smoked through the water. The shisha tobacco used for hookah is much less than that in a cigarette, and contains 0.5 percent nicotine and no tar.

One hookah is typically smoked by one to eight people, and is diluted because the tobacco is being heated instead of burned, producing fewer carcinogens, according to the American Medical Association.

According to McDonald, who hangs out at the local Middle Eastern restaurant Zaina, hookah bars are growing in popularity across the nation, and she is one of the many college students who choose to spend their time at the hookah bars instead of in clubs and bars.

"It's euphoric," McDonald said, "it tastes really good and makes you feel really good." MacDonald also said that hookah bars are so appealing because they are trendy and cultural.

However, SPU lifestyle expectations state that students refrain from usage of any tobacco product for the duration of the student's enrollment.

Freshman Katie Wolff says that while she respects the lifestyle expectations she does not agree that hookah should be banned. "It's a fine line," she said, "it's literally and metaphorically watered down."

Wolff said that for her, hookah is a cultural experience. "You're in the middle of a crowded room next to a guy reading poetry, a group of middle-aged co-workers and young kids having a good time," she said.

"It's a great atmosphere, and there is awesome music," Wolff said, "and it's not disrupting our studies. It's a non-addictive way to have fun, like clubbing or dancing."

Kris Thomas, the West Ashton RLC said that hookah smoking is in direct violation of lifestyle expectations, and that sanctions are always available for lifestyle violations.

"As always, we seek to assist students in developing healthy lifestyle habits, and our sanctions for lifestyle violations are not intended for punitive effect bit for the assisting of healthy habit formation," he said.

SPU students have differing opinions on hookah.

Freshman Nate Williford says that because it is a legal hobby students should be able to choose whether to smoke it or not. Williford disagrees with the tobacco lifestyle expectation, saying that he thinks SPU only keeps students from smoking to maintain its persona as a clean university.

"I think SPU has an image to uphold as good Christian people, and smoking is seen as something non-Christian," Williford said. "In general, any kind of smoking should be permitted."

Williford admitted that he thinks smoking is dangerous and damaging, but doesn't agree that SPU should be disciplining people over it, calling it a moral issue for students to decide on individually.

"It's a choice, and I'm not sure what should be done," he said.

Freshman Kelly Hinz disagrees with Williford, saying the costs of smoking far outweigh the benefits. She says that because students attend SPU they are called to live above reproach.

"SPU's guidelines are about representing Christ, not for the good of the campus," she said.

Hinz believes that because today's culture has deemed smoking bad, when Christians smoke, it's hypocritical.

"To go here you signed a contract," she said, "the fact that this is a controversial issue shows that it has reproach. People are trying hard to justify hookah because they are feeling convicted."

Junior Greg Ehrlich said that he finds it hard to believe that something so bad could taste so good.

"I'd liken it to smoky candy," he said. "The hookah is delicious, plus there is the added benefit of socializing while smoking. The funny thing about hookah, though, is I think students do it to rebel against SPU."

"Of all the lifestyle expectations, this is the one infraction that nobody really tries to hide," Ehrlich said, "students are much more open about their hookah use, than say, drinking. Hookah, in a sense, is the trendy lifestyle expectation to break. "

Thomas said that he believes students engage in this because it has the appeal of relaxing them. "College is stressful and some students choose to both deal with tension and develop social connections through alcohol or tobacco use," he said.

Thomas does agree that smoking is a choice for each individual student to make.

"Students always have the choice of what to do with their bodies," he said. "However, there are natural and imposed consequences to choices."

He said that the university only acts in the best interest of the student in order to avoid painful consequences like substance abuse or addiction.

"Hookah, as a tobacco product, is no different as we seek to help students live healthy lives."

Tobey Nause and Rachelle McCarty, two friends who smoke hookah regularly say that it is the environment that draws them to smoke. "The music and the people make it fun, and it's what keeps us coming back," McCarty said.

McCarty, a student at Renton High School, said that she also smokes cigarettes but smokes hookah for a different purpose. "Hookah is not for the tobacco or the nicotine, but for the flavor."

Felecia, an employee of the local hookah bar Zaina who did not want to give her last name, is a non-smoker who goes to hookah bars to relax and hang out with friends.

"Every kind of person comes here, and it's really chill," she said, adding that she doesn't believe people would be drawn to the bars without the hookahs.

Chris, who also did not want his last name to be used, is a patron of Zaina and a student at Pacific Community College. He said that the hookah is the element that makes the outing fun.

"Everyone you meet is nice, and you make new friends every night," he said.

Thomas says that even though hookah bars are great places to meet new people and interact socially, there are many other ways to connect.

"We have a set of values based around student health and wellness and this impacts our interventions," he said.

Kimberly Edds of the Seattle Post-Iintelligencer wrote that according to studies from the American Medical Association hookah has not yet won the stamp of approval of health officials. "Incidences of lip and tongue cancer among hookah users are fairly high, and the effect on the heart is the same as cigarettes," said Tom Houston of the American Medical Association. "Smokers are only deluding themselves if they think it is a safe way to smoke."

Thomas stresses that, while students are encouraged to make choices, those choices may come with consequences from the university.

"Students should not assume that they are the final say on what is good and healthy and beneficial nor should they assume that they will not be challenged on their choices," Thomas said. "There is no acceptable level of involvement from hovering to detached that will satisfy all of our students, so we don't try to satisfy all our students."

Thomas said that the goal of the lifestyle expectations is to help students create healthy habits for their future during the influential college years.

"This is why," he said, "the university, for the short time you are here, challenges you to focus on other areas of your life."