Smoking was banned in the Retreat and limited to designated areas of the Mug and Café after a visit from the Dutchess County Board of Health determined that the college was in violation of the Indoor Clean Air Act, which prohibited smoking in any public facility. Many students expressed dismay in the lack of an alternative space for smokers, including Vassar Student Association president Jung Yun ’94. “We have to deal with the fact that there are strict legal restrictions that the college must enforce, but at the same time, there should be a place where people can smoke and know that they’re not violating nonsmokers’ space,” she said.

Dean of the College Colton Johnson agreed. But, he said, “We have to observe the smoking laws of the State of New York.” The administration was also considering removing cigarettes from residence hall vending machines.     The Miscellany News