New Home for Students' Butts

From afar, the item looks strange. The golden hue, detailed carvings, and rectangular shape can indicate a celebrated work of art, a birdhouse, a gold mailbox, or possibly the Ark of the Covenant. However, the item is a receptacle for cigarettes – and only cigarettes! It reads in bold letters, "Cigarettes Only Please, No Paper."

Over the winter break, the Office of Facilities Management of Yeshiva University, busied themselves with making sweeping changes for the aesthetic enhancement of the campus. One of the changes made during the brief hiatus was the installation of this cigarette receptacle, which was hammered into the walls near the entrances of Rubin Hall and Belfer Commons.

With many cigarette butts still lying on the ground outside Rubin and Belfer, the actual efficacy of this cigarette receptacle remains in doubt. However, what is certain is that this comical cigarette receptacle has attracted widespread controversy, eliciting debate from students, and even condemnation from certain roshei yeshiva. Some students, such as Marc Gitler, noted how ironic it is that at a time when America is trying hard to crack down on smoking, the Yeshiva administration has decided to bend over backwards to accommodate student smokers. Gitler said, "It is quite a shame that this higher institution of learning is plagued with [enough] smoking to necessitate these cigarette cans. We all know the ill effects . . . we should strive to overcome these chains of addiction." Ari Romanoff concurred with Gitler, mentioning, "I think, as a Jewish organization, we should discourage smoking, not open the door to smoking as these butt dispensers (sic!) are doing."

Another non-smoker, Jeff Kohn, thinks that the new addition to the walls of Belfer and Rubin is a "hideous sight," and he declared, "I don’t even think people are using it!" Bruce Kessler, a Sy Syms senior, disagreed with these opinions. He said simply, "It is good."

However, even some smokers have reacted negatively to the containers. Ryan Ferster, a social smoker, insisted that, "Those containers are an absolute eyesore." While David Rappaport, an unabashed consistent smoker, declared, "I think it’s ugly as (expletive deleted). And whenever I put a cigarette in I feel like I’m putting in mail." Rappaport added, "I’m not a mailman!"

Many of the smokers on campus expressed their opinions for and against the smoking bins with as much vehemence as David Rappaport did, but they desired to remain anonymous because they feared the stigma that so often comes with smoking at YU. One cigarette puffer, who engages in Seinfeldian humor, commented, "You can’t take away the flick; it’s the flick – it’s half the smoke!" Assaf Shmuel, a Sy Syms sophomore, said, "I don't like it; I don't use it."

Other smokers regard the new cigarette receptacle with less harsh disapproval. One student said, "I think it’s funny. I like putting my cigarette in and watching it disappear. I would like to think, also, it was done for the convenience of the students, but I know it’s really not."

Elie, a tall IBC freshman, withheld his last name. He said that he now deposits his cigarettes in the cigarette bin and he thinks that it is a good thing. But then he became sentimental: "I miss the flicking contests, when we tried to get it on the roof."

The opinions of smokers and non-smokers ranged widely concerning the cigarette receptacles, with not a few displeased by the new addition to their dormitory and school, and many totally apathetic to the whole issue. Yonaton Kaganoff, a non-smoker, however, not only supported the outdoor cigarette ashtrays, but he even suggested that, "the cafeteria store start selling cigarette patches." In response to this, another student quipped, "No, that would be too practical. More likely," he said, "next vacation Socol will put up chewing gum receptacles and pencil dispensers."