Local Media Spotlights Smoke Huts

Newschannel 15 covered the IPFW smoke huts for a story regarding smoking bans. In the story, hutters were interviewed and the first thing brought up was none other than socialization.

"Well, a lot of times I come out here just to socialize with some of my fellow classmates that I might not see during the course of the day,
"We sit back and talk about hot topics," Michael McCoy told Wane.

Though the story focused on bans, the coverage didn't call out anything that needed to be changed; rather, Wane announced that IPFW's smoking policy worked just fine.

IPFW: campus smoking policy works fine: wane.com

Meet Tyler

Tyler, a smoke hut regular, is the kind of guy that will talk about absolutely anything. Whether conversation revolves around the prospect of finding a dead baby inside a trash can, sexual innuendo or beastiality, he will chime in and add a bit of interesting commentary.
Often times, people will enter the hut with ear buds or headphones connected to mp3 players. Those are the ones who stop between classes and don't want to talk -- though it isn't uncommon for a bud to drop or headphone to slide to the side in order to listen in on whatever Tyler throws out for speculation.
Of course, the topics are mainly just for entertainment purposes; however they show the power of shock value and hilarity in what is typically obscenity.
While Tyler uses his conversationalist trait in the smoke hut often, he is also able to use it away from them, away from cigarettes, and away from people he has personal relationships with. Conversationalists can bring the very essence of the smoke hut with them anywhere and can successfully engage people in small talk of any nature -- a rarity in modern characteristics.

Appropriately, in the words of the late Hunter S. Thompson, he is "too weird to live, and too rare to die."

Underground Professions

Conversation in the huts yesterday ranged from car troubles to the amount of water it would take to die from water intoxication, but one thing stood out from the rest of the jabber: professional air hockey.
Turns out, there's a United States Air hockey Association, equipped with official rules and procedures of play -- including the ability to request spectators be quiet.
Air hockey is a popular arcade game, and many kids probably dropped their allowances into one of the tables. As a professional sport, though, air hockey is much lesser-known -- which is exactly why it was a topic of conversation in the smoke hut.
For COM Week at IPFW, "Way of the Puck," a documentary that takes a look at the sport and the often-eccentric people who play it, will be screened.
What's a better place to share lesser-known information than the smoke huts? The CDC estimates that 20.6 percent of the adult population in America smokes. So, it makes sense that the topic which concerns air hockey stars that will likely never get the publicity or fame as those of other, popular sports is brought up in the environment dedicated to an often looked down upon minority.
That seems to be the overriding theme in the huts: conversation must revolve around something either little-known, off-the-wall or unspeakable in most areas.