Hookah Bar to Hit Vernon Street

The Vernon Street scene should brace itself for the newest potential addition to its weekend social gamut: a hookah lounge, located next to the House of Peace. To those of you thinking this is too good to be true, fear not. The proposal, created by the House of Peace leaders Ali Abidi '12, Kyle Beek '12 and Alex Nakhla '14, has received strong support from the President's office and the Campus Climate Committee. Preliminary signs indicate that this lounge could grace Trinity's campus as early as next semester. The hookah lounge would operate in a year-round, heated, windowed, carpeted tent on the lawn next to the House of Peace property at 115 Allen Place. For those who don't know, the House of Peace is the red house located next to Hillel behind both Campus Safety and the Umoja house. While the primary function of the tent would be a lounge, the area would also serve as additional social space on campus. The House of Peace intends to have frequent open mic and slam poetry events; Nakhla described the lounge simply as "the Underground, Middle-Eastern style." The chief goal of the lounge is to fill the void of social events on the north side of campus on Friday nights, but it would be open Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Fridays from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. The lounge would only be open to the Trinity community.
In terms of offerings (aside from hookah), the House of Peace Hookah Lounge would have belly dancing, tea, coffee, baklava, Middle Eastern low-light ambience and décor. The operation will be run and maintained by members of the House of Peace. The hookah itself will likely be free, but a donation system will be set up to offset costs. Students can pay what they want to help support the idea, and the greater student movement for diversifying weekend options. Beek is very explicit that students should not feel pressured to smoke; the lounge should be seen as a quiet place to work, and as a place for extensive discussion. He describes the lounge concept as an "intellectual pursuit," intended to foster conversation among groups of students, whether they come to smoke or not.

The idea for the lounge came from Nakhla, the freshman representative for the House of Peace, who feels that the hookah lounge experience is "really good at bringing people together." He brought his idea to the president of the House of Peace, Ali Abidi, who was quick to adopt the cause. Abidi describes the lounge as an extension of the campus movement for the cultural houses; a place where students are encouraged to meet new people. He sees the lounge as a place for "large groups to mingle with other groups, and in doing so bring together the community." Beek, the Treasurer of the house, stresses that the lounge should be a "good alternative to a scene dominated by frats and alcohol." While the social aspect of the hookah is important, the greater idea is to incorporate Middle Eastern culture and tolerance into the hookah experience.

Trinity's House of Peace is a student organization that celebrates the Middle East through events that are traditionally Middle Eastern, started two years ago. Hookah originated on the Indian subcontinent in the Sixteenth Century, and is a staple in Arab social culture. Students interested in joining the House of Peace should contact Abidi at ali.abidi@trincoll.edu. Students who want to support the construction of the hookah lounge should join the Facebook group, "Start a Hookah Bar at Trinity College!" which is rapidly gaining in popularity.