<p>I think that you’re being a little extreme. First, I’m not sure that Wake wasn’t upfront about things, or that they wont be later in the summer. That information will probably come with your daughter’s housing information later in the summer. And while I certainly believe in the “nasty rumor” of second-hand smoke, I believe that you probably need to be able to actually smell the smoke before it can do you any harm, and I’ve never, in three years of living on-campus at Wake, smelled smoke in an indoors public area. The RAs are really good about keeping people from smoking in the lounges and on halls. And if you’re worried about cigarettes being a fire hazard, we go to a school where steam from the showers sets off the fire alarm on a fairly regular basis.</p>
<p>You might disagree, but our dorm rooms aren’t considered public areas, and what we do in them is pretty much our own business as long as its legal. And I’ve only heard of two students (both of whom had singles) who have ever smoked in their rooms anyway.</p>
<p>If your daughter is upset that she might live in a dorm where smoking is allowed, first she should know that Johnson, the substance-free dorm, is always an option, and then she should know that even if she doesn’t opt for Johnson, she can request a non-smoker roommate, and then, even if her roommate does take up smoking, if the roommate insists on doing it in the room and your daughter is uncomfortable with it, that is more than grounds enough to request a room change. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that your daughter is no more likely to have a smoker for a roommate than if smoking were not allowed in dorm rooms and that it is extremely unlikely that she will be exposed to smoke in the common areas of the dorm.</p>