<p>No matter how bad it is…it will be far better than any European community in terms of smoking. Far, FAR better. I have no idea how it compares to other colleges, but as bad as it can possibly be will, by comparison, seem like you’re taking hits of pure oxygen.</p>
<p>When you hear Americans talk about how prevalent smoking is, there are a couple things coming into play. First, there’s the perception of smoking being a low-class or bourgeois behavior that seems all the more out-of-place at an elite private liberal arts college. It gets extra notice and scrutiny because it runs counter to expectations. Second, there’s the legal and cultural climate of the U.S. that has very little tolerance for smoking. It’s practically taboo. For both of these reasons, when you hear talk of lots of smoking…and you’re thinking that other people’s understanding of “lots of smokers” is translatable to your understanding of “lots of smokers” you SHOULD be alarmed! But if, like me, you’re in Europe, you have to compensate and adjust for a much different benchmark that Americans use when judging how much smoking is too much smoking. My guess is that you’d encounter more smokers during a single lunchtime at a popular Parisan cafe than you’d encounter over the course of a week’s worth of travels across the Vassar campus (or any other SLAC around its size). Even with a higher than average rate of smoking than other colleges, I guarantee that you’ll find it to be a breath of fresh air compared to your current environment.</p>
<p>EDIT: I see that you’re coming from Beirut. Same difference as Europe. No matter how awful it may seem to Americans, it will be a breeze for you. You’ll probably laugh at the impossibly low tolerance level Americans have for smoking, much like Coloradans laugh at what counts for tall mountains and excessive snowfall in the Eastern U.S. and how Easterners are humored by what counts for big cities as one travels west through the U.S.</p>