Almost Got A Disorderly Conduct For Hookah

[r1v3th3ad]

ok, last check on the email...sending in 10mins(alcohol gives the extra time )...does it all sound all right to send to the safety head/head of campus police?

"I am contacting you regarding an issue that had occurred tonight, 8/26/08 in the Oak Grove. Campus police, as I was informed, had received a report that someone was smoking a hookah in the Oak Grove and that the people who had filed were concerned that this was NHT. I was smoking my hookah in the Oak Grove as I very often do, and I see many others do as well. I do not use drugs, drugs are never used in my pipe, yet I was told to never bring it back. I checked the student handbook to find nothing outlawing hookah.
http://old.www.iup.edu/studentaffairs/policies/stbehav.shtm

Hookahs are not illegal, they are more and more accepted today. There is a hookah lounge on Philadelphia St. and three off the top of my head in the Pittsburgh region.
Your officers informed right off the bat that I was in fact, just by having my hookah there, in disorderly conduct. They waved filing charges on me as long as I left the premises and never return with it. This makes no sense. I do not break any state, federal, or school laws. I offered for the officers to test the tobacco and pipe and only received the answer that they knew what it was and "who in their right mind would smoke NHT out of a device like that in public."
So, they knew 100% that there is nothing wrong with what I was doing and still threatened to arrest me and confiscate my pipe.

I do understand this injustice and intolerance and seek answers, I wish to continue on with my everyday life, that includes my hookah, without disturbance.

I will be consulting the ACLU and The Penn very soon and am seeking answers before it is necessary to take this road to protect my freedoms."

edit:sent at 1128 for leeway of those who were viewing

[srawas89]

ok, last check on the email...sending in 10mins(alcohol gives the extra time )...does it all sound all right to send to the safety head/head of campus police?

"I am contacting you regarding an issue that had occurred tonight, 8/26/08 in the Oak Grove. Campus police, as I was informed, had received a report that someone was smoking a hookah in the Oak Grove and that the people who had filed were concerned that this was NHT. I was smoking my hookah in the Oak Grove as I very often do, and I see many others do as well. I do not use drugs, drugs are never used in my pipe, yet I was told to never bring it back. I checked the student handbook to find nothing outlawing hookah.
http://old.www.iup.edu/studentaffairs/policies/stbehav.shtm

Hookahs are not illegal, they are more and more accepted today. There is a hookah lounge on Philadelphia St. and three off the top of my head in the Pittsburgh region.
Your officers informed me right off the bat that I was in fact, just by having my hookah there, committing disorderly conduct. They waved filing charges on me as long as I left the premises and never return with it. This makes no sense. I did not break any state, federal, or school laws. I offered for the officers to test the tobacco and pipe and only received the answer that they knew what it was and "who in their right mind would smoke NHT out of a device like that in public."
So, they knew 100% that there is nothing wrong with what I was doing and still threatened to arrest me and confiscate my pipe.

I do not understand this injustice and intolerance and seek answers, I wish to continue on with my everyday life, that includes my hookah, without disturbance.

I will be consulting the ACLU and The Penn very soon and am seeking answers before it is necessary to take this road to protect my freedoms."

Put in those bold face words and send your email tommorow so you can look over the email once more and make any more needed revisions so that there is no chance for a miscommunication. That and you will probably be sober then.

[r1v3th3ad]

ok, last check on the email...sending in 10mins(alcohol gives the extra time )...does it all sound all right to send to the safety head/head of campus police?

"I am contacting you regarding an issue that had occurred tonight, 8/26/08 in the Oak Grove. Campus police, as I was informed, had received a report that someone was smoking a hookah in the Oak Grove and that the people who had filed were concerned that this was NHT. I was smoking my hookah in the Oak Grove as I very often do, and I see many others do as well. I do not use drugs, drugs are never used in my pipe, yet I was told to never bring it back. I checked the student handbook to find nothing outlawing hookah.
http://old.www.iup.edu/studentaffairs/policies/stbehav.shtm

Hookahs are not illegal, they are more and more accepted today. There is a hookah lounge on Philadelphia St. and three off the top of my head in the Pittsburgh region.
Your officers informed me right off the bat that I was in fact, just by having my hookah there, committing disorderly conduct. They waved filing charges on me as long as I left the premises and never return with it. This makes no sense. I did not break any state, federal, or school laws. I offered for the officers to test the tobacco and pipe and only received the answer that they knew what it was and "who in their right mind would smoke NHT out of a device like that in public."
So, they knew 100% that there is nothing wrong with what I was doing and still threatened to arrest me and confiscate my pipe.

I do not understand this injustice and intolerance and seek answers, I wish to continue on with my everyday life, that includes my hookah, without disturbance.

I will be consulting the ACLU and The Penn very soon and am seeking answers before it is necessary to take this road to protect my freedoms."

Put in those bold face words and send your email tommorow so you can look over the email once more and make any more needed revisions so that there is no chance for a miscommunication. That and you will probably be sober then.

lol, wish I would have read this a bit sooner

thank you for your assistance, it is much appreciated

when I'm a bit under the influence, I'm still pretty darn good at making my point and expressing myself...its just when I am in direct conversation and arguement when it = epic fail

[Drums13182]

Dude, it doesnt seem to me to be worth fighting over and risking actually being arrested for it. We all love it but not to the point where we would be arrested for it. It could ruin your life. Your record will follow you. I dont know what you want to do with your life, but a criminal record will definitely not help you achieve that goal. I am not up to par with the judicial system in PA so I dont know what you would be looking it. Prolly a night in jail...MABYE at the most. Totally not worth it to me.

Find a Hookah Bar, go somewhere more remote, or just wait till you go somewhere where you can smoke freely.

But if you do fight it and I bless you for that, be SUPER professional and be sure to have all the answers to all the questions they might throw at you

GOOD LUCK!

[r1v3th3ad]

Dude, it doesnt seem to me to be worth fighting over and risking actually being arrested for it. We all love it but not to the point where we would be arrested for it. It could ruin your life. Your record will follow you. I dont know what you want to do with your life, but a criminal record will definitely not help you achieve that goal. I am not up to par with the judicial system in PA so I dont know what you would be looking it. Prolly a night in jail...MABYE at the most. Totally not worth it to me.

Find a Hookah Bar, go somewhere more remote, or just wait till you go somewhere where you can smoke freely.

But if you do fight it and I bless you for that, be SUPER professional and be sure to have all the answers to all the questions they might throw at you

GOOD LUCK!

I do not plan to entertain it in the rebelious way that I normally would(continueing smoking there)...I do plan on following the legal way. My record fully inflicts my future...right now I am a B.A. in History(possible gov job) and I aspire to go straight for my doctorite and go on to be a professor.

Like I said, right now involves waiting for an email response, then talking to the ACLU and the school paper...that shouldn't get me arrested.

[Majid]

What i comes down to:
-You are not breaking the law.
-Not endangering anybodies person or possessions.
-Not, within reason, bothering anybody or limiting their freedoms.

Given all this, you're being threatened with jail/prosecution and confiscation of your property. That's just a little too much to accept. I would try to talk to the local authorities about it first. Explain the situation in a calm and rational matter. If they persist, think of other steps to take.

[Drums13182]

I think we are missing that all cops (well, I must say MOST because we have a lot of cools ones where I live) are dickhead and I have learned that they will do what they want. They can take your shit, they could break your shit and there isnt a thing you could do about it.

When someone calls the police, they HAVE to go to the call no matter what the complaint may be. What the cops will say is " You are causing a disturbance. People are complaining about you being here which makes us have to come which ultimately takes us away from fighting real crime". It is a disturbance and they can throw the cuffs on you if you cause enough of a disturbance. Its just constant agitation to have to keep coming out to yell at you. THAT is what they will get you for. Not because of the legality of all of it.

I took classes on Police procedure and the justice system. We have very little power over what they police cannot do. Even if you do know your rights and shit, it doesnt matter. They justice system is fucked up everywhere and no one will believe you. They will twist what you say around so fast it will make your head spin. Its Guilty until Proven Innocent, not Innocent until Proven Guilty like the law says it is supposed to be.

[r1v3th3ad]

thats what sucks about it...
I'm sorry that they were called away from other problems, but I did nothing wrong...its like threatening to give me a disorderly conduct for doing my homework out there if someone had called

...if the above methods fail, I have two other options
1. contact state reps, I have connections from there(long story)
2. I pay on a lawsuit...it would cost me a bit but be worth it for all(would prob ask for donations on this one if it really would come to it)

[flick92]

Fuck the police, man. Good luck to you, it sounds like you're well within your right to chief.

Careful there you never know when they might be there to help you.... it's a good thing they can't be biased

I would start off with going into the campus police station and talk to them to ensure you know all the facts. If after that you still think it is BS then definitly bring it up with the paper and union.

[Giant Ninja Robot]

AAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!

Fucking nothing I can't stand more than abuse of power or ignorance and discrimination....

You can understand why this pisses me off to no end. Rivet if you have the ambition, and it sounds like you do, to fight this tooth and nail till the situation is resolved then do it! I applaud the way you're handling the situation.

With the fact the you have done nothing to harm anyone in anyway and that you have responded to the situation so maturely, I think that it might take some time but if you apply a steady pressure on your campus officials and police you will come out the victor.

Ignorance should not fucking affect our freedom as hookah smokers or human beings and the second you just roll over and hope it all becomes resolved on it's own, is one second closer to living in a bullshit 1984 style police state.

Good for you man, good for you.

[Drums13182]

But the thing is, I dont think people would call the cops on you for doing homework. Its just the fact that they had to come.Period. It does not matter if you were or werent hurting anyone. Its part of their job and it is stupid that they had to take the dickhead route and be extreme with it.

Ive been yelled at before for mine. Cops around here are usually like "Yeah...Its legal so...Have Fun!" But once they said if they had to keep coming out to yell at us that there would be worse consequences. Probably like what they told you the first time

People are INSANELY closed minded these days. Everyone is afraid of new things. People run and hide from them and others, the people I like, will take the time to actually understand it and then make a rational decision to hate it or like it. Seems to be older people who are like this more then younger people but it applies to all ages.

Yeah. Just keep it low key and hit them with something hard and quick. One person can change a lot if they are prepared, have the right tools and are willing to go through with things. Be sure to have all of those. Dont make a fool of yourself. Makes you look bad, makes us look bad and makes hookah look bad.

I hope all goes well... and keep us posted...for sure

[pullingteeth]

props to you for trying to fight it man. definitely wish you the best and hope you keep us updated on what happens with this.

it's almost ridiculous that it is a problem if someone else even THINKS you are doing something illegal.

[Giant Ninja Robot]

it's almost ridiculous that it is a problem if someone else even THINKS you are doing something illegal.

No it straight up IS ridiculous.

[r1v3th3ad]

it's almost ridiculous that it is a problem if someone else even THINKS you are doing something illegal.

No it straight up IS ridiculous.

maybe if they dont want to settle this outside the legal system, this could make it to court and set precident for all of us hookah smokers to fall back on...I have a feeling they are gonna try to just hush me and assume that I am just talking out of my ass/not willing to actually go through on it

[pboyle]

I totally understand your issue. At my school, a hookah, as a waterpipe, is considered paraphernalia and is thus illegal to even possess on campus. I'd like to argue this to some degree as well, but it really isn't worth my time.

Perhaps you can find a discreet place on campus to smoke it? Or just do it at an hour when no one will be awake to complain and there won't be cops around. Or, if you're going to break the rules to do it anyway, do it in your bathroom (only if you have suite styled rooms).

I have a huge bathroom that my room shares with only one other room. Hookah friendly roommates and suitemates could sit around and enjoy a bowl without problems. And bathrooms are the ideal place for cleanup anyway. No smoke detectors, and tile minimizes the fire risk. Throw a towel against the bottom of the door and you're good to go.

Let it be known that I don't advocate breaking the rules... just putting it out there that it can be done.

[r1v3th3ad]

I can smoke at anytime...I live off campus at the time at a smoker friendly environment...its just that the Oak Grove is my "place of chi"...

I'm not breaking any rules, hookah is not against any rules put forth by my university.
After classes tomorrow, I'm going to see if I receive a response from Mr. Montgomery, head of public safety, otherwise go to the station myself, then continue on to the ACLU and The Penn...
I hope this whole issue can be solved peacefully, but you never know.

I'm going to go prep the hookah and go to bed...wake up, smoke and study, then off to classes and the rest of the above aforementioned...

[melanko]

Fight the good fight brotha.

Honestly though, I appreciate the job that the police do, it's just there are a lot of bad apple cops out there. Last night I went to local comedy show (Kathy Griffin) with my wife and parents. Of course getting out of this place is a mad house, we basically had to wait to get out of this venue for like, 30-40 minutes. No one was directing traffic, although there was a Sheriff up front, all he was doing was sitting on his ass on his cell phone or whatever. It's not until we already had to wait for forever to get out that he got up and actually started doing his job. Fucking aggravating!

But good luck dude, I hope something positive comes of this.

[fashow69]

i totally agree with and respect what your doing man. but heres a quick solution... dont live in college dorms stay at your own house. then people cant say a damn thing its your own property. i smoke in my front yard all the time and my neighbors look at me wierd and shit but the cops were never called or anything. good luck though man hope you win the case

[Big Boss]

If I were you, I'd think about getting a lawyer. But then again... its a good think you are not me.

[r1v3th3ad]

got a response to that email at 7:17am...its 9:12 am as of now

Patrick,

I received your e/mail and will be following up with the officers involved.

Thank you,

[Stuie]

Me and my best friend apparently have arrest us signs on us too.

One day come back from college we couldn't sleep we drove around town, where pulled over and searched because of recent break ins that week...we had be in town...2.5 hours... 2 Early 20s white guys in both 250lbs in a white pickup truck are the height of suspicious.

Few years later he grabs a six pack of Mike's Hark Lemonade and a couple cigars and we go to a bench in park to just chill. We were reported being unruly and dangerous, by some dick bicyclist ...only person we saw while we were there... took 5 cops for that one.

Figure I will try smoking my hookah out in public one day...but not to eager with my track record of harassment.

Two words... Lakeview Terrace... cops are dicks and get the benefit of the doubt, not us and you can't explain.

[jezter6]

it's a shame you can't play a little more hardball because you're trying to keep your record clean, however I would have no problems with doing it.

Maybe you have a friend who doesn't need to worry about 1 or 2 lame 'disturbing the peace' and 'disorderly conduct' arrests. Then you go get yourself a cheap $30 chinese hookah and sit out there and smoke away while another person films the entire scene from 50 feet away. Wait until the police show up, video tape everything, and take it to an ACLU lawyer who is likely to defend you for free on the merits of your case and fighting for injustice.

If you have an arab friend that is willing to take the arrest - even better. Get all them cops fired for racial profiling.

[Apoc Genesis]

You have to expect parents these days to be crazy. Right now we dont pay taxes, so we have little influence over the police. This is yet another downside of treating legal adults like children. I can forsee a future filled with bitter, angry Americans and their even mroe bitter parents because these terrible trends we have going are going to ruin America. Thanks!

Eventually the parrnts will go, and after that I'm pretty sure you wont have any college kids going around calling the police for NHT. But its a good habit to not let yourself get bullied around by the police. You are after all a future tax payer

[Pilgrim]

This truely pisses me off. Keep us updated, I want to know the ending of this bullshit..

[r1v3th3ad]

spoke a lil while ago with one of my history professors about this...he advises finding an ACLU lawyer rather than going through the club...he said other than that it could be an expensive process if the campus does not want to co-operate...
after my next class, I will be going to speak with a few professors I know in the Political Science dept.
the one in particular assists with the local ACLU and taught me how to think for myself and more with my rights with the modern police state..."American Politics 101"