Log in / Register All Boston UH only

Who would have thought college students were bad for a bar's business?

The Berkeley Beacon reports the Gypsy Bar on Boylston Street bar is complaining about chain-smoking, loitering Emerson students clogging up the sidewalk in front of its doors:

... Though no official report was filed, Emerson Police Chief George Noonan said he would like to see Emersonians respect the wishes of the college's neighbors. Officers have begun asking students to move out from the storefront.

The problem, said day manager Tanya Cavazza, is when students don't move even after she and the delivery people ask. ...

The paper quotes students who basically say, tough, the bar sucks:

... Students interviewed said they didn't care if the managers were complaining about them smoking in front of their door, since the people who go to the bar are equally disruptive to the Emerson community.

"Well, we're complaining about assholes blocking the street, getting drunk and [getting] in fights," said junior theatre studies major Brian Tweedy as he stood in front of the Gypsy Bar's doorway. "[Emerson] should give us somewhere that's convenient to smoke." ...

Via MassCops.

|

Entitlement issues

By Kaz | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 10:39am

The college's job isn't to give you somewhere to smoke, Mr. Tweedy. You've already managed to find your way outside, fortunately. Now, just meander a few doors down and find your way off of some establishment's doorstep.

Like this huge open space on the other side of Boylston

By adamg | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 10:46am

Or would that take too much Common sense?

Not that the Common wouldn't

By Jiffywoob | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 2:29pm

Not that the Common wouldn't make for a better inhalation location, but I shudder at the nightmare of students constantly jaywalking across that busy portion of Boylston where road rage already pervades due to the numerous asshat pedestrians up at the Tremont intersection.

What I don't get is that there are No Smoking signs posted in many of the buildings' alcoves, and the Emerson police simply don't enforce the rule, but instead choose to comment that "Officers have begun asking students to move out from the storefront." I see two problems here:

First of all, officers rarely actually do that. Second, even if they did, stepping out onto a busy, paper-thin sidewalk simply clogs foot traffic on an already-clogged space.

There's really only one good place to tell the puffmasters to go. And I'll tell you, they won't need to worry about having a lighter there. :)

It seems like Emerson isnt

By ShadyMilkMan | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 3:03pm

It seems like Emerson isnt all that smoker friendly. Maybe the united smokers of America should come up with a listing for the best places for smokers to go to school. I went to school at a slightly more suburban campus so there was never much of a problem for the smokers, there was ample space around all the buildings. Our biggest problem was that they would all converge on the doors under the awnings when it rained making it impossible to get back into the building without going through the smoke wall. On nice days though they would tend to spread out.

Where are the Hellicopter Parents when you need them?

By SwirlyGrrl | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 10:49am

Do mommy and daddy know that little special snowflake has a nasty widdle habit?

Or are they complaining daily to the dean that precious tweedy might catch a cold if that nasty mean university doesn't accomodate his addiction with all-weather habitats?

These students need to take

By ShadyMilkMan | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 10:58am

These students need to take a logic class or something.

They are loitering in front of a business
That business doesnt want them there
They feel the college should provide a place for them to smoke

Im not figuring out how this has anything to do with the business. If this is a silent smokey protest bring it to the doors of the administration, not in front of someones storefront.

Proximity

By Gareth | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 11:14am

The students are smoking there because it's out of the main stream of sidewalk traffic and right next to the doors of a main classroom building.

The reason Gypsy is so close to the classroom building doors s is that it's in the classroom building -- the whole building is owned by Emerson, and Gypsy rents the storefront space from Emerson.

So it's not too hard to understand, really. It's just convenience. And I'm sure they don't give a hoot what the owners of a sleazy bar think. They're probably thinking 'best pickup joint 2007? Ha! Pick this up...'

Just because its in the

By ShadyMilkMan | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 11:33am

Just because its in the building doesnt make their careless loitering ok. The bar pays rent to the college, and Im sure he college makes money off of the rent. The business should expect a little bit of courtesy from a student body that benefits from the rent they pay every month.

It doesnt matter if its a sleezy bar or a yuppie coffee joint. The business pays rent and should expect a certain level of courtesy from the students. Im sure at least one of these smokers will one day own a business, and Im sure they wouldnt be happy if they couldnt get their deliveries or their cusotmers couldnt come in because of the puffers.

Of course not

By Gareth | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 12:26pm

All people doing annoying things should just stop, right now.

But it seemed liked you wanted to know something.

Im not figuring out how this has anything to do with the business.

Now you know what it has to do with the business: proximity.

I don't think Logic is in Emerson's core curriculum

By Spatch | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 11:45am

Unless you're talking about Logic Studio or something. Anyway:

They are loitering in front of a business
That business doesnt want them there
They feel the college should provide a place for them to smoke

Don't forget "The people who are actively patronizing the business and actually spending money there, now, they're the assholes."

Brilliant!

How about an Iron Lung

By just-wondering | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 10:56am

I hear those are nice and warm. Keep puffing those things and you won't have to worry.
Will that be convenient enough for you? Mr. Tweedy's parents must be so glad to spend tuition money to make sure their kid can keep chain smoking.

Why?

By Neal | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 4:58pm

Are smokers prone to polio?

Emerson? Like, directly

By NU-student (not verified) | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 11:01am

Emerson? Like, directly across from BOSTON COMMON?! Gee, I can't imagine where they would find a convenient place to smoke.

I guess they're too busy being all self-important to look across the street. Or maybe they can't see through that cloud of smoke?

I always thought that

By aging cynic | Mon, 12/01/2008 - 5:12pm

people became self-absorbed assholes AFTER they graduated from Emerson and went to NY or LA?

Oh no, it starts long before

By NU-student (not verified) | Tue, 12/02/2008 - 12:11pm

Oh no, it starts long before that. Like sometime around their second year.

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.