Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / April 26, 2007, edition 1 / Page 6
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c II C P C a a il y V f. c a Page 6 ff.ati jres ITic liluc Banner - Sen ing the L niversitv of North Carolina at Ashexille sinee 198^ Thursday, April 26, 2007 Hookah Joe’s provides barhoppers a relaxed atmosphere to meet people, smoke shisha By Daniel Hartis STAff Writer UNC Asheville professor named as one of 16 to travel and study in Brazill At Hookah Joe’s, navored tobac cos burn through glass pipes, sparking nightlong conversation among smokers in the lounge. “It’s a social thing,” said Joseph McHugh, owner of Hookah Joe’s. “People get together to smoke, talk and just hang out. It’s very easy to meet other people.” The h(H)kah originated several hundred years ago in Turkey before spreading to other Middle Eastern countries, according to McHugh. In recent years, hookah lounges became popular in the United States. “It’s growing,” McHugh said. “Mostly it started out on the West and East Coasts. Usually you find hookah lounges in towns that have universities. It’s more of a forward thinking community.” Hookah Joe’s uses Egyptian water pipes, or hookahs, to smoke a tobacco called “shisha,” which is a fruit syrup soaked tobacco. Many people enjoy smoking shisha because it allows them to socialize and meet with new peo ple, according to McHugh. “It’s very common for a couple or group to be smoking one flavor, and there might be another couple or group smoking next to them that says, ‘Hey, which flavor are you smoking?’” McHugh said. “Next thing you know they’re all smok ing together.” Smokers sit facing each other on plush couches, which provide a comfortable setting for discussion, according to McHugh. “With the tables facing each other, it kind of forces you to inter act with people across Irom you if you want to,” McHugh said. “Some of the couches you actually All Photos by Shanna Arney - Staff Photographer have to share with other people. . „ . , as thev smoke their shisha and sip on a few drinks. Top right. I’ve seen many times where two Top left, a belly dancer ^ ^ ^ Hookah Joe’s regular, partakes in a taste of his favorite groups will actually combine into J"^"*;S;7Daye Hannah Oehl, Warren Wilson students, relax and enjoy the atmosphere one group. It’s just a nice social hltnd. At bottom, ^ interaction.” ?? sav ‘What’s vour favorite Hookah Joe’s atmosphere and t* ^ large selection of shisha flavors hq( like your typical bar. At I Art - • . II ,7*^. /T- drew Charlotte resident Art Viscray, 24, to the lounge when visiting friends in Asheville, according to Viscray. “It’s not like your typical bar, where you might be just staring at some bottles of liquor, Viscray said. “At Joe’s, you actually sit and talk with perfect strangers.” A cigar shop where McHugh always met new people inspired him to arrange the furniture so as to encourage conversation, accord ing to McHugh. “With the couches, it’s like a big living room,” McHugh said. “There are no TVs here, so there’s nobody yelling at the screen for sports, and the hookahs a very calming thing anyway. It’s just a social hideaway. People that know what’s going on here look at it as their own private getaway.” Currently, Hookah Joe’s boasts 80 flavors of shisha, according to McHugh. Smokers may smoke these flavors alone or pair them with other flavors. “With all the flavors there are thousands of combinations,” said McHugh, who calculates prepar ing 14,(KK) hookahs since entering Joe s you actually sit and talk with perfect strangers. Art ViscRyW I I(X)kah .l()c’s patron it a the profession. “Sometimes surprises me and I’ll make combination I’d never thought of. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve had a lot of blends that work and a lot that don’t.” McHugh designed honeysuck le, one of the lounge’s most pop ular blends, about a year ago, according to McHugh. “It’s half honey, a quarter kiwi and a quarter pineapple,” said McHugh, who also lists cherry jasmine, pink jasmine, mint cap puccino, strawberry banana and blueberry hazelnut as favorites among customers and staff. Though the vast number of fla vors and combinations intimidate many, McHugh recommends fla vors to newcomers and seasoned smokers alike by asking them their favorite flavors of three categories: fruity, nutty or flowery. say . ’Wtiat s your fruit?”’ McHugh said. “Last time we had someone who want ed something nutty, but the rest of the group wanted something fruity. So I said, ‘What about the blueberry hazelnut?”’ Shisha smoke contains fewer toxins than cigarette smoke, according to McHugh. “Like anything you do in excess, it can still harm you,” McHugh said. “But the tobacco we use has all been washed and stripped of all the tar that is nor mally found in the shisha. The tobacco we’re smoking has 0 percent tar and only .5 percent nicotine. A cigarette might have 6, 7 or 8 percent, which will get you addicted.” In addition to containing fewer toxins, shisha gives off a more flavorful smoke than cigarettes, according to McHugh. “It doesn’t smell like smoke, it’s much more sweet,” McHugh said. “We’ve had as many as 14 hookahs going at one time and it still doesn’t smell like smoke in here. Usually it’s the tar that makes smoke linger and stink. The pleasant smell of the shisha smoke surprises many a 99 We ’ve had as many as 14 hookahs going and it still does- n’t smell like smoke in here. Joseph McTIugh (Tw'ner of Hookah Joe’s people, according to Viscray. “A lot of people think it’ll just be this big room of smoke, with people coughing all around,” Viscray said. “But it’s not like cigarette smoke at all.” Currently Hookah Joe’s resides downtown on Cox Avenue, but in a month or so they plan to By Meredith Wagner-Hoehn Staff Writer The U )) Sustainable development is basically economic Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad development in the context of will research various^^ UNC omnrnnmpntal Con.ltrnittfi^ move into a new, larger building shared with Club Hairspray on French Broad Avenue. The new location will sit among three dance clubs and feature an area for smokers age 18 and up. Currently the lounge only admits smokers 21 and up. Hookah Joe’s is open every night from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m., with half off hookahs until 8 p.m. The lounge also features events almost every night of the week, like bellydancing on Sundays and pajama nights on Thursdays. this summer, Asheville’s Assistant Professor of Economics Robert Tatum along for the ride in Brazil. . “Economists who focus their research on East Asia are really focusing their research on eco nomic growth issues. People thinking about Europe are thinking about integration issues. People thinking about Africa are thinking about prob lems of development, and peo ple who are thinking about Latin America, and their research, are really thinking about big macroeconomics and those problems,” said Tatum, macroeconomist. A few years ago, Cindy Ho, humanities program director, sent an email to the faculty alerting them to this opportuni ty, according to Tatum. He looked up their website, and Brazil intrigued him. “The topic and location drew me to it,” Tatum said. As an undergraduate, Tatum completed his research on sus tainable development in Ecuador, another South American country. “Sustainable development is basically economic develop ment in the context of environ mental constraints,” Tatum said. Although his field now is not sustainable development, the exposure is still useful to his current focus, according to Tatum. “My main area of research is actually not sustainable devel opment, but I hope to connect it. My main area is looking at how trade liberalizations are reducing trade barriers, impacting the macro economies of trading countries. South America has provided a lot of examples of where that’s worked and not worked, and how,” he said. Although the program choos es multiple locations to visit each year, the group only visits one location. This year, the South American location is Brazil. “For each program, they’ll select up to 16 folks and it actually can be secondary edu cation teachers and professors. Their idea is for curricular development, so getting out of the program some material that you’ll be teaching here on out,” Tatum said. While in Brazil, the 16 pro fessors will travel from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro to Salvador to Brasilia and more, while communicating with locals and conducting research. “We’ll all connect in one place with, say, journalists, or environmentalists or experts in Robert Tatum Economics professor the field from the local univeil sity,” Tatum said. “They expeci an individual project cominl out of this too. It could be I whole course coming out 4 this, or things that affect othj courses. They want to kuoil what that is, and they want J know what you’re thinkbif about as you’re going do«| through there, so the ideaj that when you’re meeting wiii these people, it’s to help yoi| figure out your project you’re working on.” Tatum expects the programtj contribute specifically to 4 classes; Global Povertil Money and Bankijf Intermediate Macroeconomic and Economic Development, Out of the 16 travelers, ojI; two of them are economist! The rest cover a diverse niiit ber of teaching categorki including art history, archite ture and archaeology, accoii ing to Tatum. “ The trip begins June 26 ata * orientation in Austin, TeiiJ i The group leaves for Bras|| June 28 and will return Jiiijli 28. “It is actually, apparently,* intensive that they don’t eu, allow you to meet up wkl your family or your frieisj while you’re there,” Tatfil said. Tatum said his specialty i currently a popular discussij topic in economics, accotdk|^^l to Tatum. Basically if you think i many of these places, fariB|;iJ and local citizens, they te s; have formal property rijitf a and that might affect their e U' of the land. If you don’t In* r'■’* formal property rights, fr. might overuse the land. He , ^ it’s easier to get a loan orst, > a small business if you show! and get a mortgage to the tit j on your house,” Tatum said^j As Tatum researches _; Brazil this summer, Shoslii Fried, junior economics s; ■ Spanish student, will be v/d; ^ ing on simultaneous reses here in Asheville. “The plan now is to have actual true joint research c not only will be something^ could go into classroom e* studies sort of thing, but viil going to try to get some com ences, publications, Tatum said. “Basically- through the university. H'l J paid opportunity to do rese with a professor, and it SEE Tatum^i Ppt nf the Week: Marsha’s job goes far beyond mere . . 1 . _ 1 4.1 1 n oV»c» r> r\m c cinn ' : By Hannah Doyle Staff Writer When Chris Spurrier acciden tally drops his papers on a windy day, he doesn’t have to worry about maneuvering around in his wheelchair to pick them up. Marsha saves him the effort. A four-year-old golden retriever, Marsha assists the handicapped with everyday tasks. Spurrier said. “She’s trained to do different things, but the thing that’s most beneficial to me is if I drop stuff or if something is out of my reach, she’ll get it for me. Spurrier said. “I’ve had her get my coat with money in it out of the laundry basket before. If there’s a rope on a door, like the fridge, she can open it for me. In a car accident in 1995, Spurrier, 27, broke his neck and has since used a wheelchair. Now he attends Western Carolina University, where he is a first-year graduate student, and half of the classes he attends are at UNC Asheville. “I stayed in a hospital in Atlanta, and one of the outings we went on was to Canine Assistants,” Spurrier said. “At that point in my life, I wasn’t ready to get one, but when I did decide that I was ready, I called them.” At training camp in 2004, Canine Assistants introduced Spurrier to many helper dogs so he could choose which suited him best, he said. Marsha was the first dog Spurrier tried out. “She’s kind of a big dog, and she just jumped into my lap and was really excited to see me,” he said. “We just seemed to click.” Since then, Marsha and Spurrier have lived together at his family’s house. “She sleeps wherever she wants,” he said. “Sometimes she sleeps at the foot of my bed. or sometimes she sleeps in her kennel, unless it’s too hot. We don’t close the kennel door or anything; she just likes it.” One reason Marsha is such a big help, is that she learns words quickly. Spurrier said. “I’ll say, ‘Get my medicine case’ or ‘Get the phone,’ and she gets it,” he said. In some respects, Marsha doesn’t act like a dog, accord ing to Spurrier. “She listens very well. Dogs don’t listen,” he said. “When we go to a restaurant, she won’t beg for food. She never begs. We don’t give her any human food, though. If you don’t give it to her, she doesn’t know it’s good. Instead, we give her dog treats, like Milk Bones.” Marsha often follows Spurrier around the house, he said. “She follows me everywhere I go. If I go to the kitchen, she goes to the kitchen,” he said. “If I’m out of her sight for more than 10 seconds, she comes and finds me. It’s like having a shad ow.” He said for the most part, her tendency to follow him is comfort- ing. . “It’s kind of like having a kid,’ Spurrier said. “She’s a very good friend, and she’s very loyal. She’s really emotionally dependent on me, too. It’s kind of weird to know you’re that important to someone.” Though Marsha generally per forms well. Spurrier said she is less focused when people come up and pet her. “When we’re out in public and she’s helping me, it’s best that oth ers interact with her as little as possible,” he said. “When we’re out, it’s just us bonding, so it’s bet ter when people don’t distract her from that.” At first. Spurrier said he had reservations about getting a helper dog. SEE Marsha page 71 Photo Contributed I Chris Spurrier, 27, with Marsha, his 4-year-old golden r®^rk ^ dog. Spurrier got Marsha in 2004, at a helper dog training
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