The smoke is clearing around Saint Louis University. At yesterday’s Student Government Association meeting, the senate passed a bill that banned smoking inside all University residence halls and apartments.

Senators also heard announcements about a new on-campus dining option and the cancellation of the Founder’s Ball.

The senate unanimously voted to ban smoking in dorms and apartments throughout campus. Introduced by Senator Maria Rozier, a junior representing the Student Village Apartments, the bill is the first SGA legislation on the subject. SLU had already prohibited smoking inside its residence halls, but until now has permitted it in University apartments.

Supporters of the bill said smoking in University buildings discolored paint, left an unpleasant odor and could annoy smokers’ roommates and neighbors.

“I am in favor of this bill because some students, myself included, are allergic to cigarette smoke. It clogs our lungs,” Senator Nick Varuso, a junior representing Parks College, said.

Senator Jake Bender, a sophomore representing the John Cook School of Business, noted that there is currently a petition drive under way to ban smoking in St. Louis bars and restaurants. Bender wondered where students would be able to smoke if both the petition and SGA legislation were successful.

Bender also said that on-campus housing is students’ private residences and suggested that they should be able to smoke in them if they wished.

SGA President Cari Johns responded that on-campus apartments are SLU’s property and that student residents are only renters.

She also said that students could still smoke outside or on their balconies.

Rozier said that she had received several e-mails in support of the bill from her constituents, but no complaints from smokers.

Rozier and Senator Jeff Bigner, a junior representing the John Cook School of Business, gave a presentation on developments in campus dining services.

They explained that Reinert Hall’s dining has not been updated since the 1970s and is in need of renovation.

Bigner said that they will increase the number of tables and chairs and add a television. In addition, the serving line will be divided into three sections so that dinners “don’t move through one line like cattle.”

Rozier and Bigner also announced a new dining option on SLU’s campus-Terra Ve. Meaning “of the earth,” Terra Ve will serve only vegetarian foods, and none of its cooking equipment will ever be used to prepare meat products. The dining option is meant to accommodate students with special dietary needs, such as Hindus and Orthodox Jews, and serves salads, bread, stir fry and fresh fruit. Bigner described Terra Ve’s cuisine as “Menutainment at its finest.”

Although Terra Ve only opened on Monday, April 3, Rozier said it has already attracted many students. More than 160 students visited Terra Va yesterday.

“Chartwells gets some criticism every year, and it deserves some of that criticism. But this is an example of something they did really well. A few students approached Chartwells and said they wanted a vegetarian dining option, and Chartwells obliged. They succeeded admirably; this place is doing gangbusters,” said Phil Lyons, associate vice president for student development.

Andrew Chappelle, chairman of the Billiken Pride Committee and a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, announced that he was forced to cancel the Founder’s Ball.

Intended to be “a University-wide event to bring students, faculty and staff together,” the ball will be delayed until next year. A “commencement ball” for graduating seniors will take its place this May.

Chappelle explained that the Founder’s Ball had been cancelled because of “communication errors.”

Lyons added that “the normal process to get things done at the University hadn’t been followed” in preparing for the event.