The students have passed their verdict, and the cigarette machines stationed in NIU’s residence hall lobbies have been given a temporary reprieve, said Residence Hall Association officials.

The individual hall council votes came in on Tuesday night, and all but Grant Towers North voted that the machines stay in the hall lobbies, said RHA President Greg Post.

This means that the machines most likely will be staying put, but the decision also has to pass through NIU administration, Post added.

Legal matters between NIU and the DeKalb City Council also might need some ironing out. The council had opened the issue last January by passing a city ordinance restricting the placement of cigarette machines to alcohol-soliciting establishments, factories, offices and other places not open to the general public. The council had asked NIU to “voluntarily comply” with the new ordinance.

The RHA’s decision, if approved by NIU’s administration, will be sending a message of “no such luck” to the city council.

The question as to the fate of GTN’s cigarette machine also needs to be resolved, Post said.

Tamela Branca, GTN hall council president, said that the hall’s cigarette machine would “most definitely be going.”

“The machines were voted out by the students. It was done for various reasons,” she said, citing general student health and environmental concerns as part of the students’ rationale.

The question of what will replace the machine in the hall is being addressed, Branca said.

Rita Aken, president of the Douglas hall council, was pleased with the part that the residence hall councils were allowed to play in making the decision.

“I’m happily surprised that the decision was put into the students’ hands, and I’m happy that the students’ interests were respected,” she said.

Shana Kurash, president of the Gilbert hall council, agreed with Aken’s sentiment.

“It’s a relief to know that for once the school cares more about the welfare of the students than about money,” she said. “Maybe this is because the students voted on it instead of administration.”

A final decision from the administration should be made in a day or two, Post said.