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Saturday night took a distressing turn for a group of students in Grad Center Tower D when they found themselves arguing about a Trivial Pursuit question, rather than about what time to leave for a frat party.
According Noreen Sapp '11, she and her friends had just finished a few rounds of flip cup when Rodney Babbis '11 spoke up. "Aren't you guys a little sick and tired of being such good little college students and getting wasted every weekend? Why don't we spice things up a little?" he said, raising an eyebrow deviously and holding up a Monopoly board, National Parks Edition.
The group was split, with some initially hesitant to take part. "Oh man, I cannot handle Monopoly tonight," answered Sapp. "Can't we just take Jagerbombs instead?"
"What do you think this is, Tuesday morning?" Babbis asked. "It's Saturday night! This is what college is all about! No regrets! COLLLLLEGGGEEE!" he cried as he meticulously straightened the stack of Community Chest cards and sipped a diet ginger ale through a crazy straw.
Being well aware of Monopoly's reputation as the "gateway game," Sapp continued to resist. "I don't know guys, I have so much being hung over in bed to do tomorrow," she said, checking her day planner. "And I really need to get a jump on my drunk dialing for this week. If I go to bed before midnight I'm going to be kicking myself for it later."
Before she could continue, Babbis shoved the dice into Sapp's hands. "Roll! Roll! Roll!" the group chanted.
"Well, I guess one game can't hurt," said Sapp as she gave them the finger, braced herself, and rolled the dice.
Mike Pill '09 told the Noser that this type of peer pressure is widespread on Brown's campus. "We've all been there," he said. "You think it'll be one game, but once you start playing it just snowballs, and soon enough you're wrist-deep in whole-wheat pretzels and carrot sticks with a healthful dip. Time sort of runs together and before you know it, you're in bed by a reasonable hour after a responsible night of wholesome fun with a few good friends."
While the weekend may have been a one-time indulgence for Sapp, Babbis's behavior is symptomatic of a larger trend, say his friends. According to Leo Hobt '11, Babbis has been interrupting Power Hours and games of Kings with increasingly frequent proposals for Cranium, Apples to Apples, and even Yahtzee.
"He wanted to use the Pong table for Ping Pong," said Hobt. "Then he actually suggested doing this every week instead of our traditional Beer Pong Saturday Pregame. Can you believe that? What would we call it, 'Board Game Night'? That doesn't have any ring to it at all!"
Babbis's new habits may even be affecting his other relationships. "Last week he met a girl at a party and instead of hooking up, they made plans for coffee and Scrabble later that week," Hobt said. "I'm worried about him."
Babbis said he is aware of the change. "I know it's totally self-constructive behavior but I can't resist," he said with a sigh. "Whatever, it's college, right?"
