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One time, one night
Dorms remain silent while games entertain
By Monica Tice
Published:
Monday, April 26, 2004
The smell of dirty laundry and DiMaggio's pizza infected the east wing of the first floor of Mitchell Hall at 11 p.m.
Inside one room, eight guys crowded around a 24-inch television. Two of them were attached to it via game controllers. "Halo," the futuristic shooter video game, flashes over the split-screen, determining who will strategically beat the other one first.
"A typical night is pizza, beer and 'Halo,'" said Mike Boe, a resident of Mitchell Hall who refers to himself as "Boedaddy." "We don't go off campus to parties anymore because they always get busted."
In the basement at 11:18 p.m., six guys and one girl crowded around a circular table in an otherwise empty room, holding their cards close with colorful poker chips in front of them.
"We like to call this 'the one world, one life, one hope, peace room,'" said one of the resident advisers, as he glanced at the description painted on the wall.
The others laughed as another comments, "There have definitely been a bunch of people that have gotten a piece in this room."
The players took a more serious tone as the chips were thrown in.
"This is a typical night around here," said the girl at the table, "but it happens all the time, not only on Thursday nights."
"Mitchell's just a communal dorm, where everybody's a friend," Chris Gilstad said, leading the poker game.
Moving upstairs at 11:30 p.m., the transition from the men's floor to the women's floor was immediately apparent. The smell of dirty laundry faded; scents from dryer sheets of botanical bliss and clean breeze took over. Pictures of girls with their friends were scattered on doors and the only music playing anywhere was coming from the communal bathroom.
While everyone seemed to be out and about, three girls remain in the second floor computer lab. Gayle Briggs, a resident adviser of Mitchell Hall, is one of them.
"I'm working on homework, but I'd rather be sleeping," Briggs said.
Then describing her job she added, "When we sign on (as resident adviser), we understand that we have two duty nights a week. I enjoy living in the dorms; I would not choose to be here if I didn't like it."
Down the hall, Gina, a Mitchell hall resident, recapped her evening when she and her boyfriend J were caught leaving the Green Mill 45 minutes earlier without paying.
"Blame it on untied shoelaces," her boyfriend said.
After the students finished eating at 11 p.m., they were chased by servers who realized the couple had not paid. Even though J offered to wash dishes, the staff threatened they would call the police if the couple didn't pay. The Green Mill eventually received payment from J's and Gina's parents.
"Just call us small-town sweethearts and big-time jailers," J said.
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