College bans beer pong tables

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) - The College of William & Mary is banning tables that can be used for beer pong. The college said they are making the change to support their ban on drinking games.

Hanging on the basement wall of Sigma Chi fraternity at William & Mary is an ornate mosaic made of beer caps.

"The president of my fraternity - when I was a freshman - put all the caps on it and organized it and everything," said junior Cassius Jones.

It was never intended to be wall art. On Tuesday, it had legs to be used to play the drinking game beer pong. The game requires teams to throw ping pong balls into cups of beer. For years, WIlliam & Mary has banned drinking games on campus. A recent change to the student handbook now prohibits the tables, said college spokesperson Brian Whitson.

"These are tables that are specifically decorated or designed for the specific use of beer pong," said Whitson.

Russell Zerbo, the online editor of the student paper, The Flat Hat, said many students were caught off guard by the change and college officials should be surprised with their negative reaction.

"They published their changes during the time that students were least liking to be paying attention," said Zerbo.

The unfortunate fall-out to the new policy meant that the 27-year-old table built by a Sigma Chi alumni had to go.

"It was a place for guys to come down and do their homework on," said Jones.

Some fraternities have moved tables off campus while others plan to use what's around.

"These tables can be used for other things, and it just doesn't make any sense. Within a week we're going to have a ping pong table down here," said Jones.

College officials said anyone caught violating the policy will face disciplinary action. However, trained resident assistants will continue to educate students to keep it from going that far.