San Francisco, CA- If The Music Man’s Professor Henry Hill is to be believed, developing an appreciation for felt-covered tables and the click of billiard balls could lead to all sorts of trouble, rafts of social problems, right there in River City. But according to the daily student newspaper at the University of Iowa, a newly created student organization is promoting pool playing in part as a way to keep students from the temptations of nearby alcohol-dispensing environments.Two IU upperclassmen created the Iowa City Billiards Club, they said, after they realized there was no student organization dedicated to the table sports of pool and billiards.
Founders D.J. Trunnell, a junior who serves as the group’s president, and Ryan Grant, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering who is its vice president, are both members of the school’s chapter of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. They offered their frat house for the group’s first meeting. After more than two dozen recruits showed up, they opted to move further sessions to a roomier community recreation center.
The founding of the group had fringe benefits for the frat chapter, since the national organization requires all chapters to engage in at least one additional campus activity. So launching the club, whether or not they are affiliated with a fraternity or sorority, helped them meet that requirement.
Kelly Bender, A campus official dealing with fighting alcohol abuse praises the new group for giving students an opportunity to get together and have fun without having to go to a tavern.
She stated that shooting pool without being surrounded by people knocking back shots “seems to replicate a lot of the things people like about being in a bar atmosphere. Not everybody wants to go out and get drunk every weekend.”
Area restaurant owners also voiced support for the new student club, and said it would have little impact on their business.
For this semester, the group will focus on weekly meetings, but it hopes starting next year to host competitions for stick-wielders from the campus and perhaps expand to tournaments with other colleges.
The club’s founders noted their first goal is getting students involved. They point out the new club can not only help established sharks keep their game tuned up, but also help those who do not know one end of a cue stick from the other learn how to shoot pool, noting many may not have previously had regular access to pool or billiards tables.
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