"Now tell me, were you one of the kids at that Sex God Power party last year?" Various forms of this question were posed to me Friday evening during the Opening Awards Ceremony of the Alumni Leadership Conference, an event that saw Brown alums don formal wear, accept awards recognizing the size of their commitment to the University (or the size of their wallets) and watch Todd Andrews '83 exhibit an enthusiasm for platitudes about "staying connected" that was matched only by others' enthusiasm for the dessert buffet. Though the intended focus of the dinner was the awards ceremony, more than one attendee seemed preoccupied with the fact that it was held in the same venue - Sayles Hall - where, about 10 months before, Brown students had allegedly danced half-naked, had anonymous sex and done a lot of E.
But those who asked me whether I attended last year's Sex Power God didn't seem particularly interested in my answer. Rather, they used the question as a gambit to launch into their own stories of on-campus revelry. Not surprisingly, it seems Brown students have had a penchant for rebellion for quite some time now. What's more, Sayles has been the scene of said rebellion for generations of students, though it has taken on decidedly different forms through the years.
One member of the class of 1954 told me about how students used to skip out on Sunday chapel at Sayles, which he said was then a mandatory component of life at Brown. Rather than listen to talks delivered by then-President Henry Wriston, students would arrive late and leave early - if they bothered to show up at all (though if students missed more than two sessions per semester, my informant recalled, they were subject to disciplinary sanction).
A member of the class of 1978 described a particularly trying chemistry exam administered in Sayles. Halfway through, in an effort to "calm his nerves," he opened a can of Foster's beer he had managed to smuggle in. He was discovered by the proctor, who ultimately decided not to punish the student, instead taking a beer for himself.
And what did these alums think of last November's indiscretions?
"Oh, son, I went here in the 70s," said my friend from the class of 1978, using that statement alone to communicate that he was unimpressed. Others had a similar view of the whole affair, indicating that whatever happened at last year's Sex Power God was not so much an aberration as it was, to a degree, a continuation of typical Brunonian behavior. Despite the building's stolid exterior appearance, it seems Sayles has long been a venue in which students have broken rules and had a good time.
-Robbie Corey-Boulet
