'Beer Pong' Drinking Game May Be Bounced Near Miami U's Campus

OXFORD, Ohio (TDB) -- Village officials in this college town adjacent to Miami University plan to meet in February and consider adopting a law that will ban ''beer pong," a drinking game somewhat akin to ping-pong but can involve copious amonts of alcohol consumption.

Short description of the rules: Players set plastic or paper cups filled with beer on a table and slap a standard ping-pong ball back and forth with a paddle. If the ping-pong ball lands in a cup, the sswatter has to chug down its contents. The game is a fad -- sort of like seeing how many students could fit in a phone booth from the 1950s, or a VW Beetle from the 1960s, or perching old couches on the apartment porch in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

The proposed ban in Oxford would only apply to playing beer pong outdoors. Officials took a stab at enacting the ban last week, but tabled the measure until Feb. 28. Supporters think it could cut down on binge drinking and litter.

A few years ago, officials in Athens, Ohio tried to stop Ohio University students from dragging the old sofas outside onto their porches. On warm nights, kids would sit around on the beaten up furniture knocking back brews. The students often got juiced. Occasionally, somebody would start a fire and set the couch ablaze. Some people called it "porch perching" and Athens banned it.

Ohio U. students didn't take it sitting down. They organized a referendum and signed up enough voters to repeal the ban.