Tonight’s monthly GNO (Guys/Girls Night Out) underwent some interesting last minute changes. Whatever the previous plans were, they were shortly scrapped and we were all informed that instead of leaving campus at 5:00, we would be meeting in David and Mary Michael’s rooms at 8:00. The only words of instruction they gave us were to come in our pajamas and be ready to get comfortable. Well, we soon found out that our GNO’s were now GNI’s (Guys/Girls Night In). 8:00 came around, and David and Mary Michael informed us that the night’s activity would be….a fort building contest of epic proportions! Using any and all materials we could get our hands on, we started assembling our citadels, the guys in Mary Michael’s room and the girls in David’s room. Mattresses were compromised, teddy bears were abducted, and sleeping bags everywhere were sacrificed for the cause. The guys battled the girls in an hour-and-a-half struggle for supremacy. At the end of the race, the time was called and the judging began. The girls had constructed essentially a circus tent housing a giant pallet of cheetah prints and polka-dots. The guys, on the other hand, had built the ultimate man cave, complete with hanging neckties, strobe lights, and underglow lighting from the crowning centerpiece – a street bike brought into the middle of the fort and decked out with a Christmas wreath and string lights. If my descriptions sound biased, just know that though both forts were very impressive, the judges agreed with my assessment, and the guys took top prize. To celebrate, the night was capped with cinnamon buns, ice cream, and pizza rolls, all ready for us to enjoy in our forts while we snuggled in blankets and watched our favorite movies. A great night in.

– Josiah Brown