Will Parsons, Mighty Bouncer, Fear of all First Years, sat enthroned on his stool at the door of Coupe De Ville's waiting for his next victims.
Parsons, a fourth-year College student, rules the entrance of Coupe's from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays for those who dare to traipse down the ominous staircase to bar-dom.
Friday is typically a less-heavily trafficked day of the week for the bar, so the 18th was just another night of work for Parsons. From his vantage point, he witnessed a few sporadic groups of people drinking sedately until a raucous birthday troupe arrived. The group was celebrating third-year College student Lile Trice's 21st birthday.
The birthday revelers controlled the bar counter and entertained Parsons with their expertise in taking handless shots while Parsons continued to regulate the door.
The ebb and flow of drinking continued through the night, ending with the very large flow of vomit.
Greg Pace, Manager of Coupe's, said the bouncer completely controls the traffic through the bar.
"He tries to keep the amount of people minimal, but once there's a line or it gets less crowded the manager or bartender lets you know to let more people in," Pace said. "It's up to him who comes in and who doesn't."
Parsons said he typically is at the bar after 2 a.m. until about 3:30 or 4 a.m. cleaning up messes such as last Friday's pool of vomit, in addition to dealing with other irritations.
"I'd say it gets annoying when people are always yelling at you and trying to get in when there's a line," he said. "The only thing that does suck is when shady clientele get obnoxiously drunk and start fights and bother girls, and you have to kick them out. Otherwise, it's pretty easy."
Even though Parsons said he has never had to call the police to maintain order, on several occasions he has escorted unruly individuals out of the bar.
Parsons said riotous nights are sparse, but they typically occur in a weekly pattern.
"Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the worst nights when it's packed, and it gets destroyed," Parsons said. "People peed in pitchers and left it under the tables--it turns into a war zone."
Being the soldier of a bar may be glamorous, but there is little pay for the glory.
"As a bouncer, you make a fixed amount, $7 per hour, and make part of it in tips, so you want it to be crowded to make money," he said. "But it sucks when you have to clean up 'til 4 a.m."
But Parsons considers his job undemanding compared to other jobs, earning on average $45-50 a night. Bouncing also provides advantages to his lifestyle.
"It's cool because it doesn't interfere with the day, but it sucks that you have to schedule classes not too early," he added. "That could be a potential problem, but I don't take any early classes."
And there are other perks. Friends who show up at the bar are fun distractions from the tediousness of bouncing, Parsons said.
"I like when friends come to hang out because it makes the time go faster," he said. "That's the good part of the job when they come."
Not all people who come to visit are welcome. Sometimes acquaintances bombard Parsons in an attempt to cut people in line.
"It presents an awkward situation when they want to skip the line and get in--it's tough to know where to draw the line," he added.
In addition to hanging out with friends on the job, Parson said the varying array of IDs are another diversion.
He said that often a first year will offer one of his friends' ID.
"I think it's funny when someone shows up with someone else's ID," he said. "One night, some guy tried to come in with a military ID. [He] said the birthday wasn't on it, while I knew it was on the back, and [he] argued with me for 10 minutes that you have to be 18 to drink in the military."
As crazy as it gets at the door, the back door has its own issues, he added.
"When I was bouncing at the back door, a group came during Final Hours, and one of them was so drunk that he was leaning on his friend and threw up all over the back of the other one," Parsons said. "He said he had to leave and stumbled out after that."
Birthday girl Trice said she appreciated Parson's bouncer efforts during her revelry.
"He was the best bouncer ever," Trice said. "He was an incredibly conscientious and dedicated bouncer"
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