The Sting - February 2016

The Neotraditional Student Editorial 4

Changes in Engineering Technology Features 6

Introverts vs. Extroverts Lifestyle 8

COVER PHOTO BY D SHARON PRUITT KSU STUDENT LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE // FEBRUARY 2016 // KSUSTING.COM

EDITORAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief Carson Long

S t u d e n t

L i f e s t y l e

M a g a z i n e

thestingksu@gmail.com

FOR THE Layout Joseph Lorren

layoutdesign.sting@gmail. com

Copy Edit Eliza Jones

copyed.sting@gmail.com

Photo Alain Santos

photo.sting@gmail.com

Web Griffith Knoop

webd.sting@gmail.com

Inside the Issue

STUDENTS.

The Neotraditional Student

STUDENTS.

Changes in Engineering Technology

BY THE

The Sting is Kennesaw State University’s monthly student lifestyle magazine, and a part of KSU Student Media (KSUSM). As a student lifestyle publication we take the responsibility in engaging in conversations that build student engagement as part a community, and not just a university.

Editorial 4

Features 6

Introverts vs. Extroverts Lifestyle 8

Contact Us Lifestyle

Features

Brittany Rosario

Gerron Green

lifestyle.sting@gmail.com

features.sting@gmail.com

The Sting 1100 South Marietta Parkway Joe Mack Wilson Student Center Room A-246 Marietta, GA 30060

Undertale Review Games & Tech 10

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KSUSTING.COM / FEBRUARY 2016

3

EDITORIAL

The Neotraditional Student

by Carson Long Photo by D Sharon Pruitt

E

ver since I was young, I’ve been told that college was going to be the best years of my life. This would be a time where I would find out who I was.

Media depicted college as a social hub: there would be parties every night, class would be low priority, and I would finally have the freedom I’d wanted since high school. I dreamed that nights would be spent with friends while we didn’t worry about anything and enjoyed the middle ground between child and adult.

In fact, it seems like the nontraditional student is becoming the majority of undergraduates. No longer should you picture the media’s representation of a college student, as times have changed and the majority of students are working hard in an attempt to afford college. According to The Atlantic, 32% of students also work a full-time job (as of 2015). Now, students have to balance a full-time workload on top of their college classes.

College life is nothing like that, though.

I asked my father about his college experience. He went to a smaller college in Louisiana between 1981-1986. I noticed some pretty drastic differences from his college experience compared to mine. He worked multiple jobs and averaged about 25 hours of work a week, and with that money he paid $600 for a full load of classes (about $1,500 when adjusted for inflation). Board and housing, utilities included, was $1,400 for a full semester ($3,600 when adjusted).

Instead of constant parties and friends, my nights are spent between working and studying. The carefree lifestyle depicted in media might be a reality for few lucky individuals, but there is a new kind of student on campus. The nontraditional student has emerged with the new (and outrageous) prices of tuition.

The National Center for Education Statistics states the factors that make a nontraditional student. You are a nontraditional student if you: Didn’t attend college immediately after high school; Work 35+ hours a week;

Do not attend school full-time; Have any dependents other than a spouse; and/or, Have received a GED in place of a diploma.

KSUSTING.COM / FEBRUARY 2016

My father could pay around $5,000 for a semester of class while including the cost of living on campus. Now, tuition alone is nearly that much, not taking into account any student that might want to pay $11,000 to live on campus.

Use those numbers in relation to a student trying to pay their own way through college. These numbers are ridiculous; it’s difficult for a nontraditional student to afford college, and some even choose to take a semester or two off to save up money. Now, a four-year college career is a rarity. According to the University of Alaska,

a two-year degree usually takes a full-time student four years to complete (part-time students complete it in five years). A four-year degree takes a full-time student five years to complete (part-time students take nearly six years).

What does this mean? Students are spending a longer time in school, spending more in tuition and fees, and (with a student loan) collecting more debt.

These are the best years of my life? I’m stressed out!

How can I enjoy college knowing that if I fail a class, it will cost me another semester’s tuition and nearly half a year of my time? How does someone enjoy college with the constant pressure of homework in addition to a 40 hour work week?

My father said something insightful during my conversation with him. Fathers tend to have a way of doing that.

He said, “You won’t enjoy college until after you’re done with it, when you can look back at all the good times you had and how hard you worked to get through it. After seeing where you end up after college, that’s when you’ll miss it.” My dad is a goofy guy. I didn’t know he could channel his inner “Uncle Iroh.”

I love college. Really, I do. It’s expensive, difficult, and just plain stressful sometimes, but the end will all be worth it. Remember, when you get out of college and look back to see all the amazing friends you’ve made and all the experiences you’ve earned, it will all be worth it.

Are a single parent;

4

Comparing these numbers to Kennesaw State University is almost heartbreaking to a student that attempts to pay their own way through college. According to Kennesaw’s own website, tuition runs at about $4,250 for in-state tuition. Living on campus will cost a student nearly $11,500 alone.

Photo by Alain Santos

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FEATURES

FT

GAMES & TECH

GT

The UltraWide Monitor Changes in Engineering Technology C

by Alain Santos

by Gerron Green

F

or as long as the school’s been around, Southern Polytechnic State University has been known for its hands-on approach to engineering. Students learned the skills they needed from experience in the lab, as well as through knowledge from theories in textbooks. Unfortunately, this legacy is being threatened by changes coming to the Department of Engineering and Engineering Technology.

Currently, they are working on a system to allow students to work in the labs while supervised. Though Professor Asgill didn’t have specifics, an idea being thrown around was that of “lab monitors,” or people who would be able to watch students and make sure they aren’t a danger to themselves. This would also allow faculty to work unimpeded. This new policy is due to security and safety reasons across both campuses.

As of now, students are no longer able to work in the engineering or engineering technology labs unless a teacher is present. This may not seem like an odd policy to most, but the engineering technology department’s curriculum depends on labs. Classes such as Digital 1-3, Embedded PCs, and nearly every capstone in the department depend on lab time.

As I spoke with students, most of their frustration seemed to be because they were hoping for there to be little change after the schools merged, but it seems that some change is inevitable. A more worrying policy to some, but less for others, is the switch to cloud computing that may arrive in the upcoming semesters.

Students are worried about the changes coming to the major, so I sat down with Professor Asgill of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Department about the upcoming changes.

Though students may be worried, Professor Asgill assured me that the situation is being handled.

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It appears that in the near future students will be required to have their own personal laptop rather than relying on campus facilities. Talks about the new policy are in their early stages and more research needs to be done, but you can rest assured that a full article about the change coming to campus will be coming soon to The Sting.

Photo by: Alain Santos

omputer monitors are usually a “not so interesting” topic, although in recent months there has been an influx in the advancement of monitor technologies. In the past year, the consumer market has seen monitors that feature 4K, curved designs and, more recently, UltraWide. The introduction of UltraWide monitors has become a battle against dual monitor setups.

UltraWide monitors fix the one problem of dual monitor setups - continuity. Instead of having to deal with the black bezels of two monitors side-by-side, UltraWide monitors remove that completely and present one large screen. If you are in the market for one, there are plenty of pros but also some cons to consider.

productivity, UltraWide monitors flourish. Many UltraWide monitors offer IPS panels which deliver true-tolife colors. There is also a growing selection of UltraWide monitors. If you are in the market for an UltraWide monitor, some brands to consider are LG, Dell, and Acer.

LG offers a wide selection of UltraWides, whereas Dell features one flagship UltraWide monitor. Acer offers a selection of gaming UltraWide monitors.

UltraWide monitors are new to the consumer market and offer plenty of benefits. For content creation and

Some final remarks regarding UltraWide is that there are three sizes of UltraWides: 25 inch, 29 inch, and 34 inch monitors (these are measured on the diagonal). They also come in two resolutions: 2560 x 1080 and 3440 x 1440. The introduction of UltraWide monitors targets a niche audience, but the immersion offered on UltraWide is truly a remarkable experience.

Pros

Cons 1.

Price - Since UltraWide monitors are new to the consumer market, the price for them is significantly higher than buying a multi-monitor setup. However, the price is arguably a considerable factor as an early adopter.

Immersive in Gaming - The sheer size of an UltraWide brings in a deep sense of immersion when playing games.

2.

Content Selection - While movies work well on a 21:9 monitor, the vast majority of content online is suited for a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Perfect for Movies - UltraWide monitors follow a 21:9 aspect ratio. This is perfect for movies as they typically also follow this aspect ratio, thus giving you a true cinematic experience.

3.

Refresh Rates - The majority of UltraWide monitors are capped at a refresh rate of 60Hz. Alternatively, most gaming monitors offer upwards of 144Hz. So if you are a competitive gamer, an UltraWide monitor will give you a disadvantage.

1.

Screen Real Estate - You can seamlessly layer multiple programs next to each other on an UltraWide for a truly productive work flow.

2.

3.

Source: Setupz.com/items/ultrawide/

KSUSTING.COM / FEBRUARY 2016

7

LS

LIFESTYLE

Point being, I love video games, yet I’m an extrovert.

I absolutely enjoy socializing with both random and known people in public, dancing in the rain, talking in front of crowds, talking to myself out loud sometimes, and of course, expressing myself. Not to say that introverted people don’t have these qualities, but technically speaking they don’t. The term “introvert” can be used to describe people who “tend to be preoccupied with their own thoughts and feelings and minimize their contact with other people.” Most of you may notice that the number of introverts is higher on the Marietta campus whereas the number of extroverts on the Kennesaw campus is higher. But is it really?

by Brittany Rosario

I decided to randomly question 50 students from both campuses and I took notes on what they said as a way of gathering information. 37 out of 50 students at the Marietta campus considered themselves to be introverted while only 18 out of 50 students at the Kennesaw campus identified with being introverted. So it turns out that the stereotype between the campuses is true. What does that mean for video gamers though?

How do you play games?

When asked, the same 55 video gaming students who identified as introverted are the ones who said they trash talk, share their thoughts, and are more vocal overall when playing video games. To my surprise, the 51 video gaming students who identified as extroverted say that they play games more quietly, more strategically, and they don’t really share their feelings while

playing video games with others. I thought these were some interesting findings and I wondered what the internal cause of this might be on the two different ends of the spectrum. Why do extroverts act more humble and silenced? Why do introverts become more animated and social? The divergence between the two is curious.

I continued on my journey for answers. I also wanted to figure out what kinds of games these two personality types prefer to play - meaning, do extroverts prefer more social games that involve multiplayer, and do introverts prefer more solo-player games? It turns out that it’s the exact opposite. Based on the students I interviewed, introverts actually enjoy more multiplayer games so that they can trash talk and have friendly competition whereas the extroverts prefer solo games that require little to no interaction with others.

I think that both sets of individuals have broken the typical personality characteristics that we would see in these sorts of people. We get an interesting balance of how introverts find a way to be extroverted with their peers and how extroverts find their introverted alone time.

I

’m one of the few women who still plays video games as an adult, and that’s because I love them. When I was in elementary school I used to play Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2, Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Crash Bash, and my favorite, Crash Team Racing. As I grew a little older and my brother let me play some of his more mature video games, I fell in love with the Grand Theft Auto series: GTA3, GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas, GTA 4, and, more recently, GTA 5 when it was released in 2013.

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GAMES & TECH

GT

4.5 / 5 RATING

Released: September 15, 2015 Publisher: tobyfox Platform(s): PC

The reason Undertale is unlike any RPG is because of the simple mechanic called “Sparing” Sparing is simply deciding not to kill the monster you’re fighting; basically, it’s saving them from death. You don’t gain any experience when sparing, but you still receive gold, the ingame currency.

That is what makes Undertale so different from any other game: the choice to save them. You have the power to kill everything in the game, or the power to not kill a single enemy.

Undertale Review

Not only is sparing completely different from any other game, but so is how you initiate sparing. When you enter a battle scene, you are faced with 4 options: fight, act, item, and spare. Without taking away the fulfillment of exploring the game by yourself, you can decide what each option does.

by Aaron Jeter

U

ndertale is one of those games that will always sit in the back of your head. Why? Because Undertale is pure brilliant. The game makes you question yourself, as well as your actions. You want to make all the decisions, but you can’t.

One of the the above options gives you different choices, which is always unique to each individual enemy. After each turn, the enemy

Undertale is a JRPG unlike any game you have ever played, made by only one man.

10 KSUSTING.COM / FEBRUARY 2016

Source: Undertale Screenshots

Flowey Illustration by Joseph Lorren

attacks you. You then have to dodge the incoming attacks, which can get very challenging.

Besides the battles, the story is also captivating. The beginning cutscene tells the story of how humans and monsters had a massive war a long ago. The humans triumphed over the monsters, and the humans magically sealed the monsters below the earth. The story then transitions to the current time and you are introduced to a legend. The legend says that if a human climbs the mountain, they can enter the monster realm. So your character does indeed climb the mountain, and that’s where the game starts. Your goal is to go back to the human realm, which involves meeting a bunch of great characters.

8-bit graphics, but I felt that it was a perfect fit for the game. Another perfect fit was the soundtrack; no matter who you talk to, everyone will say the soundtrack is amazing.

Even some of my friends who haven’t played the game yet absolutely love the soundtrack.

I don’t want to tell you any more about Undertale because this game is worth playing. Prepare for an amazing journey into the underground world of Undertale. You won’t regret it.

Remember: stay determined, and not everything has to die!

Almost immediately after you start the game you realize that monsters aren’t as bad as you thought. They have feelings, and apparently a great sense of humor; however, that’s as much as I can tell you guys without spoiling the game.

Some people were turned off by the

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