Alicia Palenyy State Hornet
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January 3, 2011
Winter Edition
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January 3, 2011
Winter Edition
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Fall Semester in review
Critics question funds for the Well None of the $25 million in fundraising that some think was meant to go toward the Well will be used to fund it, said John Kepley, special assistant to Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez. Instead, the money will be used to pay off “ongoing costs associated with the Spanos Sports complex,” Kepley said.
According to the text of the 2004 referendum passed by students to approve construction of the facility, “The commitment of the university is to reduce the impact to students by committing to raise $25 million (cash and/or contract) prior to the ($110) fee being implemented.” The referendum does not mention that the funding would be used for other purposes besides the Well, and is otherwise unclear on how the fundraising dollars are to be spent.
business degree, said he created the website to allow students to share their notes and study guides. Stevens said he will continue to run the website and has requested the Chancellor’s
CSU warns students about new note-sharing website
Critics said the full amount of the fundraising should go to the Well, and decried the fact that the money is being used for other purposes. Former Associated Students Inc. President Angel Barajas said the $25 million in fundraising was supposed to help reduce the monetary impact of the construction of the Well on students.
The California State University chancellor’s office sent a mass e-mail to students telling them that NoteUtopia, a note-sharing website founded by Sacramento State alumnus Ryan Stevens, violates the California Education Code. “California Education Code section 66450 prohibits any business or person from selling or otherwise distributing or publishing class notes for a commercial purpose,” said Lori Varlotta, Sac State’s vice president for student affairs, in an e-mail. “This means that any CSU student selling class notes, including on the NoteUtopia website, is subject to discipline, up through and including expulsion from the university.” Stevens, who graduated in 2009 with a
Sacramento State Studies, a general education pilot program, will combine three three-unit general education classes into a nine-unit collaborative course, said Sheree Meyer, associate dean for undergraduate studies. These “collaboratives” will allow faculty to work together to develop lectures and field experiences and will enable students to see how general education courses are related to one another. The program will be available to approximately 20 percent of incoming freshmen and each collaborative will have 150 students.
Women’s studies program finally a bachelor’s degree Office to send another mass e-mail clarifying the legitimacy of the site. The Chancellor’s Office, as well as Sac State, declined to do so.
Sac State creates new way to fulfill general education Instead of taking individual three-unit courses, fall 2011 freshmen have the option to fulfill general education courses by taking a nine-unit collaborative course.
The women’s studies department has been at Sacramento State for 39 years, but this year was the first year its students could graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Previously, women’s studies majors had to fill out a major request form, write a personal statement about why they wanted to major in women’s studies, obtain department signatures and letters of recommendation, said women’s studies professor Sujatha Moni. Students who have already completed a special major in women’s studies can opt to see Review | page A4
The State Hornet | Winter Issue Staff Editors
mharris@statehornet.com
Leidhra Johnson editor@statehornet.com
Writers
Katrina Tupper ktupper@statehornet.com Kristine Guerra news@statehornet.com Miriam Arghandiwal features@statehornet.com Marshall Hampson sports@statehornet.com Daniel Vasilchuk opinion@statehornet.com Robert Linggi rlinggi@statehornet.com Megan Harris
Michelle Curtis mcurtis@statehornet.com Kayla Gales kgales@statehornet.com Ken Paglia kpaglia@statehornet.com Mica Stevenson mstephenson@statehornet.com Laila Barakat lbarakat@statehornet.com Leia Ostermann lostermann@statehornet.com AJ Taylor ataylor@statehornet.com
Cole Mayer cmayer@statehornet.com Copy Chief Benjamin R. Schilter bschilter@statehornet.com Advertising Staff Diane Kauffman ads@statehornet.com Matt Erickson ads@statehornet.com Professional Journalist in Residence Holly Heyser hheyser@statehornet.com Contact Information Main: (916) 278-6584 Fax: (916) 278-5578 The State Hornet 6000 J St. Sacramento, CA 95819
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January 3, 2011
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January 3, 2011
OneCard office to relocate to Lassen Hall this winter The OneCard office, located in Brighton Hall Annex, will relocate this winter break to Lassen Hall and share office space with the Student Financial Services Center. Gina Curry, university bursar and director of the Student Financial Services Center, said the move was initially planned for fall 2010, but will be completed by January 2011. The newer location will offer more space for the offices, while still sharing the space with the Student Financial Services Center, Curry said. It will also have the advantage of being indoors compared with its current location where students have to form a line
outside when the office gets too crowded.
Alexander Gonzalez said additional courses will be needed for the 30,000 students the CSU plans to admit this winter and spring. The Board of Trustees is also asking the state to provide $121.5 million in its 2011-12 budget to “buy out” the 10 percent increase.
College of Arts and Letters dean announces retirement
CSU Board of Trustees approves 15.5 percent tuition hike California State University Board of Trustees approved a 5 percent fee increase in spring 2011, and a 10 percent increase beginning fall 2011. Starting this spring, undergraduate tuition will be $2,220 per semester, while credential program and post-baccalaureate tuition will be $2,577 and $2,736, respectively, according to the Sacramento State Public Affairs Office. The increase in fees is needed to provide services and sustain enrollment levels, CSU officials said. Sacramento State President
College of Arts and Letters Dean Jeffrey Mason announced in November that he will retire from his position, which he has held for the past five years. After retiring, he plans to get re-acquainted with his love of theater by directing and performing in plays, which he has been doing since elementary school.
mid-afternoon and late evening routes of the Green and Hornet lines in the spring. The Green Line’s route travels around the La Riviera Drive, Watt Avenue and Folsom areas. The Hornet Line travels around the campus and to the 65th Street light rail station. UTAPS also proposed to eliminate the Gold Line. The Gold Line travels around Arden Way and Howe Avenue. Two forums were held in November to outline and discuss the proposed changes and to get feedback from students. Associated Students Inc. has proposed cutting the Hornet Line instead of the Gold Line because it has a ridership of 24,450, compared with the Hornet Line’s 14,029.
Hornet Shuttle cuts could save $100,000 annually University Transportation and Parking Services proposed significant changes in November to Sacramento State’s Hornet Shuttle lines, with the intention of saving the university about $100,000 annually. UTAPS proposed cutting early morning,
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Fall Semester in review continued from A4
Fall Semester in review continued from A3 take 12 additional units to receive a bachelor’s degree. The women’s studies department was established at Sac State in 1971 by Sally Wagner, a historian and women’s rights activist. Sac State was the third women’s studies program in the nation and has now become the eighth university in the California State University system to recognize women’s studies as a bachelor’s degree program.
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Quran Jones pleads not guilty by reason of insanity
Quran Jones, the suspect in last year’s killing of his dorm mate Scott Hawkins, pleaded not guilty on Nov. 19 by reason of insanity. Jones, 21, was accused of one count of homicide, three counts of attempted murder and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. Two doctors were appointed by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Marjorie Koller to examine Jones. The results will be released at Jones’ next court appearance at 8:30 a.m. on Friday at the Sacramento County Main Jail, Department 61. New evidence was released at a preliminary hearing in October that Hawkins, 23, had a stab wound to his head and Jones’ had written a statement saying “I kill people.”
kidnapping and sexual assault of a female student near the Residence Halls parking lot. The men sexually assaulted her, then let her go, according to police reports. On Nov. 8, an unknown suspect allegedly groped a woman in the Library Quad, according to reports. Two instances happened on Nov. 15 in Parking Structure I, according to reports. Police said a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in Parking Structure I, and another was allegedly touched on the chest by a man as she walked to her car. The latter victim sprayed the perpetrator’s face with pepper spray, according to reports. The latest reported incident happened on Dec. 10 when a female student was allegedly assaulted by an acquaintance at the American River Courtyard, according to a Sac State Police alert bulletin. The whereabouts of the latest suspect are “currently unknown,” according to the bulletin. This is the seventh sex crime on campus this semester. Three of the reported incidents were
Proposed tuition increase ‘buyout’ deemed unrealistic
The California State University’s hopes to offset recently announced fee increases that may not be realistic, according to the state’s non-partisan fiscal analyst. The CSU plans to raise tuition 5 percent in January, and 10 percent next fall, but asked the state for $125 million to “buy out” the 10 percent increase in its next budget. “Buyouts are not the most strategic investment of funds,” said Judy Heiman, principal analyst with the Legislative Analyst’s Office, which will make a recommendation on 2011-12 funding levels for the CSU.
Sex crimes on campus reach an all-time high Sacramento State experienced the most sex-related crimes to occur in one semester in recent history. On Sept. 13, a woman was allegedly touched by an unknown man while studying outside of Capistrano Hall, according to police reports. The second assault was on Oct. 18 when a female student reported being raped by an acquaintance in the residence halls. The suspect was later released and charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. It was followed on Oct. 21 by the reported
sexual battery cases and the rest were sexual assaults. All of the cases, except the Oct. 21 rape case, are still under investigation. Since the reports, Sac State police have increased campus patrols and expanded its night escort service.
Campus restores 303 spring classes Sacramento State will restore 303 courses this spring because of $6.6. million in onetime funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Of the general education course restora-
tions, 109 will be from the lower division and 51 will be from the upper division. Onehundred forty-three major courses will be restored. Six of the classes will be online.
Destination 2010: Success or failure? Six years after Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez unveiled Destination 2010, his pet project to foster the university’s prominence in the region, students and faculty have mixed feelings about the value it brought to campus. “It focused more on buildings than academics,” said Lois Boulgarides, interim president of the Capitol chapter of the California Faculty Association. “It looks very cosmetic; all about branding and looks.” Associated Students Inc. President Terry Martin, however, said Destination 2010 has helped make Sac State a place where students want to stay on campus. “It is really focused more on the student life aspect, and that’s something worthwhile. There’s much more to the student experience than academics, and being able to do things like work-out at the Well can indirectly affect academic performance,” Martin said. Destination 2010, launched in 2004
during Gonzalez’s second year as president, is the initiative that brought student facilities such as the Well, the Academic Information Resource Center, the American River Courtyard residence hall and the 3,000-space Parking Structure III. It also established programs, such as the Honors Program and secured scholarship funding for students.
Opportunity to visit Japanese internment camps available for students this spring A $10,000 grant will fund a three-day field trip to Manzanar, one of 10 incarceration sites for Japanese Americans. The trip will be from April 29 to May 1. Students who are interested in applying must submit a one-page essay explaining why they want to attend. Applications are due by Feb. 4.
For more information, contact Wayne Maeda at waymad@saclink.csus.edu
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January 3, 2011
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Sac State, CSU application pools continue to grow By Micah Stevenson and Laila Barakat news@statehornet.com As of Nov. 30, the final day for undergraduate students to apply, Sacramento State received more than 28,700 applications, an increase of about 1,200 from fall 2010. “Last year was one of the largest application pools in CSUS history,” said Ed Mills, associate vice president of enrollment management at Sac State, in an e-mail to The State Hornet. “So, we continue to be a very popular campus and many students in the region, as well as outside our region, continue to apply to Sacramento State.” For graduate applications, Sac State has received 1,098 so far. Deadlines vary by programs, this number can be anywhere between 3,000 and 4,000 by January, Mills said. California State University spokesman Erik Fallis said the continuously rising number of applications show the public’s optimism toward the university. “We are still one of the most affordable options out there,” Fallis said. “We also provide for a lot of financial aid, so there’s a lot of access. Our goal has been to maintain quality,
while also maintaining access. I think the system has managed – even through hard times – to do that.” The CSU has received a record high of 611,000 undergraduate applications, which tops fall 2010 numbers by about 2,000. Fallis said although it is virtually impossible to know the amount of newly-enrolled students at this point, the university’s target is to add 30,000. “Unfortunately, it’s not an exact science,” Fallis said. “We can’t just say, ‘Of these applicants, X percentage will actually enroll.’ You would have to involve student decisions, the processing, how many students apply to multiple campuses and things like that.” The number of newly-enrolled students will not be determined until March 1, the day the university is finished evaluating the applications, to ensure eligibility of each aspiring student. “Applications are just student reporting,” said Harres Magee, enrollment analyst at Sac State, “and we are going to do a background on the information that they reported to us. Until we get through the actual admission process, we won’t know how significant those numbers are until we’re done process-
ing them all. An increase is always good, though, I can definitely say that much.” Mills said the Chancellor’s Office has not yet given Sac State an enrollment target for 2011-12 academic year. “This will likely be dependent on what happens with the state budget and the new administration downtown,” Mills said. Despite the rise in the number of students applying to Sac State, community college students in the Sacramento area are not too worried about being admitted. “I heard that Sac State gives priority to students who live in Sacramento and the greater Sacramento region,” said engineering major Primdeep Shah, who is in her fourth semester at Sacramento City College and has applied to Sac State for fall 2011. Last summer, Sac State declared campus-level impaction starting next fall due to an expected
increase in the number of applicants. Though some students at Sacramento City are not worried about being admitted to Sac State, they are concerned about increasing tuition and decreasing financial aid. Tuition will increase by 5 percent this spring and by 10 percent in the fall. In its 2011-12 budget proposal, the CSU asked the state to buy out the 10 percent fee increase.
Alicia Palenyy State Hornet
January 3, 2011
Winter Edition
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Jones’ psychiatric test results to be reviewed Friday By Ken Paglia kpaglia@statehornet.com If former Sacramento State student Quran Jones is found not guilty by reason of insanity for allegedly beating his roommate to death last year, he may face a stiffer sentence than if he were to be convicted by a jury. Jones, 21, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity at his Nov. 19 court hearing, prompting Judge Marjorie Koller to order psychiatric testing. The tests will be reviewed at Jones’ next court hearing, scheduled for Friday. If the Sacramento County District Attorney agrees to accept Jones’ plea, then he will be sentenced to a state psychiatric facility without trial. If prosecutors reject the plea Jones’ will go to trial, where his lawyers will have to convince a jury he was insane when he allegedly killed dorm mate Scott Hawkins, 23, with a baseball bat on Oct. 21, 2009. “A not guilty by reason of insanity plea is an indeterminate sentence, and it could be for the rest of his life,” said Sacramento defense attorney Jason Lawley, who has had experience with insanity pleas. A defendant found guilty of murder may be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, be given credit for good behavior and have
parole hearings. But in order to be released from a state psychiatric facility, a panel of psychiatrists have to agree there is no danger for relapse, Lawley said. “You’re there until three or five psychiatrists are willing to stake their careers on being healed,” Lawley said. “It’s tough to get three or five psychiatrists to take that bet.” Even if a state psychiatric facility patient is released, he or she must return to court every couple years for review, and can be reinstitutionalized at any time, Lawley said. The district attorney’s office could disagree that Jones is insane, as prosecutors typically refuse to accept not guilty by reason of insanity pleas “unless the evidence is overwhelming,” Lawley said. The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment, as did Jones’ attorney. Two written statements by Jones have provided the few clues into his mind. One was a note found by investigators in a trash can at the American River Courtyard residence hall suite, which states, “If Quran Muhammed Jones ever dies He Quran Muhammed Jones orders you to put his body in an incinerator so that every atom of his body is burned away. Thank you.” The other was a written statement by Jones
saying “I kill people,” which was released at Jones’ Oct. 29 preliminary hearing. Further clues have come from statements from police, following Sac State residence hall adviser Jason Molay’s 911 call saying Jones was acting crazy and throwing things into the dorm courtyard, according to the Sac State police case synopsis. Jones was described as having “a crazed look in his eye,” by an officer entering the dorm room, Sac State Police Cpl. Jeff Solomon states in the synopsis. A dorm resident told officers he was “bashing (the baseball bat) against his own head,” the synopsis states. Another officer, Thelma Mathews, said Jones’ “eyes were wide open, and one eye was looking one way, and the other was looking the other way. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth. He looked really strange,” the synopsis states. Jones reportedly barricaded himself in the dorm room as officers arrived. One officer reported seeing Jones “stabbing himself ” with a kitchen knife, the synopsis states. Jones’ allegedly attacked officers with the knife, according to police records. Officers fired several pepper ball spray shots into his chest, but he continued to come at them, the synopsis states.
Courtesy Photo
Scott Hawkins poses with his mother during move-in day at the American River Courtyard residence hall.
Police ultimately shot Jones in the arm and buttocks, and he was taken into custody. Jones is currently paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Hawkins was found unconscious inside the room, with a stab wound to his brain, court records state. He was transported to the UC Davis Medical Center, where he died from blunt force trauma to the head.
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January 3, 2011
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January 3, 2011
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Exhibit combines Western media with Chinese culture By Leia Ostermann lostermann@statehornet.com Contemporary Chinese art work is now returning to more personal inspirations by using Western art tools. “Artists draw from the same sources around the world,” said the director of the University Library Art Gallery Phil Hichcock. “This art work, coming from a different social standard and economy, is directly influenced by the culture these artists are immersed in but expressed in Western mediums so they appear to look similar. In this way it is easier to compare different cultural artwork because the influences behind the subjects are so different.” Nineteen artists, all using different Western art media such as oil painting, sculpture and graphics, will be presented in a free exhibit titled “New Wave of Chinese Contemporary Art” in the University Library Gallery from December 10 - March 12. “This art exhibition will show a new phase of growth for the Chinese contemporary art movement that has been building for three decades in China,” said exhibit curator
Jessica Gezi Qu. “This exhibition reveals the diversity of Chinese contemporary art while simultaneously giving prominence to the art works’ individuality. It is a great opportunity for students and community to understand culture through art.” This culture will be easier to grasp for students because of the use of Western mediums instead of the traditional calligraphy and wood block printing Chinese art is known for, Hichcock said. “In my art I am using the already developed art language from the Western world to talk about Chinese stories,” said one of the featured artists Jian Wang. “This is a new show idea, the first of its kind, to showcase Chinese art, history and personal interest.” Qu chose 40 pieces of contemporary artwork out of hundreds of potentials to reflect the cultural connection between the Chinese subjects and Western art forms. “It is an obvious art movement, which is rather interesting since when society looks at art they are more about looking for an inner voice rather than obvious style,” Qu said. “You have to forget previous knowledge and appreciate this as a new phenomenon.”
The first reformation of art began when China pulled away from a more controlling government and the art work began to reflect Western culture, Wang said. This next wave still uses Western material but reflects the cultural stories of the individual artists. Qu said art illustrates the criticisms of Chinese reformations in the political and cultural arena. These changes show that art can influence and directly impact the surrounding environment and this revelation inspires current Chinese artists to blend the pride of their history with modern elements of artistic style. For Zhang Fangbai, a featured artist, this world is represented in paintings that represent power in an eagle, a fish or a bird. His birds represent a message that by following tradition people are also creating new traditions for the future, Qu said. “Although contemporary art reflects the surrounding culture, it can also represent the anti-traditional culture or anything else that has had established rules. In any case, it offers people a fresh, new visualization of a constantly changing world compared to past art styles,” Qu said.
This new wave of art work represents today’s changing Chinese culture, Qu said. “In today’s global community, Chinese contemporary art is a window into understanding a rapidly modernizing Chinese culture. This is one of the reasons that Chinese contemporary art is attracting a lot of attention and capturing the imagination of collectors, admirers and other artists throughout the international art market,” Qu said. This exhibit opens the door for an art exchange between cultures, Hichcock said. He enjoys helping to host international exhibits at Sac State so that the school can keep these kind of high standards of diversity. “We are a university, so we not only service art but also history and business and other schools on campus and in this region,” Hichcock said. “Sacramento has one of the most diverse cultures of any city in the United States and we should be proud. We are proud. And we try and bring that to the forefront. The world is not as big as you think and it’s accessible.” Hichcock likes to think of art as a means of bringing cultures together, across the world and across campus.
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January 3, 2011
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Ski and Snowboard Club plans to hit Utah’s slopes By AJ Taylor ataylor@statehornet.com Every Thursday night the Sacramento State powder junkies gather in the Hinde Auditorium. Their numbers have recently exceeded 200. And this winter break they will pack a bus full of nothing but themselves and their most precious equipment and make their way to Park City, Utah to get their fix. They are the Sac State Ski and Snowboard Club, and from Jan. 9-14, they will be tearing up the slopes of Park City, Utah. “It includes a bus ride, it includes four-day lift tickets, the Ying Yang Twins are going to be playing, there’s events down there in the clubs,” said club president Mike Nerby. “We’re staying in a resort that is right on the mountain. You can walk out the door and you can strap on your snowboard and you’re already there.” The club’s annual winter trip has been long anticipated and the members said the hype surrounding it is unmistakable. “It’s going to be awesome,” said club member Eric Viglienzone. “It’s basically a six-day party - I can’t wait.” Viglienzone has been skiing since he was
four and he has been snow boarding for six years. But his level of experience is only one drop in the deep-water that makes up the Ski and Snowboard Club. “If you don’t even know what a snowboard is, we’d love to have you come in and we would love to teach you all about it - as long as you’re willing to get involved and have a good time, which I don’t think anyone could really complain about,” said former club president Alex Espinosa. “I guess the only real complaint that anyone could have is that the snow is too cold for you.” The club and its members are proud to say that it is a social gathering. They have members of all levels and they are always excited to help interested members learn. “I think one misconception about the club is that you need to be a good skier or snowboarder or go up (to the slopes) a lot to be involved,” Espinosa said. “That is the farthest thing from the truth. Whether you do double backflips or you’ve never made a snowman before we want you in our club to be in there and get involved and have fun. The secret to being a member in our club is just getting involved with everything. If that happens you’ll meet everyone, you’re going
more out of it,” Espinosa said. to have great times, you’re going to find yourself skiing and snowboarding a lot more When the season strikes, and the snow beand you’re going to get the most out of it.” gins to fall, many of the club members show Even the club itself has made friends. The their true colors by skipping the meetings Water Ski and Wakeboard team has ties to and hitting the slopes early. the Ski and Snowboard Club. And when “Ironically, the club will almost decrease one sport is in season, members of each because so many people are going out there,” club never shy away from broadening their Espinosa said. “It’s like, ’I could go to the horizons. meeting tonight or I could jet up there right “Lets face it, when the water is too cold now and get a full night of powder in.” in Folsom Lake you want to go snow boarding,” Espinosa said. “When the snow has melted, you want to go to the Delta to do some wakeboarding.” The club meets every Thursday from 7 to 9:00 p.m., but the experience rarely ends when the meeting does. Events like ‘80s Skate Night and discount night for members at Ground Zero begin after the meetings. The club has even expanded recently. The newly founded Ski and Snowboard team was actually the brain child of Espinosa. “Another member and I set up the Courtesy Photo Snowboard and Ski Team last year for those who are a little bit more Sac State Ski and Snowboard Club is open to all levels of experience. competitive and want to get a little bit
January 3, 2011
Winter Edition
Gamers say interaction is just as fun as competition
By Cole Mayer cmayer@statehornet.com Frustration is nothing new in online games. From the terrible spawn camper, killing you as soon as you enter the game, to the trash talker who has not hit puberty yet, we encounter all sorts of stressors. Yet, people keep coming back for more. Why? I have narrowed it down to two aspects: competitiveness and social interaction. First, the competitive side in all of us, rearing its head. From the first-person shooter to the racing game, we head online to test our mettle against other players, striving to shoot first or cross the finish line ahead of the pack. Seeing my name at the top of the list in Call of Duty: Black Ops, a first-person shooter, and knowing that many gamers on the other team have seen the face of the Cookie Monster as they die – makes me strive to be the best. The second, and I would argue more important aspect of online games, is social interaction. After coming home after a long day of school and work, most people want to sit back and relax. But, humans are social creatures, and we need to get our fix of talking to people. This is where the massively multiplayer online role-playing game comes into play. World of Warcraft and Guild Wars are two prime examples. Hop online, talk with the people of the guild you are in, which is a group of people you have joined, kill a few monsters with them and chat about life. And no, the pre-pubescents that populate the online gaming realm, who scream obscenities at you, does not count as socializing. If they are who you consider your friends, it is time to set the controller down, step outside and play some real sports for interaction and competition. I spoke with two
guild leaders from Guild Wars, and both cited the social interaction as the reason they play the game. My own guild leader, April Taulbee of New York, could do without everything but the people in the game. “What I like about (Guild Wars), more than the game play (and) more than the stunning visuals, is really the community building; that the guild option lets you group like-minded people beyond casual play,” she said. “That way there are always people you know to talk to and play with. I’m about the people more than the game, but the game provides the binder.” Sandy Guinn, another guild leader, says it is more about a person’s history that keeps him interested. “You find people online that are so different from yourself, it is fun to get to know about them and their backgrounds,” he said. Interestingly, both competitiveness and social interaction are intertwined, not just with learning how to act as a team. Different genres of games translate to different levels of social interaction, and even different ways of socializing. Gamers are less likely to find someone friendly while shooting others online than they are in a fantasy setting, where everyone is trying to kill the monster. Dan Kim, junior business major, said the reactions of people can be anywhere from humble to easy-going, to unsportsmanlike and belligerent. “In first-person shooters like CounterStrike, players talk a lot of trash when it comes to their performances especially when they “own” others and same the other way around,” Kim said. “In real time strategy games like StarCraft II, however, I’ve encountered many players with humble attitudes in which they tend to make positive comments on the gameplay of players, and even say “good game” at the end of each match.” So, why should you play online games? It is a chance for you to show off your skills and tell the other team you “owned” them. Not only that, but working as part of a team to overcome a goal, while learning about each others’ lives and getting our social interaction fix is a great way to spend a few Courtesy Photo hours.
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