Fantasy gaming by Jason Simmons Collegian Staff Twinkle, twinkle. Rays of sunlight gleam upon the rustling leaves of a forest. Your view is diverted below the bright green canopy to view elves, fairies, centaurs, sprites, and humans dancing in merry reverie. The Fantasy Garners' Club has been born. Not all was merry, however, for events in the near past have threatened the gamer who plays games requiring creativity and imagination. Last week's SGA meeting recognized the Fantasy Garners' Club as an official campus organization. However, at the previous week's meeting, questions were brought up in regard to the nature of fantasy gaming. The ignorance concerning fantasy gaming became apparent when one Senator, to my surprise, acquired and passed out a series of articles that were taken from the Internet giving a negative bias to fantasy gaming. The articles, which frightened the gaming club members, claimed that fantasy gaming can lead those who play them to commit suicide and murder. Fantasy Garners' Club president EM(NM(NM'2 I MtMUNG/ 'lite Term State 'Educational Partnership Program needs tutors. 'They are seeking college students to tutor middle school and high school students any day of the week Please calf Kathy at 871-6689 for information! Don't wait!! Call now!! Keep Hope Alive Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Reed Commons 7:30 p.m. Come early for a seat! AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Penn State Erie's chapter of Amnesty International will meet on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 12:15 p.m. in Reed 3. Now in its 36th year, Amnesty provides anyone the opportunity to become involved in protecting and defending human rights throughout the world. Stop by or call Mane-Jeanne Goodenow at 898-6151. Mark Kunselman replied, "as far as I'm concerned, those articles are fictitious. They have no reliable sources; anyone could have written them." Upon my inspection of the articles, I found they were stories that had no source to verify the truth of the allegations stated in the articles. There was no copyright date or any name which identified the source of the stories. The Senator did not present aiky articles from established news sources to back up these allegations. The articles' main points were read aloud and passed around the table so SGA members could inspect them. As a result of the fear these articles induced, the Fantasy Gainers' Club was put in jeopardy regarding recognition as a legitimate student organization. Eight members of the Club appeared at the next SGA meeting to answer any questions the SGA members might have regarding the allegations. Chris Rizzo, in a response to this exhausting epic crisis, explained that since the pending club is in line with university policy, personal bias should not interfere with voting procedure. In the resulting vote, only one Senator dissented to the LIBRARY OPEN WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS LIAS/THE CAT BASICS COME AND LEARN HOW TO USE THE ONLINE CATALOG (THE CAT) AND THE LIAS SYSTEM 2-12-97 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM 2-13-97 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM PLACE LIBRARY INSTRUCTION ROOM #lO7 formation of the Club One must realize that fantasy garners are not demonic Satan worshippers who sacrifice goats and kittens to honor their evil masters. I have yet to see how creative adventure and science fiction are equivelant to dancing around flaming pits. Ignorance was responsible for the threat to the possibility of creating a fantasy gameplayers' club. When questioned, the objecting Senator claimed to have no experience in role playing or card gaming. I spoke with the Senator for one half hour after the SGA meeting previous to the vote and the Senator is now reading a book on fantasy gaming to become more educated about the subject. It was too tad the Senator's initial judgment was negative. It would have been a shame if 20 garners, who are all good people, were denied the opportunity to form a club due to ignorance and misinformation. One point to make is that we have been taught to accept diversity; we turn a blind eye to skin color, ethnic background, and sexuality, but to prejudge a gamer is to deny this diversity to people whose interests are different from ours. tAMRS... Nt-VCRs. \NV%.S"‘" \t'cv:)'‘---‘. 9 - Sunday 8:00 pm Ree , Commons Protestant Campus 0 • inion Catho& Mass in honor o Herb tau, Fantasy gaming is based upon science and history. Star Wars, The Hobbitt, Star Trek, and even Disney movies like Snow White are all fantasies. Games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars roleplaying have been developed in order to let people use their imaginations and create their own ideas. Creativity and intellect are the greatest assets a gamer can possess, not evilness or destructiveness. Too much of that is done by people who are not fantasy game players. Kittens are meant to be adorable, not to become sacrifices. Think catnip instead of poison ivy. (Trust a Bio major who is studying to become a Veterinarian.) If this article has not convinced you that your negative opinion is based on misinformation then attend a Fantasy Garners' Club meeting and see what it is like. Join a Dungeons and Dragons adventure in order to form an educated opinion about fantasy gaming. The Club and the meetings are open to everyone. Oh, and congratulations to the Fantasy Gaming Club. 6- Thursdau 7 - Friday 8 - Saturday Biaogy Mb IVCF 12:15 Reed 112 Martial Arts 2:00 pm Reed IL3 *ably Check 10:00 am 6:30 pm Reed 112 Niagara Basement ABC %L. me ace Zonsin llt7Pancake Breakfast 7:°° p.m. $3 for aftyou can eat Reed Commons 9:00 - 1:00 Newman Wesley Methodist Church 8:00 pm Reed . 3 Cafffor a ride 898-6967 10 - Monday Thursday, February 6, 1997 The Behrend College Collegian - Page 3 Letters to the Editor _V kits adout i To the Editor I was appalled by the article "Please let us Smoke!" on page 5 of the January 30, 1997 Collegian. For those people who are still living in the smoker's dream world, I suggest you wake up and smell something other than your cloud of cigarette smoke. Why are you in college? It would be nice to say that you're here for the education, but in truth, most people attend college because it improves their chances of finding better-paying, growth-oriented jobs. When an employer considers a new hire, he or she also considers a number of factors along with their education and experience. What is their personal demeanor; are they clean, neat, pleasant? How will they spend their time at work; concentrating on the job at hand or watching the clock for their next break? And most important, because it may cost the employer money in the long run, how is their health? People who smoke can be the cleanest people in the world, but for a non-smoker, they will always seem unclean because they smell of cigarette smoke. People who smoke are addicted to nicotine, so they must find some time in the course of their day to get another "hit," which takes 5-7 minutes. If an employee takes two cigarette breaks in the morning and two in the afternoon, that is 20-28 minutes of the employers' time that is wasted. (Sorry, very few jobs come with the traditional morning and afternoon "coffee break" any more.) 11- Tuesday Personal growth Group for Women 6:00 pm Counseling Center And if an employee smokes, he/she and his/her family will be more susceptible to respiratory illnesses resulting in time lost from work Many employers consider hiring . middle-aged smoker a real risk because that is the age whe emphysema, heart disease, and lun: cancer are likely to occur. Whe employees are chronically ill, i raises an employer's medic. insurance costs and drains th. vacation and sick time budgets. I'm not going to say tha smoking is bad for your health although science has proven that i is. We were all born with the will to do as we please, so i smokers choose to smoke in place • that do not directly effect me, that' • fine. But non-smoking employers and they are the majority-also hay: the free will not to hire a smoker no matter how many years o education and experience they have They know that in the end they wil pay more to employ than smoke than a non-smoker. The court• may even say that employe • cannot ask if a person smokes, bu the telltale odor is always there. Penn State-Behrend works hard to make sure that its graduates fins good jobs. You wonder why th; college would like you not t. smoke? One likely reason i because you are much harder to employ if you smoke. But it' your life, it's your career, and it' your future. Please give up you addiction now. Loretta Brandon LEARNING ASSISTANCE CENTER SERVICES 203 Übrary Monday 12 - 4 Tuesday 10 -2, 6 - 8 Wednesday 12 -4, 6 - 8 Thursday 10 -1,6 - 8 Sunday 4 - 7 **Math assistance also available in the LAC during the evening and Sunda hours and Tues & "(bur 12 - 1. 12 - Wednesday Commuter Council -1:00 pm Reed 112 Study Skiffs' Workshop 12:X3 -1:00 Reed 112
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