Syed Ali: No, we don’t
As students, we are overwhelmed with school as is. Tests, homework, quizzes, fees, books, and lectures encompass our routine, and sometimes, even our lives.
However, at times, we need to step back, relax and resort to the things in life that bring us happiness. Whether it is playing sports, listening to music, or driving around in your car, we all have something that we enjoy doing. However, we don’t participate in these activities at a questionable cost.
I appreciate the faculty and staff for being thoughtful and building Skyline students a “Game Room” inside of the new student union building. But couldn’t the money have gone to a much greater cause?
It’s obvious to see that the fee hike in tuition went to the creation of a new building and the renovation of old ones, but the money used to purchase the games and facilities to go into this specific room should’ve gone towards something that would’ve been much more useful for students.
Granted, I’m not going to be here next semester, so I won’t be able to utilize this room, let alone see what it looks like. It’s something that I’d neither use nor be interested in, even if I were to attend Skyline next semester.
Personally, I go to school to attend class, meet new people and learn in the process (as nerdy as that sounds), not to play pool or pinball.
I’d rather see the money being used on items that we really need; such as up-to-date computers, or even new chairs to replace the old ones. Better yet, that room itself could be used to teach another class, or it could even be used as another small, quiet little space for students to do their homework.
On top of that, the school is most likely going to have to hire someone, or pay a current staff member extra money just to watch over the game room so it’s kept tidy and maintained properly. Knowing the students of this campus, if left unattended, the game room is going to be trashed, messed up, and full of tagging (just like the current state of the men’s bathrooms).
The campus should’ve completed a poll to ask students what they think should be included in the student activities building. If we’re given the opportunity to name the new cafeteria, then why don’t we have a say in whether or not we want a game room? Remember, this building and this game room is being built for students. So shouldn’t the faculty and staff ask our opinions so that they get a good investment in their choices?
And if having a Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits a couple blocks away from the campus isn’t enough of an incentive to cut class, can you think of what’s going to happen when there’s a game room on campus?
Having a game room on a college campus is the equivalent to having a fire-breathing competition at a fire station: A complete oxymoron.
When I was in elementary school, I was consistently taught and reminded that a school isn’t a place to horse around or to waste your time, but an institution for learning and developing the mind.
If I can go home and tell my parents that I not only learned about Pluto, but how to play a game of nine-ball as well, then I’m sorry to say, but our priorities are in disarray.
Jesus Hills: Yes, we do
The new student activities center will be the new home for many existing program offices here on campus. The new building will also be home for new offices and rooms devoted to making community college life easier for the student body, and the faculty when nobody is looking. One of these new rooms should be a game room.
A game room would provide a quick and easy on-campus way to de-stress after a test or even before a test. It would also be a place where people can actually meet new and interesting people, instead of wandering around from class to class alone, talking briefly to other classmates.
Many big corporations as well as college campuses including San Francisco State have some semblance of a game room, whether it is a pool table and ping-pong table, or an arcade, or both. Often in a working environment the mantra, “A happy employee is a good employee,” is passed around, and that mantra can easily translate to our college campus.
Skyline College is in dire need to promote school spirit and happiness amongst this wholly depressing, fog shrouded campus. A game room might be a way to do so. Instead of hiding all our campus accolades in random and rarely used hallways, why not put them in a room that is all about games.
An additional bonus to having a game room built would be that people stay on campus longer, allowing for events and games to make a jump in attendance. Instead of having to choose between The Learning Center, library and cafeteria to sit around in until the game or event starts, students can entertain themselves in other ways in the game room while they wait. Nowadays most students finish class and then go home, which often times doesn’t help the school or the students. The more interaction this campus has the more proud people will be to be apart of this campus.
A game room would be a little more money for the school to fork over but the long-term benefits would be good. Games have always been a center for community gathering; this has been the case since the Ancient Greeks and even before that. If it worked for the Ancient Greeks, then it can work for the Skyline Trojans. There needs to be a game room in the new student activities center, utilizing the center for its full potential, not just another academic building that will collect dust, like building seven.