Gaming on Campus

Video games will always split the opinions of people down the middle. There will be people who think games are enjoyable entertainment, while others see them as a waste of time.
College, however, is a place of higher education where people come to find out what kind of a career they want for themselves. But today, students are allowed to bring their gaming consoles to campus, and now people are faced with the question of whether video games are a help or a hindrance to students.
The debate can be started on the hindrance side with the opinion that video games tend to take up a lot of free time when students are in college to earn an education. This can be disputed with the students who play video games, but know their priorities and that school comes first.

Other arguments can be made, like that of those playing video games are a distraction to others, possibly getting too excited in their game play. Shawn Ringler, who hopes to be an electrical engineer, said video games are a distraction.
“Video games do provide a distraction for students who need to get their work done, but as long as you have your work done and you play them in the proper area, it is okay,” he said.
Aaron Benton, a sports management major, disagrees. He thinks that video games on campus are good.
“They’re a stress reliever, and they make a good pastime when a student has a large time gap between classes, though it is understandable how they can cause distraction,” he said.
Patrick Terry, a criminal justice major, agrees with Benton that video games are a stress reliever, but also thinks that they can bring people together.
“Say you’re new on campus and don’t know anyone, but you see a group students playing video games and ask to jump in and make friends instantly,” Terry said.
Adam Paschall, a business administration major, suggested that video games on campus are not only good, but are also a learning experience.
“There are many educational benefits that come from video games,” he said. “They could build good hand-eye coordination, produce story resources and educational games could put more students in classrooms. I understand why people would be against them, but as long as they are used the right way, they could be beneficial to students and make learning a lot more fun for people.”