Teh One Who Knocks
10-11-2012, 11:11 AM
By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG - Staff Reporter
http://i.imgur.com/mqLTP.jpg
It was supposed to be a cool poster to get student gamers to gather for a night of video games and beer at the campus pub.
But it is now a source of controversy — even noted on Forbes.com — since the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association refused to let the SMUdent Gaming society put up the posters around campus.
“We went to get it approved and we were told we weren’t able to have a gun on the poster,” Alexandria Bennett, outgoing president of the campus’s gaming society, said Tuesday.
The gun-like object on the poster is actually a Nintendo Zapper, an accessory that allows the player to shoot at the screen, said Bennett, calling it “a very iconic item” for gamers.
When the poster was turned down about three weeks ago, Bennett said, the group was annoyed but not too concerned.
“I was, like, you know, it does look like a gun and anybody who doesn’t understand it might take it wrong.
“I never thought we were being muted or anything. I was just, I want to get the event done and over with because it’s a lot of logistical stress that I don’t need.”
But word began to spread, and people began to approach Bennett and other members of the gaming group because they were concerned that the student association had such control.
Michael MacDonell, the student association’s vice-president of university affairs, said the policy does not allow any poster to be placed around campus that could damage the reputation of the university community.
“We at SMU pride ourselves on providing a welcoming and inclusive campus,” MacDonell said.
“We’ve got over 100 countries around the world and countless languages spoken.
“What we have to remember here is that a picture speaks 1,000 words, it crosses all language barriers. And, that being said, a picture depicting or making light of gun violence is something that we as an association are not willing to endorse.”
As a recognized society, the gaming group receives funding and meeting space on campus and is subject to the student association’s policies, which include poster approval.
MacDonell called the controversy an isolated incident.
The campus newspaper ran a small piece on the controversy that was picked up by gaming writer Michael Peck.
“I’m sure the good citizens of Halifax will sleep better tonight, knowing that they’ve been saved from the Nintendo Apocalypse,” Peck wrote on Forbes.com.
Mark Mercer, chairman of the university’s philosophy department, said the student association “shouldn’t have such power” to vet posters.
If people oppose the images they see and things they read, he said, they should “put up a poster of their own” and debate the issues openly on campus.
“I think freedom of expression is required for liberal education,” Mercer said.
MacDonell disagreed with Mercer about the association’s level of authority to vet posters.
“We, as SMUSA, the students association here, have a responsibility to our students as well as our societies to ensure that everything remains tasteful and appropriate,” he said.
SMUdent Gaming, which formed last year, is open to all students at both Saint Mary’s and Dalhousie universities. The group’s Facebook page has 166 members.
“It’s wonderful that it’s gotten so much publicity,” Bennett said. “For me, it shows that ... the community that we think is small is so much more big.”
The gaming group has put up a revamped version of the event poster, replacing the Zapper with a Power Glove, which looks like a large glove with a small keyboard on it.
“I later found out it’s much more violent than the gun is,” Bennett said.
“The video games associated with it ... you would punch someone and their head would fall off their shoulders. But apparently that was a much better idea to have (than the Zapper) and we’ve been putting those posters up instead.”
The group’s event will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at the Gorsebrook lounge.
And now, “if people bring the Zappers, they get in for free,” Bennett said.
http://i.imgur.com/mqLTP.jpg
It was supposed to be a cool poster to get student gamers to gather for a night of video games and beer at the campus pub.
But it is now a source of controversy — even noted on Forbes.com — since the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association refused to let the SMUdent Gaming society put up the posters around campus.
“We went to get it approved and we were told we weren’t able to have a gun on the poster,” Alexandria Bennett, outgoing president of the campus’s gaming society, said Tuesday.
The gun-like object on the poster is actually a Nintendo Zapper, an accessory that allows the player to shoot at the screen, said Bennett, calling it “a very iconic item” for gamers.
When the poster was turned down about three weeks ago, Bennett said, the group was annoyed but not too concerned.
“I was, like, you know, it does look like a gun and anybody who doesn’t understand it might take it wrong.
“I never thought we were being muted or anything. I was just, I want to get the event done and over with because it’s a lot of logistical stress that I don’t need.”
But word began to spread, and people began to approach Bennett and other members of the gaming group because they were concerned that the student association had such control.
Michael MacDonell, the student association’s vice-president of university affairs, said the policy does not allow any poster to be placed around campus that could damage the reputation of the university community.
“We at SMU pride ourselves on providing a welcoming and inclusive campus,” MacDonell said.
“We’ve got over 100 countries around the world and countless languages spoken.
“What we have to remember here is that a picture speaks 1,000 words, it crosses all language barriers. And, that being said, a picture depicting or making light of gun violence is something that we as an association are not willing to endorse.”
As a recognized society, the gaming group receives funding and meeting space on campus and is subject to the student association’s policies, which include poster approval.
MacDonell called the controversy an isolated incident.
The campus newspaper ran a small piece on the controversy that was picked up by gaming writer Michael Peck.
“I’m sure the good citizens of Halifax will sleep better tonight, knowing that they’ve been saved from the Nintendo Apocalypse,” Peck wrote on Forbes.com.
Mark Mercer, chairman of the university’s philosophy department, said the student association “shouldn’t have such power” to vet posters.
If people oppose the images they see and things they read, he said, they should “put up a poster of their own” and debate the issues openly on campus.
“I think freedom of expression is required for liberal education,” Mercer said.
MacDonell disagreed with Mercer about the association’s level of authority to vet posters.
“We, as SMUSA, the students association here, have a responsibility to our students as well as our societies to ensure that everything remains tasteful and appropriate,” he said.
SMUdent Gaming, which formed last year, is open to all students at both Saint Mary’s and Dalhousie universities. The group’s Facebook page has 166 members.
“It’s wonderful that it’s gotten so much publicity,” Bennett said. “For me, it shows that ... the community that we think is small is so much more big.”
The gaming group has put up a revamped version of the event poster, replacing the Zapper with a Power Glove, which looks like a large glove with a small keyboard on it.
“I later found out it’s much more violent than the gun is,” Bennett said.
“The video games associated with it ... you would punch someone and their head would fall off their shoulders. But apparently that was a much better idea to have (than the Zapper) and we’ve been putting those posters up instead.”
The group’s event will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at the Gorsebrook lounge.
And now, “if people bring the Zappers, they get in for free,” Bennett said.