The library at Appalachian State has just announced the opening of a "game room"on the second floor. ( http://technews.library.appstate.edu/game-room-opening-in-belk-library/ ) This announcement came as a complete surprise to students, faculty, and even some of the staff working at the library.
When the collections of VHSs, reels, and print journals were systematically removed from the library's collection and thrown into dumpsters earlier this year, no faculty or students were consulted. There are now believable rumors going around that the library's collection of books is also going to be noticeably trimmed.
Both Appalachian State and the UNC system in general are facing massive budget and program cuts. Administration is continuing to bloat while tuition and fees are increasing every year. There have been several new administrative positions created this summer, including an additional Assistant Dean for the library.
It is against this backdrop that we learned about a library study room being converted into a game room.
When the collections of VHSs, reels, and print journals were systematically removed from the library's collection and thrown into dumpsters earlier this year, no faculty or students were consulted. There are now believable rumors going around that the library's collection of books is also going to be noticeably trimmed.
Both Appalachian State and the UNC system in general are facing massive budget and program cuts. Administration is continuing to bloat while tuition and fees are increasing every year. There have been several new administrative positions created this summer, including an additional Assistant Dean for the library.
It is against this backdrop that we learned about a library study room being converted into a game room.
To me, this game room is a continuation of administrative decisions that ignore what the community is asking for. We've been asking for more (and perhaps cheaper) parking, and instead they have built more student housing, which only exacerbates the problem. Students had to petition for over a year to have the library be open for 24/5 and only won when it was discovered that the administration had never stopped charging us the fee for the library to be open those extra hours. We have asked for Safe Ride (a free "taxi" like service that operates on campus after dark) to be expanded. We have asked for the counselling center to be expanded and given more funding. Neither of these proposals has been given much attention by the administration.
Furthermore, when the new Chancellor was hired, the school insisted on a closed (i.e., secret) process, despite petitions and criticism by both faculty and students. Although the new Chancellor has proven popular with the community, the administration's tendency towards unchecked growth and secrecy has continued.
The administration and Appalachian State are a little too fond of referring to the community as the "Appalachian family." I have to admit that it feels like a family in that decisions are being made by the few and imposed on the many without any regard for what the many have to say. Oh, wait. That resembles more of a dictatorship. It certainly does not seem a model that is committed to continuing a democratic society and tradition.
If this game room had been a community decision, that would have been one thing. I would have dissented but not felt blindsided.
If the game room had been presented as an educational space, to learn through video games or work on game design, I would have understood it a lot better. But it's clearly being presented as merely entertainment. (I did go visit the game room and while not perfectly soundproof, it does dampen the sound.)
A professor at Appalachian State noted that the backlash against the game room is likely linked to a bias against video games, as there are many other amenities which were more expensive and yet did not draw the immediate ire of the community. I recognize that. While I was originally irate over the decision (due in large part to it being a surprise), I have since regained a sense of balance. Instead I see the game room as a symbol of administration ignoring students and faculty while trying to promote the university as "hip," rather than as a space of learning.
I'm tired of seeing the administration knowingly degrade the university, presenting it as anything other than a site of knowledge and learning. I'm sick of being ignored and paying more and more (racking up debt in student loans), knowing that less and less of the money is going to academic functions of the university. I do not see why my tuition is rising when faculty aren't getting raises and many of them are adjuncts, making barely enough to scrape by. I don't think closing the game room will change the administration, but I want it to be recognized as another symptom of the changing nature of both the library and the university.
Even if you do not think that the game room should be closed, I hope that you understand my uneasiness with the direction that Appalachian State is taking.
Furthermore, when the new Chancellor was hired, the school insisted on a closed (i.e., secret) process, despite petitions and criticism by both faculty and students. Although the new Chancellor has proven popular with the community, the administration's tendency towards unchecked growth and secrecy has continued.
The administration and Appalachian State are a little too fond of referring to the community as the "Appalachian family." I have to admit that it feels like a family in that decisions are being made by the few and imposed on the many without any regard for what the many have to say. Oh, wait. That resembles more of a dictatorship. It certainly does not seem a model that is committed to continuing a democratic society and tradition.
If this game room had been a community decision, that would have been one thing. I would have dissented but not felt blindsided.
If the game room had been presented as an educational space, to learn through video games or work on game design, I would have understood it a lot better. But it's clearly being presented as merely entertainment. (I did go visit the game room and while not perfectly soundproof, it does dampen the sound.)
A professor at Appalachian State noted that the backlash against the game room is likely linked to a bias against video games, as there are many other amenities which were more expensive and yet did not draw the immediate ire of the community. I recognize that. While I was originally irate over the decision (due in large part to it being a surprise), I have since regained a sense of balance. Instead I see the game room as a symbol of administration ignoring students and faculty while trying to promote the university as "hip," rather than as a space of learning.
I'm tired of seeing the administration knowingly degrade the university, presenting it as anything other than a site of knowledge and learning. I'm sick of being ignored and paying more and more (racking up debt in student loans), knowing that less and less of the money is going to academic functions of the university. I do not see why my tuition is rising when faculty aren't getting raises and many of them are adjuncts, making barely enough to scrape by. I don't think closing the game room will change the administration, but I want it to be recognized as another symptom of the changing nature of both the library and the university.
Even if you do not think that the game room should be closed, I hope that you understand my uneasiness with the direction that Appalachian State is taking.