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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2003)
3 ííí$: February 27, 2003 The Clackamas Print ★ THE CLACKAMAS PRiNT* Change the way students learn Editor-in-Chief Daisy Bain Copy Editor Shadra Beesley Photo Editor Luke Mahan Managing News Editor Frank Jordan News Editor Pete Ford Opinion Editor Robb Egan Feature Editor Elisabeth Meyer A&E Editor Jen Kane Sports Editor Elena Boryska Webmaster Joel Gaynor Advertising Manager Mark Falling ext. 2578 Staff Writers: Megan Cobb Melinda Crouchley Heather Dahmen Nic Delzell Jeremy Hogue Erinn Lerten Cyndee Mady Sadie McCarthy Mike Pollock Andy Price Cory Price Tina Tate Production Assistants: Jake Carpenter Katie Funk Secretary: JoAnne Gale Adviser: Linda Vogt Goals: The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner. The opinions expressed in The Clackamas Print do not neces sarily reflect those of the student body, college administration, its faculty, or The Clackamas Print. Products and services advertised in The Clackamas Print are not necessarily endorsed by anyone associpted with The Clackamas Print. The Clackamas Print is a weekly publication and is dis tributed every Wednesday except during Finals Week. The Clackamas Print Copyright 2003. 19600 S. Molalla Ave. Oregon City, Oregon 97045 (503) 657-6958 X2309 cccprint@dackamas.edu Robb Egan Opinion Editor With our economy in the toilet and our state legislators scrambling for money like proverbial chickens- sans-heads, our not-so-beloved pub lic school systems are facing an over whelming budget shortfall this year. Perhaps the cure to what ails the educational system is not budget reform, but rather a reform in the sys tem itself. Many school districts will be clos- ing their doors early this year (lucky kids). Many have cut out programs, such as art and music, entirely, caus ing quite a stir among the more cul tured folk (think VH1 and anti depressants). A great deal of time, money, and effort would be saved if children sim ply received their scholastic educa tion at home. The percentage of American homes with televisions and access to the Internet is in the majority, to say the least. If the media and a number of our elected officials are to be believed, America’s youth are heavi ly influenced by everything they see on the screen. Th? seemingly obvious solution? Learning via TV. Hell, CCC already has televised courses. Where would this leave our vaunt ed public schools? Well, that is where kids would go to receive what could truly be called primary education. Children would be taught all manner of skills that will serve them well when it is time for them to take their place in adult society. Skills such as cooking, changing a tire and other basic automotive maintenance, using a home computer, speaking in public, how to conduct yourself in social sit uations, and the various vagaries of dealing with the authorities, followed naturally with how to hire a lawyer. Additionally, at a relatively young age children could be educated of their various civil rights and duties as citizens, such as how to vote and what to do if called for jury duty. A basic education of the laws under which we live should be considered as well. Elementary courses in mathemat- ics, history and grammar could easily be learned from the relative comfort and security of the home, using either a computer or television. Think Sesame Street on a grand scale. Advances in digital technology have already made interactive visual media a reality, making it possible to fully immerse students in a full-on educational experience. Already existing technologies such as digital cable and satellite systems, combined with broadband Internet, allow for quick and easy access to more infor mation than a person could learn in a lifetime. As children are learning useful social and life skills, they will be able to explore the avenues of higher learning and techmeal or vocational training, in hopes of discovering their future careers. Violent video games should be abolished Staff Writer “Today video game addiction is becoming an ever-increasing prob lem, comparable now even to alco hol and drug abuse,” declares Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence (MAVAV.) There is a danger in society, a churning super-massive black hole. According to MAVAV, health stud ies have shown that video games causes increased anxiety and irri tability, argumentative nature, appetite and weight loss, impaired judgment, paranoia, sadness and depression, loss of interest in appearance, and sleeplessness. Americans need to recognize the symptoms of video game addiction. Video games are increasingly appealing for the digital escape they provide. Little do the victims know, those games are brainwash ing and desensitizing them at an exponential rate: an unmerciful virus. “I’ve killed hundreds of people. Men, women, good guys, bad guys, even animals. I always go for head- shots-to really show them who is boss. To be honest, killing people is just a fact of life for me,” says one dedicated gamer featured ,on the PD-ZERO website. Video games are intensely engaging. That engagement can psychologically influence gamers’ subconscious, which in turn causes negative symptoms. “I know right from wrong, but I can’t help but want to live the scan dalous lives of those digital charac ters,” admits Tegan, 14, an avid gamer. “I want to shoot big guns, speed in hot rods, and kick every one’s ass if they try to stop me. Anarchy rules!” > Hearing this is common among rebellious teenagers. Due to fre- quent violence and acts of crime, students are prohibited from mak ing such comments in school. Today, no chances can be taken. There is an abundant population of brainwashed gamers who might commit a fatal act once the final straw is laid. In order to assure safe ty, a significant judgment must be made. This judgment must result in the elimination of violent video games throughout the nation. Yes, it has to be quite drastic, because the current law for regulat ing the distribution of specific video games to young children has failed. TV shows don't cause violence, people do Staff Writer I can understand unleashing physical violence on an unsuspect ing television set, persecuted with repeatedly yelling at vast audiences about how they need to change shampoos; seriously, I can under stand that. I am also willing to see how the Rodney King verdict instigated the LA riots. Even in these cases, how ever, the television merely jolted the cap off an already volatile situ ation. Aside from its direct effects, the media has also been blamed for desensitizing its long term viewers, along with planting evil plots into the minds of anyone patient enough to sit through commercial breaks. Humans are intrinsically prone to violence as a means to some end, and it has become socially unac ceptable to act out these urges. This obviously hasn’t blocked out the use of violence, and has skyrocketed ratings for violent pro gramming like COPS, When Elephants Attack, or World’s most Shockingly Deadly Car Chases Part Two. So which came first, the joy rider or the broadcasting of that guy who stole a tank? Or better still, when they showed his immediate execution. The answer to this boggle is found when looking at the world before mas£ media, in the distant past. Think about the genocide wreaked by Hitler and Stalin. Humans are naturally violent crea tures, and every one of. us gets a grisly thrill when we see violent acts taking place, be it televised hurricane coverage or a street brawl witnessed first hand. Like a heroin dealer, the TV is merely providing the opiate of the masses. Are adolescents negatively inluenced by violence in entertainment media? "I'm sure there are kids who take it seri ously, but I don't think media should be censored." "No. No matter what they see or do, they should still know right from wrong." Marisa Krieg Zach Knudson Ryan Organ John Faus "A little, but I think TV and music are more influential than things like videogames." "I think it's all in your state of mind, whether you are influenced or not." MJ—.... . PH,--, • ■>. lx 9E| <11 ■Il http://www2.dackamas.edu/theprint photos by ROBB EGAN Clackamas Print :íí$ ■ííííííí
