Written by:Anuva Ganapathi

The Academic Center (AC) established a new rule that prohibits gaming on its computers, effective Nov. 4, in response to the gaming policy introduced by administration. According to librarian Meg Omainksy, this new rule is a school-wide policy, covering computers in the library and the Student Activities Center.  The policy was instituted after students who tried to work were not able to utilize the computers when other people were playing games on them.

Some who regularly work in the AC are indifferent towards the rule. “I don’t really care that much because most people who play games can play them at home,” senior Brandon Yao said. With no games to distract him, Yao has more time to work on his schoolwork. “I study a bit more than I would have if I had games to play.” Other students find the policy too stringent. “They should have enforced the policy that academic activity takes precedence over gaming, rather than banning gaming completely,” junior Warren Zhu said.

Although computer gaming has been banned, students are still allowed to watch videos on the Internet. “It’s terrible,” sophomore George Lee said. “We can still watch videos of people gaming, but we can’t actually game. That’s not solving the problem.”

Lee offers an alternate solution, claiming that gaming is not the issue; instead, the problem is that the computers are not being used correctly. “It might be a good idea to have certain times when people can use the computers for gaming, so that that there are computers available for students who want to use them for academic purposes.”

Although the rule has only been in effect for about three weeks, Pam Steward, the AC administrator, has noticed improvement. If students are caught gaming, they are given a warning, and if they continue to do so, a disciplinary referral will be issued. “We thought it would take several weeks to enforce [the rule], but it has been really good since day one,” Steward said. “I think it works because there are consequences.”