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Page 10 • Thursday, December 1, 2005
OPINION
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This weekly column will feature confessions of a Southern religious studies major. Each week, Jonathan will offer a light-hearted look at the
little things in life that can make a big difference.
IT'S THE THINGS...
Copenhagen
lonathan Chapman
it
Columnist
Two weeks ago, I had the distinct
pleasure of walking the winding circuits
of the labyrinth in silence with one of my
best friends at Elon.
She and I both worked
at the labyrinth that
night, and after making
sure that everyone who
wanted to walk that night
had the chance, we
locked the doors and
began our own journey
inward.
After we finished and
were walking away, I
turned to her and lost it. I
wept. As she held me, I managed to sob
out somewhere between my sniffles and
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains
unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have
altered." -Nelson Mandela
Jonathan
Chapman
desperate attempts to control myself that I
just didn’t know what I would do for a
semester without her and our third.
In January, I am moving to Copenhagen,
Denmark, for the semester.
I always say “moving” now because
that’s what I’m really doing. I’m not just
studying there, but I am living, interacting
and growing there.
What I realized that night walking the
maze of the labyrinth was that my time was
limited to be here at Elon this year. Even
more influential was the realization that the
primary thing that defines Elon for me
won’t be able to accompany me to
Denmark. I won’t be able to take the
people with me.
I think back to my freshman year and all
the experiences that made it such a memo
rable year. I think about my leadership fel
lows group, the C-Unit. 1 remember the
open doors in Jordan Center and people
milling around the courtyard.
I can feel the cold night air as the group of
friends that would soon call themselves the
JC Crew walked to the Acom for hot
chocolate. I remember stories of falling out
of bed, playing with cats and trips to
Greensboro.
These are the people and the memories
that define Elon for me.
As I was walking away that night, on my
way home from the labyrinth, my
told me that Denmark isn’t Elon.
She’s right.
friend
Copenhagen isn’t Elon—it won t ^
same people, the same experience.
the
can’t expect it to be.
1 graduate from Elon in a year and a
I’ll be able to come back to Elon
half-
from
time
Copenhagen, but once I graduate,
at Elon as a student will be complex®
happens then?
I’m not sure I want to know.
Contact Jonathan Chapman at
opinions@elon.edu or 278-7247
Rule #1: Don’t take responsibility
Greg Livengood
Columnist
Some of my earliest memories in life were
sitting in a playpen in my house’s playroom,
watching my older brother play Nintendo. As
soon as I gained the motor skills, 1 was right
there with him, jumping on koopa troopas in
Super Mario, punching out Glass Joe in Mike
Tyson’s Punch Out, and slaying zombies in
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest As I’ve gotten
older, I have continued to play video games as
one of my favorite hobbies; currently. I’m
engrossed in Fire Emblem: The Path of
Radiance for the Nintendo Game Cube and
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for Nintendo
DS.
With the Internet, gaming has developed a
whole new dimension; now you can track
release dates and get guides, reviews and pre
views for games. Video gaming has also
developed its own culture; some artists such as
Tim Buckley and Brian Clevinger have very
establish^ web comics based around video
game related themes. But, with progress
comes controversy. In recent years, games
have become much more graphic than their
innocent predecessors. Starting back with
Mortal Kombat and spanning to the contem
porary Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, video
games are now incorporating gore and graph
ic violence in their design to attract fans.
Thus came the founding of the
Entertainment Software Rating Board
(ESRB), whose ratings can be seen in their
earliest stages on late SNES games. Originally
the system consisted of three or four ratings,
which seemed to be sufficient. That system
has changed as the games have and the current
system works as follows:
eC: Early child hood
E: Everybody
E+10: Everybody 10 and above
T: Teen
M: Mature (17 and up)
Ao: Adults only (18 and up)
The most notable ones are the ‘E,’ ‘T’ and
‘M’ since they are the only surviving original
ratings. ‘E’ games are like Super Mario Bros.,
games that are innocent and have little to no
violent implications. Games rated T’ are
games like GoldenEye, Star Fox and wrestling
games, with non-gorry violence and few sug
gestive themes. Games rated ‘M’ are like
Grand Theft Auto, Perfect Daric or Halo, with
realistic to exaggerated violence and blood,
and in the case of GTA, sexual themes.
Though that mindset lay relatively dormant
for some time after that, it has recently reap
peared in the case of Devin Thompson, a
young man who was found guilty of car
jacking and murdering three police officers.
An attorney from the prosecution. Jack
Thompson, made a point to sue Sony, Take
Two (GTA publisher). Rock Stai- Games
(GTA producer), GameStop and Wal-Mart.
He claims that all of these companies had a
hand in the boys actions. Jack Thompson
claims that Devin ‘trained’ to steal and kill
on the game Vice City; he has also demand
ed that games rated ‘M’ be banned.
Thompson’s antics did not end there, he put
out a satirical challenge to video game pub
lishers that if they published his game that he
would donate $10,000 to a charity.
To close, now that you know Jack
™psons opinion, here’s mine. Devin
Thompson, the Columbine kids and anyone
who murders for pleasure are not in a stable
state of mnid. Video games do not cause
I^ple to go crazy, nor are they sufficient
^ning for someone to hot-wire and oper
ate a car OR shoot a gun. Beingape^n
who has fired a gun, 1 can assure those that
- th®
And as far as the rating system g ’
ESRB’s current rating system is ^
can be. It is now the parent’s respond*
to make sure their eight-year-old son
playing Grand Theft Auto or
Thompson is just enabling people ^ p)e
responsibility for their mistakes. The
that let their children buy a game
looking at the rating, and then walk m
room to see them play it
scream that the game shouldn’t be
on shelves. ronip®'
The people that sued the tobac^
nies for “giving them lung ^ fof
people that sued the fast-food in
“making them fat" are in the
The bottom line is that these ki
messed up from something and ^ jjoiy
didn’t get them help. The moral o ^
is to watch your kids and
doing well, and to help them if ^ .^put.
games arc an output for anger, not
If your kids starts to emulate w a
on the screen, do w hat my nKMn >
in time out and say NO!
Contact Greg Uvengpod at
opinions@elon.edu or 278-7