What College Esports Arenas Mean for Community in the Digital Age
What College Esports Arenas Mean for Community in the Digital Age
What College Esports Arenas Mean for Community in the Digital Age
By Rebecca Koenig
January 9, 2020
Summary
Colleges across the country are transforming library rooms and dorm halls into esports arenas designed to gather gamers to play and watch together, in person.
Like the major league sports franchises buying and building esports teams, colleges are undoubtedly interested in the big money that's flowing through the video game industry.
To Josh Hafkin, founder of youth esports coaching center the Game Gym, the explanation is simple.
"We were trying to create a sense of community for our gamers," says Rob Bailey, director of student affairs IT at Illinois State University.
Some Chapel Hill parents expressed skepticism about embedding what many perceive to be a potent schoolwork distraction into the very building where students live, Riegel explained at an esports panel discussion held Thursday in Washington, D.C., as part of the U.S. Department of Education's ED Games Expo.
Women who play video games often encounter sexist harassment and discrimination, and even though many college club and varsity teams are theoretically co-ed, women typically participate at lower rates than men.
A 2019 report from AnyKey, an organization that advocates for diversity in gaming, advises colleges to consider whether the departments chosen to host esports programs and facilities, such as computer science or athletics, are fully welcoming to women.
The report also notes that game content itself may be a barrier to building a fully inclusive college esports community, since some people object to games that depict violence or to characters that "Tend toward hyper sexualization or racial stereotyping."
At some institutions, the rise of college esports has helped gamers attain a higher status in the broader campus community.
To students more interested in video games than athletics, a campus esports arena decorated in school colors can feel similarly legitimizing, even if it doesn't host a varsity-level squad. The space is a signal that gamers, too, belong.
Reference
Koenig, R. (2020, January 9). What College Esports Arenas Mean for Community in the Digital Age - EdSurge News. Retrieved January 13, 2020, from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-01-09-what-college-esports-arenas-mean-for-community-in-the-digital-age.