Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Students need to stop monkeying around

It’s that time of the semester again, when we’re confronted and forced to deal with a select group of students running around campus. What you choose to call them is up to you, however their behavior can be seen as annoying to everyone – everyone but themselves.

This select few can be spotted sprinting through the campus center, running into traffic and playing with toy guns. No, this isn’t some gang of school boys from Wildwood Elementary. Instead, it’s a group of college students equipped with foam darts and red bandanas.

After watching an argument in front of Franklin Dinning Commons about the boundaries of the safe zone, I began to wonder if I have just grown too old to see the fun in a giant game of tag, or if these kids are just weird. I feel like if the University of Massachusetts had lockers and was in an episode of Saved By The Bell, some of these Humans vs. Zombies enthusiasts might find themselves stuffed inside one.

To make fun of these individuals just doesn’t seem fair to me. Not only because it is just so easy, but we also have to keep in mind that the “hippie beach” is often used to host Quidditch matches.

Quidditch is another great example. Once again, it’s college students who run around with broom sticks pretending they can fly. Other than that, I don’t really understand the concept of the game, but then again, I haven’t read the Harry Potter books. But regardless of the rules, it is another campus activity that I fail to see as fun for a twenty-year-old college student.

If a giant battle between young adults pretending to be humans and zombies and some others playing a magical sport from a popular children’s book series wasn’t enough, this campus also houses a group known as bike gang. No there’s no Harleys in this pack. Instead, this gang of hell raisers rides their bicycles around town, taking up lanes of traffic so that they can pedal next to one another. It reminds me of the days I used to bike around town pretending I was a badass – before I turned 12.

I hope I’m not alone in thinking this, and I doubt I am. Running around with broom sticks and playing tag were things I did as a child. I thought that by college things like Pokémon cards and Dungeons and Dragons would be considered childish and nerdy. Yet these kids crawled out of their dorm rooms in Northeast and Sylvan and took over campus with their toy guns.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least bit if someone started a UMass registered student organization for playing with Legos, and I don’t think these kids are too far from it. The UMass Lego Club would hold its weekly meetings in the basement of the Graduate Research Center.

To any visitor or prospective student on the UMass campus, this makes us look nerdy and immature. But sadly, it wouldn’t be the only warning sign on our campus. I’d have to say having signs posted around campus instructing students to pay attention while crossing the street may suggest that students here are not capable of acting their age. I wonder if all these campus games caused the university to form their doubts about us.

I have heard about many people changing or deleting their Facebook profiles when applying for jobs. Some of the things posted may be incriminating or embarrassing, and they don’t want potential employers seeing them.

I feel that this Humans vs. Zombie game might have the same effect. As the spring semester rolls around, there have been an increasing number of job fairs being held here on campus. I’m afraid my future employer might be ambushed by a group of plastic gun toting college students riding their bicycles or their broom sticks, and they might associate me with them because we happen to go to the same school.

It’s like revenge of the nerds, only this ends with all of us being unemployed after college.

I’m probably coming off like I think I’m too cool, but let me assure you, I’m not cool. It’s just hard for me to understand these games and how, at this age, they are considered fun. Maybe it’s just me who can’t see the fun in a bike gang or Quidditch. I might just be getting old and boring, but I do think that at 20 years of age, maybe, just maybe, you should be saving your money for a car or paying your rent. Not buying huge Nerf guns and Legos.

Who knows though. Maybe playing these games in college is totally acceptable, and I’m just a huge bore complaining about it in the newspaper. But I do have to wonder how it makes our University look to everyone else.

Ben Sullivan is a collegian columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].

View Comments (41)
More to Discover

Comments (41)

All Massachusetts Daily Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • A

    A. PersonSep 18, 2012 at 12:46 am

    To the author: Thank you for your opinion. We have the right to ignore your overt bias and blatant bigotry; and will do so. However, it is highly suggested, that the next time you want to insult a specific group of people you do some fact-finding research on them. Maybe take a poll from the 25,999 other students on campus? You could even attempt to meet some of these people you are insulting. I’m quite sure they won’t bite (at least not the Quidditch players. Be cautious around the Zombies).

    All the Best-

    Reply
  • A

    Are you kidding me?Sep 17, 2012 at 8:50 pm

    The first thing employers think of when they hear Umass is ‘oh god Zoomass’ not nerds running around on broomsticks.

    Your article was ridiculous and biased. Worry more about how we’re on national television for our obnoxious riots than a bunch of kids running around having fun.

    Moreover, your generalizations are misguided and offensive. While I admit HvZ can get in the way, how does the quidditch team affect anyone else? They are contained to one area for practices, they don’t run about the school. They aren’t affecting anyone. If you have a problem with quidditch, don’t watch it. If you don’t understand it, don’t sit at your computer and bash it like a neanderthal, either research and find out more about it logically or shut up about something you don’t understand.

    Your jealousy is laughable. The students participating in these games aren’t harming anyone nor any potential jobs.
    Worry more about our reputation as a terrible party school and our image in the national news than a bunch of kids having fun or enjoying themselves and letting off steam in a stressful environment.

    Reply
  • R

    random personSep 17, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    “maybe, just maybe, you should be saving your money for a car or paying your rent. Not buying huge Nerf guns and Legos.”
    Why is it one or the other? Just because I play quidditch doesn’t mean I am irresponsible. It also, doesn’t mean I don’t party or have no social life. So let me just set everyone straight.
    I play quidditch
    I party
    I have friends
    I have a job
    And I am saving money for graduate school
    Quidditch is not all I am. Just because I enjoy a silly sport doesn’t make me immature. It simply means that I let off steam a bit differently.

    Reply
  • D

    Dani B.Feb 4, 2011 at 8:18 am

    As a UMass alum, I have two things to say:

    1. To the author of the editorial: Lighten up, Francis. (If you don’t get the reference, view the very immature Bill Murray movie “Stripes.”)

    2. At least the Humans vs. Zombies players and the Quidditch folks get their asses out of their chairs and their faces out of their computers once in a while and run around. Good for them.

    Reply
  • B

    brisaDec 3, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    this is hilarious, i agree that its weird, the fact that people play quidditch is something they can share in common with 4th graders, and ive seen numerous arguments with the “humans” vs. “zombies”, about whether the dart really hit them and if they are out, walking to class and every time i start dying laughing because the whole thing sounds ridiculous

    Reply
  • S

    ShelleyNov 6, 2010 at 8:54 pm

    Wait, why does he assume that all these “nerds” live in Northeast or Sylvan? The rest of the campus doesn’t have “nerds”? While I lived in Northeast and Sylvan and never played any of these games, I have no problem with students playing these if they choose to. What does piss me off is the students screaming outside my window drunkenly ever night. THAT is what makes some people look down at UMass.

    Reply
  • D

    Dink BillingsleyOct 27, 2010 at 7:37 pm

    Coming from someone who neither plays nor cares about HvZ….

    when did your life become about doing the “right” things? is everything you do executed with the intent of impressing others? sad….

    Reply
  • M

    MattSep 30, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    I personally know a student in ROTC who enjoyed playing last semester. Try pushing him in a locker. I dare you!

    You keep mentioning toy guns. Maybe next semester we should use real guns, since that’s what mature college students do. We’re adults now, we shouldn’t play with toys. It’s unbecoming and nerdy of us.

    Nerdy? Since when is that a bad thing. Nerds, geeks, dorks, etc terms used by the stereotypical jock to insult one who is more intelligent than himself.

    Oh and I still dare you to try and shove one of us in a locker. In what situation is that OK? In what situation is that the mature thing to do?

    Reply
  • S

    SteveSep 28, 2010 at 11:53 am

    I agree. We do have a problem on campus. It’s people like you who endlessly talk down to people who are interested in other things than you. You know what else should be left at high school? Childish students like you. For the love of God, Humans Versus Zombies lasts two weeks per semester, and the Quiddich games take place in the field by the campus center. Suck it up. The last thing the University needs is people like you who splash the editorial section with comments against “nerds,” talking about how easy it is to make fun of them. Get a life, and quit acting like a cliche high school kid goofing on the “dorks” like this is a John Hughues movie.

    And to MB: You’re right. What with all of the stray darts and socks lying around on campus grounds, where will you throw your empty water bottle full of Rubinoff that you polished off on the way to the hockey game? Grow up.

    Reply
  • D

    DanMar 23, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    “Forget about it. I didn’t realize that the campus operated PVTA transitioned into the bang bus on weekends. ”

    This is the funniest shit I’ve ever read.

    Reply
  • B

    BrandonMar 20, 2010 at 10:16 pm

    Grow up, Madhouse.

    Reply
  • F

    FPS DougMar 18, 2010 at 3:37 pm

    @Madhouse – BOOM HEADSHOT!

    Reply
  • M

    MadhouseMar 16, 2010 at 12:41 am

    You go to ZooMass. How do you think that impacts your hire-ability? Much more than Quidditch or HvZ.

    Reply
  • D

    DeaconAceMar 15, 2010 at 1:49 pm

    Let people do what they want. Calling them “nerds” isn’t going to appeal to anyone. It’s just as easy to make fun of “jocks, stoners, and hipsters,” but I thought that sort of clique-branding stopped when we all graduated high school. You can’t say that ANY visitor or prospective student would be turned off by groups running around with Nerf guns. If I were a high school student touring colleges, and I came across one at which people were still called “nerds,” I’d be terrified. The last thing I’d want would be a continuation of high school. I’d go find the campus where they played HvZ.

    Rather than dismissing people that still play games, why not join in on a game and find out what you’re missing? Many people started playing video games at a young age–why is it okay to keep playing those for years? Hand-eye coordination be damned, I see far greater benefits in playing real games, outside, with real people. Just because we did it when we were young doesn’t mean we have to stop.

    Reply
  • N

    Nate SullivanMar 13, 2010 at 3:41 am

    Woe is me! I was bumped into by somebody moving quickly from one place to another for a purpose I do not support! I am going to hold this grudge until my last dying breath!

    Things I am constantly annoyed by but do not write a tear-soaked article about:

    People playing video games at 4am.
    People peeing in my hallway.
    People playing drinking games at the top of their lungs.
    People taking the elevator up 2 floors.
    Drunk idiots walking in the middle of the road at 2am when nobody can see them and then flipping you off when you have to swerve around them.
    People who write letters-to-the-editor complaining about the same thing YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR (oops).

    (and, yes, this is the same comment I posted to the SAME ARTICLE from the past three semesters. seriously, collegian? stop recycling the same article out of laziness)

    Reply
  • S

    slippy JohnsMar 10, 2010 at 11:02 am

    Its rather sad how there are so many comments on this low brow article; love them or hate them, there are other writers at the Collegian who commit to topics of higher quality and newsworthiness. Whats sadder? Those who play this stupid game or those who write about it?

    Reply
  • B

    BMar 9, 2010 at 1:16 am

    1) The geeks and nerds can afford to waste money on nerf guns, they’ll be making much more than you when they graduate.
    http://www.campusgrotto.com/average-starting-salary-by-degree-for-2009.html
    or
    http://www.cnbc.com/id/29408064/Highest_Paid_Bachelor_s_Degrees_2010

    2) Every year there has been hvz, there has been an article complaining about it. We get that there are a handful of people that don’t like the game, and one will be whiny enough to write an article about it. Please try to come up with new insults next semester, though. This article was just a rehash of the one from last semester, which made it much less entertaining.

    Reply
  • K

    KMar 8, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    Interesting how when I joined bike gang the author of this article was in it. Ah, the past never deserts you in the public eye. lol.

    Reply
  • C

    C.Mar 8, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    I think that one of the defining elements of this article has been missed entirely by all of the people who have posted responses here. That defining element is facetiousness.

    Reply
  • N

    notwasteddMar 8, 2010 at 12:35 am

    I could respond to a lot of points, but the main one I want to address is Quidditch. As a member, I can establish the fact that we do not pretend we can fly. Even so, what’s wrong if we did?
    If you’ve seen any media about it, it is a full-contact co-ed sport played by colleges across the nation. Sure, it looks ridiculous, but the point of the game isn’t to look good. Heck, the point of any game isn’t to look good; the point is to have fun. Have fun, meet people, get through college without losing our minds on the daily stress. These games, Quidditch and HvZ alike, have little to no lasting effect on anyone’s life but those who play them.
    I know for a fact that tour guides advertise these games to their groups, and these are the kinds of things that make campus life interesting. UMass already has the party reputation, I don’t think HvZ and Quidditch are going to suddenly make UMass synonymous with “nerd school.”

    Oh, I’m sorry, I’m supposed to be sloshed. I’ll get right to that.

    Reply
  • B

    BrandonMar 7, 2010 at 11:27 pm

    “Sorry nerds, Ben Sullivan’s right. Virgins vs. Virgins is a daily nuisance to everyone on this campus”

    In general, I believe the game generates more apathy than opposition. I’ve personally never played *humans vs. zombies*, but I’m indifferent to whether or not it actually goes on. It really doesn’t bother me and apparently a number of other posters who claim they support, but don’t play the game think so too.

    “If drunk kids on weekends annoy you, don’t live in Southwest, and don’t go out (not that you would anyway).”

    Or don’t live within a 5 miles radius of campus. No matter where I have lived on campus (Orchard Hill, Northeast, and Central) there has always been copious representation of drunks, equipped with traditional ugg boot/northface garb. Or my personal favorite: Going somewhere around campus on a friday night? Forget about it. I didn’t realize that the campus operated PVTA transitioned into the bang bus on weekends. Out of my 3.5 years on this campus I’ve come to realize that if you are not a regular alcoholic, your options are either root beer keggars hosted by Campus Crusade for Christ or a small get together with like-minded folks. You can imagine myself and others don’t have too many options. Most of us are even more limited considering, although a root beer party sounds great, the group atmosphere just doesn’t jive with me. So for most of the “nerds” on campus it’s either 1) Hit the books 2) Hang out with a loved one 3) Gather with some of the friends 4) Conduct behavioral studies on primate aggression, mating signals, and territorial displays in Southwest for the senior Capstone thesis.

    “It’s really hard for most of us to have any respect for someone carrying a Nerf gun around a college campus”

    Hard for “us” or those of us who align our moral values with an episode of Jersey Shore? For those who have any degree of insightful critical analysis, it’s rather easy to look beyond the exterior, even those poised with a nerf gun positioned on an incoming player. Have you ever talked to someone playing the game? Asked them about it? Or have you just made hand wavy assumptions about their character and inept considerations of their sexual lives?

    “Every campus has kids who drink, and many of them are “worse” party schools than this.”

    Astute defense. Other schools have people who drink, therefore it’s still ok that drinking goes on because it’s not as bad as the other schools, but it isn’t ok for students to develop their own means of creative interaction. I’m not sure about you, but doesn’t it bother anyone else that “party” and “school” should even belong in the same sentence?

    “And they’re not leaving Nerf darts and socks strewn about the campus every single day of the year, nor are they disrupting anyone trying to go to classes or walk around campus all week long. ”

    Nah, instead their leaving broken beer bottles, cans, and paraphernalia all over campus. At most, the darts will result in one of the campus mallards to lose his footing as he makes his way to the pond. Not to mention the physical destruction that has caused the campus by said drunk students. Campus riots and the storming of the Pita pit come to mind (if no one remembers this, students in Southwest threw objects through the glass, separating the shop from the hoots and hollas of the animal kingdom). Until the equipment HvZ uses have enough force to topple Web Du Bois, then we’ll talk about which negatively affects the campus more, both in appearence and prospective students.

    “nor are they disrupting anyone trying to go to classes or walk around campus all week long.”

    At least most of these students are going to class, and for the right reasons. If it weren’t for Lestella, the gaudily clad chimpanzee in leggings, Ugg boots, and a frazzled mess of bleach blonde sunny shine hair sitting next to you, class would be such a bore, wouldn’t it :(. Physics is boring, but at least Lestalla is in heat so you can barely keep yourself in your seat.

    “Thankfully, there seem to be less of them than ever this year”

    Thank Gawd. I wish I could say the same about the drunks and campus. But I think the fact that last season’s class was the “brightest” with the highest incoming GPA is a step in the right direction. At least your “kind” is slowly but surely becoming extinct on the college campus.

    ” The sooner this game dies out, the sooner these dorks can either go back to their rooms to play WoW 365 days a year, or go out and get a REAL social life.”

    God forbid if weekend life of the average college student doesn’t encompass alcohol, abusing women, and incompetence it surely doesn’t qualify as “real.” Maybe I’ll go out and bust a lip to make myself feel like I’m one with the guys.

    lol.

    Reply
  • M

    muad'dibMar 7, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    “Dorks”? Are we in elementary school?

    You want immaturity? Here it is: thinking that social cliques from elementary, middle, and high school carry on through college and into the real world.

    Reply
  • C

    ChrisMar 7, 2010 at 11:11 am

    MB is a perfect example of people who don’t deserve an opinion. Hah.

    Reply
  • C

    ConcernedCitizenMar 7, 2010 at 3:32 am

    Thank you MB for that positively eloquent attack on rational and polite thought. First off, do you believe it is easy to respect anyone with the gall to outright insult another group of individuals? If so, this response shall fall on deaf ears. But I persist.

    Humans vs. Zombies comprises the largest group of students on this campus and is run as professionally as any organization at UMass. From my experience, the players are amazing people and consistently impress me with their intelligence and ability to have a good time under the considerable stress we all feel here. The game is an excellent way to escape for just a short while the harsh realities Ben Sullivan enjoys reminding us of in his deliberate, ignorant response to an activity he only wishes he had the willingness to participate in.

    But this is a general argument. Let me cut to the chase. During one of our planned events within the game, some of our players were followed by a drunken group of people, part of a St. Patrick’s event run by bars in Amherst, shouting obscenities at them. Our players were called “fags” and “virgins.” I fail to see how players of HvZ can be called immature when they are the targets of completely childish and naive ridicule. The problem is not with us; it lies with those unwilling to accept other lifestyles not so drastically different and possibly more healthy than existences flooded with cheap beer and meaningless hook-ups. If we have done anything with this game, we have revealed a general immaturity and aggressive intolerance that college students should have grown out of years ago. We simply want to have fun, and most of our critics hardly know what that is by any stretch of the imagination.

    Reply
  • M

    MBMar 6, 2010 at 9:06 pm

    ^^^ and by “every single day of the year” I meant “week.”

    Reply
  • M

    MBMar 6, 2010 at 9:05 pm

    Sorry nerds, Ben Sullivan’s right. Virgins vs. Virgins is a daily nuisance to everyone on this campus. If drunk kids on weekends annoy you, don’t live in Southwest, and don’t go out (not that you would anyway). It’s really hard for most of us to have any respect for someone carrying a Nerf gun around a college campus. Every campus has kids who drink, and many of them are “worse” party schools than this. And they’re not leaving Nerf darts and socks strewn about the campus every single day of the year, nor are they disrupting anyone trying to go to classes or walk around campus all week long. Thankfully, there seem to be less of them than ever this year. The sooner this game dies out, the sooner these dorks can either go back to their rooms to play WoW 365 days a year, or go out and get a REAL social life.

    Reply
  • B

    BrandonMar 6, 2010 at 12:23 pm

    “I’m Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite thread on DailyCollegian.com.”

    Win!

    Reply
  • S

    SamMar 6, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    You are entitled to your own opinion, but the name calling, let me assure you, is not cool.
    I dare you, Ben Sullivan, to try and understand HvZ or Quidditch or any of the other groups you insulted. There is more to life than just saving for a car and paying rent, when you grow up I hope that you can realize that.

    After reading this article I am considering starting the UMass Lego Club. Thanks for the good idea.

    Reply
  • J

    jimboMar 6, 2010 at 2:08 am

    Aw, AnotherStudent- what a shame someone insulted your little game! If only you knew you were being controlled by a profitable scheme…this game of yours represents another link in the chain of fiscal enterprizes, etc. HvZ is not among a category of games which shall be passed on to future generations, heralded by the banner “incredible game of Stalin genius.”

    Reply
  • C

    Commander ShepardMar 5, 2010 at 8:53 pm

    I’m Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite thread on DailyCollegian.com.

    Reply
  • A

    another studentMar 5, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    You are one arrogant prick.

    You fail to see how people could have fun in different ways? You fail to accept that your perception of fun differs from theirs?

    I know a lot of people enjoying football, soccer, tennis, whatever… seriously. Dungeons and Dragons, Pokemon and Zombies vs. Humans or whatnot are more challenging and A LOT more fun.

    Sorry, but your definition of maturity annoys me.

    This is fun. If you fail to see the point in it, please just leave them alone and go drink beer and watch a soccer game with your mature friends. Do you do sports? Do you swim? Ride a bike? Play ultimate? Play football? Go fencing? Where’s the difference? They are more “elite”? Sorry, but the point of sports isn’t being elite. It’s being motivated and active, it’s playing in a team and enjoy yourself and your body or your mind.

    Playing chess or playing Dungeon’s and Dragon’s. There is no difference. They can both be just as challenging as the others.

    Go fencing, play paintpall or play with little plastic guns. Where’s the difference?

    How other people see these people? Well, I find them exceptional in their ability to motivate themselves and go out there and do their thing (which is absolutely okay, there is not a single reason to dislike their behaviour). They enjoy themselves although there are people like you who talk about “immaturity”.

    Seriously, that thing gets me: What’s immature about this? What’s immature about enjoying themselves?

    If you want to talk about immaturity, please let’s talk about fraternities, about parties, about drinking, about (even study enhancing) drugs, about arrogance, about your ignorance, about your inability to accept the definition of fun for other’s. Let’s talk about sports. Why don’t you like them playing a game from a fantasy book? What’s your problem? What’s the difference to football or baseball? They fit better into your definition of society? You miss the point of sports. You miss the point of fun. You miss the point of expressing yourself. You miss the point of enjoying yourself. You are ignorant.

    I doubt that these “immature nerds” will be standing in the way of you and you finding a job. In the end, only yourself will stand in your way. I’m sure you will find a job that fits to you, just as well as these guys will find a job they enjoy.

    Maybe you even get employed by people similar to these “nerds” and just don’t fit in.

    What do you define as fun? What do you do to keep physically active? What do you do in a group to socially interact? What do you do to broaden your creative horizon?

    Reply
  • S

    Sgt. FoleyMar 5, 2010 at 4:22 pm

    RAMIREZ, DISARM THE NUKE WITH YOUR KNIFE

    Reply
  • J

    Joshua DelaneyMar 5, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    First off, I have played HvZ for five semesters and I do have to say, it is a lot of fun. Yes, it is a different source of fun than most college students have, but it still is fun. Why doesn’t anyone write an article concerning campus partying and drinking? Is it because that is what the “normal” college age adults do? Not everyone has to fit that norm that people have so developed and we have other ways of having fun. I agree with “Let It Be”. Us playing a game like HvZ will look a lot better than getting wasted every weekend like most people do.

    We still study hard, go to classes, do our work, and get good grades. Everyone has their own way of having fun. A lot of us are nerds, I admit, but there is nothing wrong with that. To each person his own way of having fun.

    Reply
  • S

    StudentMar 5, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    As annoying as it is to get caught in the middle of a downpour of nerf darts, I would rather deal with that than the obnoxious drunken students shouting and disrupting the peace at all hours of the night. Do you not realize that these students are also annoying to everyone else but themselves? I would rather see a bunch of “nerds” and “geeks” running around playing a silly clean game than deal with some of the loud, obnoxious, destructive or violent drunken students that come out every weekend.

    Reply
  • J

    JimboMar 5, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    The delight of these games is in the absurdity; HvZ and Quibbitch suspend notions of reality, and it allows many students to keep living that care free life they live at home in front of the television or computer screen. Those who take part in such games confirm they came from poor parenting; these kids were weened off of their mother’s milk and onto the controller. Its the sad truth.

    Reply
  • M

    muad'dibMar 5, 2010 at 12:40 pm

    How does HvZ make UMass look to outsiders? Like fun!

    >I feel like if the University of Massachusetts had lockers and was in an episode of Saved By The Bell, some of these Humans vs. Zombies enthusiasts might find themselves stuffed inside one.
    >I thought that by college things like Pokémon cards and Dungeons and Dragons would be considered childish and nerdy.
    >To any visitor or prospective student on the UMass campus, this makes us look nerdy and immature.
    >It’s like revenge of the nerds, only this ends with all of us being unemployed after college.

    You have a bizarre fixation with nerds, whom you for some bizarre reason assume are “immature” and “childish”, will end up “unemployed after college”, and deserve to be “stuffed inside [a locker]”. Dear God, man, did you ever grow out of high school?

    Of course, you’re just looking out for our best interests as a university! After all, how will it look to potential employers, the true Lords and Masters of our lives, if many UMass students have fun in a way that isn’t Ben Sullivan’s way?

    Seriously, what does it make UMass look like to have students enjoying the outdoors, getting exercise, and having fun doing it? It means that we’re failing in our studently duty to spend every night doing 18 shots of peppermint vodka, chasing it with some Smirnoff Ice mixed with scotch, hitting on totally wasted chicks – who are still wearing their Ugg boots and silk leggings bare in wintertime – until someone either has sex with us or slaps us, staggering to Antonio’s for late-night pizza, and then finally throwing up in our sleep once we get home! And as Potential Employers, Godblessem, have told me, failing in that essential component of life is just plain terrible.

    >I haven’t read the Harry Potty books

    Wow, Ben, it’s really hard to imagine how you make it through life being such a wooden old fogey at your age, on top of the “potty” joke.

    >Yet these kids crawled out of their dorm rooms in Northeast and Sylvan and took over campus with their toy guns.

    Ben, if we two hundred and a few dozen Humans vs Zombies players had taken over this campus of 26,000 with our toy guns we would have issued a list of demands, starting with “everyone in Southwest will stop throwing their empty PBR cans and Bud Light bottles at HvZ players”.

    Actually, a campus takeover with Nerf guns sounds like a good protest.

    Reply
  • L

    Linda WoodMar 5, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    I’m a UMass alum, and I have to say the sentence at the link to this article, “Ben Sullivan questions how games like Humans vs. Zombies and Quidditch make the University look like,” is more troubling to me than the subject of the article. Employers may or may not care about the games you play, but they certainly care about whether or not you can write a grammatically correct sentence.

    Reply
    • B

      Ben SullivanMar 5, 2010 at 5:20 pm

      I didn’t write the subtitle for the article, but I did correct it. Thank you for your feedback.

      Reply
  • N

    Nico HoughMar 5, 2010 at 2:52 am

    It follows, then, that maybe students shouldn’t ever go out to parties on the weekend. After all, it could damage your resume. Overt displays of school spirit are tacky, childish, and suggest a degree of unprofessionalism, so they should also be abolished. There should be no more tail-gating prior to big games, nor should there be anymore stand-up or improvisational comedy troupes. Likewise, there shouldn’t be any political displays whatsoever, because the polarizing nature of protest could estrange a left or right-leaning future employer. Hell, even the editorials in the Collegian should probably be done away with, and not just for the consistently poor editing. I shudder to think that your future employers might find the student body far too concerned with subjective babble and not enough with cold facts.

    Lastly, two plus two shall equal five.

    If you are not satisfied with UMass campus life, then you may be relieved to learn that there are plenty of alternatives. This kind of drivel is useless; your expectation seems to be that everyone should change but you, and for you. Maybe the Quidditch players aren’t the only ones who need to grow up.

    Reply
  • M

    Michael Foley-RöhmMar 5, 2010 at 2:20 am

    I agree. College shouldn’t be fun. Life shouldn’t be fun. It should be complete and total misery.

    Where is your Protestant work ethic, students playing these games?!

    Reply
  • L

    Let It BeMar 5, 2010 at 12:55 am

    Honestly what is the harm in letting them do their thing? I honestly don’t see writing an editorial as being any more productive then HvZ or Quiditch, but I don’t criticize for it. However which way students blow off their stress you have to admit those games are more respectable then going out, getting hammered and getting into trouble, which makes this university look even worse then “a bunch of nerds running around.”

    Reply