Nov. 7, 2018

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COLLEGE OF DUPAGE STUDENT NEWSPAPER — 7 NOVEMBER 2018

VO L U M E 5 3

HOW A SEED OF DOUBT GROWS INTO A CONSPIRACY NEWS

FEATURES

Check Out the Level Up Podcast p4

The Mind of Jake Paul p11

SPORTS

Are esports Legitimate Sports? p15

E F I L ENT

D U T S SSC 1217

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INDEX

3

NEWS······················ 04

Level Up with a new podcast

FEATURES··············· 05

The anatomy of a conspiracist

OPINION·················· 13

Study guides make the difference

SPORTS··················· 15

Are esports sports?

COFFEE BREAK······ 18

Puzzles and your COD weather forecast

COD Courier Student Newspaper

Susceptability to

@codcourier

Conspiracies @codcourier

CONTACT US

John Noonan

ON THE COVER

SRC 1220 • 630-942-2689

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF··································Tessa Morton ASSIGNMENT REPORTER·······················Joey Weslo NEWS EDITOR·······································Madison Venckus FEATURES EDITOR·································Reanna Comiso OPINION EDITOR···································Kimberly Wilson SPORTS EDITOR····································Miguel Contreras HEAD PHOTO EDITOR·····························Alison Pfaff ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR····················Lindsay Piotter GRAPHICS EDITOR·································Brandon Beckwith ASSISTANT GRAPHICS EDITOR···············John Noonan SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER······················Trinity Jefferson ADVISER - Jim Fuller fullerj103@cod.edu

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Deliver all correspondence to SSC 1220 between regular office hours or mail to the Courier, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, IL. 60137.

4

NEWS

A BIT OF EVERYTHING

Level Up Podcast Covers your Bases, from Movies and Games to Sports and Business Madison Venckus, News Editor to talk about this involvement with The Courier newspaper and the broadcast program at the school… I met with him following that, and we discussed having a podcast through the newspaper.”

Where did the name ‘Level Up’ come from?

“The idea of the show came up similarly to how I come up with podcast topic ideas.

I was writing down a few Level Up Host, Kenneth McKinney Photo by Alison Pfaff ideas for what the name could What be. One of the cool things was inspired the idea of having a podcast? that Jim told me I had free range “I used to make YouTube videos and creative freedom to name the discussing different topics. One podcast whatever I wanted. From channel was dedicated to UFC there I wrote out a few different sports, another one music and an- names. I wanted to come up with other one for video games. I’ve al- a name that wasn’t specific to one ways had a passion for talking about topic so I could talk about sports things I like and also have friends on one end and movies on the oththat do, too. I came up with this er. I think it’s a universal name bethought while talking about it with cause you can level up in business my friends and thought, why not and life, but it also has sort of a take that interest of mine and turn video game reference to it.” it into hub where I can broadcast that and talk about it online. The How do you prepare for whole thing to do with the podcast podcasts? was through (Courier Adviser) Jim “I have basically bullet points Fuller. We met at a new student going into the podcast. I write out orientation group, and he began topics I want to discuss and things

Listen to Kenneth on his podcast “Level Up” on The Courier webside, codcourier.org and on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/user-201219115.

I want to cover, and my co-host, Sean, does the same. I don’t have a written out script, so I just send my co-host Sean what I have or whoever I’m speaking with that week, and we go from there.”

What do you do and don’t enjoy about having the podcast?

“What I like about it is I get to have creative freedom. I remember a professor I had last year had said that people who are more creative thinkers can come up with ideas easier when there is full freedom.

When you have a paper or an essay that has a little more structure to it, there can be limitations to your creativity. Besides that, the most

stressful thing is converting the file into an MP3 when were done. The only difficult part is small technical difficulties we face.”

What can listeners look forward to in the future?

“In the future people can look forward to possibly doing an interview with Peter James to talk about business. I don’t know how soon I’ll be able to do that, and it’s not a guarantee because he is super busy. I have to work on his schedule along with reserving equipment but hopefully everything can coincide.”

LEVEL UP PODCAST WITH KENNETH MCKINNEY

FRIDAYS ON CODCOURIER.ORG

NEWS FEATURES

5

Make America Great Again rally in Mesa, Arizona, on Oct. 19, 2018

Charlotte Cuthbertson, The Epoch Times

ANATOMY OF A CONSPIRACIST Joey Weslo, Assignment Reporter As feds arrested a deranged Trump acolyte for mailing packaged bombs to prominent Democrats and vocal Trump dissidents, pundits like Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs’ joined the battle to control the public narrative.

“Fake News – Fake Bombs. Who could possibly benefit by so much fakery?” he tweeted.

Targeting opponents like former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and liberal mega-donor George Soros, conservative pundits portrayed the domestic terror attack as a liberal conspiracy to gain sympathy ahead of midterm elections.

Conservative author Ann Coulter tweeted, “bombs are a liberal tactic.” Right-wing radio host Michael Savage said, “the whole thing is set

up as a false flag to gain sympathy for the Democrats…and to get our minds off the hordes of illegal aliens approaching our southern border.”

Once the seed of doubt is planted, a cancer germinates destroying the public discourse.

What makes an individual susceptible to conspiracies? And, psychologically, what makes people gullible enough to become victimized by false information?

College of DuPage political science Professor Melissa Mouritsen believes conspiracies are a natural repercussion of a relationship founded on the public’s suspicions of government authority.

“Part of the human tendency is to seek out danger and the fear of needing to protect ourselves from an overarching government.”

Mouritsen said it’s cognitively easier to entertain falsehoods than to understand the complexities of socio-political culture and history.

Referencing the 9/11 insider-job conspiracy, she explained, “Osama Bin Laden’s extremism didn’t sprout from nowhere. It’s easier to question his role in 9/11 than to comprehend the complicated history of American- Middle Eastern interventionism.”

She also referenced the conspiracy that Soros is paying Hondurans to push the caravan of migrants north through Latin America in an attempt to infiltrate the U.S. southern border. “(Adherents) fail to understand there was a coup in Honduras, and political instability has led to mass poverty. Also, U.S. corporations have been exploiting Honduran workers for decades.”

She believes the complexity of reality offends preconceived narratives. Conspiracies satisfy ideologies like immigrants are dangerous, and liberals will do anything to corrode Republican power.

In the age of information, the prevalence of manipulated reality haunts the daily struggle for reason. With 24-hour news organizations utilizing scare tactics to pervert a caravan of destitute asylum seekers, and social media fermenting absurdities like the Clintons running a pedophilia-ring out of a popular D.C. pizzeria and big oil companies like Halliburton surreptitiously running the government, conspiracies have become an inescapable plague.

As the debased mind reverts further from objective reality, fear and hatred conspire action, such as the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting resulting in the loss of 11 lives.

This destabilizes public participation in the government and fractures unity of community. When dependency on falsehoods infects the greater public, violent outbursts become inevitable. Whether a man with a rifle at the pizzeria or mailed bombs to politicians, conspiracies contort public percepcontinued on page 6

FEATURES NEWS

6 continued from page 5

tion and hinder the ability to hold elected officials accountable.

Mouritsen referenced the Dunning Krueger theory to explain our cognitive bias and perceived superiority. The theory postulates people conflate their knowledge or ability in something when they possess little expertise. These people with low expertise fail to realize their own incompetence.

“People who know the least are the ones who are the most likely to overestimate their abilities and knowledge,” said Mouritsen. “You become confident about the tiny amount you think you know, pretending to avoid seeming ignorant.”

This conflation satisfies personal insecurities and feeds the narcissistic desire to feel special and unique in a world dominated by banality. Everyone wants to feel they are the sole proprietor of esoteric information separating them from political simpletons.

Mouritsen referenced Tom Nichols’ novel, “The Death of Expertise”, saying, “People believe they know better than researchers, or that researchers falsify their evidence.

“In any social or biological science, we research and discover new

The pizzeria, Comet Ping Pong, was threatened by hundreds of people who Wikimedia user DOCLVHUGO believed in the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

to learn anything.”

Pseudo-intellectualism distracts the individual from their seething anxieties. The distorted world becomes a justification to assuage the pain of existence.

COD psychology professor Richard Voss believes psychological vulnerability stems from the dereliction of personal responsibilities.

“Admitting (to) have played some role in creating this life of misery would be painful and depressing.”

He believes people find it con-

People who know the least are the ones who are the most likely to overestimate their abilities and knowledge -Melissa Mouritsen findings, but the public often doesn’t know how to properly consume this knowledge. Therefore, they dismiss the data and discredit the scientists.”

In his book, Nichols wrote, “These are dangerous times. Never have so many people had access to so much knowledge, and yet been so resistant

venient when conspiracy peddlers preach all misery emanates from minority groups or marginalized outsiders. Manipulating their fears, the individual is coerced into channeling their grief into anger.

“If only people could be a little more honest with themselves and recognize what they’re feeling and

accurately identify the source of those feelings,” said Voss. “(Then) they wouldn’t be so vulnerable to charlatans who want to sell them an easy and pleasing explanation.

“People (need to) wake up and learn to recognize demagogues wanting to sell them easy explanations and start genuinely working to solve the world’s problems.”

Professor of comparative literature at Columbia University Hamid Dabashi wrote in an article for Aljazeera of the relation between the current state of conspiracy fanaticism to Karl Marx’s statement of religion being ‘the opium of the masses.’ Acting as the desensitizing mechanism for the oppressed creature, belief in conspiracies channel public discourse into a quagmire of political subservience.

This malignant effect on the citizenry’s political responsibilities eliminates government accountability.

“People don’t vote their needs or their interests; they vote their feelings,” said Mouritsen. “They let their morals guide them. I don’t necessarily vote for policies to benefit me financially; I vote for what fits my premeditated way of thinking.”

In a complex world where the individual lacks control, people turn to a confirmation bias for an affirmation of personal relevancy. We fear the misunderstood and long for the comfort of an intellectual sanctuary.

This sanctuary doesn’t challenge our ideas, but rather, feeds them into an architectured political narrative.

“With organizations making big money, there are no incentives to refrain from bias and questionable programming,” said Mouritsen.

“Ann Coulter is making a career and selling books by promoting these fears. Follow the money and you will always find where the conspiracy theories emanate from.”

She believes the responsibility of journalists to cover the facts has always been ambiguous by nature.

“Media can be held accountable for an outright lie, or if they print slanderous material against an individual, but their responsibilities are questionable. Pundits like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson show bias.

However, he is not a journalist. He is a television commentator. We need to evaluate what we consider real journalism.”

Mouritsen advocated for the con-

NEWS FEATURES tinuance of fact-checking by organizations like The Washington Post in protecting the health of our political discourse.

Pundits’ beliefs in their own conspiracies are often questionable.

However, once disseminated to the viewers, these delusions exponentially grow because once you become victimized by false information, you become more susceptible to again fall prey.

A disdain for objectivity leads to gullibility. Ideas such as Trump’s claim the Latin American caravan is filled with terrorists from the Middle East trying to infiltrate the U.S. uses meritless accusations to unite a fractious voter base. Using fear as a motivator, these tactics bring cohesion to a cohort of individuals susceptible to demagoguery. “(Trump) admitted he has no proof, yet continues with his accusations,” said Mouritsen. “This

is completely irresponsible from a leader. As a politician, you have to be someone who values evidence-based claims. However, in American politics today, there is no reward for such behavior.

“I don’t think he actually believes Middle Easterners are flying to Honduras, learning to authentically speak Spanish and then walking 2,000 miles to infiltrate the U.S., but saying so benefits him politically.

“Leaders distract voters through conspiracy theories and over-inflating danger. (The) 3,500 poor people in the caravan are not a risk to the American public. However, what is a threat is Congress threatening to cut Medicare and Social Security.”

Increasing vulnerability, people are instinctively designed to make spontaneous decisions premised upon intuition. By avoiding reason, this evolutionary adaptation enables us to quickly evaluate a world with

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7 constant threatening stimuli.

BBC reported a CDC study detailing attempts to dispel theories of bananas containing a flesh-eating virus. The researchers found offering evidence to counter a falsehood only enforces the conviction of believers. This is because humans construct a framework of ideologies based on our experiences to help decipher the mechanisms of the world. When one pillar of our framework is proven to be unsound, the whole framework suffers. Rather than inspiring the desire to further educate, it instills an existential dread of the unknown.

In a universe of cosmic indifference, we’re dependent upon comforting subjective patterns to save us from the desolation of nothingness. A desire to belong to the conformities of another inspires the herd mentality.

Mouritsen said whether it’s the

far-right Q-Anon, liberals believing Russians hacked voting machines or Trump supporters uniting around the belief Hillary would take their guns away, you don’t want to be isolated from this political belonging. This inundates you in singularity of opinion, and if you` are exposed to the same conspiracy time and again, you might become persuaded.

The answer to the recent spike in violence is understanding conspiracy theories are not emblematic of a deranged psyche, but are natural tendencies of the human condition. Preserving a healthy political discourse is required to ensure reason dominates over our insecurities, and what little cognitive independence we possess from further slipping away.

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FEATURES

Photos by Alison Pfaff mock·tail /ˈmäkˌtāl/Submit noun North American. noun: mocktail; plural noun: mocktails a nonalcoholic drink consisting of a mixture of fruit juices or other soft drinks. mock·tail /ˈmäkˌtāl/Submit noun North American. noun: mocktail; plural noun: mocktails a nonalcoholic drink consisting of a mixture of fruit juices or other soft drinks. mock·tail /ˈmäkˌtāl/Submit noun

North American. noun: mocktail; plural noun: mocktails a nonalcoholic drink consisting of a mixture of fruit juices or other soft drinks. mock·tail /ˈmäkˌtāl/Submit noun North American. noun: mocktail; plural noun: mocktails a nonalcoholic drink consisting of a mixture of fruit juices or other soft drinks. mock·tail /ˈmäkˌtāl/Submit noun North American. noun: mocktail;

plural noun: mocktails a nonalcoholic drink consisting of a mixture of fruit juices or other soft drinks. mock·tail /ˈmäkˌtāl/Submit noun North American. noun: mocktail; plural noun: mocktails a nonalcoholic drink consisting of a mixture of fruit juices or other soft drinks. mock·tail /ˈmäkˌtāl/Submit noun North American. noun: mocktail; plural noun: mocktails a nonalco-

holic drink consisting of a mixture of fruit juices or other soft drinks. mock·tail /ˈmäkˌtāl/Submit noun North American. noun: mocktail; plural noun: mocktails a nonalcoholic drink consisting of a mixture of fruit juices or other soft drinks. mock·tail /ˈmäkˌtāl/Submit noun North American. noun: mocktail; plural noun: mocktails a nonalcoholic drink consisting of a mixture

PAINT & MOCKTAILS

FEATURES

HALLOWEEN

GAME DAY Photos by Lindsay Piotter

WITH THE SCI-FI/FANTASY & GAMING CLUB

Students celebrate Halloween with costumes, video games and board games.

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FEATURES

10

H U M A N S

OF COLLEGE OF DUPAGE Trinity Jefferson, Social Media Manager Growing up without a father was never been a hindrance for College of DuPage student, Isaiah Spence. Spence believes that if you don’t have a father, you can handle all situations. Becoming a man doesn’t necessarily mean you need a father to teach you how to be one.

“Don’t let not having a father be an excuse for what you can’t achieve” Recently, Spence has made himself vocal on his youtube channel, “Zay Spence,” with his comedic characteristics and heartfelt messages.

Joanne Borjas, a COD student, has been through hard times. With the passing of loved ones, family and friends, Borjas is nervous that her professors may not understand why she may not be delivering 100% in her work.

Borjas is becoming more aware of the meaning of community college, because people around her are there to help. Borjas recently visited the Addison campus and found a counselor that made her feel calm and safe throughout her studies.

r e v o c s i D AU R O R

A

COD student, Zoe Cajigas, has realized throughout her academic career that there are many ups and downs. She feels she’s over stressed with her school work but doesn’t regret a single class. As an artist here at COD, Cajigas is proud of herself and feels the classes she picked have been empowering her creativity. She is so glad that she decided to attend classes here at COD.

SITY R E V I UN

COD student, Diana Gayley, feels that the school has prepared her for what’s to come. With hopes of transferring to the University of Illinois at Chicago, Gayley will be striving to obtain her master’s degree in Sociology.

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FEATURES

11

THE MIND OF JAKE PAUL

Shane Dawson’s Series Leaves Viewers Wanting More Madison Venckus, News Editor

Jake Paul & Shane Dawson

YouTube personality Shane Dawson uploaded the first episode of his eight-part documentary series, “The Mind of Jake Paul,” on Tuesday, Sept. 25. His multi-part series followed Disney Channel and vine star, turned YouTube celebrity, Jake Paul.

Paul is well known by his young fan base for his energetic video blogs [vlogs] and stunts done by himself and other members of his talent group, Team 10, according to an article written for Forbes by Megan Hills.

Controversy began surrounding Paul after his ex-girlfriend and previous Team 10 member, Alissa Violet, spoke out about possible abuse she endured throughout their relationship in her video, “What you’ve been waiting for.”

He also also gained significant attention from traditional news sources, such as KTLA, after receiving multiple complaints from

neighbors.

Paul’s antics and stunts are what originally attracted Dawson to make him the subject of his next documentary series. With his focus centered on sociopathy and how the illness may be affecting internet personalities, like Jake Paul, Dawson vowed from the beginning of the series to hold Paul accountable for his actions and discover his true motives.

Sociopathy isn’t a new concept to the mental health world and is often referred to as antisocial personality disorder. As sociopaths are most well known for their lack of remorse and destructive behaviors, Dawson had immediately made an uneducated assumption on Paul’s mental stability. Sociopaths tend to go unnoticed by the public. As much as 4 percent of the population or 1 in 25 people possess such characteristics, Bill Eddy said in an article on Psychology Today.

As Dawson centers his documentary series on whether or not Paul is truly a sociopath, an underlying question becomes clear having viewers wondering whether the social media platform is to blame or the influencers themselves.

Dawson initially proposed the idea that Paul is not the only sociopath vicariously living through his YouTube persona. He highlights how sociopathic tendencies can sometimes lead to success and fame online.

“Putting ourselves on camera all the time, being so open on camera all the time, having conventions with our name in it. There has to be something,” Dawson says in the first episode.

Dawson suggested that not all YouTubers post the same content as Paul but are able to watch him and see unsettling similarities between Paul and themselves. The shared drive to constantly feel the need to top oneself was a trait Dawson felt he shared with Paul.

“I knew I had so many things in common with you, I just had this weird gut feeling,” Dawson says to Paul in episode 6.

In piecing together what makes a sociopath and how to spot one,

Brandon Beckwith

Dawson was quick to realize that sociopathy and narcissism can commonly be seen amongst several social media influencers.

“Most YouTubers are attention-seekers. We want attention.

We thrive off of it. And the best way to get attention, and to especially get new people to pay attention, is drama” says YouTube gossip reporter Keemstar in Dawson’s latest episode.

Dawson concludes his series without fully answering his initial question on whether or not Paul is a sociopath. Instead, he acknowledges the competitive, money-driven motives many YouTubers face and suggests that his conclusion may be the start of a more productive topic of discussion.

Dawson leaves unanswered questions regarding who beyond the YouTube community may possess sociopathic traits in day to day life. It’s more than possible people we have relationships with in our families, in groups of friends and even in power could be just as destructive and deceitful as sociopaths we see on TV and in the media. The most disruptive part is that a sociopath may not be uncovered until it is too late.

12

FEATURES NEWS

ABSTINENCE-ONLY SEX ED

Hurting the Youth in More Ways than You Think Reanna Comiso, Features Editor Abstinence-only sex education doesn’t work. As much as your middle school health teacher tried to convince you premarital sex was the end-all, be-all, modern standards reveal it is just is not true.

Research shows only 5 percent of American couples wait until marriage to have sex. Why do schools continue to preach abstinence-only sex education on young, impressionable students?

Your health teacher was not lying when she said abstinence is the only surefire way to prevent pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases. But convincing children that consensual intercourse is inherently wrong does more harm than good and certainly does not prevent teenagers and young adults from having sex.

In the state of Illinois, schools are not required to provide any type of sex education. Until recently, schools that decided to offer sex education to their students could only teach abstinence as a form of contraception. All other forms of healthy and reliable information were left out of the classroom, putting students in danger.

It was not until 2014 when the laws in Illinois changed. Under the new law, the Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act, schools that teach about sex must include information about contraception to prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancy.

Education on abstinence is still required as part of the curriculum. The law still does not require schools to teach sex education.

A survey conducted by the University of Chicago Medical Center stated 93 percent of Illinois schools offered sex education. The survey also revealed 30 percent of the state’s sex education instructors never received specialized training on the topic, where the national average is 18 percent.

“It is the responsibility of adults in the community and educators to make sure that teens and young adults are fully prepared for the very adult decisions they will be making throughout high school and college,” said Caitlin Luetger-Schlewitt, an adjunct humanities professor at the College of DuPage. “The more we treat sex-ed as taboo, the harder it is for young people to feel comfortable in their own bodies and make smart choices about those bodies.”

Birth Control

Wikimedia user briancalabro

Schools should focus on providing comprehensive sex ed. That means focusing on both sex and sexuality, with an emphasis on forming healthy relationships. It seeks to inform young people about the importance of gaining self-esteem, protecting their physical and emotional well-being and their rights regarding sexual health. Schools in Illinois are not yet at that level but are slowly incorporating aspects of comprehensive sex ed.

“The comprehensive programs reduced sexual activity, the number of sex partners, the frequency of unprotected sexual activity, and sexually transmitted infections,” stated Aaron E. Carroll, professor of pediatrics at Indiana University, in an article published by the New York Times.

Despite the recent shift in Illinois law, things have the potential to regress under President Donald Trump’s administration. A funding announcement in April 2018 by the Department of Health and Human Services strongly favors sex education policies that favor abstinence over evidence of effectiveness.

Programs that emphasize “sexual risk reduction” can still be considered for funding, but “sexual risk avoidance” is encouraged by the HHS. This change came after abstinence-advocate Valerie Huber became the chief of staff to the assistant secretary of health. Huber was the CEO and co-founder of Ascend, a professional association for abstinence advocacy.

Abstinence is the only sure way to prevent the negative repercussions of sex, but the reality is most people will not refrain from sex until

FEATURES The more we treat sex-ed as taboo, the harder it is for young people to feel comfortable in their own bodies and make smart choices about those bodies.

-Caitlin Luetger-Schlewitt marriage. Pushing abstinence-only education will have overwhelmingly adverse effects.

When asking COD students about their knowledge of sex education, many said it was discussed the most in the classroom, but they also learned the least there. Students felt they got a lot of their knowledge from the internet or from their friends. When asked if they felt they knew enough about sex, male students said they felt they knew enough, while female students felt they lacked necessary knowledge.

The divide between male and fe-

male students comes as no surprise.

“Despite the emphasis on sex in pop culture, it is still considered a taboo for women to have a healthy relationship with sex, their bodies, and sexual health in America,” said Luetger-Schlewitt.

Studies have shown that abstinence-only sex education has had increasingly harmful effects on women in particular. Researcher Michelle Fine concluded “sexual risk prevention” education victimizes women and increased both pregnancy and high school dropout rates. 30% of all female high-

13 school dropouts cite teen pregnancy as their reason for not continuing school, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

One concern from female students was a lack of information about consent given during sex ed lessons. “People always only tell men about consent,” said Sarah Martinez, COD student. “It should be a mutual relationship.”

In light of the #metoo movement, more women are coming out with their stories of sexual assault. Many cases of assault are due to the lack of understanding of consent and the grey area that surrounds it. By not teaching students about consent and sexual assault, they are not being provided with the proper tools to defend and protect themselves from cases of sexual violence.

Sufficient sex ed also has the power to protect both men and women from sexual violence. Making the

public more informed on the issue is the first step to change. By teaching children the importance of consent and what defines sexual assault, they are given the tools to make informed decisions and protect themselves from potential dangers.

Ending the cycle of abuse starts with proper education. Individuals aged 12 to 34 are at the highest risk of being sexually assaulted, according to RAINN. To protect the children, they need to be informed.

“I think we would see a decrease in sexual violence if we improved the way we talk about sex with young people,” said Luetger-Schlewitt. “If we treated sex-ed the same way we treat other topics, I think a lot of problems in our society would improve for the better.”

14

NEWS OPINION

GUIDES MAKE THE DIFFERENCE Study Guides are Just Another Preparation Tool Kimberly Wilson, Opinion Editor Studying for a test is one of the most arduous and time-consuming parts of college. Study guides are often given to students as a tool to help alleviate this stress. Not every professor hands them out, but they should Study guides don’t need to be compulsory, but they should be prioritized depending on the difficulty of the class and the importance of the test.

If the class material is extensive and detail oriented, a study guide makes sense. Of course, students should keep up with the class material. Anything covered can be on the test. But professors should still hand out a guide with the most important topics for the test or pages from the textbook with need-toknow information. This will go a long way in helping students prepare for a test.

College students are responsible for their own learning.

But many students are juggling several responsibilities along with passing their classes. Professors should be aware of this and exercise some empathy. It’s unrealistic to expect students to learn every inch of multiple textbooks, in addition to topics a professor might put on the test that aren’t in the textbook.

In a perfect world, students would have all the time in the world to memorize every last word of the assigned readings. Expanding one’s mind is something that should be a priority for college students. But the importance of our grades can’t be denied.

The fact is if college students don’t keep their grades up to a certain level, they won’t be college stu-

There must be a balance between learning as much as possible and still making the class passable. dents for long. Academic probation can come into play. There must be a balance between learning as much as possible and still making the class passable.

Study guides might seem like an unfair advantage for students who weren’t pulling their weight in the class over the course of the semester. But students who have fully participated in a class shouldn’t be punished for the sake of teaching those few bad apples a lesson.

Being fully engaged in college is a large part of what prepares students to be competent in the working world. It’s also very important for College of DuPage students to

work hard in their classes. Many COD students plan on transferring to four-year colleges and universities and will need to have impressive transfer applications. The students who are slacking off now will find that their actions will catch up to them.

College is challenging enough.

Taking the time to let students know the main topics for a test is something every professor can do.

A study guide could be hugely beneficial to so many students. It could be the difference between an A or a B, which could be the determining factor for so much more.

SPORTS COLUMN

15

Paris Saint-Germain esports Team

Clément Cellier, PSG eSports

MORE THAN A VIDEO GAME Miguel Contreras, Sports Editor Look, I know there are a lot of people who still don’t believe esports is a sport. Some people may agree it’s a sport for the sake of argument to appease the growing masses of “E-athletes” and their supporters, but they don’t understand why it’s a sport.

It’s a long-standing perception that sports are confined to competitive activities that take place on a field or a court and require high amounts of physical exertion. People will then juxtapose that to what they perceive as someone sitting on a couch with a

controller in his hand and don’t recognize the correlation. There’s a lot more than that going on.

This debate isn’t about gamers craving the same classification as traditional sports athletes for the sake of a label. Whether you personally want to define video games as a sport or not, it doesn't change the nature of what it is.

Esport athletes deserve an equal amount of recognition, respect and opportunity for the amount of commitment and dedication they have to their competition. Although

they don’t train the exact same type of skills as traditional sports, the skills they do build have intersecting values like competitive integrity, communication, teamwork, and sacrifice.

Sports shouldn’t be an exclusive club that people’s talents, interests and competitions should have to struggle to be equally respected.

That’s the crux of the argument, not a petty definition.

Fortunately, although video games as a sport have been levied heavy amounts of public scrutiny, the world of sports has begun to recognize esports for their merits.

Before, the kind of statements that can be found in Matthew Walther’s “Sorry, nerds: Video games are not a sport” in regards to universities offering scholarships to es-

ports athletes were common.

“Undergraduate education is actually a four-year-long debt-financed summer camp for lazy overgrown teenagers,” Walther wrote. “It has nothing to do with the life of the mind, and even less to do with old-fashioned vocational training. One worthless piece of paper is as good as any other, which means that the directional state former polytechnics have to find some non-academic means of competing with each other for the loan dollars that will one day crush their underemployed 20-something graduates.”

These sort of statements target higher education institutions like Robert Morris in Chicago, Illinois continued on page 16

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16 continued from page 15

or Columbia in Columbia, Missouri without proper understanding of what they do or how they function.

The reality of professional esports is people who resent it often don’t understand its intricacies.

Especially for a 5v5 team video game like League of Legends, professional play is contingent on a team’s ability to process huge amounts of data, communicate efficiently, adapt and strategize, while still executing split-second micro movements. A single bad decision can mean a ripple effect that completely throws away the momentum to the opposing team.

Meanwhile, according to Fox Sports, Nike has recently struck an endorsement deal with one of the most popular League of Legends video game players in the world, Jian “Uzi” Zihao, to advertise for Lebron James’ “Dribble &” campaign leading up to his docu-series titled, “Shut up and Dribble.”

Nike is one of the world’s biggest sports giants. They’ve long been known for sponsoring basketball, tennis, football and golf players and the like to advertise their products.

Not only does endorsing a player like Zihao make a statement about the respect that corporation gives to what he does, but he’s also been selected to do it in a campaign for Lebron James. James is revered as one of, if not the best, traditional sports athletes in the world.

Nike isn’t the only one on board.

David “Ninja” Katz, the most successful Fortnite video game streamer, was featured on the front cover of ESPN the magazine’s Sept. 18 issue.

ESPN is one of the most widely watched broadcasting and production sources for all things sports.

Katz wasn’t selected to be a column hidden away in the back of the magazine for a single ESPN editor to support and write about. He was selected as the most prominent fea-

ture for that issue.

Last year, the LCS, which is the League of Legends professional league, akin to basketball’s NBA or baseball’s MLB, completed franchising its teams into permanent partners with the league. During this process, league officials accepted applications from returning and new organizations that sought to become part of the league. Officials only accepted the teams with the greatest amount of integrity and backing for success.

Franchising was not an ordeal confined to neither League of Legends or video games. The establishment of many of the now permanent LCS teams had no shortage of professional traditional sports organization involvement, according to mashable.com.

Yes, these organizations likely see the North American LCS as a lucrative business opportunity. However, these organizations also would not become partnered, or even create their very own LCS teams, if they didn’t believe in them and what they do or thought they would fail.

With all the backing esports has begun to accrue, the debate has in some ways evolved past whether or not esports is a sport and has instead become about whether or not it should be played along with the long-standing traditions of the Olympic Games. Where the idea might seem ludicrous to some, according to BusinessInsider.com, esports has already taken steps to make the possibility into a reality at a 2017 summit held by the International Olympic Committee.

“A summit held by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in October 2017 acknowledged the growing popularity of esports, concluding that "Competitive 'esports' could be considered as a sporting activity, and the players involved prepare and train with an intensity which may be comparable to athletes in traditional sports but would

require any games used for the Olympics fitting "with the rules and regulations” of the Olympic movement.”

A decision like often raises the question as to whether or not games like poker or chess are sports as well and what the difference between them and esports are under that definition. Psychology Today presents the argument that to be a sport, physical involvement has to be more than incidental.

“In 2005, Sport England recognized darts as a sport, presumably because darts involves skill as well as physical activity. By that account, video gaming, although targeted at a representational world rather than the real world, might also make the cut. Chess, on the other hand, is probably not a sport because, although it involves some physical activity, this physical activity is not particularly skilled, and, in any case, is not the primary purpose of chess. It is perfectly possible to get someone to move our chess pieces for us and still be counted as playing chess: in that much, the physical activity associated with playing chess is not central or even secondary but merely incidental.”

If I were to go to the gym and begin to run on a treadmill I am exercising, not playing a sport. Yet, if I were to run in a race I am now participating in a sport. What is defined as a sport is most influenced by this competitive perspective. In which case, physical exertion or exclusivity should not be the ultimate determination as to whether or not a sport is a sport.

Permanent LCS Teams With Traditional Sport Organization Investment: 100 Thieves: This newcomer to professional League of Legends is formed in partnership between “Call of Duty” pro-turned-celebrity Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag and the NBA's own Cleveland Cavaliers.

Clutch City Gaming: Created by NBA team the Houston Rockets as part of its esports venture, Clutch City Gaming makes its debut in the North American LCS. Counter Logic Gaming: Another long-running esports team organization from North America, CLG has competed in pro League of Legends since 2010 and recently partnered with Madison Square Garden.

Echo Fox: Echo Fox is relatively new to the esports team, forming in 2015 under three-time NBA champion Rick Fox and fielding a League team in the 2016 and 2017 North American LCS seasons. The New York Yankees recently made a major investment in the organization.

FlyQuest: FlyQuest joined the League of Legends scene in 2017 and is headed by co-owner of NBA team the Milwaukee Bucks, Wes Edens.

Golden Guardians: Similar to Clutch City Gaming, the Golden Guardians are the product of an NBA team, the Golden State Warriors, and is making its debut in the North American LCS.”

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17

OWLS AND CHAPARRALS LOCK TALONS Oakton Narrowly Defeats the College Miguel Contreras, of Dupage Sports Editor The game looked over before it even began. Then it came back to life, twice.

The men's basketball showdown between Oakton and the College of Dupage ushered in the fresh November month with an electric competition within a roller coaster game.

The first half of the match between the Chaps and the Owls weighed heavily in DuPage’s favor. Crafty individual plays and powerful drives to the hoop fueled early momentum in favor of the Chaps. Meanwhile, the Owls seemed to be dead in the water as they failed to generate almost any offense against the Chaps and allowing COD to open up more than a 10point lead.

Even while struggling, the Owl’s continued to communicate with each other in transition well and continued to battle back despite the early disarray. However, the Chaps punished their faltering. As the first half of the game came to a close, even with only a 37-27 Chaps lead, it seemed that coming out of half time there would be little contest to be had between the two teams with so much momentum in favor of the College of Dupage.

Photos by Madison Venckus

But Oakton refused to be counted out. The team seemed to recenter themselves and returned to the court in the second half with newfound conviction for victory. Turnovers and defensive lapses from the first half were shored up, and the Owls began to generate higher percentage shots through their on-court leaders who made their presence felt as the game continued.

The Chaps seemed to be reeling from the counterattack levied by the Owls for most of the second half.

As the game wound down towards the final minutes a seemingly insurmountable lead loomed over them.

Yet, the Chaps refused to quit. Even as the crowd relaxed with the assumed defeat of the Chaps imminent, the Chaps dug in and searched for any opportunity to find a way back into the game. Diving for loose balls, forcing the Owls onto the free throw line, and knocking down clutch shots kept the crowd excitedly glancing between the players and the game clock urging on the Chaps to do was seemed so unlikely.

As the final seconds of the game ticked away, the Chaps inbound the ball down four points to the Owls.

Even when victory was no longer feasible, the final shot of the night was made by the Chaps from just over the half court line. It punctuated a battle between the Owls and Chaps that narrowly fell in Oakton’s favor with a 70-69 point victory.

18

NEWS COFFEE BREAK

THEME: THANKSGIVING

ACROSS 1. Newton or Stern 6. Hot springs resort 9. Gene Simmons' band 13. Cuban dance 14. Anticipated outcome 15. Type of rug 16. Shiny suit 17. Red area between Saudi Arabia and Egypt?

18. Telephone company 19. *Which Thursday is Thanksgiving?

21. *Gathering 23. To boot 24. India location 25. Deli order 28. Walked on 30. Authoritative declaration 35. Milano moolah 37. Swear, not curse 39. Kappa Alpha ____ 40. Battery fluid 41. Long-necked wading bird 43. Biz bigwig 44. Chirp 46. Gauche or Droite, in Paris 47. On one's guard 48. Take for ransom 50. Gingrich of politics 52. Female sib 53. Hoodlum 55. Comic cry 57. *Early Thanksgiving celebrant 61. *It's on the final Thanksgiving Parade float 64. Convex molding 65. High or low 67. "Roots" author 69. *Post-Thanksgiving song 70. Yoga accessory 71. Accustom 72. "The Man Who ____ Too Much" 73. Possessive of it 74. Opposite of digest

DOWN 1. Roth ____ 2. Turf alternative 3. Shots, for short 4. Roughly 5. Root vegetable 6. "I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters, and threw up the ____" 7. *Not cake 8. Wet nurses 9. Capital of Ukraine 10. Capri, e.g.

11. Hollow baglike structures 12. Vegas bandit 15. Gibraltar or Bering 20. Synagogue read 22. Willie Nelson's "Farm ____" 24. Like fans 25. *Like Friday after Thanksgiving 26. Chinese fruit 27. "____-and-true" 29. *____-eating 31. "The ____" talk show 32. Astros' homeland 33. Wombs 34. *Parade organizer 36. Port in Yemen 38. Created a rug?

42. Handrail post 45. "Snow ____," band 49. Between Sigma and Epsilon 51. Tittering laugh sound 54. Savory taste sensation 56. Asian wild ass 57. From chicken pox 58. He was terrible 59. Elders' teachings 60. Neon effect 61. Exercise groups 62. Adhesive 63. Not his 66. *The oldest balloon animal 68. Hitherto

COFFEE BREAK

19

COLLEGE OF DUPAGE WEEKLY WEATHER FORCAST Made Possible by the COD Meteorology Department WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

PARTLY CLOUDY LOW 40'S

UPPER 20'S

MOSTLY SUNNY LOW 40'S

LOW 30'S

CLOUDY

SNOW LIKELY

UPPER 30'S

LOW 20'S

MOSTLY SUNNY MID 30'S

LOW 20'S

SUNDAY - TUESDAY RECAP After a system moves through the area on Friday with a period of snow, our weather pattern will turn quiet heading into the weekend as high pressure builds into the Midwest from the northern plains. This will mean dry conditions outside a chance of snow showers on Tuedsay and temperatures will remain below normal through the upcoming weekend. As we get into next week, temperatures will get even colder as very impressive shot of cold air from Canada comes down into the Midwest, leading to highs remaining in the 30's on Monday and Tuesday.

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