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Show 2 OPINION FORUMFORTNIGHTLY.COM Editor s Column Well, hello new school year Keni Nelson Editor-In-Chi- Wow, I cant believe that the school year is about to begin. It seems like just yesterday I was EDITOR-IN-CHIE- F KENI NELSON MANAGING EDITOR IAN COPPOCK KIRACASTAGNO ONLINE MANAGER GENEVIEVE BRYAN BUSINESS MANAGER TYSON OLCOTT PRODUCTION MANAGER KENDRA BLACK ASSISTANT EDITORS LIA CHIAROTTI HILLARY FOWLER HOLLY KING ADVISER KIMZARKIN i CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AUDREY MAYNARD CHRISTINE SEIFERT EMILIO CASILLAS MICHELLE BARBER NICKRAOUX PHIL GIPSON 1 ef. ences. Ive learned more about As a communication major, it makes me feel good when progressive - trends ? Submit letters to the editor and opin- - ) ion pieces to forumeditorwestminster- I college.edu with "Opinion as the subject f i line. Only letters received from a valid I ; email address signed with a first and ; last name will be accepted. The Forum reserves the right to edit all submissions. ; j The views and opinions expressed are t I those of the writers and are not to be I I considered those of The Forum, faculty, j staff or administration of Westminster ; 1 College. If published, letters and com- ! ments become sole property of The J jj ' ' I am an involved student. I was a member of the womens golf team, the judicial council; I am an RA and now the Editor-in-ChiBut the reason Pm doing or I did these things is because they interest me. And I also learn from these experi- emerge in our nations media. It makes me feel even better when those same trends appear in one of my favorite media: video games. Although it took years, the video game industry has begun to acknowledge the existence of gay and lesbian people. Bioware, a Canadian developer whose titles include the Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect series, took up this cause in earnest with Mass Effect 3. Mass Effect 3, a science fiction shooter with elements, was released on March 15 for the PC and consoles such as the PlayStation 3. In the game, players assume the Forum. I The Forum publishes 1,000 copies every other Wednesday. Initial copies are free of charge; additional copies may be purchased for $1. The Forum seeks to provide an unbiased, open media outlet for the Westminster cam- - f f role pus and surrounding communities, Contact the editor at forumeditor I westminstercollege.edu with sugges- tions, story ideas and feedback. The Forum is published and printed in Salt lake City, Utah. All rights reserved. No reproduction, reprinting or mass redistribution of print or online material without express written consent of the I charismatic human soldier who must save the galaxy from an ancient race of machines called the Reapers, who harvest all sentient life every 50,000 years. Players can make thir Shepard male or female, and perform dozens of other customizations. In Mass Effect 3, Bioware introduced two new characters, role-playi- ng I I I I 1 I editor. Copyright 2011. trip leader. If you love to sing, join the choir. Meet some amazing people and travel the world, singing in churches and concert halls. Even if you love to cook, start a cooking dub. Meet people who share the same passion, and maybe youll try new cuisines that will inspire you to make a cookbook. If you love to write, write for the newspaper! Its fun, and you get to be published. How cool is that? Being involved will make your college experience leaps and bounds better than just attending class. The friendships build and the experiences jou you have will help you grow as a person. Growth involves discovering your strengths, and discovering your strengths makes you a pretty great employee. Or entrepreneur, or teacher, or even president Yes, I believe you can be the President of the United States. Im optimistic like that. So get involved Westminster students! Try something new, or become more active in what youre already involved with. Take a chance, meet some new people, and learn about yourself. Theres no better time to start than now. Ian Coppock Managing Editor BUSINESS & ADVERTISING PHONE: 801.832.2319 I At Westminster, management, conflict resolution, management, and even myself from these positions than any class I could have taken. From these experiences I have learned skills that I can apply to absolutely any workplace. How amazing is that? From doing things that I love, I actually learned how to be competitive in the job market. So my advice to you, dear Westminster students, is to get involved. Do what you love. If you love to rock climb, work at the rock wall, or work with the Outdoor Rec program to be a time Gay presence reaches video games ' forumeditorwestminstercollege.edu LETTERS examples. And what Ive learned from SHAW L3 SLC, UTAH i Active learning, as I define it, is when someone takes their interests and strengths and combines them. This happens more often than you think. It can happen when youre out rock climbing, when youre hanging out with friends, when youre watching a movie. I can now imagine you dunking to yourself this girl is crazy, but dont worry, I have this market is that education is more important than ever. I CONTACT forumbusinesswestminstercollege.edu ing. help you grow. RULONWOOD SHARON GIBBONS EDITORIAL PHONE: 801.832.2320 dont mean education as in sitting in a classroom, aimlessly doodling in a notebook during a lecture. I mean active learn- finishing up finals and heading over to Europe for May Term. But thats kind of how school works. The further along you get in your education, the faster the year flies by. And suddenly, you find yourself entering your senior year of college. And you have NO idea what youre doing with your life. Ive been told this not knowing thing is fairly common amongst college students. With the economy in a constant state of flux and certain career paths shriveling up into nonexistence, its a challenging time to be a college student. But these challenges have made me grateful Whats life without a few challenges? Challenges toughen you up, and they ONLINE EDITOR 1840 S. 1300 E. ef I j jj I 1 1 of Commander Shepard, a Samantha Traynor and Steve Cortez, who are crewmembers aboard Shepards ship. Whats remarkable about these characters is that they mark the first time openly homosexual people have appeared in a mainstream game. Traynor freely discusses her sexual orientation upon meeting Commander Shepard for the first time, and Cortez is grieving the loss of his husband in a recent battle. These characters are each powerful and interesting people in their own right, and adhere to no stereotypes about the gay community. In the futuristic community of Mass Effect, homosexuality is seen as a normal and nonchalant fact of human society, which is exactly how it should be viewed in real life. Players even have the option of romancing Traynor or Cortez. Its just a game, of course, but even being able to do that is a huge acknowledgement from Bioware that homosexuality is normal, and should be treated with respect. This enheartwarming from dorsement Bioware and Biowares parent company, Electronic Arts, is actually a significant victory for the gay community. When a cause gains media visibility, it is an indicator that the people in our society want that cause to be acknowledged. In other words, support for gay equality is growing, and quickly. Social conservatives can point to political agendas and secret gay conspiracies all they want, but the fact remains: Mass Effect 3 included gay characters because enough of the series fans asked for them. Media visibility can be used to attain almost anything. President John Kennedy called for an end to racial segregation after seeing images and reading letters from the civil rights movement. Indeed, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed one year later after growing support from all corners of society, including the media. Were seeing the exact same thing happen all around us, right now. President Obama has called for gay equality after seeing the gay community fight for it, and who knows? Perhaps gay marriage and equality will be attained soon. The of Sieve Cortez, a pilot in Mass Effect old Calvin and Hobbes age of ad- yell loudly enough and someone will notice proves to be successful. The video game industry has chosen to add to the metaphorical yell, and I applaud Biowares progres-sivisThe gay community is anything but alone in their fight for equality; the most powerful forms of media have endorsed their right to happiness and a normal life, through not only news coverage, but storytelling. I, for one, am proud of the industry I hope to one day work for. Every quip of dialogue in Mass Effect 3 from Samantha Traynor or Steve Cortez m. is a message: Were Were normaL And gay here. peo- ple can save the galaxy too. |