originally posted in:UniversityOfTheLastCity
A couple people have requested to join and have been denied because they have not attended college/university. I explained the situation to them and in both instances they were cordial and understanding, and withdrew membership. I wanted to post that explanation here, hopefully to prevent any confusion in the future.
UTLC is a community of students, yes. However, we are more than that. We are a community of higher learning and unique situations. The university environment creates challenges that high school (secondary school for those outside of the USA) and lower levels of education do not pose. Because of these challenges, college students must allocate their most precious resource, time, very sparingly. This is unfortunate for those of us who game as it is an enjoyable hobby, but a time consuming one. Moreover, our hectic schedules may make it difficult to play together. Indeed, it deserves mentioning that there is still slight social stigma to the video game culture that makes discussing it outside of a close knit group of friends awkward. It is not nearly what it was when I was younger (e.g. 5-10 years ago) but it is still there. I am very happy to say that I think Destiny bridges this gap and makes it easier for gamers to connect via social media and their awesome apparel and symbolism (I got myself a Hunter Tshirt from the Bungie Store). Casual gamers will be more respected and catered to in Destiny. But I digress.
Due to college students facing these unique challenges (though not so unique to adults who are out in the workforce already), we wanted to create a community for these students. UTLC is the culmination of that dream. Because we want members who understand what our life is like, and who are open-minded and respectful in the way a University experience can give you, we want to stay exclusive to college students and graduates. Graduates face an ever wider array of challenges, and they can relate to our situation as current students along with passing on wisdom from the days of yore. These are the reasons why we must ask high school, middle school, primary school, and secondary school students to look elsewhere for a group that better fits them. It is not anything against you all, simply a matter of having a target audience. Indeed, we hope that someday these Guardians will pursue higher education and join our ranks. But a position in UTLC is to be aspired to, not expected. We welcome all Guardians with time.
I hope this clears the air on any questions or concerns relating to your membership at the UTLC. We thank all Guardians for their interest, support, and enthusiasm, especially over the last 24 hours. We look forward to fighting alongside you on September 9th.
Cheers,
SmrtAngel3702
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It's ironic because once you graduate, you'll want nothing to do with "academics" ever again.
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While working adults certainly share the same time woes as college students, I definitely feel there's groups out there that cater to that: Weekend Warriorz, Guardians of the Weekend and so forth. However, it's rare to find a group that focuses on college students. For me, university students have always been respectful of opposing viewpoints and respectful of others' time restrictions. That fosters an environment where it's easy to find someone to play with who isn't just blasting through the game, and it also breeds an environment for discussion. Discussion of the game, aspects of the gaming industry and community, and of course, discussion about college life. It might not be improbable to form alliances with other groups who cater to other academic groups in the future anyway. But I support the notion that this is a collegiate group, and I'm happy to link arms with other students. For me at least, there's only one gaming group on campus, and it's more geared toward game development and design, not playing. As a commuter, it's hard to find fellow gamers, and in the rare case that I do, it's probably from peeking over their shoulder on the train or watching their laptop in class. I'm happy to have an environment that encourages gaming, and UTLC truly does feel like a community that I can have a meaningful conversation with, while blasting some aliens at the same time.
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Edited by SeducingPinata: 9/6/2014 1:30:53 PMI definitely support your arguments. I think it's great that I'll be playing with people that understand that I may not always be free to play, or I will only have a limited amount of time to play, etc. Not only that but it will be nice to able to chat with them about our worries, stresses, accomplishments and all the other things that accompany University/College life. Good on ya SmrtAngel3702, I'm glad you're holding the line.
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I'm a third year university student. What now?
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I'm not eligible for the group(yet, I will be in about 4 years), but I found your argument very respectful and well thought out and explained.