March 7, 2008

U. of Nebraska at Lincoln Bans 'Assassin' Game

In these violent and panicked times, airline passengers who utter the word “bomb” risk being arrested, and college students who carry toy guns may be disciplined by campus officials.

The University of Nebraska at Lincoln has banned the game Assassin, in which participants “kill” one another until one survivor triumphs, usually winning a pot of money, the Associated Press reported today. The game, borrowing from tag and hide-and-seek, typically involves stakeouts and chases with, for example, foam-dart guns.

“While this may be a game that is fun to play, it is extremely inappropriate in this day and age in which we are all too familiar with the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University shootings,” Nebraska’s vice chancellor for student affairs, Juan Franco, wrote in a e-mail message to students, according to the AP. “I am asking student organizations to … make it clear that it will not be tolerated on campus,” Mr. Franco said.

Officials at Indiana University at Bloomington have also expressed concern about the game, the Indiana Daily Student reported today. Several campuses, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have student groups known as “assassins’ guilds.”

Last year students at Hampden-Sydney College, which is not far from Virginia Tech, canceled their annual game, USA Today reported. —Sara Lipka

Comments

1. Oh how sweet. The next thing the Cornhuskers need to do is to remind all the students that they are “adults” — whatever that is supposed to mean.

   Seriously, since this game evolved from tag and hide and seek, why not go to the root of the problem and “ban” those games as well?

   — PA Man    Mar 7, 03:47 PM    #

2. Your point of view would be a strong one, PA, if…
   …people didn’t cyber-die from hide and seek.
   Moreover—you are obviously not a professor…with each death or assault—such as in Illinois and North Carolina—we worry about the causes (after all, we are educators) and try to take measures that will lessen the chance of violence …
   …such as what is being done at Nebraska, which any thinking educator would applaud.

   — history professor    Mar 7, 04:26 PM    #

3. One less thing to do in the middle of nowhere (Lincoln, NE).

   Is the “ban” because the idea is offensive or there is some presumed link between playing the game and acting out? If it’s the former, well I suppose colleges are no place for differences of opinion…

   — TX Dan    Mar 7, 04:56 PM    #

4. Dan—I hope it is the former, rathjer than the latter. I would tell you that there is a lot of angst on college campuses now…a lot of fear…I would guess that the reason is the latter.

   — history professor    Mar 7, 05:10 PM    #

5. I believe the ban stems from a participant who had “dressed” for the event sitting in the back of a class room, waiting for his quarry. Makes it hard for professors, students and police to sort out whether something is a threat or not.

   — Anne Mulholland    Mar 7, 05:23 PM    #

6. Why can’t they just play hide and seek?

   — kgotthardt    Mar 8, 08:04 AM    #

7. This is all about fear. There is no discernible link between a game like this and an actual shooting, to judge from the histories of real campus shooters. The game just arouses fears in administrators and others—and they fear truly horrible and all-too-real potential catastrophes.

   What the administrators need to do is to deal with the fear much more directly and effectively: screen for the mental disorders that are at the root of shooting incidents, and follow up that screening with outreach and treatment. THAT would be taking constructive action.

   (Yes, I have developed such an incident, and my firm markets it. Whatever instrument is used, though, screening and outreach are what will make a real difference, not banning games.)

   — Mark E. Koltko-Rivera, Ph.D.    Mar 8, 10:47 AM    #

8. True, these students are adults and are responsible for their actions. They should create useful games. What ever happened to the official olympic games such as Chess, fencing, soccer, football, softball, track etc…There are rules and regulations on that specific game.

   — Doris Martin    Mar 10, 07:45 AM    #

9. With a number of colleges and universities discussing arming their police with guns, one has to consider the very real possibility that students who are playing a game could become the unwitting vicitim. Anxiety on campuses is high.

   — TC    Mar 10, 03:25 PM    #

10. Although some may stand on the sidelines and criticize the actions of the administrators at this time of crisis, none of the commentators are in the arena. None have to try to quell the anger, the concern, and possible legal actions of those other second-guessers who will sally forth in case of a future problem (which will likely arise somewhere). Until the situation returns to some sense of normalcy, it would be helpful if those who post commentaries that reflect junior-high school wisdom would save them for Junior Scholastic (although some 8th-graders may have some more wise comments).

    — Ole Perfesser    Mar 10, 05:39 PM    #

11. I can completely understand why this was banned. Individuals at my college have played this game before and the rules that they used were questionable. You were assigned a target and were to have “killed” them in so many days. Failure to “kill” them by the deadline resulted in you being eliminated. We did not use guns but instead you had to place a sticker on them. I saw several struggles during the game in which people were trying to avoid being stuck. You were allowed to stick them anywhere, even in their own room. The only thing you could not do was enter their room without their permission. But if they opened the door you could enter then.

    In consideration of recent events it would be irresponsible for colleges to not ban this game. If I opened my door to let someone in and they immediately pulled a gun, I would not be thinking of some game I was playing. If the students are required to carry the dart gun around to “kill” their target, how can university officials tell the difference between someone playing the game and someone carrying a real gun? If I saw someone running across campus and they were being chased by someone who appeared to be pointing a gun at them, I would definitely call the police. The University of Nebraska made the right decision and I applaud them for doing so.

    — DZ    Mar 15, 06:36 PM    #

12. I disagree with saying that the game needs to be banned. They should simply take away the use of toy guns and revert to spoons and stickers.

    — Jon    Mar 16, 06:05 PM    #

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