As many of you noticed when you walked into the Union the week before Thanksgiving, a big change came to the Union Games Room on November 18. It now offers you the chance to play absolutely free until the end of the Semester. When you present your valid RPI ID at the desk of the Games Room, you will be welcome to one game of bowling, thirty minutes of table tennis, or an hour of time on a billiards table. Rates for group reservations have also be cut in half for the given time period. This policy does not extend to the video game machines found in the Games Room; the profit sharing agreement between the vendor and the Union makes free video games an extremely difficult policy to implement.
In the years before any current students enrolled at RPI, the culture of campus differed drastically from the culture we experience as students today. The Union served as a common meeting place and social hub of campus, just as it does now. As new students have come to campus with new interests and ideas, the Union has adapted to these changes in order to meet the needs of the student population. There is, however, one corner of the Union that has seen little change in its function over the years.
The Union Games Room has a long history of creating a social entertainment space for students through bowling, billiards, and other recreational activities. Beginning in the late ’90s, student use of the Games Room began to mirror national trends of declining interest in social gaming. Similarly, the focus of RPI students began to shift away from arcade style video games with the rising popularity of console and computer gaming during the ’90s. While it would be unfair to say the laptop program at RPI hurt the Games Room’s programs, it is clear that students no longer feel the need to pay to play games which can also be played in their rooms. These factors, even with resurgence in the popularity of billiards, have led to a linear decline in revenue from the Games Room for several years. President of the Union Peter Baldwin asked the Advancement Committee of the Executive Board to examine the usage of the Games Room so that plans for revitalizing use of the space can be established in the spring.
After meeting with the Union staff, speaking with students, and examining the financial progress of the Games Room for this year, we came to a number of conclusions. First, it seems fairly unanimous across campus that the Games Room is in desperate need of an update. While the upper floors of the Union are packed on any given night, the Games Room represents more than 6,200 precious square feet on the lower level of the Union that is woefully underutilized.
Secondly, there are two main schools of thought on why the student population does not frequent the Games Room. One is that the games offered no longer interest the student body and should be replaced with programs which reflect modern gaming. The other is that the game programs offered are still appealing, but that the student body is no longer willing to pay to play those games currently offered. Finally, to the amazement of everyone involved, the Games Room has already made more money than anticipated for the semester. It turns out that this additional income can be attributed to a greater appreciation for bowling and billiards by our friends from Tulane.
With these facts in mind, the E-Board accepted the Advancement Committee’s recommendation that the free gaming policy be put into place for the rest of the semester. We will be monitoring the usage of the Games Room over the next few weeks in order to better understand how the prices of the games affect student desire to utilize the facilities.
Will we extend this policy into next semester? Maybe. We will be looking into this, but I won’t bore you with the complicated financial games and policies required for such a decision. Are we hoping to make the Games Room free next year? Again, we’re looking into it. I welcome any and all comments on these changes as we move forward with our pursuit to make the Games Room and the Union a more valuable space for all students. You can reach me through e-mail (fishej7@rpi.edu) or AIM (screen name: Zonedguy).
