Students in Puyallup hoped to use a video game tournament to raise money for tsunami victims. Parents signed off on the idea, but the school district suddenly said, "game over!"
The controversy surrounds the students' choice for the video game: Halo 2. It's a game with space soldiers, guns, aliens, swords... And plenty of death. The game is so popular, Rogers High School seniors Mike Alston and Joshua Shake figured a Halo 2 tournament would be the perfect way to raise money for tsunami victims. "$380 we were thinking was going to go straight into the Red Cross Tsunami fund," Alston said. As a precaution, the boys even got parents to sign waivers acknowledging the graphic nature of the game. But the Puyallup School District canceled the fundraiser, saying the game goes against its anti-violence policy. "They never really talked to us and told us where they've seen that violent video games encourage violent behavior so I don't really believe it," Alston said. But the school district says they don't think it's too sensitive. "When you look at what happened with Columbine, when you look at acts of violence against young people, I think anything we do that even looks like we're endorsing violence is not appropriate," said Karen Hanson with the Puyallup School District. The district is backing one tsunami effort at all schools. Students are packing 10,000 health kits destined for tsunami-torn countries. But the boys remind us that the district canceled Halloween celebrations because they were insensitive to the Wiccan religion. "It's just a question now of when do they stop?" Alston said.
The district says that question will be answered one case at a time. They also said it will support the students' fundraiser if they simply switch to a less violent video game.
Taken From http://www.komotv.com/stories/34923.htm
The controversy surrounds the students' choice for the video game: Halo 2. It's a game with space soldiers, guns, aliens, swords... And plenty of death. The game is so popular, Rogers High School seniors Mike Alston and Joshua Shake figured a Halo 2 tournament would be the perfect way to raise money for tsunami victims. "$380 we were thinking was going to go straight into the Red Cross Tsunami fund," Alston said. As a precaution, the boys even got parents to sign waivers acknowledging the graphic nature of the game. But the Puyallup School District canceled the fundraiser, saying the game goes against its anti-violence policy. "They never really talked to us and told us where they've seen that violent video games encourage violent behavior so I don't really believe it," Alston said. But the school district says they don't think it's too sensitive. "When you look at what happened with Columbine, when you look at acts of violence against young people, I think anything we do that even looks like we're endorsing violence is not appropriate," said Karen Hanson with the Puyallup School District. The district is backing one tsunami effort at all schools. Students are packing 10,000 health kits destined for tsunami-torn countries. But the boys remind us that the district canceled Halloween celebrations because they were insensitive to the Wiccan religion. "It's just a question now of when do they stop?" Alston said.
The district says that question will be answered one case at a time. They also said it will support the students' fundraiser if they simply switch to a less violent video game.
Taken From http://www.komotv.com/stories/34923.htm
