Gentlemen: A look at all things masculine

Breathing in the fresh air of the outdoors while hunting or fishing, laying on the couch enjoying the newest video game craze or viewing or partaking in sanctioned or non-sanctioned sports are some of the greatest American male pastimes.

The rigorous life males have can lead to enormous amounts of stress that need to be relieved by these non-strenuous activities.

Sometimes, the introduction to these activities comes from deep-rooted connections within families.

Hunting

The roots of hunting come from ancient days where, in some societies, males hunted and females gathered. Now, it provides a great sense of accomplishment and allows for family bonding.

“I enjoy hunting, because my family is really big into hunting,” sophomore Mike Posch said. “It is something in my family, I’m sure, that has been passed down from generation to generation.”

Sophomore Austin Johnson agreed the inception of his love for hunting and fishing came from family ties, but also from the adoration and stress-free nature of the outdoors.

“Growing up in Alaska, nature is all around you, enjoying the beauty and spending time in the outdoors is not hard to do,” Johnson said. “Hunting and fishing is just part of the territory. Besides, Alaska offers some of the best hunting and fishing around, so why not enjoy it?”

Video Games

It is a Tuesday afternoon. The beginning of dead week has just begun and the stress levels are running high as students scramble to take last minute notes and review for final tests. At some point, most students break down and give in to a guilty pleasure in order to forget about all the stress, if only for just a moment.

Throughout the halls of North Complex, the sound of one-on-one mortal combat, the firing of machine guns and the random “bah-dah” sound signaling the reward of a collected coin resonates from door-to-door.

As video games and technology continue to permeate the pop culture of young adults, it is not surprising more and more students at the University South Dakota find themselves among the 70 percent of college students who play video games, according to a news report released by NBC news.

Among this statistic are first-years Aaron Perdew and Leah Saiz, who say they usually game at least once a day.

“Playing video games can be an escape from real-life,” said Perdew, who believes he was around 3 years old when he was first introduced to video games. “RPG (role-playing games) are just fun and they can provide a good time.”

Sharing many of the common interests as her boyfriend, Saiz said video games are one of the things that brought them together.

“I absolutely love the game Mortal Combat,” Saiz said. First beginning to experiment with video games at the age of 7, Saiz said other games among her favorites include Call of Duty, Black Ops and Mario Kart.

“In general, I find violent video games can be a stress reliever.”

Teaching psychology at USD since 1986, Michael Granaas taught two courses over the last year; one assessing interdisciplinary civilization and another looking at what the self might mean to an individual in a virtual setting. Incorporating the technological medium into the curriculum, Granaas said the video game aspect stirred some excitement among those who enrolled in his course.

“It’s (video games and the virtual world) not going away,” Granaas said, who finds a particular interest in video games. “People have always liked games, and people like to interact with each other. It’s the way we are.”

In his interdisciplinary Honors 210 course, Granaas assigned students the task of creating an avatar on Second Life, one of the Internet’s largest multi-player online games.

After receiving mostly positive feedback from his students, Granaas said he then had students begin to interact with one another virtually in order to assess the connection between the real self and the virtual self.

“Second Life is just a social platform,” Granass said. “Furthermore, college itself is a social platform and it’s just a wonderful thing.”

According to Perdew, playing video games both on gaming systems and smart phones helped him bond with his roommate.

“We play every night, at least for an hour,” Perdew said. “Usually, I try to get my homework done before I play.”

While Perdew and Saiz both feel there needs to be a balance between the amount of playing time Saiz said she knows quite a few people who she believes are addicted.

“When you hang out with someone and that’s all they want to do, it can be really annoying,” Saiz said. “I don’t think we’re addicted.”

Sports

Nothing speaks to most males in the Midwest more than sports. Ultimately, nothing comes close to the jubilance one gets when a favorite sports team wins a national championship, except maybe the birth of your first born, however, to some that’s debatable.

“Sports are always exciting to watch,” Posch said. “Baseball would have to be my favorite.”

Whether it is American football, basketball or golf, sports are a pastime a majority of males can connect with, viewing or competing in.

“When you’re playing sports, they give you the opportunity to meet new people, keep you in shape and active, and competitive,” Jacobson said. “They are just fun to compete in and watch on the television.”

Regardless of the outcome of a game or how it is enjoyed, to Johnson, sports are an excellent way to spend time with family and friends.

“I believe sports bring people closer together,” Johnson said.