Photo by Zach Becker. A chipmunk hides in the brush along the trail at the Springfield Nature Center.

For hikers and lovers of the outdoors, the Springfield Conservation and Nature Center can provide a welcome respite from the busy collegiate lifestyle.

With a main central building featuring ever-changing exhibits on wildlife, as well as three miles worth of outdoor wooded hiking trails, volunteers at this free-of-charge Springfield attraction hope to expose people of all ages to the beauty of the Ozarks.

“It’s a really great place to hike,” said Kim Banner, who works as a Naturalist at the Nature Center providing education programs. “Some of (the trails) are a little bit more challenging, a little bit hilly. You see a lot of nature first hand: lots of deer, lots of turkey, reptiles, lizards, turtles, snakes; all kinds of different things.”

Hiking is open to the public year round. However, newcomers to the area may wish to join the Nature Center’s hiking club.

A volunteer naturalist leads this club on hikes through different conservation areas in Missouri’s southwest region.

“If they like hiking and they don’t know where to go and they don’t have a person to hike with, that’s really a good thing for them to do,” Banner said.

The Nature Center hosts a multitude of exhibits and special events each month, exploring everything from insects and venomous snakes to hunter safety and snorkeling.

Located in southeast Springfield, the Springfield Conservation Nature Center is located just west of US-65 off the James River Freeway (US-60). The area is open daily 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The main building is open every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information or to sign up for its programs, contact the Nature Center at (417) 888-4237 or go to www.mdc.mo.gov/2360.

Harmless relaxation? Or addiction?

While classifying video games as an addiction might have seemed unimaginable twenty years ago, what started out as harmless fun may be interfering with the daily lives of people across the country.

Brothers Mike and Steve can attest to the addictive power of gaming.

“A year of my life is gone,” Mike said, describing how he has trouble remembering what happened outside the game world during 2007, when he played 25 to 30 hours just on weekends. “I know how, but I don’t really remember why I did those things. That’s what’s scary.

“It’s weird, it’s like everything I value, my family and friends, just disappeared.”

The brothers spoke on condition of anonymity (the names Mike and Steve are pseudonyms) because of the embarrassing nature of their problem. Mike attends Missouri State, while Steve just started at Ozarks Technical Community College.

Both men said they play more video games than they should. Steve play games nine hours on his days off from work and a couple of hours on work days as well. Mike said he has cut down slightly from his gaming peak and now spends closer to 20 hours a week playing.

Both spoke of the sense of achievement they felt from playing video games, even while acknowledging it was all virtual. “I love the teamwork aspect,” Mike said, “how everyone has a job to do and we all rely on each other to get things done.”

Steve likes how games are always available. “Doesn’t matter what time it is, you can always play,” he said. “It’s easy; it’s a good way to fill time.”

Behaviors like these impact college students all over the country. According to the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment, 10.8 percent of students reported internet use or computer games had a negative impact on their academic performance, compared to 11.2 percent for depression and 4 percent for alcohol use. One-fifth of students reported sleep difficulties, some of which could be caused by late nights of gaming or internet use.

“I’ll get home from work at eleven,” Steve said, “and I’ll be like, ‘I’m only going to play for an hour,’ and suddenly it’s three in the morning.”

“It’s not that I put off this or that specific thing to play,” Mike said, “but I’ll be so tired the next day that I won’t do as much as I want to or need to.”

Dorothy Warner, in Current Psychiatry, wrote video games facilitate, “the experience of ‘flow’ — a mental state of positive energy and effortless focus.” She compares it to the sensation reported by athletes and artists, including how time seems to become distorted.

Liz Woolley is the founder of On-Line Gamers Anonymous, whose website, www.olganon.org, supports an online community helping people recover from the problems caused by excessive game playing. She believes warnings about excessive gaming should get equal time in university programs with warnings to students about drug and alcohol abuse.

“The gaming companies spend millions of dollars a year on ‘research’ to try to figure out how to keep the gamer,” Woolley said. “Supposedly, (video games) are better than drugs or alcohol (for students), but I don’t think so.”

The OLGA website offers a list of over 40 questions people can use to assess their relationship with gaming. Some of the questions in this self assessment describe symptoms commonly associated with alcoholism, such as, “Do you try to hide how long you’ve been gaming?” and “Have you missed work/school because of your game playing?” It’s offered as a guide, not a diagnostic tool, with the website telling visitors, “You must determine if you think excessive gaming is a problem.”

Whether excessive gaming amounts to addiction is still an open question. As reported in Current Psychiatry, the American Medical Association determined last June that insufficient evidence existed to declare gaming as an addiction. The report said the American Psychological Association may consider adding gaming or internet addiction to its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-V, due to be published in 2012.

Woolley supports the addition of a gaming diagnosis to call more attention to the problem, but she doesn’t like the word “addiction.”

“Some people call it excessive gaming, others say obsessive, others say compulsive, others use gaming addiction,” Woolley said. “We tell a person if they think they have a problem with excessive gaming, they probably do.”

Woolley also urges more research to be done on the effects of excessive play on the brain. “I have seen day after day the effects excessive gaming can have on a person’s life,” she said. “It is very sad.”

Dr. Doug Greiner, Director of the Counseling and Testing Center at MSU, also shies away from the word “addiction” in connection with gaming. He describes addiction as involving chemical and biological changes in the brain, as well as social and behavioral effects. Dr. Greiner said behaviors like obsessive, uncontrollable thinking about gaming are symptoms he doesn’t see often.

“Usually, behaviors like these are symptomatic of avoiding other activities, like going to class or going out with friends,” he said. In this way, excessive gaming or internet use can mask deeper problems such as social phobias, depression, or other addictions.

Steve acknowledged, since he has moved back from Kansas City, he plays games more and goes out drinking less. “Now that I’m back here,” he said, “I don’t really know anyone anymore and playing video games really fills the time where I used to be partying a lot.”

Steve’s experience of adjusting to a new social setting mirrors that of many college freshmen. Woolley said freshmen are more vulnerable to excessive, habitual playing. “This may be their first time away from home,” she said, “They may feel overwhelmed with life as an adult. They may be failing some classes. An easy escape is gaming.”

Dr. Greiner said that freshmen do typically go through an adjustment period, but they are not any more at risk than other students. “You usually see, as time goes on, freshmen getting more involved with classes and with activities at the dorm and so on,” he said, “and so I would say anyone is at risk.”

“Anybody can get pulled too far into it because it’s not something they ever think they have to be careful about,” said Peter Mastroianni, Health-Education Coordinator of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, to The Chronicle of Higher Education. “They know about the risks of drugs and sex, but who ever thinks they have to approach a computer carefully? Their guards are down.”

Dr. Greiner said this kind of problem develops slowly over time. Students may notice more and more preoccupation with the game or the internet, manifesting in avoiding commitments, cutting class, or missing assignments. He said a particular warning sign would be spending extraordinary amounts of money on your habit and borrowing or even stealing to support it.

Dr. Greiner also suggested using common sense. “We’ve all been there,” Grenier said, “where we look up something on the internet and ten minutes later we look up and say, ‘How did I get to this site?’”

Woolley said to remember to not let any one thing dominate your time. “We promote balance in a person’s life,” she said. “Do all things in moderation.”

The Counseling and Testing Center at MSU has counselors experienced in dealing with gaming and internet compulsion. Students seeking help with these or other issues can visit their offices at Carrington Hall, Room 311, or call them at 836-5116. The Center also encourages students whose friends may be showing signs of trouble to contact them for a consultation about the best way to help.

The OLGA website, www.olganon.org, has many active forums for gamers or friends and family of gamers dealing with the fallout from excessive gaming problems. They also host live weekly chats and can help find face-to-face counselors. These services are free and anonymous.

“When I was at my worst, I was deep in denial about it,” Mike said. “I would keep making plans to cut back and control it, but they never worked.” The futility of these efforts, Mike said, lead him to see the extent of the problem and begin to make real changes.

Mike plans to go “cold turkey” from games this semester, taking it as far as deleting Minesweeper and Solitaire from his computer. Steve said once he gets into school, he’ll be able to put down the games and focus on studies. Neither one ruled out seeing a counselor if gaming continues to be a problem.

Read the complete interview with Liz Woolley.

Missouri State University provides more comforts than you can possibly imagine, and has more rules too. To help you get through the first few weeks, I’ve made of list the most important things I’m sure you may not know about:

Sincerely,

A girl who survived her first year of college at MSU

Part 1: The Basics

1. Turn in your room condition report to your Resident Assistant.

a. When you move in, you’ll get this long piece of paper with a bunch of little boxes for check marks and comments. Go to your room, fill it out and turn it back in!

2. Make sure you have a Zip card! You need it for almost everything. This new piece of plastic with your lovely face on it does the following:

a. Lets you eat. You have to swipe your card in order to get into the dining halls. The only other way is cash, and it’s five dollars.

b. Lets you check out stuff. Missouri State wants you to be cozy and clean, and you can check out tons of stuff like vacuums, pots and pans, movies, games, carts, fitness keys, and tools at the front desk of your residence hall.

c. Lets you check out books at the library. Whether you are a book worm or need to get extra materials for class, you need your zip card for the library (We have more than one on campus; go to Library.missouristate.edu for more info).

d. Lets you use the Plaster Sports Complex Fitness Center: at the PSC, the building right behind the track and on the second floor at the very end of the hall, you will find a fitness room just for students. You need to swipe your zip card to use it.

3. Your Access card and keys: treat those babies as if they are diamonds!

a. All Residence Halls lock at 7 p.m., and unless you bang on the door and show identification, you aren’t getting in.

b. Misplacing your access card costs you money. It is fifteen dollars to replace a lost access card and no, you can’t just go without one (if you lose your access card, go to your front desk of your res hall immediately!) If you have to replace your access card, the charges are billed to your account, so don’t try to pay at the front desk.

c. Losing a key is like pulling teeth. The residence hall has to have a professional come and do a core change and you are charged $10 for the key and $25 for the core change.

4. Information about your room:

a. You should have an internet jack just for you (you need an Ethernet cord for the jack. Don’t try to bring telephone wire).

b. That green box in your room is not for trash. People recycle here on campus, so fill it up and ask your RA were to dump it.

5. Read those lovely fliers and signs your RA has taken the time to hang up.

a. The fliers provide information about everything from mandatory floor meetings to yoga classes and free activities taking place on campus.

Part 2: The Rules

1. Your RA is not a monster!

a. Notice the door in your hallway covered with a million decorations? Unless there is a creepy person who loves to make name tags of themselves in bright colors and hang them on a random door, the person with a ton of door decks is most likely your RA and they are trained to assist you.

b. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, they have answers.

c. They have lived on campus for over a year and are familiar with many buildings and resources you need.

2. Know the rules, so you can avoid trouble.

a. Just because you’re new here, doesn’t mean you can’t become familiar with the policies, and some of them have harsh consequences if violated.

b. Don’t bring alcohol on campus. Not bringing alcohol on campus will save you a headache and the university a bunch of paperwork.

c. If you can’t fight that urge to slurp your beer in your suite, you should know the consequences:

i. First Violation: You will have to take a four-hour class that costs you money; $45.00, which goes towards alcohol education programs run by the Judicial Programs.

ii. Violation number two lands you a conference and a fine of $90.00.

iii. Violation number three hurts you more than you know. You will be put under probation and have to pay a fine of $135.00.

iv. Violation number four: kiss living in the residence halls goodbye. “You’re out of here!” for a semester.

3. Read the Guide to Residence Hall Living if you live on campus. Your RA will give you this lovely spiral book at your first floor meeting.

4. Have fun! We are here to learn, to live, to dream and to rock out our years while we can. Know the rules and stay safe.

Greetings, readers.

To all of you, from freshmen to grad students, I’d like to extend to you an invitation to contribute to this publication.

We’d love to add your name to our list of contributors.

As a completely independent student newspaper, we want to comprehensibly cover the MSU campus.

But we need your help, rather it be as an occasional contributor or as a full-fledged staff member.

You don’t need previous experience to contribute, you just need a passion for the product.

We strive to make The Underground a learning environment, a place where you can really build your resume and portfolio.

And it’s a lot of fun to be a part of a dedicated team.

Email us at msu.underground@gmail.com.

by Nate Bassett

Welcome back to school.

You’re probably excited about finding a routine, whether it’s one that you had before, or a whole new one.

Numerous clubs, organizations, and sporting groups would love for you to join their ranks.

After all, college is about more than just getting a degree, it’s an experience.

So, as you’re gearing up to face all of this, and learning what to expect, let me try and give you a different perspective on it.

Let’s face it, most of us are here for one reason: the carrot at the end of the stick. You know, that little piece of paper with your name, followed by initials such as B.A., B.S., M.B.A., or M.R.S. You’ll need one of those initials to get in the door at just about any good job, and those initials can add some extra zeros to that paycheck (especially for the ladies when you get an M.R.S. Dr.)

Unless you’re one of the lucky few who get a full ride scholarship, the debt you’ll incur from even attending a state school such as Missouri State will stick with you for a long, long time.

The hope is that the investment you put into your education will pay off in a way that helps you move up the social ladder, giving you opportunities that are impossible without a degree.

But there’s a flip side. Statistics say several things are working against you. First of all, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening.

Second, studies also show that social mobility has slowed, even halted, in the United States.

And, most troubling, 30 percent of freshmen will either drop or flunk out by the end of the year, and half of the rest of you will never graduate. Few will actually return to college.

So while you’re here, make the most of it. And this doesn’t mean being a total bookworm, although that will help you graduate.

It means doing things that actually matter and help you explore your passions and interests.

After all, you’re paying for it. Be grateful you have the chance to go to college, unlike many people here and abroad.

Here’s a few ideas on how to make the most of this coming year:

1. Take elective courses in things that interest you. Don’t worry about how they relate to your major. Who knows, you might find a field you like much better.

2. Meet lots of people by going to events, joining groups, and getting out of your dorm room and away from the TV or computer.

3. Talk to your professors about the subjects you’re interested in. They can help you figure out what you want to do when you get out of here.

4. Stop eating fast food. If you can afford to eat out, check out the local restaurants. Downtown is actually a really happening place.

5. Ride bikes. Leave your car at home. This will keep you in shape, keep you connected with campus and community, and it’s fun.

6. Go to a protest. Organize a protest. Counter-protest a protest. You never know, you might make a difference.

7. Speak your mind, but even more important, listen to what others have to say.

8. Take this list, tear it out of the paper, and write your own ideas down, too!

College can be an expensive waste of time, or it can be pretty awesome. You decide!