Esports Club Denied Access
Brooklyn Tech and Fort Hamilton already have esports clubs, but there’s concern that our wifi couldn’t handle it. Photo Credit: Flickr
By EVELYN YU
Student gamers connect online with their friends, but is there a way for them to challenge fellow gamers face to face in school? Earlier this year, a group of students came together with the idea of creating an esports club for Midwood. But for now, it looks like access is denied.
Esports are competitive video games in which gamers are pitted against each other on teams. There are professional gamers who play against other top gamers. It’s similar to professional sports, but all the action happens on computers. Major competitions take place in large arenas, where spectators watch the game on large screens. Millions of other fans watch at home on TV or through online streaming.
Vincent Li ’21 wanted to create a club at school where gamers could play together, learn, and improve.
Li said, “Esports has the potential to improve communication, teamwork, reaction time, and most importantly, relieve stress.”
However, the school has rejected the club multiple times, and there’s a chance it will never happen. Jeffrey Li ’20, the vice president of the would-be club, said, “The school bandwidth couldn’t handle an esports club with many users playing at the same time as well as regular school going on.”
Bandwidth refers to the reach and capacity of the school’s wifi connection.
Since Midwood’s wifi is controlled by the Department of Education, there is no way the school can change the wifi reach unless the DOE increases it.
However, other schools like Brooklyn Tech and Fort Hamilton have esports clubs. So, the Midwood students are asking, why can’t we?
Jeffrey Li said, “I think that our school bandwidth could handle the esports club, under some moderation of course, especially since we planned on having the club only during 10th and 11th periods when there are fewer students and teachers needing the bandwidth.”
Jonathan Li ’20, the prospective junior club president, said, “League of Legends is really popular, so like if it becomes a club, they’re afraid too many people would join it, and it wouldn’t work out in the end.”
“I can definitely understand the reason why they rejected the club,” said Vincent Li. “However, I think that the school should be more open towards esports, as it is now the age of technology. Esports has become very popular.”
Though online gaming is only growing more popular, schools might not be the place for it, at least not until our wifi can support it.
Jeffrey Li said, “But if a big school like Brooklyn Tech can handle an esports club and still not have internet conflicts, Midwood should be able to support one, too.”