As the old proverb goes: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” The new air hockey table in the Grewcock Student Union was installed with great intentions, but this noisy monstrosity needs to find a new home.
When students gather in Grewcock to study, eat, pray, and enjoy each other’s company, the new air hockey table drowns all of that out with its constant clinking noise. This earsplitting game does the exact opposite of it was intended to do: Rather than bringing students together, it creates an agitating environment.
The air hockey table came to the union this fall with the noble goal of giving students one more activity to partake in while hanging out there. It sits alongside billiards, ping pong, foosball, video games and a TV lounge — none of which are anywhere near as loud.
The TV lounge is practically its own separate room that contains sound effectively. All the TVs for video games have shell-shaped speakers overhead to isolate the sound to only those using that particular TV. Ping pong, billiards and foosball are also much quieter than the air hockey table, thanks to their make. Ping pong is played with a lightweight ball and padded paddles. Billiards is played on a cloth-covered surface. Foosball can be loud, but the wood material helps absorb the sound.
Meanwhile, air hockey is a fast-paced game played on plastic and metal, which generate a constant clinking noise that rings throughout the union. And worst of all, the game is set up in the center of everything, so there is no escaping the terrible deafening externality.
Hillsdale College is very adamant about promoting community among the student body in everything from meal plan policies to requiring freshmen to live in the dorms, but this new addition to the student union does just the opposite. The college understands the consequences of its decisions, and often trade-offs have to be made. Along with these known trade-offs, many decisions have unintended consequences, some good and some bad. An example of a trade-off the college made was deciding to change food providers to improve campus food quality. The trade-off for better food was longer lines as more students want it, and more is made to order. It was a trade-off worth making.
Not all change is good, though. Sacrificing the quality atmosphere of the student union so two students can ruin the fun of others with their noisy game is not a worthy trade-off.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the game of air hockey. It is actually quite fun. But those who enjoy playing need to take the puck away from the center of student life at Hillsdale.
As the heart of social interaction on campus, the Grewcock Student Union must become a welcoming place once again. Students must be able to study and meet in peace. What was done with the best of intentions needs to be revisited and the noisy consequences need to be considered. The air hockey table needs to go.