The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 23

February 23, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 11 Opinions Labs are almost impossible with BlendFlex courses Progress, not perfection As I’m sure many people did, I walked into the new year with goals to live more sustainably. Reflecting on what that means over the last month and a half has led to my new favorite mantra: progress, not perfection. In a world where we are constantly surrounded by posts on Instagram, feeds on Twitter and the opinions of other people influencing the way we act and think, it is important to take a step back and appreciate progress, even when it isn’t perfect. From a young age, I was taught to strive for perfection, and although I know now how detrimental that mindset can be, it is often still difficult to shake off. It’s easy to jump on social media and find myself surrounded by sustainability influencers who seem to live perfect, sustainable lifestyles and feel bad about my own habits. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by how many aspects of my life contribute to global climate change, frombuying food in plastic packaging and containers to driving my car when I could easily walk and think “Why even try?” However, it is important to remember that even small efforts are better than no effort at all. Everybody can make a difference, and it doesn’t have to look like a large scale overhaul of your lifestyle. Carrying reusable bags with you With another semester of schooling halfway over, both professors and students are still adapting to the BlendFlex model. However, how can teachers instruct engagingly and use hands-on activities when most class work is done remotely? As a communication major with a digital media production concentration, most of my courses have not been deeply affected by BlendFlex learning. However, I’ve noticed other majors are facing instruction in completely new ways. Labs have been moved to virtual meetings and hands-on instruction that was paramount to understanding the course are summarized in a five-minute video shown over Zoom. COVID-19 has forced so many students and teachers to change the way they learn and teach, and the quality of education stemming from this is nowhere near the same. For majors of all kinds, semesters have been filled with virtual labs and demonstrations to make up for the rigorous in-person tutorials done in previous years. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to learn skills proficiently in an environment such as this. Professors that were once able to be at your side are now miles away on a screen, doing their best to give you the best quality education they can while also feeling stressed. Imagine a professor trying to move their entire curriculum to a virtual setting, including all of the in-person labs or, scheduling labs in attendance rotations. It seems so challenging to teach this way, let alone comprehend what is being taught. Not only do professors and students have to worry about changing the ways they teach and learn, but they also have to worry about lack of available resources for these modified activities. For example, in my graphic design class, we are required to purchase Adobe Suite, which includes programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for all of our assignments. Before the pandemic, graphic design students were able to use classroom computers with the programs downloaded and available. We had the advantage of using these hands-on resources for free while having the instructor there for help. Now that we are online, students have to choose between going in-person on a rotation schedule to the grocery store even if you still buy food in plastic packaging is better than opting for plastic bags. Choosing to cut down on some animal products in your diet, even if you don’t decide to be vegetarian or vegan, is still better than doing nothing. It often seems as though, as a society, we are stuck in a rut between all or nothing, where we are forced to choose between pursuing unrealistic perfection or facing the criticism for not being perfect enough. If we don’t value little actions like thrifting clothes or drinking dairy alternatives, the possibility of a sustainable future shrinks smaller and smaller. There are thousands of things you can do to change the impact your actions have on the environment. From cutting down on your plastic use by investing in reusable alternatives to switching to more eco-friendly products like bar shampoos and toothpaste tablets, there are countless ways to make a small impact. No contribution is too small or too insignificant to make a difference. They are all smaller steps on the path to a larger shared goal and they deserve to be recognized and appreciated. A sustainable future is a future that embraces openness, positivity and self-compassion. or staying at home and purchasing Adobe Suite. Even with the student discount, these programs can be expensive, and some computers simply do not have the capacity to run them. Engineering majors are trying to build models from supplies found at home. Science majors are trying to complete experiments from home the same way they would have in an in- person laboratory. Marine biology majors are learning from a computer screen while they should be physically alongside the marine life they wish to study. Hands-on activities, no matter the major, are being forced to change and not for the better. These rigorous assignments are what prepare us for the world outside school. I cannot wait to attend classes in-person once again and see first-hand all the hands-on experiences NSU has to offer. By: Veronica Richard Contributing Writer Fans need to treat game developers with more respect 2020 may be over and done with, but the entertainment industry is still catching up from what some are dubbing ‘the year of delays.’ Many film and gaming studios are beginning to announce dates or even release projects that were originally slated for 2020, but halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While fans have had no choice but to be understanding, it seems that, every time there is a delay, there is a huge wave of backlash online. Disgruntled fans have even gone so far as to bomb any existing review pages for the games with fake bad reviews, leaving the creators struggling to sell their projects. What video game fans often don’t realize is the delay isn’t for no reason. The developers didn’t delay the game because they haven’t been working hard, or to upset the fans; it’s because they need more time to make a better game that fans will be able to enjoy more. While a lot of people have varying opinions on if game developers should even be able to delay release dates, especially when many games are now able to be preordered months in advance, it would be morally and ethically wrong to pressure or punish developers for not sticking to their release dates. Take games such as “No Man’s Sky” or “Cyberpunk 2077”, for example. While both games were delayed various times, both game development studios felt so pressured to release their games that they ultimately ended up releasing unfinished projects. “No Man’s Sky,” while a big disappointment to many at its release in 2016, has only now just started releasing updates with the content that was promised before its release. Fans of “Cyberpunk 2077” were offered full refunds from PlayStation after they removed the game from their online store because it was basically unplayable on the PlayStation console. Sony, the company that owns PlayStation, and “Cyberpunk 2077” developers CD Projekt Red have yet to reach a deal to make the game available again. The game directors, studios and even developers of both games have suffered great abuse from their fanbase online as a result. If you look on the other side of the same coin, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” was delayed for several months after it was announced in the summer of 2019, even after it had been in development since 2012. Nintendo, the company that owns the Animal Crossing franchise, cited that they wanted the game to be the best it could be and that they wanted to maintain a healthy work life for its developers and not make them work in stressful conditions. The game ended up being the second best- selling game for the Nintendo Switch console, and maintains ratings of over four stars across the board. Fans need to treat game developers with more respect; they aren’t delaying the game you’ve been waiting for just to watch you suffer. They’re real people with real lives and they’re working hard to make games that people will enjoy. It’s unfair to both the people and the projects they’re working on to try to cancel or terrorize them online for something that will ultimately make a better game for everyone. By: Sofia Gallus Arts & Entertainment Editor By: Emma Heineman Features Editor PHOTO PRINTED PERMISSION BY E.COWAN Without access to the classroom computers, graphic design students are responsible for purchasing and downloading most of the Adobe Creative Suite. PHOTO PRINTED PERMISSION BY S.GALLUS Nintendo announces a free update for Animal Crossing as well as many new titles coming in 2021.