Petition for an esports and gaming space at Brown University

Brown Esports is one of Brown University's largest student organizations, with over 1,200 members and nine competitive teams. However, despite the massive demand, gaming is one of the least accessible recreational activities on campus.

A recent survey found that 96% of our organization's members used personal computers (PCs) to play games. However, PCs that are used for gaming can cost upwards of a few thousand dollars each, and pose a massive financial barrier for many students. A space for gaming will allow all students to access equipment at any time, not only during our organization's official meetings.

Historically, teams that rely heavily on PCs haven't lasted more than a year due to lack of equipment availability. But with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, we found that students had access to their PCs at home, and five teams, all based around PC games, were created. A dedicated space and PCs for gaming allows us to have equipment available to our teams, reduce the cost of participating on a competitive level, and ensure these five new teams are able to flourish.

In 2017, Brown removed ethernet from student dorms. This cut off our team's access to stable and reliable internet connection, and has subsequently lead to some of our teams being disqualified from major tournaments. As most buildings on Brown's campus already have ethernet, a dedicated space stops disqualifications and provides our teams with the best competitive edge possible at no cost to the University.

A space for esports and gaming increases its accessibility to the entire Brown community by removing financial barriers and making equipment available to those who are interested in trying gaming without spending thousands of dollars on a setup. Additionally, it allows the 70 players across our nine competitive teams to perform at their fullest potential.

Thank you for your support!

Isaac Kim, Co-President of Brown Esports
Griffin Beels, Co-President of Brown Esports