Vespucci University Discussion Thread.

[Blair]

On 4/17/2022 at 2:31 AM, Brett said:

I'll try to bang this out. 

 

1. Felonies
   1. Keep it IC. No need to bring it into the OOC, anymore then it is to deal with any other IC crime.
2. School Shootings
   1. Keep it IC. There really shouldn't be a ton of students trying to bring firearms on campus as it's not the most realistic of a university campus (unless maybe you go to a university in a very conservative state which allows students to carry on campus), and actions from outside parties to shoot on school grounds can make for huge IC events for the city, police, civilians, etc that can lead to a story on it's own. Personally, I don't see this becoming a big deal, but even if it does I say keep it IC.
3. Portrayal.
   1. Keep it IC. Not much else to say on this.
4. Inter-Faction Roleplay
   1. This is something we've always had issues with, because although it's rather realistic for someone to have a degree or specialized knowledge for certain faction roles such as learning about Fire Science before becoming like a Fire Marshal, it's hard to implement and manage since it's dealing with many different moving parts, policies, membership, etc. I'm willing to try and facilitate programs for government entities as the City Government faction leader to try and make this a thing, but I can't really say how it all will work right now without further discussion.
5. Grading Criteria
   1. Personally? The idea of having an academic faction, trying to get away from making people do the "boring," parts of academic learning is bizarre to me. Anyone attempting to be a "student," at an institution such as this in even a roleplay environment should be fully aware that they will have to do some unfun things such as essay writing, or some minor academic assignments that must be turned into a professor. Although I understand that people may not necessarily find it the most fun to do this stuff, at the same time if you're signing up to roleplay a student in a university setting that is an acknowledgement that you will need to do this kind of stuff from time to time. Of course it doesn't need to be any where near as intensive as real life, but removing it entirely shouldn't at all even be on the table. I believe there is a few ways you can get the academics in without making it a long-boring lecture or anything of the sort, but this also goes into seeing what kind of programs you're wanting to offer to people along with the curriculum. I could give more suggestions on this but I honestly would need far more information to help you out here then what is presented, but it's at least a start. 

  

While I normally disagree with making players roleplay tedious academic work, since Vespucci is supposedly Ivy League, it makes sense for players to actually be graded and have the chance to fail, etc.

 

I understand everyone's in a different timezone, so perhaps simple multiple choice quizzes which can be created on websites like Quizlet and Google Forms would be a more convenient option. That way players who wish to roleplay failing their classes can choose to do poorly on tests on purpose. 

 

Obviously, different classes would have different difficulty levels. If you're roleplaying becoming an engineer or a biochemist it should be fairly challenging for your character to do well.

 

My opinion might not be too popular and I understand few people want to sit there and take a test, but if you choose to roleplay studying at an Ivy League, there should be some realism behind it.

[Pluto]

I think a really major thing to try and make happen, are active classes. I think there should be steps made OOCly to ensure that being a professor has the weight it deserves and isn't seen as a dead-end job. For example being a Vespucci Professor would open a lot of doors in the future, there'd essentially be no jobs that would deny you working, you'd have good pay and you'd have status throughout LC.

 

I know that ULSA on GTA:W has basically no activity, which is a huge problem I think. It'd be good for classes and non-NPCed interaction to happen regularly and consistently. It's just how that can actually happen.

[Pluto]

On 6/17/2022 at 9:01 PM, Blair said:

  

While I normally disagree with making players roleplay tedious academic work, since Vespucci is supposedly Ivy League, it makes sense for players to actually be graded and have the chance to fail, etc.

 

I understand everyone's in a different timezone, so perhaps simple multiple choice quizzes which can be created on websites like Quizlet and Google Forms would be a more convenient option. That way players who wish to roleplay failing their classes can choose to do poorly on tests on purpose. 

 

Obviously, different classes would have different difficulty levels. If you're roleplaying becoming an engineer or a biochemist it should be fairly challenging for your character to do well.

 

My opinion might not be too popular and I understand few people want to sit there and take a test, but if you choose to roleplay studying at an Ivy League, there should be some realism behind it.

 

I think students should have the option to write essays/complete assignments OOCly, they can NPC any essay/assignment however there should be a difference in how much you're able to be graded.

For example, if essay grading criteria says mark 100 is a grade A* and mark 40 is the bottom of grade E. NPCed essays should be graded more like, mark 100 is grade B+ and mark 40 is U. The decision on the mark/grading is made on the students active contribution to RP throughout the faction, including the level at which they RP their character's intellectual capabilities.

[LoLo]

Please don't turn this into another ULSA where its a closed knit group of friends that erp in interiors as college students 24/7 

[Neo]

27 minutes ago, LoLo said:

Please don't turn this into another ULSA where its a closed knit group of friends that erp in interiors as college students 24/7 

 

Don't worry - we plan to clean up the scene when it comes to decent Uni rp ;D

[remmy]

On 6/17/2022 at 4:01 PM, Blair said:

I understand everyone's in a different timezone, so perhaps simple multiple choice quizzes which can be created on websites like Quizlet and Google Forms would be a more convenient option. That way players who wish to roleplay failing their classes can choose to do poorly on tests on purpose.

LOL

get a kahoot game runnin for the players.

[Gambler]

1- Felonies
They can stay IC accompanied by the server rules.

2- Schoo Shootings.
School shootings do happen but to my knowledge tho', Columbia university isn't known for regular school shootings. Nonetheless, what comes after a school shooting, is a high alert period, an increase in prevention measures, and all that jazz. So maybe we could put a  cooldown in a school shooting, meaning they can happen only once in a while. We can do that by declaring the area Greenzone for "X" amount of time after one shooting happens. 

3-Portrayal
Here I think it's good to start with a hefty tuition fee. Taking into consideration that the server will be fresh, those that will invest in joining the university will show where their priorities stand. At least I would think that if their priorities are to join the university this early, their intention is good, and will develop a proper character. Ivy league is not cheap anyway.
A quick google search  shows these numbers for 2019-2020 Columbia University:

• Tuition and fees: $65,524
• New student fees: $615
• Room and board: $16,156
• Books and personal: $3,672
• Total cost of attendance: $85,967

So yeah, everyone should also roleplay being self-conscious about the investment they're making. As Neo said, some childish behavior, frats and sororities pranks should be welcomed. 

4. Inter-faction Roleplay

 It would be cool for not only LCFD, but any legal business to offer internships for students. Medical internships, for medical students, journalism internships from whatever News company Liberty City has, internships for business students offered from corporates, and the list goes on but you get the idea. Having a degree should not be abused as an IC qualification that should land you any job you want. For the students to be in touch with other factions/businesses during their studies should be essential if they want to carry on with their character development.

 

5. Grades and Qualifications

Speaking from experience as someone who roleplayed being a Filmmaking professor, my class had the most attendance of all as I made the classes practical rather than theoretical.
In the defense of other areas of studies, filmmaking school is more fun IRL as well, but that doesn't change the fact having practical methods makes the classes more engaging and fun. I'd like to say tho', that some people join the faction to roleplay that student lifestyle and some will use it to catapult themselves with good character development. I think either should be facilitated. Those who never want to graduate can roleplay 1:1 years in order to be part of the school, and those who want to use it as a  way of character development should be forced to be part of the faction for a set minimum amount of time. As for grades, I think that will always be a waste of time.

 

[Neo]

20 minutes ago, Gambler said:

1- Felonies
They can stay IC accompanied by the server rules.

2- Schoo Shootings.
School shootings do happen but to my knowledge tho', Columbia university isn't known for regular school shootings. Nonetheless, what comes after a school shooting, is a high alert period, an increase in prevention measures, and all that jazz. So maybe we could put a  cooldown in a school shooting, meaning they can happen only once in a while. We can do that by declaring the area Greenzone for "X" amount of time after one shooting happens. 

3-Portrayal
Here I think it's good to start with a hefty tuition fee. Taking into consideration that the server will be fresh, those that will invest in joining the university will show where their priorities stand. At least I would think that if their priorities are to join the university this early, their intention is good, and will develop a proper character. Ivy league is not cheap anyway.
A quick google search  shows these numbers for 2019-2020 Columbia University:

• Tuition and fees: $65,524
• New student fees: $615
• Room and board: $16,156
• Books and personal: $3,672
• Total cost of attendance: $85,967

So yeah, everyone should also roleplay being self-conscious about the investment they're making. As Neo said, some childish behavior, frats and sororities pranks should be welcomed. 

4. Inter-faction Roleplay

 It would be cool for not only LCFD, but any legal business to offer internships for students. Medical internships, for medical students, journalism internships from whatever News company Liberty City has, internships for business students offered from corporates, and the list goes on but you get the idea. Having a degree should not be abused as an IC qualification that should land you any job you want. For the students to be in touch with other factions/businesses during their studies should be essential if they want to carry on with their character development.

 

5. Grades and Qualifications

Speaking from experience as someone who roleplayed being a Filmmaking professor, my class had the most attendance of all as I made the classes practical rather than theoretical.
In the defense of other areas of studies, filmmaking school is more fun IRL as well, but that doesn't change the fact having practical methods makes the classes more engaging and fun. I'd like to say tho', that some people join the faction to roleplay that student lifestyle and some will use it to catapult themselves with good character development. I think either should be facilitated. Those who never want to graduate can roleplay 1:1 years in order to be part of the school, and those who want to use it as a  way of character development should be forced to be part of the faction for a set minimum amount of time. As for grades, I think that will always be a waste of time.

 

 

I appreciate your valuable insight - it's greatly welcome and you raise a lot of excellent points.

 

In terms of pricing, we aim to *pretty much* go 1:1 with Columbia's IRL fees, financed through loans etc. I expect a lot of debt will occur. Maybe it won't be EXACTLY the same costs as IRL, something in the range of 30-40 thousand but that's still hefty when you consider the 1:1 economy. This will definitely be discussed, thank you! (And of course, feel free to join us if you're interested in reviving your role as a filmmaking professor ;D )

[Gatsbeh]

The rules you're planning seem solid. The one thing I will say is on the topic of school shootings. Now I'm not against this at all, what I will say is when the Events Team are up and running, I think it should be something they set up IF YOU ALL WANT IT. It shouldn't be an out to the public thing to be able to do. But if you're wanting to have a mass event. It's definitely something which would bring the server together to create a huge roleplay scenario. 

 

There are pros and cons against it so would be something you need to properly sit down on and think through.

[LackingAName]

1 hour ago, Gatsbeh said:

The rules you're planning seem solid. The one thing I will say is on the topic of school shootings. Now I'm not against this at all, what I will say is when the Events Team are up and running, I think it should be something they set up IF YOU ALL WANT IT. It shouldn't be an out to the public thing to be able to do. But if you're wanting to have a mass event. It's definitely something which would bring the server together to create a huge roleplay scenario. 

 

There are pros and cons against it so would be something you need to properly sit down on and think through.

I'm gonna keep it a 100 bucks with you. I am not waiting on something like this to happen or people wanting to replicate school shootings.

There are some things we should totally stay away from. I think that this is one of them.