The debate is over. The conservationists won, and the damming of Hetch Hetchy will move forward. That was the result of a recent Reacting to the Past game in Jeffrey Hyson’s, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, American Environmental History class. 

Students, including myself, just spent two weeks in a heated debate about a topic we’d have normally passed over as another irrelevant, inconsequential moment of history. Reacting to the Past games put students in the roles of real people in history and allow them to make their own decisions that could completely differ from actual events. It allows students to see the consequences of small actions and the behind-the-scenes situations that might have occurred in debates like these.

I wonder then: Why don’t more community members, professors and students incorporate these games into their classes and become active participants in them? According to Barnard College, reacting games provide an opportunity for students to truly engage with the material, and I completely agree. The game, implemented by Dr. Hyson, became truly heated and intense at times. Though it might seem silly, we took it seriously. We dug through real historical documents and found arguments, becoming passionate fighters for our historical characters’ beliefs. In the final game session, we all held our breath while waiting for the Senators to vote on whether Hetch Hetchy, a valley in Yosemite National Park, should be dammed and turned into a water reservoir.

These Reacting to the Past games don’t just have to exist in upper-level history classes. Our General Education Program’s history class, Forging the Modern World, is the perfect place to include them. I understand there’s a lot of material to cover in such a short semester. However, including a short game, even for just a week, may increase students’ interest in history and even encourage them to take upper-level courses in the future. 

I encourage both students and professors to get involved in these games. From political science to history classes, these games can make a real impact and get you interested in a topic you otherwise may have never known about.