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Kent State U., other schools deal with online porn viewing
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(U-WIRE) KENT, Ohio – One student checks his e-mail. Another works on a paper. A third downloads pictures of naked women straddling each other.
It’s not that scenarios like this have been a large problem at most universities. Usually, only a handful occur each semester. However, they are causing more colleges and universities to grapple with ways to deal with students who download pornography.
Pornography has been an issue since schools were equipped with Internet access. Today, it’s just as volatile.
Kent State University dealt with various isolated incidents last year:
* One pornographic video, made by two students in Verder Hall, was aired on ResNet, which provides Internet access to residence halls.
* Two investigations were conducted on two students rumored to have been accessing child pornography — state and federal offenses — from their dorm rooms. (There was insufficient evidence in both instances to pursue the matter beyond the initial investigation.)
* Four complaints were filed on students accessing pornographic materials from their computers.
The tough part is that the university cannot police students, said David Futey, senior local area network administrator for residence services, who handles all Internet complaints.
Although material viewed may be offensive, he said the university cannot punish students who view pornographic, or inappropriate, materials from their personal computers, unless it violates state or federal laws, like child pornography.
Nothing can be done unless others feel harassed or if it makes for a disruptive environment, Futey said.
“It’s a concern everywhere,” he said. “Every college and university has problems.”
Students have the right to view any sites they want on their computers. If the university interrupted that, it would be “a violation of the First Amendment,” said Tim Smith, director and founder of the Ohio Center for Privacy and the First Amendment at Kent State.
“They are almost adults,” he said. “The university would be hard-pressed to enforce their version of morality on these students.”
Futey said the reason pornographic-site viewing has increased is a three-part answer. One is because of the growth of the Internet and business sites providing pornographic information; second is because of the development of web browsers which make graphics easier to download; and third is because of the university’s increased bandwidth, which allows for greater data exchange.
“That was not available three or four years ago,” Futey said.
Overall, Futey said, pornography is not that monstrous a problem at Kent State because of the measures the university takes.
University policy states that “ResNet network access is a privilege that can and will be revoked if actions by an individual are detrimental or inappropriate to the network and its functioning.” According to the policy, violations could result in suspension from the network resource, suspension or termination from the university and prosecution under applicable civil and/or criminal laws.
Policy for computer labs is different because students are using public property, Futey said. He said if students are offended by others viewing offensive sites, lab supervisors will ask them to close the sites or leave. Policy for the lab states that “actions that result in the disruption of or detract from the cluster being an educational environment will result in removal from the cluster at a minimum.”
Senior Robin Shura has told about a half-dozen students to turn off pornographic sites over the three years she has worked in the library computer lab. All students she has asked have complied, she said.
“We remind them that these labs are intended for academic use,” she said. “Most readily comply.”
Senior Shannon Dazey, who is computer cluster coordinator, said she has never had any problems. Computer labs are designed in a way to deter others from accessing inappropriate sites.
“The computer lab is open, so it kind of discourages people,” said Dazey, who works in the Towers lab. “Most people who come in here study or work on papers.”
Futey said the lab set-ups do prevent some students from looking at inappropriate sites.
“We try to maintain an educational pursuit of the labs,” he said. “You’re less likely to access pornographic material when, in a quick glance, 20 people can see what you’re doing.”
He said the two unsupervised labs on campus are more prone to problems. Two years ago in the Korb Hall lab, students printed pornographic pictures and left them in the lab. Eventually it stopped, thanks to peer pressure, he said.
Students and faculty at Southern Utah University dealt with an incident in March in which a student was kicked out of a computer lab for viewing Web sites dedicated to Hitler and pornography. The students claimed he was using the lab to do research for a class project.
It sparked debate on the school’s computer-use policy, which prohibits students from using computers to “acquire, store or display any obscene, racially offensive, threatening, harassing or otherwise objectionable material.”
Neal L. Cox, dean of students at Southern Utah, said it raised a lot of questions about the purpose of campus computers.
“The issue has certainly subsided,” he said. “It’s less of a problem because it came to the surface in such a volatile way. Students became sensitized as a result of this.”
Mark Cina