To start this piece off crystal clear, I’d like to say that PLNU should not be allowed to regulate our internet use. This is not communist China, and we as students are not infantile children too young to make rational decisions. We are legal adults living, in most cases, away from our parents. The consequences of our actions are our own responsibility.
Not to mention privacy concerns.
Then there’s the way the school blocks some websites incorrectly or without good reason. This leaves us with no way to reach irreplaceable sites that we need to access. Besides all this, there is the basic psychological theory–treat an individual a certain way and they will conform to your opinion of them.
Coming into college is an important time for students. It is a time of learning and self-discovery. But when someone is holding your hand along the way, it is nearly impossible to grow. In fact, your growth is stunted and you are put at a disadvantage against those who were not guided every step of the way. As adults we need the chance to learn from our mistakes and not be hemmed into a box.
Internet regulation is just a small piece of the big picture. If PLNU treats students like children, then that is how they will act. Not such a fun idea, is it?
As a student at Point Loma, I fall under the same regulations as everyone else. The only difference is that I value my privacy seriously enough to do something about it. “Virtual private networks” practically guarantee you cyber security. Along with keeping your digital footprint to a minimum for those more paranoid, they circumvent search parameters like those of Loma’s.
I urge everyone at PLNU to invest in a VPN. Privacy is a serious thing and in a world where more and more information is becoming accessible, you have to aggressively take back your right to privacy.
Aside from all this philosophical and moral lingo, there is the more practical matter of accessing blocked websites that we need to reach. One such example is Ticketmaster. While this may not be a life-defining website, it is very important to many of our music lovers. People who want to see their favorite artist, or are always searching the web for cheap tickets, are currently blocked from going on one of the biggest websites for such information and merchandise.
This is just one example. I am sure you, the reader, have at least one of your own. That combined with the rest of the school population creates a lot of unhappy customers–we pay too much to be here to be unhappy customers.
Parker Monroe is a junior majoring in international business.
Grace Gaines