Academic freedom

Normally, I'm not in favor of Internet filtering. But if the school's paying for the Internet, it's clearly the school's right to filter. And if you've got a computer room with a crucifix on the wall... yeah, it's completely appropriate to filter.

I'd be interested to see how the filtering's done, though. If there's some kind of heavyhanded filtering of regular art museum sites as porn, for example, that would be bad.

"If there's some kind of heavyhanded filtering of regular art museum sites as porn, for example, that would be bad."

St Vincent College President Jim Towey posted an explanation of his decision to filter internet porn and gambling. The blog entry seems very level-headed. An excerpt:

"The internet filtering policy has been in place for 14 months and the procedure to review student complaints if access is inappropriately denied (called “white listing”) is working... And quite frankly, my focus is not on what we are against as a College but what we are for – beauty, human dignity, gender equality, justice, and the pursuit of the truth."

"I do think it has a chilling effect on the exploration young adults need to make as they are determining what positions to take on important matters in culture, whether they are academic, political, moral," he said.

What crap. How I wish more young adults had such a chilling effect on their exploration and subsequent addiction to porn.

Well good for St. Vincent College, although I question the necessity of blocking gambling sites. While that can be a bad road to go down, it's not really on the same level as pornography. Frankly, I had a friend in undergrad who made most of his spending money by playing internet poker. I'd block the one but tend not to worry about the other, unless they have security/firewall concerns.

"Yes, access to porn sites is needed to learn what "positions" to take. It is pornography that has a chilling effect in its moral destruction."

Bravo! While I agree that there are some things that a person needs to experience in order to make decisions about, it is also true that experiencing some things- illicit drugs, for example- actually prohibit a person from making these good decisions. Pornography definitely is in the second category.

I think it's a good thing for the shool to filter out porn and gambling sites... but they do need to check the sensitivity of the filter...

One of my old schools (I'm a teacher) blocked my parish's website, possibly because it mentioned abortion...

Wow, a Catholic college behaving Catholic!

I have strong filters on my home computer too. I have a husband and sons who do not need to happen onto porn sites which can even be done by accident. It is an addicting plague on our society. Gambling is as well.

Filter away the filth!

I work with college students and see first-hand the effects that porn is having on young people's lives. It is destroying the soul of this nation. We have to stand up and battle this scourge.

Porn is death to relationships, true moral freedom and to a life of joy. It is more addictive than cocaine and heroine (no, this is not a hyperbole, but fact) and the addiction is one that can remain private for many. But, it ruins just as many lives.

The young people deserve to be protect from this attack against their dignity.

BTW - while gambling is not as addictive, it is addictive and I also applaud them for banning it.

Well there are pro's and con's about the filtering system. At FUS the filtering system was really crude. You had to login through a very simple website and then if you tried to access something, it'd give you a warning page and notify you that someone would be contacted. The problem was that it would filter too much. For instance, if you were researching something for a biology class that had anything to do with reproduction, much of that would be filtered.

But you could submit a request to be able to view a page, it'd just take a long time.

Prior to that, they kept internet access from the dorm rooms just like you can't get cable TV in the rooms. I also had a RD block off the family channel because she got offended by a commercial.

A lot of the students felt that they weren't being treated like adults who could make moral decisions. It in some ways became rather stupid ways of regulations. For instance, completely trusting the USCCB's movie rating system. I do think that students have some moral responsibility on their own. But at the same time I do believe in the University's responsibility for filtering.

The problem is that filtering doesn't catch everything on the one hand and then filters innocent stuff as well and can slow down research for papers you do need.

I am applying to Wyoming Catholic College for next year and they are very strict.
No internet except in the library where the librarian can keep an eye on the sites visited.
The only technology allowed are ipods, computers (for typing purposed only), and cellphones (for off campus use only). No TV or games or any other type of device is allowed.
I think it will be strange to be without TV and internet, but it will be a good experience.

I knew a couple of young men who used the Internet to gamble away their tuition money, using their bank debit cards to pay the losses. There's no legitimate NEED to have access to gambling on campus.

I have to laugh at Leiner's comments. Using that same logic, I could state that restricting students from keeping alcohol and pot in their dorms has a "chilling effect" on their exploration of their morality, too!

IT's about time a Catholic College did something Catholic :)

Oh Notre Dame and Boston College, great examples of Catholic schools. Good for this school, maybe there's something to actually being Catholic at a Catholic college or university. I went to Seton Hall and still have issues with what they do.

As long as the filtering technology they are using works well and is not too heavy handed, I don't see the problem.