The Collegian Weekly: The opinion of The Collegian editorial staff
Quit tattling and blocking Web sites, we're adults here
Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: Opinion
Admittedly, Hillsdale College's party scene has diminished in past years. Sadly, students resorted to the only thing lamer than staying at home Friday night studying. Now, we've conducted our gossip online instead of in person at the insipid Web site JuicyCampus.com. Before long, we will likely resort to joining World of Warcraft guilds to discuss our affinity for chess.
Nevertheless, some anonymous naysayers looked up the Web page and scribbled mean things about their fellow students, who in turn went whimpering with hurt feelings to the deans to solve their quarrel for them. And to end this, the deans have blocked JuicyCampus.com on college servers.
(Juicy Campus shuts down as this paper comes out, but the point is still relevant.)
Granted, malicious gossip on the Web is inappropriate. No one will deny this (at least, not with their name attached). But censoring student access to Juicy Campus was too extreme a reaction.
The deans were justified in blocking the Web site on their own, on-campus computers. But students who live in dorms, pay utilities including Internet fees and use their own computers should not have their access restricted, especially when the campus server does not even block pornography. Juicy Campus should have remained the students' prerogative.
Some might argue the censorship of Juicy Campus falls under the same jurisdiction as their in-dorm blockage of alcohol or members of the opposite sex past a certain hour. But while these rules deal with the physical realm, Web use falls into the intellectual realm. People will think and say mean things about others even if the deans forbid it.
Furthermore, blocking Juicy Campus kept potential victims who might live in dorms from being aware of how others libel them online.
Finally, the most poignant argument against blocking Web sites like Juicy Campus in the future is simple: Frankly, whether students misbehave online is none of the deans' business. If the things written there are libelous, the courts and legal system will deal with them. If students feel slandered - we are adults. It's probably time to learn how to deal with mean people without tattling to an imposed higher moral authority.
Juicy Campus gossip in no way fell under the deans' jurisdiction.
It's difficult to defend something as banal as Juicy Campus. But it's indefensible to think that anyone can prevent rudeness by dictating from the clock tower and by blocking Web sites.
Nevertheless, some anonymous naysayers looked up the Web page and scribbled mean things about their fellow students, who in turn went whimpering with hurt feelings to the deans to solve their quarrel for them. And to end this, the deans have blocked JuicyCampus.com on college servers.
(Juicy Campus shuts down as this paper comes out, but the point is still relevant.)
Granted, malicious gossip on the Web is inappropriate. No one will deny this (at least, not with their name attached). But censoring student access to Juicy Campus was too extreme a reaction.
The deans were justified in blocking the Web site on their own, on-campus computers. But students who live in dorms, pay utilities including Internet fees and use their own computers should not have their access restricted, especially when the campus server does not even block pornography. Juicy Campus should have remained the students' prerogative.
Some might argue the censorship of Juicy Campus falls under the same jurisdiction as their in-dorm blockage of alcohol or members of the opposite sex past a certain hour. But while these rules deal with the physical realm, Web use falls into the intellectual realm. People will think and say mean things about others even if the deans forbid it.
Furthermore, blocking Juicy Campus kept potential victims who might live in dorms from being aware of how others libel them online.
Finally, the most poignant argument against blocking Web sites like Juicy Campus in the future is simple: Frankly, whether students misbehave online is none of the deans' business. If the things written there are libelous, the courts and legal system will deal with them. If students feel slandered - we are adults. It's probably time to learn how to deal with mean people without tattling to an imposed higher moral authority.
Juicy Campus gossip in no way fell under the deans' jurisdiction.
It's difficult to defend something as banal as Juicy Campus. But it's indefensible to think that anyone can prevent rudeness by dictating from the clock tower and by blocking Web sites.
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