Newspapers / North Carolina School of … / Oct. 1, 2006, edition 1 / Page 4
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October 2006 news features the stentorian | ncssm facespace.com Profile View More Photos (77) Read Notes View All Friends Send Message Pokel Remove from Friends IPrierKt Detaili "edil" You are friends. NC School of Science and Math Friends 83 friends at NC School of See All Science and Math. Friend Friend Friend Jti Friend Photos™^ 2 of 4 albums Friend Friend See All Convocation Created Aug. 22 Me & my roomie Created Oct 10 10 groups. See All I Wish I Had This Many Friends In Real Life • • The Global NCSSM Group • Shake & Bake • Dude... a Unicorn? Dr. Miller is my Hero • Crikey, I miss Steve Inwin! • The Largest Facebook Group Ever • I go/went to a Math and Science School • I miss my se niors already! * NCSSM Asian Cultures Club home search browse invite help logout NC School of Science and Math Blocked School policy restricts access to social networks for all on campus By Amy Bryson In May, comScore reported that there were 52,000 American MySpace users and another 14,000 American users of Facebook. As of August, NCSSM students had lost access to these two most heavily trafficked sites along with all other online social networks on campus due to a new school policy backed by a Federal Act. “The social networking sites have become, in a sense, a happy hunting ground for child preda tors,” said Republican Congressman Michael G. Fitzpatrick in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. In May Fitzpatrick, a father of six, introduced a bill aimed at prohibiting anyone under 18 from gaining access to sites like MySpace and Facebook on public school or library computers. On July 26, the House of Representatives passed Fitzpatrick’s Deleting Online Predators Act 410 to 15, pushing it on to the next step to becoming a law. According to Kevin Cromwell, Director of Student Services, the bill was only 50 percent of the reasoning behind the school’s decision. Discussion of blocking social networks on campus began during the last school year. After receiving advice from Betsy Bimting, legal counsel for IJniversity of North Carolina General Administration, the school chose to increase Websense restrictions. “We know we acted prematurely, but it was a decision [where] we as a school did what was best for the students,” Cromwell said. “I think the students were definitely disappointed, it is a very big social aspect, but in general most people understand. They disagreed somewhat with the decision but understood that the school did it for a reason.” Jimior Maddie Lea sees the school’s decision just as Cromwell described. “I was a little disappointed that the sites were blocked,” she said. “I understand the safety issue, but it stinks that they are blocked.” Senior Kenan Crawford, who used both Facebook and MySpace multiple times a day, does not feel that the school’s decision or the bill will serve their intended purpose. “[Social networks] could potentially be dangerous, but any website could be. It is up to individu als to protect themselves,” she said. “AIM is Just as dangerous if not worse. What is the difference? They keep making more and more rules, and the more rules they make the more rules we are going to break. We are all smart; we are going to find ways around it.” The school’s decision was to not only block the sites, but also to provide online safety education for students. “We are prohibiting the sites [so that] we can keep you safe, and we are trying to educate you [so that] you can keep yourself safe,” Cromwell said. When the school’s decision was aimounced during leadership training week, senior Matthew Gildner questioned what students could do to stop the limiting of their Internet, arguing that “the Internet isn’t something you can control and restrict; doing so is censorship.” “I think they are wrong in blocking social networks,” Gildner said. “This isn’t an issue at our school. We are dealing with supposedly the smartest kids in North Carolina, I think we are also the most responsible in using social networks. I think education is important but action as far as outlaw ing it is uimecessary. Education is the only solution. It is just like driving; just because you get in an accident doesn’t mean you can’t drive.” With the bill directly targeting federally funded schools and libraries, Crawford feels that NCSSM has a unique situation and should be considered an exception. “This is our home,” she said. “It isn’t really our school after 4:15. It is our home. Taxes only pay for stuffbefore 4:15, anything after that is paid for by the Foundation and private [donations]. Why should the government or [this school policy] have jurisdiction on that part of our lives?” The bill was passed in the U.S. House, and the campus decision was made by administrators and faculty, which Gildner says reflects the stiffness of the bill. “They don’t know what it means to be a teenager or even how to use MySpace or Facebook,” he said. “They know what they hear on the news, and [completely restricting social networks] was an adult attitude to the issue.” — Enterprise NCSSM's Internet use policy restricts access to this web page at this time. Reason: The Websense category "Personals and Datevg" is Ntered. URL: http://www.facebook.conV Options: Click more irrfonnation or email the URL to Wd?UsaQe®ncssm.edu to request that the ^e be reviewed by the W^Usage Committee. Cfick Go Back or use the browser's Back button to return to the previous page. Go Back When students and staff attempt to access MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, LiveJoumal and other social networking sites through the school network, they are greeted by this Websense screen.
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Student Newspaper
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Oct. 1, 2006, edition 1
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