Internet Access On The Line Some Area Universities Considering Restrictions

With a few easy keystrokes, students logging on to computers at the region’s public universities can access some of the best academic databases in the world.

They can also brush up on bondage, fetch a story about sexual fetishes or download Playboy’s latest centerfold.

Students at the University of Idaho, North Idaho College, Washington State University and Eastern Washington University have unrestricted Internet access to cyberspace, no matter how explicit or offensive.

As the U.S. Supreme Court grapples with whether the government should regulate the worldwide computer network used by an estimated 40 million people, public universities face similar questions.

Is the university liable if a 17-year-old freshman is exposed to pornography online? Should faculty members and other state employees’ access be limited to their academic field? Is a student’s Web site protected under the First Amendment? Should universities monitor what students look at, make available or send to one another?

“One has to walk a very fine line,” said Gus Kravas, vice provost for student affairs at WSU, where campus buildings, residence halls, fraternities and sororities all have Internet access.

Students can view whatever they choose, so long as they don’t offend someone else or damage the computer system. That’s the general rule at WSU, EWU, UI, and NIC.

While the Internet is one of the best scholarly research tools available, it also doubles as a free pass into the equivalent of every adult book and video store in the country.

That’s troublesome since children can access the Internet at campus libraries, administrators point out, plus many incoming freshman are still minors when they arrive on campus.

“We are in a process of putting disclaimers on everything,” Kravas said. “The university, just because it provides the access, doesn’t take responsibility for everything that’s on there.”

Kari Dickinson, UI director of computer services, said while other universities are increasing electronic restrictions, the UI has no such plans.

“My feeling is, that has been sort of the way the Internet has grown up. We’ve always had open access.”

On most campuses, students are penalized for violations such as using someone else’s account, deliberately harming the system or using it for profit. Content is only considered when someone complains or when university officials discover objectionable sites using more than its fair share of the system resources.

Last fall, a UI student’s pornographic Web site was receiving so many “hits” it began to saturate the school’s cyberspace pipeline. Because it involved child pornography, UI officials turned the case over to police.

Most computer violations prompt a simple e-mail warning to the user. But the UI does have a judiciary process for more serious violations, such as electronic harassment or disabling the university system, which one student was suspended for earlier this year.

“We don’t go out there snooping around,” Dickinson said. “We take action if someone complains or if we notice a problem with the resources. For the most part we have absolutely no idea what people are doing.”

All four institutions reserve the right to electronically monitor user’s files, but don’t unless a problem arises.

“If something is reported to us that seems inappropriate we then make vigorous inquiry,” said EWU spokesperson Stefanie Pettit.

Students, who are consumers of a public product, are less likely to face Internet restrictions than faculty members, who are state employees.

WSU is drafting an electronic communication policy that would propose different regulations for “official” WSU Web sites and personal sites, to control what is published under the auspices of WSU, said Anthony Wright, one of the committee members developing the policy.

The policy also proposes limiting faculty Internet use to faculty members’ professional academic field.

“We are not going to get into a policing mode,” said Karen DePauw, who leads the electronic communication coordinating committee. “But our faculty must have access to information that is pertinent to their research, some of which gets into arenas that others might find objectionable.”

At NIC in Coeur d’Alene, Director of Computer Services Steve Ruppel said such content-based regulations are precisely what the school avoids.

“I wouldn’t presume to try keeping my faculty from pursuing all kinds of educational or intellectual activity,” Ruppel said. “We really don’t want to get involved in the first amendment issues as far as challenging what people are viewing.”

Content is only considered when it’s blocking the resources someone might need for educational purposes, Ruppel said.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SCHOOL RULES Colleges that post their electronic communication guidelines on the Internet include: Washington State University - http://www.cahe.wsu.edu/~wright/datapol.html University of Idaho - http://www.uidaho.edu/csrv/policy.html Eastern Washington University - http://www/ewu.edu/TechRes/IRInfo