Recently, the various computer labs at Skyline have issued a new policy by either restricting or completely banning the use of the personal website, MySpace. It is no longer available in the learning center, and is now restricted to one table in the library.
“At the area we call the C table, students are free to do personal web surfing and email,” says Director of library services, Tom Hewitt. “Students are adapting to the new changes to the computer labs.”
The website consists of a stylized profile custom-fit to one’s personality, which include features such as blogs, bulletins, the ability to post photos, videos and accumulate friends. The site was created by Chris De Wolfe and Tom Anderson, the first friend to appear once a Myspace account is opened.
Use of this site has become a nuisance, making it hard for more dedicated students to get work done, so stewards for these campus resources decided to begin regulating the personal use of the computer labs. The Learning Center has a statement of guidelines for computer use, which mentions that computers are meant for academic use.
“I come early to avoid the internet abuse that goes on in the computer labs,” says Cynthia Lee, a Skyline student. “I don’t mind that they are online, however, I mind that they spend hours of their time on MySpace.”
Felix Perez, Instructional Technology Resource (ITR) for the Learning Center, feels that students should not be denied the use of MySpace, which can be used for educational purposes, such as a forum for students to use as a study tool. Perez saw how the website ran, and thought it was a great way to get connected. He feels that MySpace would be no different from having a study group.
It seems that our campus has handled this issue rather diplomatically, but how have our sister campuses approached the problem?
Canada student Sarah Cusenza said that about a month ago, she and a friend were in their school’s learning center trying to log on to their MySpace pages, when an aide came and told them that they could no longer use that page in the center. She was a little surprised, since there had been no prior warnings, but felt that it was justified.
She said that the ratio of students using MySpace versus doing academic work was about, “90 to 10”.
Even if you can’t use MySpace in the learning center, the library at Canada has no restrictions.
“[The library] is smaller, it’s easier to regulate,” said Librarian Paul Gaskins. “[MySpace] hasn’t become a problem.”
Travel north on 280 for a little while to College of San Mateo, and the rules change, but just a little. Since CSM has no learning center, the primary computer labs are designated for specific classes, thus making personal use of the computers unavailable.
Russell Cunningham, an instructional aide in the business lab, said that the use of MySpace in the lab is inappropriate and that the instructors were trying to restrict it. If students are found to be visiting the site, they will be given a warning and asked to leave the site. If the student ignores the warning and continues using the computers for personal reasons, they would be removed from the lab.
The reasons for restricting the site, aside from it not being class work material, was that the instructors felt that MySpace was, “too risqué, sexy, and provocative.”
Yet again, in the library, there are no real restrictions. The computers are open to all students for personal and academic use. The hope is that there is a priority given to those who are there to do school work.
“[The computers] are primarily for academic use, but if students are being responsible and not wasting time, we leave them alone,” says Lorrita Ford, head librarian at CSM.
“The library follows a computer policy called S.A.M., which is posted on every computer upon signing in. The policy informs the students of what is considered inappropriate behavior as well as restricted websites, which apparently MySpace is not included in.”
