AROUND HIGHER EDUCATION: School censors Internet

Last week's decision by administrators at Carnegie-Mellon University to restrict student access to some sexually-explicit Internet newsgroups has renewed the debate over free speech and obscenity on campuses across the country. According to Carnegie-Mellon spokesperson Don Hale, three newsgroups have now been eliminated from the selection available at CMU: alt.binaries.pictures.erotica, alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.* and alt.binaries.pictures.tasteless. Hale said the administration's decision was reached after considering three major factors. These include whether Carnegie-Mellon should use its resources to provide access to sexually-explicit material, what the legal ramifications of such a censure would be and how the content of the newsgroups in question fits within a general value system. "We're not the only institution in the country that denies access to this type of material," he added. Although the new policy went into effect last week, debate about what is and is not appropriate for a school to offer on the Internet continues. "I think it's a focus of attention on campus," Hale said. "This is the type of issue that gets people with various points of view interested." The banned bulletin boards provide primarily graphic sexual images, Carnegie-Mellon Vice Provost for Education Erwin Steinberg said during a speech last week. In the original proposal, advanced by CMU's Vice Provost for Computing Services William Arms, who is responsible for the school's entire network, alt.sex newsgroups were also slated to be removed from the school's system. Because these groups are primarily discussion-oriented, access to them will be maintained for the time being, Steinberg said. "Let me assure you that any decisions made during this entire matter have been made with the best interests of this great institution in mind," he told students who had assembled to protest the policy change. "We must adhere to the law, respect the standards of our community and insure that reasonable, open communication is maintained," Steinberg said. In a speech given the same day at Carnegie-Mellon, Electronic Frontier Foundation lawyer Mike Godwin characterized the school's action as contributing to "the imminent death of academic freedom." Godwin added that because of the Internet's incredible communication and democratization potential, free access to it is vital. Daniel Updegrove, associate vice provost for information systems and computing and executive director of Data Communications and Computing Services at the University, was not available for comment last night. DCCS is the department that determines what newsgroups are available to University students. And John Yates, director of workstation services for the School of Arts and Sciences and senior director of information systems and operations for SAS Computing, said he is not sure how the decisions made at CMU will affect the selection of newsgroups at the University. "There's a fine line to walk between censorship and free speech, and it's a really difficult line to walk," he said. "All kinds of legal issues are involved. I'm taking a watch and wait attitude." Carnegie-Mellon has convened a committee of faculty, students, staff and administrators to examine the material in question and ultimately make a recommendation to the school's president for consideration in formulating future policy.

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