Computer policy sparks controversy

Whether you're a student in the College, Wharton, the Engineering School or the School of Nursing, everyone knows that Wharton's Steinberg-Deitrich Hall houses one of the few 24-hour computer labs on campus. It doesn't matter that Steiny-D, as it's fondly known, is officially a Wharton building -- or does it? Well, now it does. In an effort to combat lab overcrowding and security problems, Wharton officials recently announced a decision to close Wharton computer labs to all students not enrolled in a Wharton course. According to Wharton Vice Dean Richard Herring, the rationale behind the new policy is two-fold. First, Herring explained that because information technology is now such an important part of Wharton's undergraduate curriculum it is essential that its students have access to the specialized computer programs available only in Wharton labs. "We've received complaints from our students that they can't get into the lab when they need to," he said. "We need to make sure that they have the access to get done what they need to get done." Herring also cited several instances of what he termed "egregious misuse" of Wharton computers, which include everything from forgery to cases of harassment to the downloading of illegal files, such as child pornography. "We've actually had some of our machines seized by federal agencies because they were implicated in some nasty business," he said. The new policy, effective immediately, was instituted when the computer labs were shut down recently for extensive equipment upgrades, according to Herring. In the past year, Wharton has invested more than $750,000 in technology upgrades to support its curricular developments. Unlike Engineering, which allows non-Engineering students to log on as "guest users," the Wharton labs will be completely restricted. Herring added that the new policy will introduce an element of "accountability" to computer use in Wharton computer labs, as students will now be prompted to enter an authentication number at the start of their session. "Because technology has become an important mechanism for doing lots of things, both good and evil, there has to be accountability," he said. Wharton has come under pressure recently from campus security to implement the policy, according to Herring, as the obligatory log-in process will allow any inappropriate actions to be easily traced. Although the new policy was designed to benefit those taking Wharton classes, both Wharton and non-Wharton students expressed some dissatisfaction with the move. "It is unfortunate that Penn insists on blatantly distinguishing between its different schools, but I'm certain it is done for good reasons," Wharton junior Angie Whittenburg said. "I have no problems with it as long as a computer lab for College students is set up very soon." College senior and former Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Noah Bilenker was equally adamant in his objection. "They could rectify [the misuse] problems if they require that a Penn student log on with any upenn.edu account.? that would eliminate any of the harassing e-mails or child pornography," Bilenker said. "The problem of overcrowding is ridiculous considering the thousands of new square feet of Wharton building they're adding." Herring did admit, however, that outside students weren't the only ones guilty of equipment misuse, noting that there have been cases of Wharton students using the computers for unauthorized purposes. He also added that the new policy is not an attempt by Wharton to section themselves off the other undergraduate schools. "There is a notion that it would be great to have universal access to everything everywhere," he said. "But unfortunately, I think it's simply impractical in this situation."

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