School’s Internet use policy goes too far
June 9, 2009 by Taylor HanniganPosted in: From the Courts, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
The college told its students to use its library Internet services for “appropriate” purposes only. Turns out that was a bad idea.
A student at Saddleback College in California used a school library computer to look at member profiles on MySpace. A campus police officer accused him of viewing pornography and told him to stay off the site while using library computers.
About a month later, the same student got into more trouble at the library — this time for allegedly playing music too loudly through his headphones. The college later put a hold on his records, and he sued for violation of his free speech rights.
The court said the college’s policy, which limited library Internet use to “appropriate academic, professional or institutional purposes,” violated a state free speech rights law.
Why? Because it was too broad. In other words, it tried to bar conduct that is constitutionally protected.
The college revised its Internet use policy.
Cite: Crosby v. South Orange County Community College Dist.
How far should colleges go to regulate Internet use in their libraries? Let us know in the comments section below.
HigherEdMorning delivers the latest HigherEd news once a week to the inboxes of over 200,000 HigherEd professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to HigherEdMorning!
Tags: campus libraries, free speech, Internet use
Loading ...
June 10th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
People blasting music out these small high powered headphones shouldn’t be allowed. There are already noise restrictions on everyone is libraries. I have been disrupted by such people.
Some Myspace pages are definitely pornography. If you aren’t careful some of them are almost gynecological. Is there more to this story because these two activities are already restricted and legally so?
June 10th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I think if someone’s looking at pornography at the library they should do it while others are not disturbed. Like when the library is empty, or the computer that is facing a wall… that way he/she is enjoying it while she/he is not bothering the students… everybody wins!
June 11th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Myspace is NOT pornography. That’s strictly against their TOS.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
What the students do with their time is their own business… as long as it is not disruptive to the other students in the library or illegal. Pictures on a monitor… give me a break! If you don’t like what is there don’t look. Now noise is a completely different issue. Head phone are designed to allow the wearer to hear the music or speech, not as small speakers.
If the library is concerned with what the students are doing on library computers, then block the sites from viewing.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Public spaces are subject to laws of public decency. You can’t leave a Hustler on a table that others can walk by and see. You may disagree with such laws but they are state laws and pretty universal. Universities do have the right to impose additional restrictions on student behavior.
If employers can restrict content traversing their networks why can’t universities? It is interesting that this case was won in California. I doubt it will become nationally standard.
(Myspace my have such a TOS but it is not enforced except by user driven complaints. There are many pornographic photos in user profiles. The pervasiveness of this made me avoid it.)
June 18th, 2009 at 9:15 am
College libraries have a responsibility to all their students to insure adequate access to resources, both print and electronic. If that means restricting use of library computers to actual research databases or academically oriented websites, then the Library is operating within their purpose. They also have a responsibility to provide students with study areas free from distractions such as obnoxious music (which is any genre you don’t care for at any decibel level) cell phone conversations etc . . .
Our college provides free wireless service to everyone on campus, and has no restrictions on what students or other patrons look at on their personal laptops – however most library computers require student log-in, guest computers have a time use limit, and all 2nd floor library computers are limited to academic research use only – no facebook, myspace etc . . . violators are first verbally warned, security will remove them if they fail to comply with a verbal warning, and a trespass warrant prohibiting access to the library will be issued if security is called in.
Students do have a right to free speech, of course [and librarians are in the front of the pack defending free speech and access to information] but that doesn’t mean at the expense of other students right to be in a learning environment and have access academic resources, or that college libraries must provide unlimited access via college purchased computers just to play games or look at youtube videos and myspace pictures all day.
There are always going to be those asocial beings who selfishly abuse the rights of others, requiring enforcement of policies to protect the rights of the rest of the population. An individuals right of free speech ends when it is intentionally harmful to others. College libraries place limits on how many books or dvds can be checked out, and limits on how much free printing can be done. They do provide internet access, this technological age requires such access, but doesn’t mean they must provide unlimited internet access for irresponsible miscreants.
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I was NOT looking at pornography. I was not disturbing anyone else either– it was a summer morning and the library was virtually empty. The campus cops made a floppy disk showing all the sites I visited, and guess what? When I asked for it in discovery, they said they lost it. What does that tell you?
As to the headphones, these were not MY headphones. They were LIBRARY headphones I was using at a LIBRARY Listening STATION. Get it? This was an area set aside for listening. If somone outside this area was botherd by listeing in the area, that is a design problem for the listening station. Want to know what was right next to the listening area? TWO Copy Machines! So give me a break.
What was I listeing to? The greatest piece of music every written by an American, Symphony No. 4 by Charles Ives. I was listening to it not only because I like the piece, but because I was studying music composition. The Ives 4th has a tremendously complicated structure, and the dynamic range is from ppp all the way up to fff. Had I been diddling with the volume control, I would not have heard the piece the way the composer intended it to be heard. And by the way I was the only student in the library at the time. NOBODY was within 50 feet of me. I was reprimanded only because the librarian who called in the false campus police report 3 weeks prior was on duty and was looking to cover her own rear by trying to make me look like some sort of trouble maker, which I am not.
The Court of Appeal got the facts wrong: I was SUSPENDED for a semester. I STILL cannot access my records– contrary to state law. Worst of all, the County Republican Leaders who happen to sit on the Board wasted probably a half millions dollars of tax payer money– when all they needed to do was formally apologize to me. Does that not tell you something?
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:36 am
I’m actually quite experienced with this, and I totally agree with you.