Campus Wi-Fi blocks certain websites for various reasons, but officials should ensure they’re blocking the right sites for the right reasons.
A student trying to access a fan fiction site was surprised to discover it was blocked from OCU Wi-Fi. After communicating with campus technology staff, the issue was resolved and the site was unblocked. But the question still remains of what officials should consider worthy of blocking.
See HERE for more on blocked websites.
Officials said the main reason for blocking certain sites has to do with IP. Sites with porn and other explicit material weren’t always blocked, but eventually had to be because they took up too much bandwidth. The separation of morality from the decision is admirable, but the definition of what is explicit and what isn’t is still blurry.
“Archive of Our Own,” the fan fiction site, is mostly made up of fiction without explicit material and would not cause an issue of bandwidth. The problem was addressed and the site is now unblocked, but this begs the question, what other sites are incorrectly blocked?
Campus technology officials use Palo Alto Networks, an online security service that categorizes websites and helps block those that may contain malware or viruses. University officials don’t directly regulate what is blocked and what isn’t. Seven of the 60 categories Palo Alto Networks organizes are blocked, meaning certain sites may be wrongly categorized and therefore inaccessible through OCU Wi-Fi.
Archive of Our Own is just one site. There could be various websites that offer educational or personal value to students that can’t be accessed because of a misunderstanding of content. University officials can’t look into every blocked site, so it falls on students to vouch for websites that are blocked due to inaccurate categorization.
If there’s a site you want to access but can’t, contact campus tech. Gerry Hunt, chief information officer, said his staff will re-evaluate any site students send them, as long as the requests are respectful. Don’t get angry or be rude. Get to the root of the issue and help resolve it. You may not be the only student having the same issue.
Students have a right to resources that will enrich their college experience. If we don’t speak up to officials about it, then those resources won’t be available to anyone.
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