Nearly every BYU student has at some point in their academic career come across a big red stop sign while surfing the internet. This is BYU’s blocking page. BYU insists on blocking several websites, many of which should be readily available to the public. One such website is youtube.com. BYU should unblock youtube, because people who would use it for a bad cause can still find ways to get around the block, but good students who might want to use it as a positive resource are denied the opportunity. Some people may support the block in an attempt to keep BYU clean, but in reality all they are doing is reducing students’ agency.
It is likely that youtube hosts negative material on their site, but most BYU students would have no desire to access that material. If they wanted they could simply use one of a variety of other websites to facilitate a way around BYU’s block on youtube. In this situation, the student will still access the negative material, at the cost of nothing but a few seconds of clicking and a little guilt. On the other hand, good students who would never use such a dishonest form of accessing information would simply have to rest on the fact that they have been denied access to one of the internet’s most commonly accessed websites.
BYU should lift the block on youtube. This would give the students a chance to choose the right for themselves, instead of obeying a decision that has been forced upon them. In many situations, this premade decision by BYU is unnecessary, as many of the videos on youtube are wholesome and sometimes even educational.
7 comments:
I can feel your pain. I was also equally frustrated when I found out YouTube was blocked as well. But I don't think it's a matter of agency or anything like that. We're surfing on BYU's internet network, and being a church run institution, I think they don't want even the possibility of that kind of material on their own servers.
Seriously thought, you probably know people and perhaps yourself that might spend many hours every day vegging in front of the computer screen watching people drop water balloons on the street below and other such pointless material. Even if one is watching material that isn't inappropriate, perhaps BYU is trying to keep us from wasting time? However, I think you have very good article here; it was an effective rant and I do agree with most of your points. In the end, youtube should be unblocked.
I think you are spot on with this rant. My biggest problem with the whole youtube block is that you could access the same type of material on google or many other similar sites. If there is indeed no way to censor the content on youtube, how can they expect to censor all of the other filth that students COULD access on the BYU network. I have even had teachers who would have used youtube if it wasn't blocked!
i agree, youtube is also a valuable resource to students and teachers. i think they should allow a way to let students to exercise their free will while still being "protected" from other websites...
I never really thought of it as a restriction of agency, but this is true. I can see why BYU doesn’t allow it, however there are still things about it that we can benefit from. It’s not just for our entertainment. I’ve had a couple of classes where teachers post videos on blackboard from youtube. No matter what, there are pros and cons.
i think you are right. Those that want to look up garbage aren't going to feel any more guilt by going around the filter. There are many things that would be useful to have access to on campus and this is a great example. As some constructive criticism, The conclusion could be more emphatic. It seems to bring in a new idea rather than tie up the article. Overall, well thought out.
As a student who lives off campus I don’t have to deal with BYU’s policy with youtube, but I do think the block should be lifted. After all, if they decide to block everything that might be objectionable or even things that may waste time, what are they going to block next? Facebook… Email?
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