by Daniel Jackson
Triangle News Editor
Now, for the first time, Bryan College students are officially allowed to watch Youtube videos, post to Facebook and play games on the internet.
The college changed its internet use policy in the student handbook to allow students to recreationally use the internet. In the past, the college told students the internet could only be used for school work but the policy was changed to reflect a neutral position on internet recreation, specifically online gaming.
“The floodgates aren’t totally open yet, but we are trying to accommodate a more realistic use of the internet with the resources we have,” said Director of IT Services Steve Paulson.
The former internet policy was created before Wi-Fi was created and used old computer terminology like “remote node,” according to Paulson. The policy was changed after the IT department looked at several other colleges’ internet use policies.
The IT department and the Office of Student Life are now considering unblocking the internet to allow students to play Xbox Live.
“It’s a conversation we’re having with OSL,” said Paulson, adding that students have approached Office of Student Life asking the college to unblock gaming sites.
Bruce Morgan, dean of student life, declined to speak to Triangle and said he would talk after a policy has been decided.
However, Tim Hostetler, vice president of Operations, said the college will not open the internet for online gaming.
“That’s still not in the purpose of why we have an internet,” he said.
Opening up the ports to allow students to game is a security risk for the college, Hostetler said. Allowing more access to and from the college servers allows more doors for a potential hacker to enter the Bryan system. Unlike a hotel, Bryan keeps information on its servers, said Hostetler.
“We have to protect the information we’ve got,” he added
Hostetler said adding gaming would max out the downloading speeds of the internet. The college routinely meets the maximum of the download speed of 100 megabits per second. Allowing gaming would only strain the internet, he said.
The college could allow for gaming, but then the college would need to purchase more internet. That cost is passed onto the student body through tuition fees.
But Paulson said not all internet games are created in the same way. Xbox Live, for example, takes up very little internet because the computers only have to communicate where the players are and what they are doing. The graphics are created on the players’ Xboxes.
Other games that are played on the internet itself take up more of the internet and might present a problem, said Paulson.
Hostetler said the college pays tens of thousands of dollars a year for the internet on campus.
“More than one student exists on campus solely to pay for the internet,” he said.