LV Life

Internet provides access to world

During a session on the Internet, transfer student Robert Houseknecht attentively waits for a reply on a chat line. Many students use the Internet and e-mail systems at the University to communicate with each other, as well as with people all over the country. / photo by Starr Carroll
During a session on the Internet, transfer student Robert Houseknecht attentively waits for a reply on a chat line. Many students use the Internet and e-mail systems at the University to communicate with each other, as well as with people all over the country. / photo by Starr Carroll

by Christie Reed
Editorial Director

“Jumping on the Web” and “surfing the Net” are terms that are all too familiar to many Internet junkies at the University of La Verne. With full access to the Internet, including thousands of features, such as chat lines and e-mail, many students, faculty and staff make “playing” on the Internet a part of everyday life.

“The saying is that ‘you have the world at your fingertips,’ and you really do,” said junior Internet veteran Scott Mac Kay.

Many people like Mac Kay started looking into the Internet when a friend or family member mentioned the vast communication opportunities available.

Two and a half years ago, in his first semester at ULV, Mac Kay was told about the Internet by a friend attending UCLA, and he decided to get an e-mail account so he could write back and forth to his friends.

“It is an excellent way to keep in touch with friends who are far away,” he said.

Junior Darcee Golden knows the exact date when she was introduced to the Internet.

“It was on Feb. 18, 1994, during honors colloquium’s intro to the Vax with Al Clark [assistant vice president of academic affairs, who taught the course]. Rhidian Maehl [a fellow student in the class] gave the students an address to try,” said Golden.

Rob Strauss, a sophomore broadcasting major, discovered the Internet about a year ago when his parents told him that it was an easy way to communicate. A native of Seattle, Wash., Strauss was able to keep in touch with his friends and family back home.

“My parents told me about the possibility of using the Internet at Ori­entation, and I saw some people doing the chat lines there, also,” he said. “I thought it looked like fun, so I had somebody show me how to use it.”

Other e-mail regulars, such as sophomore Marc Tyler and junior Maehl, have also become familiar with the Internet by spending time studying the system and just logging in and browsing the features.

“When I first started playing on the Internet, it was just something that my friends and I were playing with together. After awhile it became somewhat of an information tool,” said Tyler.

“It is easier to find things on. The [World Wide] Web has search engines that search for key words,” said Maehl.

Use of the Internet as an information tool is only one of the ways it can improve communication.

“It is easier to meet people worldwide, and family-wise, I get a chance to talk to my parents and a cousin on the East Coast that I don’t get to normally talk to,” said Tyler.

Many students use the Internet to keep in touch with friends and family. It is quicker, easier and cheaper than sending a letter or making a telephone call.

“You can’t beat the speed of electronic mail; we’re not talking the U.S. Postal Service,” said Brian Tresner, computer lab and network supervisor.

“I can communicate with a friend in Seattle in less than a minute, where a letter can take three to four days,” said Strauss about why he is constantly on the Internet.

Another popular aspect of the Internet is the ability to meet people worldwide. The system has chat lines and World Wide Web pages based in virtually every country, including the Netherlands and Australia.

“I made some really good friends over the Internet, including ones in Wisconsin, Iowa and Virginia,” said Strauss.

Maehl has also met new people on chat servers, while Tyler has made about 10 friends in the U.S. and two more in Denmark and Brazil.

Strauss said the attraction in meeting people via the Internet is that it is “a lot more open” than other forms of communication.

“I’ve had a lot of people come onto the Internet with really personal problems and sometimes relationships develop; you grow to trust the person,” he said.

“On the Internet you don’t have to fit into society’s physical standards,” said Mac Kay.

There is a barrier separating two e-mailers, which maintains a comfortable environment and there is also the ability to log off at any point.

“You can be yourself without physical boundaries on the chat lines. People get to know you first if you are yourself on-line,” said Golden.

Even more of a temptation is the fact that the cost of school-wide access is included in tuition, making the Internet free to everyone.

“We don’t charge ULV faculty, students, staff or even alumni at this point,” said Tresner. “There is also no limit to how much you can use the Internet since the school pays a flat fee.”

This unlimited use of the Internet can create problems, brought on by the user, the primary one being neglect of school work.

“It can become addicting and take away from school work,” said Strauss, who primarily uses the Internet in the evening as study breaks.

Golden said she now spends an average of two hours a night on the Internet, but it depends on how much school work she is bogged down with. But this was not always the case.

“When I first began, I was hooked and was on the Internet for hours upon hours,” she said.

In her opinion, there is one sure indicator that you are addicted to the Internet.

“When you are living in the computer lab 24-7, then you are obsessed,” said Golden.

In loose terms, Tresner also feels the Internet can become “addicting.”

Just last semester three students had to leave ULV because of reasons related to the Net.

“Some students use the chat lines up to 20 hours a week,” said Tresner.

One woman met a male student on the Internet and decided to quit school, move to another state and live with a person that she had never met before.

Another student’s grades fell because of his time spent on the Internet, so he lost his scholarship. He could not afford to remain at ULV, so he had to drop out.

“We are not in charge of the students’ actions,” said Tresner.

Another question that has been raised is whether e-mail impersonalizes communication. Many students feel that it does just the opposite.

“I have learned that despite the hoopla about the Internet causing a breakdown in human interaction, it can actually increase interaction,” said Maehl. “Most of the people I know go to meet the people they communicate with on the Net.”

Tyler feels that the Internet is impersonal to a point, since one cannot see another person’s facial expressions or hear that person’s tone of voice, but it does allow a person to be more open without fear of being hurt.

Golden sees a few prevalent problems as a regular user.

“It takes a good amount of time and begins to occupy your thoughts. Many people get involved in relationships over the Net and really get hurt.

“There are also many people who have skipped classes to play on the chat lines,” said Golden, admitting there are positives and negatives to everything.

Another problem that has been recently discovered with the upsurge of the Internet is that with the large number of World Wide Web pages, pornography and other inappropriate materials are readily available to any person on the Internet, with a few key strokes.

“It [the Internet] is media—is it good or bad? It is like T.V.—it depends on what you are watching,” said Tresner.

Christie Reed
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Starr Carroll
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