The controversial Internet site MySpace.com has been restricted from being viewed in all Palo Alto computer labs, including the college’s Mega Lab.

MySpace.com, the second most popular Internet site according to Dateline, is also quite popular here on campus. In fact, of the 7,967 current students here at Palo Alto College, 1,229 of them are registered on MySpace.com

“It is an easier way to get to know your classmates and other students at your school rather than just approaching them out of the blue in case you are shy,” said Jamaal Mitchell, a sophomore majoring in Kinesiology and Psychology.

Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolf created MySpace.com in July 2003. The website was designed to allow users to make new friends and discover new music.

Signs are posted in the Computer Writing Lab that read “Internet sites such as MySpace.com, instant messaging, and chat rooms are forbidden!”
Photo by Lauren Tuttle

Since 2003, MySpace.com has skyrocketed with huge numbers of a diverse selection of people who have created profiles for the public to view. Today it is utilized for many other reasons such as a dating service and keeping in touch with friends.

“Pornographic” was the one word used to describe this Internet site by Marlene Fricke, a sophomore Psychology major.

Kristine Idrogo, a sophomore Nursing major, said, “I do not see what the big deal is. It is just a place for friends to hang out when we can not hang out physically.”

“It is not appropriate for the lab,” said Thomas Murguia, Education Skills Specialist for the Computer Writing Lab in AS 110. Because of the amount of vulgarity and nudity the site contains, it has been restricted in all computer labs. Internet surfing that is not school related has also been restricted. The decision to limit usage was put into effect this semester after an overwhelming number of complaints piled up last semester.

Some faculty members think this website is a distraction to students and may possibly be a factor that contributes to some students suffering academically. Myspace.com was banned because the computers were not being used for what they were designed to be used for, like research papers, accessing PALS, and using Word or Excel.

“It is a bit distracting having MySpace because it takes my focus off the teacher,” said Veronica Santos, a sophomore International Studies major.

According to Matilda Torres, an adjunct English Professor, several students would blow off her class and class assignments to log onto MySpace.com. She said that she wrote on one student’s paper, “You might have gotten an A if you were paying attention instead of being on MySpace.com, but you got a C instead.”

Some faculty and staff, like Torres, think this site is hindering the learning in their classrooms. It especially became a problem with classes held in the computer labs, because professors started noticing their students were misusing class time to log onto this site.

Some students who have profiles on MySpace.com disagree. They say it is used to keep in touch with friends, post blogs, find lost high school friends and view professor’s ratings. When used responsibly, it is a great resource to have.

“I think it is cool because I get to talk to people I have not talked to in a while. I don’t do it to meet people because that can be dangerous. You don’t know if that person is telling the truth,” said Melissa Santos, a sophomore Photography major.

MySpace.com has been on the news almost nightly and has been mentioned when reporting rapes and molestations of the younger users of this website. However, can this site actually be blamed?

Some argue it is the people who are on MySpace.com who need to be reformed. They also believe the amount of information given out on this site needs to be minimized. Too much personal information may be given, like your name, age, gender, school and place of employment, phone numbers, home addresses, and intimate thoughts.

A large number of profile holders also advertise underage drinking and illegal activities that have gotten the attention of police who access MySpace.com to help reduce underage drinking, drug sales and graffiti. There are even bulletins from people with profiles warning others to limit what they post because the police are watching.

Many other college campuses, including San Antonio College, are also restricting MySpace.com from all their computer labs. To access MySpace.com now, computers at public libraries or computers at home will have to be used.