Purdue extends ban on Netflix and other streaming sites in academic areas of campus

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Purdue University students returning from spring break this week may be surprised to find that they can’t stream some of their favorite shows during class. Access to Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Steam, iTunes, Pandora, and other sites, as well as Apple updates, have been blocked in all academic spaces on campus between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. during the school week.

The Indiana public university initially tested a pilot program in four major lecture halls in the fall, after discovering that most of the bandwidth in the university’s life science building was sucked up by streaming sites. The pilot program was aimed at deterring students from hogging bandwidth for cost reasons, university-grade bandwidth is expensive, but the move has had the unintended bonus of encouraging students to focus in class rather than catch up on “A Handmaid’s Tale” or “Game of Thrones.”

Unsurprisingly, the move has been met with applause from faculty and limited grumbles from students. After all, what kind of student would openly complain about not being able to access Netflix or Hulu in class?

Interestingly enough, other major universities haven’t used this successful case study to implement their own streaming bans, opting instead to foot the bill for higher internet costs at the expense of increased tuition and student fees. However, some professors have introduced similar measures to limit distractions in their classrooms.

Ohio State University economics professor Trevor Logan banned all electronics in his classroom last year, inspired by a professor at the University of Michigan who banned laptops in her own classroom. The California State University at Dominguez Hills communications department chair banned smartphones, laptops, and other personal technology devices in every communications class; students who choose to violate these restrictions suffer grade deductions for their defiance.

While students should be responsible and courteous enough not to stream during class time, the reality is that many students don’t seem to comprehend how much tuition they are wasting.

Whether their tuition is covered by their parents, student loans, or financial aid, students should realize that they are paying for every minute they spend in the classroom. The burden should not be on professors to “police” students’ technology use, nor should schools and have to accommodate their students’ failure to pay attention.

Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is writer from California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.

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