By Joseph Zollo
<GEEK> Editor ’04
The media center imposes serious restrictions on computer usage
Every day when I walk in to school, I like to avoid the unpleasant social atmosphere of the cafeteria and spend my 20 minutes before first period in the media center doing work and/or studying. Unfortunately, I’m not the only one with that idea. Many students can be found in the media center in the morning, performing a number of tasks, whether it be studying, reading, or doing homework. One would think that a library, or to be more politically correct, Media Center, is a pleasant and resourceful place to go when work needs to be completed. If you’re talking about Lassiter’s Media Center, that thought could not be farther from the truth.
Some students, like myself, often need to use the computer to finish an assignment, gather information, or print something out. With the media center always so full in the morning, it’s hard to find an unoccupied computer. Actually, let me rephrase that, it’s quite easy to find an unoccupied computer, but it is hard to find one that doesn’t have a sign saying “this computer is reserved”. There are roughly THIRTY computers in the media center that bear this sign. I once tried to use a computer that had one of those signs on them; it didn’t take long for me to be scolded by media center personnel. They claim that the computers are reserved for class, which makes absolutely no sense at all. How can computers be reserved for class if school has yet to begin? Is there a magical 0 period that I’m not aware of? I understand that the computers may be reserved later in the day, but how can they be reserved before first period begins. I just can’t think of a logical reason to keep students off those computers in the morning. They’re just sitting there! Forgive me for being so blunt, but I believe that we should be able to make use of the technology that the school provides much less that our parents pay for. Not utilizing those computers is a complete waste of resources, and not only that, it contributes to overall media center congestion. Thirty more people could be on the computers, freeing twenty spaces for students who do not require them.
Students are allowed access to the media center during his or her lunch period, but only on Tuesday and Thursday, that’s only two days out of five, which in my opinion is totally unacceptable. I cannot even say how many times I’ve walked past the media center during my lunch period on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, only to find it totally empty and totally inaccessible to students. Once again, this seems like a total and complete waste of the media center’s resources. It’s things like this that have earned the media center a “look, but do not touch” reputation. Don’t believe me? Look for yourself, the media center is empty most of the time (except on Tuesday and Thursday). We are privleged with top of the line, Pentium 4 computers which remain untouched and useless. The only way for a student to gain access to the media center during their lunch period on a day other than Tuesday or Thursday is to have a note, signed by their teacher, specifically noting what work they plan on doing and if they need internet access, what websites they plan on visiting. Want to do a Google search? Sorry Charlie, because unless a website is specifically noted on your pass, you aren’t allowed there, even if it’s found during a search. Get this: according to the media center personnel, you may only do work for the teacher that writes you the pass to the media center. So let’s say my math teacher writes me a pass to the media center during my lunch period to do some homework, but I finish early and want to do some history work…SORRY, you can’t do that! You’d need a pass from your history teacher authorizing you to work on that. Where is the logic in that rule? The whole idea behind having a media center is to allow students access to its resources, is it not? I fail to see the point of all these restrictions they are imposing upon us. Are we criminals? Are we trying to go to pornographic websites? Are we trying to check our email? No. In the case that a student does try to go to a forbidden site, Cobb County has special software in place that block it out. At this point we should just close off the media center totally, form a barricade around it and setup laser guns to fire at anyone trying to gain entrance.
Many seniors with minimum day are involved with extracurricular activities that involve computer use after school. However, restrictions placed on seniors with minimum day do not allow them to log in to the network during minimum day periods. Logging in during these times will result in an error message saying “User has attempted to login during a restricted login time.” Lassiter is lucky enough to have numerous after school clubs that utilize computer use. Any senior with minimum day is totally shut out. In order to overcome this restriction, a teacher must make a special request and have the media center change the student’s allowable access times. The overall frustration level with this policy is through the roof. Even teachers (although they would never admit to it) must become aggravated. Why restrict the login times for minimum day students when normal students can stay on until 4:30? What sets them apart from students without minimum day? The system that logs students out when they aren’t supposed to be on is far from perfect, it does NOT take into account the many varying schedules we have. There have been many situations where students have been logged off at the end of 5th or 6th period due to this error. This is the absolute worst time to get kicked off, as it is more than likely when you are saving your work. Aside from being logged off the computers, minimum day students can’t access the media center at all. Senior Bobby Beeler is 1st period minimum day, meaning his first class is 2nd period. He once came into the media center during 1st period to do some work. It was completely empty, yet he was still kicked out. No, he wasn’t violating any of the rules, he was simply working on school work – which is what the media center is for, is it not?
Let’s get one thing clear: this has nothing to do with Cobb County’s policies. I am not certain that the current media center personal made these rules, but I am certain that they have the power to change them. After checking with some friends from Pope, Roswell, Sprayberry, Walton, Kell and Kennesaw Mountain High Schools, I was shocked to discover all six offer five day media center access as well as the ability to login whenever they want (no minimum day restrictions). What makes Lassiter so special? Would it be a violation of Cobb County Policy if our media center gave us the freedoms that many other schools have? No.
The point I’m trying to make is clear and simple: the media center imposes too many limitations on students when it comes to computer use. We should be allowed to access the media center’s resources more frequently, as current restrictions allow the bare minimum amount of access time. Two days a week is simply not enough; students should be allowed to access the media center any day of the week during their lunch period (at least when there are no classes in there at the time). Minimum day students should not have to worry about getting logged off at the very end of their last period. Everyone agrees that these policies desperately need to change- soon.