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FEATURES EDITOR Thomas Chiles PHOTO EDITOR Alexander Rodriguez DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Benjamin Paley CONTRIBUTORS Ivan Benavides, Joshua Giron, Nicole Pujazon, Mackenzie Guiry, Victor Lopez, Julian-Justin Djoum, Andrew Fraieli ADVISERS Neil Santaniello, Ilene Prusher, Michael Koretzky
Contents
Table of
04
News Briefs
06
Where to Record?
08
Football: FAU vs. University of North Texas
10
Home Sweet Home
16
Tracking Tracy
18
Opinion: Ending Net Neutrality Will Destroy the Free Internet
A highlight of the UP’s top news stories from the past few weeks
A look at FAU’s own record label and studio, Hoot/Wisdom Recordings.
A photo gallery of the Owls sweeping the Conference USA championship game against the North Texas Mean Green.
Special section: One student shares how he spent almost two months living on the Boca campus grounds - on purpose.
Our timeline follows the events before and after the firing of former communication professor James Tracy.
Repealing net neutrality will be the end to a free and open internet.
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NEWS BRIEFS
FAU researcher works FAU’s Educate to save endangered Tomorrow aids penguins former foster Adam Schaefer has contributed to the care, homeless rehabilitation of African penguins. students Nicole Pujazon | Contributing Writer
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he African penguin is yet another endangered animal whose population is decreasing rapidly — but one FAU researcher hopes to make a difference. Adam Schaefer, an epidemiologist at FAU’s Harbor Branch, was called by experts at the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds to determine better ways to rehabilitate the penguins they bring into their centers. Once the birds are admitted to one of the foundation’s facilities, they are each provided with specific feeding, swimming, medication and treatment schedules. According to Schaefer, some penguins that are admitted to the rehab centers die within the first 10 days. Many of the birds can be suffering from dehydration, hypothermia, anemia, extreme weight or muscle loss when they arrive. Schaefer is studying the birds in an attempt to reduce the number of penguin deaths in the facilities. About 75 to 80,000 African penguins are left in the wild, in comparison to the 150,000 that were alive in the 1950s. In some colonies, the decline in population has reached as high as 80 percent. The penguins were put on the endangered list in 2010.
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The program wants to increase the graduation rate of homeless students and students exiting the foster care system. Nicole Pujazon | Contributing Writer
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Photo courtesy of Flickr.
Oil spill contaminations, competition with commercial fisheries, climate change and a series of ongoing manmade threats have all contributed to the decline in the African penguin population.
or children living in the foster care system, life gets tougher as they grow up. Though foster care is intended to be temporary, many young adults leave the system at the age of 18 parentless and uncertain about their future. A new program, Educate Tomorrow at FAU, started by the Miami non-profit by the same name, launched in August and will guide foster and homeless youths through college life. The organization does this by pairing students with individual academic advisors, who mentor them on a bi-weekly basis. It currently has 24 foster or formerly homeless students attending FAU. According to Jasmine Briggs, director of Educate Tomorrow, there are 104 students who are eligible to apply for the program. Ultimately, the program hopes to increase the graduation rate of homeless and foster students. According to the Child Welfare League of America, more than half a million youth are in foster care in the United States today.
Engineering professor looks to create sensation of touch in those with robotic limbs The project is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Mackenzie Guiry | Contributing Writer
F
or people living with an artificial limb, feeling the temperature of a baking sheet or the weight of a basketball seems impossible, but in the near future, all that could be a reality. A research project led by Boca campus associate engineering professor Erik
Engeberg is looking to create an artificial robotic hand that has a working nervous system grown from mouse cells. “The amputees that I have been working with over the years have expressed a desire to have more intuitive and easy to use prosthetic hands,” Engeberg said in an interview with the University Press. “Some of the limb-absent people that I have had in my lab doing experiments have asked, ‘Can I take this hand home with me?’ ‘Can I please keep it?’” The project, with funding costs rounding out at $1.3 million from the National Institutes of Health, is set to be completed in four years, reported the Sun Sentinel. If the project is successful, people living
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
with artificial, robotic limbs will be able to experience sensations of touch and feel things such as temperature, pressure, and grip. The mouse cells are used to grow nerve cells in robotic hands. Engeberg and his fellow researchers then electrically stimulate the cells using sensors within the hand to see how to build a nervous system.
Students gather for Transgender Day of Remembrance Attendees participated in a candlelight vigil and presented expressions of art. Victor Lopez | Contributing Writer
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ransgender individuals in today’s society can face discrimination, harassment, and even violence for attempting to live their lives the way they see fit. Members of FAU recognize the potentially dangerous situation transgender individuals face in a society that has not fully accepted them. The Women’s Gender and Equity Resource Center, in conjunction with the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs held a commemoration for trans lives lost on Nov. 20, the International Transgender Day of Remembrance. The commemoration was held in the newly opened Women’s Gender and Equity Center located on the second floor of the Breezeway.
(Far left) Jill Rubin, professor of women’s studies and (far right) Geanny Joseph Ruiz, program coordinator for FAU’s Pride Resource Center, pose for a picture with students that attended the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Julian-Justin Djoum | Contributing Photographer
About 20 students and faculty were in attendance. Attendees learned about the 23 transgender individuals who had lost their lives between 2016-17. A presentation showed the victims’ names, pictures, and a brief description of who they were. Following this, 23 electronic candles were lit to commemorate their lives and a moment of silence ensued. Spoken word and artwork relating to transgender
issues were presented by students to express their personal insights and feelings. Participants were also each given a piece of paper with a quote written on them from transgender advocates. Each person read their quote and reflected on what it meant to them.
12.05.2017 University Press 5
Features
Where to record?
Thomas Chiles | Features Editor
Hoot/Wisdom Recordings is located on FAU’s Boca campus — but it doesn’t operate like a traditional recording studio.
Alejandro Sanchez-Samper, faculty supervisor for Hoot/Wisdom Recordings, works at the recording studio’s control board. Thomas Chiles | Features Editor 6 12.05.2017 University Press
I
f you’re a student musician trying to make a name for yourself, it can be hard to make it big. A good place to start though is finding a local recording studio that can provide the professional sound that you need to get noticed. FAU has its own record label, Hoot/Wisdom Recordings, and a recording studio on its Boca campus. “The goal behind the record label has always been to provide students with practical experience in as many areas of the record industry as possible,” Alejandro SanchezSamper said, the faculty adviser for Hoot/ Wisdom Recordings. Commercial recording studios operate for a profit, but FAU’s record label and studio serve as learning labs for students. Everyone involved with the label is an FAU student. “The engineers, producers, managers, are students from our program,” Sanchez-Samper said. “On the student side, we only take acts that are affiliated with FAU. Some people see that as a limitation, but I think there’s a lot of talent here on campus.” Over the years, the label has received more student interest. When its first compilation album was released in 2010, the label received 30 submissions. Last year, the label’s fifth compilation album received over 120 submissions.
How to Start Recording
Right now, the only way for a student to record at the university’s label is to follow the application process on the Hoot/Wisdom Recordings Facebook page. “We can’t rent out studio time. Some students want to just record a song and go,” SanchezSamper said. “We have to be picky on the talent we choose, and then after we pick you it’s not just recording the song and you’re done.” He made it clear that the facility operates as a complete label, not just a recording studio. And the label is only interested in working with students who take their craft seriously. “Everyday I have students call me and ask, ‘Can we book the studio?’ and I say, ‘No, we’re not allowed to do that,’” Sanchez-Samper said. “We have the potential and talent to crank out hits, but that’s not what we’re here to do.” Essentially, the label is looking for students wholly dedicated to music who aren’t just in search of a free song recording. One of the commitments artists make when signing onto the label is agreeing to attend the commercial music forum class every Friday at 3 p.m. This is where the artist will work with
student producers, engineers, and marketers to complete the release of their song. “We are trying to develop the careers of our students, the people that want to look at this seriously,” Sanchez-Samper said. The label isn’t interested in “someone who just wants free studio time ... to do their thing.” One of the main criteria the label uses for picking talent is checking to see if the person already has an established track record of recording music or performing live. Artist Khallid Benson, aka Element Jetson, had his first ever single “To Ya Neck” featured on last year’s Hoot/Wisdom’s compilation album, “CompOWLation Vol. 5.” Benson is an example of the type of student talent that the label is looking for through its submission process. He already had a rough version of the single with one verse that he submitted to the label, and he said they loved it. “Right after that, I wrote the other verse and recorded it all in, like, a week,” Benson said. “The engineer we had really brought it to life.” Reflecting on his time at the label, Benson said he learned a lot from the experience. “I definitely learned different strategies that go into pushing a single and album and how important time management is,” Benson said. Benson graduated at the end of 2016 with a biology degree, but he is still pursuing his passion of making music and is currently working on an album.
The Label Structure
In the past, Hoot/Wisdom Recordings has worked on a three-semester cycle: the first semester goes into finding talent to record, the second semester is focused on recording and producing, and the final semester goes into marketing and release of the music. Every third semester, the label would release a compilation album, with all of the singles that various FAU artists had been working on with the commercial music forum students for the previous semesters. Now, the record label has switched up its tactics, hoping to release music every semester instead. “The only thing I didn’t like about the model we were working with is that we were releasing product every three semesters,” Sanchez-Samper said. “Now we are continuously looking for talent and trying to release singles every semester.” When compared to other university record labels, FAU’s label covers almost every aspect of the commercial music business. “A lot of university record labels will just license tracks from other people and they just try and market it,” Sanchez-Samper said. “We start from trying to find the artist, to completing the whole production because that’s what the students need
to learn. Not just grabbing a finished track and putting it out there.” He says that other professional music educators are impressed when they find out that FAU produces all of its own music from scratch. “You can’t improvise quality,” SanchezSamper said. “When you have to record real instruments with the drums and bass and editing, that takes a lot of time.”
Payment and Copyright Spending hours in a traditional recording studio would cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. At FAU, students accepted to the label never have to pay a dime. “We are offering full service ... to the best of our abilities, a marketing campaign and everything that goes with it,” Sanchez-Samper said. In return, the university retains copyright ownership of the recording, while the student artist is able to maintain ownership of the song’s composition. This means that if a song recorded at FAU were to become a popular hit, the university would reap some monetary gain. But if the student artist doesn’t like the recording, they are free to take their composition and record it elsewhere. “We aren’t in the business of taking students’ copyrights,” Sanchez-Samper said. “I understand if you’re getting all this for free, then it makes sense that the university keeps the sound recording. But the intellectual property of the composition that’s a whole different ballgame.”
12.05.2017 University Press 7
FAU vs. North Texas
FAU fans rush the field after FAU wins the C-USA Championship and cheer on the FAU football team. Alexander Rodriguez | Photo Editor
FAU redshirt junior quarterback Jason Driskel (16) walks over to the sideline as his pass was incomplete during the first quarter. Alexander Rodriguez | Photo Editor
The FAU football team celebrates with the winning trophy on Saturday afternoon after they beat North Texas for the C-USA Championship 41-17. Alexander Rodriguez | Photo Editor 8 12.05.2017 University Press
FAU head coach Lane Kiffin receives the C-USA Championship trophy. Alexander Rodriguez | Photo Editor
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For more related stories visit homelessandabroad.com. 12.05.2017 University Press 11
A
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t the beginning of this semester, I had no dorm, no car, and a house that was two hours away in Melbourne from the Boca
campus. From sleeping on friends’ couches to strategically keeping food in their dorms, I snuck around and lived in the dorms for a month. After that, I moved outside, sleeping in tents, my hammock, and stairwells. About three weeks in I got a locker for $50 at the Rec Center. I put my clothes, my cameras, and all my day-to-day stuff into this locker. It became my morning routine to wake up, go to the Rec Center, shower, change clothes, put my sleeping bag and sleeping pad into my locker, and then get breakfast. Every evening I went to the Rec Center before 11 p.m. — when it closes — to get my sleeping pad and bag. For food, every morning I went to Einstein Bros. Bagels and got breakfast. For dinner, I started eating at the cafeteria. I stopped eating at my friends’ places for the same reason I started sleeping outside, I didn’t want to live off other people’s schedules anymore. My friends are very kind, but of course they weren’t always in their rooms, so I couldn’t eat whenever I wanted. It’s $9.81 for a student and you get an unlimited buffet. I’d go at about 4:30 p.m. and stay until 6 p.m.
My locker in the Recreation Center during my homeless stay on campus.
From tents to hammocks to stairwells, one student shares how he lived on Boca school grounds for almost two months.
working on homework. I slowly started experimenting with where and how to sleep outside. There’s a small wooded area in the back of Palm Beach State I’d known about for a long time. Setting up my rented tent ended with me muddy and wet in a friend’s dorm as it wasn’t waterproof (see next page). Another night I slept in a building’s muggy and bright stairwell by the door to the roof. (I’d known the door to the stairwell was open at night from checking before.) Yet another night I slept outside in my hammock in the trees across from Parliament, while no one bothered me, it rained. The next night was a different stairwell. This one was dark and it was a cool night, so I slept comfortably within my sleeping bag and on my sleeping pad.
By the end, that final stairwell became my go to. The nights were becoming cooler so the stairwell wasn’t hot, it was dark and easy to get to after sneaking into the building at night, and no one ever went up there. The end of October was the end of my homelessness on campus though. At this point I was getting tired of being outside, anxious of being caught at night, and wanted a permanent bed. Of course it didn’t change my situation by just wanting that. My parents were kind enough to give me money to buy groceries as my side gig of writing freelance is not a particularly well-paying or stable income. So, my homelessness ended, and for the rest of the semester I drove two hours, both ways, to FAU twice a week. My locker is now mostly empty and I no longer spend the evenings deciding between testing the
rainy skies at night and a muggy stairwell. I do hope that this gives some kind of insight into what students do on this campus under the radar. And if there are other students who are really homeless, unlike me, I hope that this can help give ideas on how to go about it.
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Sleeping outside on the FAU Boca campus may seem dangerous, but it’s really not. It’s mostly modern inconvenience magnified by the strong desire to avoid having to sleep in a bright, muggy stairwell again. Despite this, it does lead to odd and entertaining adventures that I ended up learning a couple things from.
It rained the first time I slept outside, a thundering night in October. I didn’t have the best timing. Earlier that day I went to the Rec Center to rent a two-person tent from its Outdoor Adventures office. I left with a three-person tent the size of a six-person that looked like it was bought at Walmart. That night, I set up shop near the back of campus. There was a light sprinkle of rain with the rumblings of thunder in the distance getting closer. The ground had started to become muddy and of course, the tent’s main pole didn’t fit in the appropriate hole. As the rain turned into a monsoon and the thunder moved right over my head, I found out three things that night: 1. The tent wasn’t waterproof. I spent 30 minutes trying to dam the water from leaking to the middle of my tent before giving up and packing up. 2. I talk very enthusiastically, and concerningly to myself when I’m packing up a subpar tent in a torrential downpour at midnight with class in the morning. 3. People are surprisingly considerate when they see a mud-soaked person drop an equally muddy and wet tent, with one student holding a door open, asking with intense concern, “Are you OK?” I later returned the tent to the Outdoor Adventures office and found out that it only has one waterproof tent, a six-person. An organization that goes camping around in Florida, only has one waterproof tent.
After three nights of poor sleep, I was able to borrow a waterproof, four-person tent from a friend. I decided to set it up at the same trees near Parliament. My only worry was that the FAU police would see me and come over. They didn’t. Instead, as I drifted off to sleep, I heard a door slam. 14 12.05.2017 University Press
Seeing as the tent wasn’t going to be much help, I decided to try again and see if the rain would hold out for the night and I could just sleep in my hammock. It didn’t. I set my hammock up between tree branches near Parliament around 11 p.m., tied my backpack up in the tree next to me so I could get to it easily, and drifted off to sleep. I wondered how waterproof my hammock was and at 1 a.m. I found out. As I found myself once again stuck in the rain and having a bit of practice at this point, I jumped out and starting shoving things back into my backpack. Afterward, I ran to the Arts and Letters building — where I had earlier left a door open in case I had to sneak inside to sleep under cover. There’s a small backroom I was going to sleep in but after finding many, MANY, dead bugs I went to plan B, a stairwell. While quiet and unoccupied, this stairwell was also bright, uncomfortably warm, and made of concrete. Without revealing which one to keep it safe as this was the second time I stayed there, I slept with a shirt wrapped around my face blocking the light and luckily had my sleeping pad. I woke up around 8 a.m. and went to the Rec Center to shower before class. The rain had foiled me again.
Peeking through a flap in my tent, I saw a white car drop off two people with flashlights. While whispering, they walked to a couple of trees over from my tent. I thought I was witnessing a drug deal, in which case I would have just tried to go back to sleep again, but no, they decided to come over and start waving flashlights into my tent. While laughing, they yelled,
“Tent boy!” and then ran away. After waiting a couple of minutes to make sure they didn’t come back, I went back to sleep. In the morning, I still had “tent boy” echoing out of confusion in my head.
Now, throughout these adventures I was worried about getting caught mostly because I didn’t know what the school or police’s policies were about students sleeping on campus — and I wanted a good night’s sleep. After researching state law, city and county ordinances, and FAU regulations, I couldn’t find anything saying I couldn’t camp on campus grounds, so I put it to the test. The evening after “tent boy,” I pitched my tent directly in front of the administration building (see previous page) to see what would happen. I brought a photographer from the University Press along as well, Josh, who staked out nearby. I went to sleep around midnight, despite the odd glances from the custodians taking trash out of the building. Around 7:30 a.m. I heard a voice asking if there was someone there. When they asked me for my name and if I was a student, I realized I’d finally been caught.
I quickly texted Josh as two police officers started talking to me — asking what I was doing in a tent, to which I replied, “Camping.” (I was killing time until the police station verified I was a student.) I then asked if camping is allowed on campus. One of the officers said, “That’s a good question, I don’t think it is. But you know you aren’t doing anything necessarily like breaking any laws or anything, I think it’s more or like a campus regulation plus you’re right outside administration.” After the police station confirmed I was a student, the officers said I would just need to pack up and I could leave no problem. After it started raining yet again, I packed up my tent and left as the cops stood under an overhang. So without any proof of a policy stating I wasn’t allowed to camp on campus, I was kicked off the administration lawn. Wanting an answer as to whether or not it was legal, I later called the police station and spoke with Captain Larry Ervin. His response? “No.”
When I asked what FAU regulation stated this, he said he had to call me back. Six days later I call again, with Ervin saying, “Give me some time to look that up. Call me tomorrow afternoon and I will have an answer for you.” Tomorrow afternoon, no answer. Three days later I call again. Ervin said, “I’ve been trying to do some research, most of the problems with the tents is safety issues. Everytime you set something up on campus it’s like in a state park, has to do with size of the structure. It’s part of state laws.” I couldn’t find anything saying this. That being said, Captain Ervin was incredibly professional and polite while looking for this information. But is camping allowed on campus? Who knows, the police don’t seem to.
The FAU police officers who woke me up stand under an overhang as I pack up my tent in the rain. 12.05.2017 University Press 15
News
Tracking Tracy
Our timeline follows the events before and after the firing of former communication professor James Tracy.
Ryan Lynch | Business Manager
Teaching a class on conspiracy at FAU, former communication professor James Tracy was no stranger to controversial topics. But, he became surrounded in his own controversy after being fired in January 2016. That wasn’t an end to Tracy’s time in the spotlight though, but instead the start of a case that brought up questions of freedom of speech. Those concerns were related to his blog where Tracy theorized the U.S. government was behind the Sandy Hook and San Bernardino shootings to affect laws pertaining to gun policy. Following his firing, Tracy sued the university, claiming it attempted to restrict his First Amendment rights. With Tracy’s federal court case starting today, we look into the chain of events that led up to the lawsuit.
Photo by Michelle Friswell
1
James Tracy hired
Start: August 1, 2002 Tracy is hired in August 2002 as a professor in the communication department. End: August 1, 2002
2
Tracy writes blog posts related to Sandy Hook
Start: December 20, 2012 End: January 7, 2013
3
Tracy investigated by FAU
Start: January 16, 2013 End: March 1, 2013
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Tracy puts up a series of posts on his "MemoryHoleBlog" questioning the validity of the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and claims the event was a false tragedy perpetuated by the U.S. government. National media soon picks up the story, with over 800 outlets covering the remarks.
The school launches an investigation into the blog posts. In March, FAU reprimands him and tells him not to tie his position at the school to his posts.
Parents of Sandy Hook victim write letter about Tracy Tracy responds to parents
Start: December 10, 2015 End: December 10, 2015
FAU serves Tracy notice of termination
Start: December 16, 2015 End December 16, 2015
Tracy is served a notice of termination and told he has 10 days to appeal the decision.
7
FAU fires Tracy
Start: January 6, 2016 End: January 8, 2016
The university announces on Jan. 6 that it will be firing Tracy. FAU argues that Tracy did not fill out neccesary financial paperwork that was needed to report outside income for three years. The school adds that Tracy used school resources for his site. He was set to teach three clases, which were later taken over by adjunct professors.
8
Tracy files federal lawsuit against school, faculty union
Start: April 26, 2016 End: April 26, 2016
In federal court, Tracy files a lawsuit claiming the school violated his right to free speech by firing him. He included the claim that the required paperwork was unconstitutional and that the faculty union did not come to his aid upon his firing.
Tracy’s blog shut down
Start: November 23, 2016 End: November 23, 2016
Tracy’s conspiracy theory blog is shut down according to an announcment on his Twitter page on Nov. 23. He claimed it was because hosting site Bluehost said he violated its terms and conditions. Bluehost said to the University Press at the time that they could not comment on his site. Tracy’s site is now back up, but hasn’t had a new post since Nov. 22, 2016.
4 5 6
9
10
Tracy’s lawsuit partially dismissed
11
Tracy refiles lawsuit
Start: December 14, 2015 End: December 14, 2015
Start: December 29, 2016 End: December 29, 2016 Start: December 16, 2016 End: December 16, 2016
Lenny and Veronica Pozner, the parents of Newtown victim Noah, speak out against Tracy's blog posts in a Sun Sentinel editorial. The Pozners said Tracy "personally sought to cause our family pain" and asked for proof that Noah was an actual person. The Pozners also ask FAU to look into no longer having Tracy as a professor. In the Sun Sentinel, Tracy responds by discussing the importance of teaching skepticism. "If that is an outmoded ideal and a skill that can no longer be practiced or taught to young adults, I stand guilty as charged," he wrote.
Federal judge Robin L. Rosenberg dismisses parts of Tracy's lawsuit and tells him to refile. However, she allows his claims that a form he was required to fill out detailing his activities outside the university was unconstitutional and that FAU breached its contract with Tracy when it attempted to “censor the professor.” The judge gives him until Dec. 28, 2016 to refile. Tracy refiles his lawsuit against FAU.
not allowed 12 FAU to dismiss case
Start: February 22, 2017 End: February 22, 2017
FAU makes an attempt to dissmiss the case, but judge Rosenberg allows it to continue. “This is a case about the First Amendment right to free speech,” Rosenberg said in her order.
13 Trial starts
Start: November 29, 2017 End: December 6, 2017
Tracy’s eight-day jury trial starts.
12.05.2017 University Press 17
Opinion
Ending Net Neutrality Will Destroy The Free Internet Andrew Fraieli | Contributing Writer “If you’re not freaking the fuck out about net neutrality right now, you aren’t paying attention.” While this sentence has been plastered all around the internet, I hadn’t looked further into net neutrality until I started to write this piece. Then I proceeded to freak the fuck out. After talking to students around campus, I realized I wasn’t the only one not sufficiently freaking out either — only three had heard of the term beforehand. Net neutrality, if you haven’t been living under a rock, is the idea that internet service providers (ISPs) like Verizon and Comcast cannot slow down/block certain websites in favor of others or have websites pay to load faster than others. This creates a neutral arena for all users, letting that amatuer fetish porn website and blog with just photos of cats load just as fast as Facebook and Google. The Federal Communications Committee (the FCC, or the assholes that won’t let you swear on public radio or have nudity on public cable) is voting Dec. 14 to take away that neutrality. If this happens, the only people who benefit are the internet service providers. Not start-ups, small businesses, or innovators, ONLY the ISPs. They would have complete control over what website you can access, how fast they load, and more. Your ISP would have censorship control over the internet you see. Did I mention that the current chair of the FCC, Ajit Pai, is a former lawyer for Verizon? If you haven’t been living under a digital rock,
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you’ve probably heard this name and the memes to go along with it. Most of the issues the internet has with Pai, besides the fact that he’s trying to tear down net neutrality, are his connections with an ISP. But, what does this dystopian internet future look like? Imagine having to pay for use of certain websites like you pay for channels on cable. Oh you want to stream Netflix? Well besides your monthly payments to access the streaming service, you would need to pay for the internet service providers’ entertainment package to be able to access the website. Yeah. And that will happen with Facebook, Pornhub, Reddit, and every other popular website you enjoy. And what could easily happen is the ISPs simply blocking content from your internet that they don’t like. Nothing would stop Comcast from not letting Verizon’s website load and vice versa. “But,” you may ask, “What about all the not obscenely rich websites I enjoy browsing like breadedcats.com and accidentalchinesehipsters.tumblr.com?” Well, all those smaller blogs and websites? They’ll be drowned faster than they can write an article complaining about it. There’s no way they’d be able to pay an ISP the money to keep them loading as fast as they do now for users. Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast would be essentially banking on people’s impatience and short attention span to get these major websites like Google to pay them obscene amounts of money to load fast. How many times have you exited out of watching a gif because it took too long to load? Or a youtube video? Or a website? If we were patient creatures it wouldn’t
affect anything. But we aren’t. So it dramatically will. All small businesses with an online presence or those self-employed writers who produce creative original content will be gone, unable to afford paying an ISP, multiple ISPs if it’s an internationally read website. All creative competition in the marketplace will be gone. On top of this, it’ll drastically change students’ study habits. Senior finance major Arthur — who preferred to not share his last name — was unaware of the concept until I described the situation to him. He reacted by saying, “People already don’t like to study, what’s going to happen when we have to pay to access studying resources?” When I asked sophomore marketing major Norma about the subject — who preferred the same — she said, “My EVERY habit would change.” Getting rid of net neutrality will destroy freedom of usage on the internet and knock down the foundations of digital equality. Call Pai’s office at the FCC and tell your Congress members that you support net neutrality using the websites in the sidebar and stay informed.
How to support net neutrality
The following sites provide easy ways to contact Congress members and how to call the Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai (who wants to repeal net neutrality rules).
BATTLE FOR THE NET
h t t p s : / / w w w. b a t t l e f o r t h e n e t . com/?ref=hvper.com
5 CALLS
https://5calls.org/issue/defend-fcc-netneutrality
AMERICAN UNION
CIVIL
LIBERTIES
https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/ dont-dismantle-net-neutrality
CREDO ACTION
https://act.credoaction.com/sign/net_ neutrality_2017/
WE NEED
PHOTOGRAPHERS If you’re at the Boca campus, come to our meetings, every Friday at 2 PM.
MEETINGS 2 PM / STUDENT UNION / ROOM 214
EVERY FRIDAY
I can‛t believe I didn‛t read the University Press
MEETINGS 2 PM / STUDENT UNION / ROOM 214 EVERY FRIDAY