Students react to net neutrality vote

Teresa Hank Gomez
December 14, 2017

Credit: Teresa Hank Gomez
Freshman Katherine Deane
“I believe net neutrality is very important. It protects our First Amendment rights. Without it, internet providers could slow down certain things that they don’t want you to see, making it very frustrating for people. They can also make you pay for things and packages, like [what] happened in Portugal. You wouldn’t be able to access certain websites; you would have to pay extra, and I think that’s bad – very bad. I think the guy who is doing this, chairman of the FCC Ajit Pai, is an evil man who is only in it for the money. Call your representatives because net neutrality is very important; without it, the internet will change.”
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History teacher David Schmirer
“I remain a bit uncertain as to how I feel about the net neutrality law. There has certainly been a lot presented by people suggesting that it is going to be negative for internet users, that we might lose access, or that particular websites that we find appealing might ultimately be slowed down. Certainly, internet companies such as Amazon and Google have concerns. On the other hand, from what I have read there is the potential for this to increase competition in the broadband industry and perhaps allow for companies to be able to compete with the views that are in place like Comcast and Verizon and might actually help to drive down prices. I feel like I don’t know enough for a definite ‘yes’ or ‘no’ opinion, but I think I’m not definitely saying that it’s a bad thing like I’ve heard a lot of people at work and online and in the news say. I’m kind of keeping an open mind to see where it goes.”
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Freshman Rebecca Patsenker
“I don’t know all about it but from what I know I really don’t like it because it takes away all the privacy that we have because since we would have to be paying for everything, the notice would go to our parents, and they would be able to see where we are all the time. There is also the thing about paying for everything. It’s obvious why we don’t want that. Netflix would cost more and that would suck. It’s just stupid.”
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Sophomore Matthew Behrle
“I think it would be one of the worst things you could do. There is already slower internet at some places, and if they can purposely have certain programs go slower or providers, that would just be ridiculous, and it would be really frustrating.”
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Senior Maya Anand
“I think it’s stupid because my internet is already slow and now it’s gonna be even slower. We have high speed, so it’s gonna be more expensive, and I feel like they are already making a big amount of money from the variety of all their consumers. It’s just pointless to me. I don’t like it because personally, I don’t like to pay for things, and I don’t want to pay more for [the] internet. It does not affect me now, but it would if it passed.”
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Senior Hannah Skowronski
“I understand why, but I think that it’s ridiculous because there is already so much that we have to pay for every day. I think it’s wasteful; I feel like we’re going to have to change everything and it’s just gonna be more trouble than it’s worth.”
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Senior Riley Bonner
“I feel like people should have the freedom to do what they want with the internet, but there are also negative things where the government should be able to regulate a little bit. There should be no invasion of privacy but some restrictions with the dark web for example. People pay a lot of money for fast internet. As long as there is a good combination of security and safety as well as speed – making sure that what we can do on the internet stays the same – there is more progress to be made.”
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Junior Madison Lehr
“I don’t like the idea of the law. I think that everyone should be able to communicate freely online. If they’re trying to block certain websites, and that would block people from expressing their ideas – it might be a little bit of a stretch – but it could violate the first amendment and freedom of speech because they are forcing websites to not share the ideas they have.”
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History teacher Erin Lehmann
“It’s very simple: I believe that the internet should be free and opened to everyone. I’m okay with paying for the service, but once I pay I should have the exact same service as everyone else. I shouldn’t have to pay premiums to have faster service or to have access to certain material.”
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Junior Nathan Hochberger
“I already had strong opinions about this before, since I use the internet a lot. I do a lot of stuff on the internet and it’s an integral part of my life. In fact, it’s part of most peoples’ lives, which is why I’m for net neutrality. Now I understand the idea of paying more to get a better service, but the problem is the minimum service still has to be acceptable, and by opening this channel to pay for a better service, it really decreases the guarantee of having quality minimum service.”
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Junior Chris Maietta
“It’s a big problem because net neutrality really protects the internet as a service, as a utility. That’s something like water, gas or electricity –  these are things people need in the modern day. Right now the government can regulate it and force companies to not make anticompetitive deals and not drive the prices up for all customers. So, the proposed change is a huge problem because it means companies can start raising the prices for all customers, and it will force them to pay more. That is what will allow them to have their services on faster internet and make their competitors much slower on websites. All that means is that smaller companies, which might be better, get crushed quicker, and the larger companies like Comcast and Verizon, that are able to pay, live more. In theory, it might work out, but it probably won’t because these large companies have made deals with each other to drive up all of their prices all at once. That is not a proper free market because it’s not helping the consumer at all.”
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Junior Solvai Lewenberg
“I do not think we should get rid of net neutrality. I don’t think that there should be different access to different internet levels solely based on what a company would provide you with. It’s just a way for businesses and bigger corporations to get ahead. I am for equal rights for everyone. I feel like the law is going to pass because we are all about business nowadays and companies ‘rule the world.’ But people are going to stand against it because the internet is so important nowadays.”