http://news.yahoo.com/wyoming-college-bans-cell-phones--televisions-180318452.html
QuoteErin Milligan has to surrender her cell phone to school officials before going back to college this year.
Milligan isn't being punished for violating any rules. She's just following Wyoming Catholic College's technology policy, which bans cell phones at the small liberal arts school.
And even more surprising, as someone who grew up in a generation that has never known a world without the Internet, Milligan says she likes it.
"It's a release, really, not having a cell phone," said Milligan, a 20-year-old junior from New Hampshire. "When you are no longer captivated by technology, you find your true and real self."
Also banned at Milligan's school are televisions and access to most websites in dorm rooms. Administrators allow only limited Internet connectivity throughout the campus, so students can do online research.
Before the start of each school year, Milligan and her 111 classmates at the college relinquish the devices most of their peers elsewhere use to stay constantly connected to friends, family and classmates. Student leaders lock the phones in a box in each dorm room.
Students can check them out for emergencies or if they leave campus for travel.
"We are so tech savvy these days," Milligan said. "But something that is really prevalent is our inability to genuinely communicate at a human-to-human, face-to-face level."
At Wyoming Catholic College, located in the picturesque mountain town of Lander, 150 miles northwest of Casper, the ban on technology is part of the school's mission to foster more traditional debate between students and their peers and also between students and faculty, Dean of Students Jonathan Tonkowich said.
"We've all have the experience where you are talking to someone and their phone goes off, or their text goes off, and they stop talking to you and begin talking someone who is not there," Tonkowich said. "I'm worried about that direction in our society, where people you aren't with are more important than the people you are with."
Milligan said the students actually appreciate the freedom of being disconnected and become accustomed to the unusual policy after a few weeks at the school.
"We realize that spending too much time on a computer prohibits us from doing something that we should be doing or something that is fun," the college sophomore said. "I don't want to be someone who is just texting friends and not talking to them, and have a Facebook profile to define who I am."
Tonkowich said in his four years at the school, there have been only two violations of the policy. One was a blatant violation where a student tried to sneak a cell phone onto campus and use it. The other incident was a misunderstanding where a student had signed out her phone because of a medical emergency and thought she could hold onto it longer than was allowed. Wyoming Catholic College has banned cell phones since its first class in 2007.
The penalty for violating the technology policy is performing community service.
The school is not entirely a Luddite utopia, however. Students in their dorms do have limited Internet access via personal laptops and Wi-Fi that allows them to access only a handful of sites. The college email service and Skype — to call home — are allowed. But if students tried to log on to Facebook or any other social media site, the site would be blocked. Video streaming sites are also not allowed. A few public computers scattered around campus allow access to a broader range of websites.
Parents, not students, tend to grapple more with the tech ban. Parents go through a two-day orientation when students first enter the school to allay any fears about not being constantly connected with their sons or daughters during emergencies, and to also meet other students and families. Many of the college students have had cell phones since they were children, and their parents are accustomed to being able to reach them at any moment.
The school is so small that administrators know where everyone is on campus at any given time, Tonkowich reassures the parents. And school officials — who are allowed to use cell phones — are always reachable by the students' parents or guardians.
The school's policy represents a dramatic break with the trend of students using more and more technology in their daily lives and while studying. A comprehensive study by the Kaiser Family Foundation on the media habits of young people showed that more than 60 percent of people aged 8-18 do their schoolwork while also using some other form of media, such as TV or instant message. And two-thirds of college freshmen in a 2012 survey said they sometimes or frequently use social media sites while in class.
Some researchers, led by Stanford Communications Professor Clifford Nass, say the constant multitasking encouraged by smartphones and other devices is making people less productive and worse at learning complex new concepts .
Even so, some education experts have encouraged universities to adapt to the expectations of this generation, by making classes more interactive and limiting the amount of time students are expected to focus on any one speaker or task.
Wyoming Catholic College rejects this premise.
"We don't see this as thumbing our nose at tech and modern culture," Tonkowich said. "We're allowing a freedom and a vacation from all that so that students can work on something different: true friendship, true virtue, true study.
The private coed university isn't the only one to eschew the trappings and wires of modern day life. At Deep Springs College in Big Pine, Calif., the small student body recently voted to ban wireless Internet service in the living area at their elite two-year school, where tuition is free for the 13 students admitted each year.
"The student body felt that looking at screens might distract from communal living and might distract from interacting with others," said Zach Robinson, a second-year student at the college.
While there's a formal ban on technology at Wyoming, the geographic remoteness and the spartan philosophy of Deep Springs College keeps students there disconnected from most of the world.
"There's no service out here," said 21-year-old Robinson. "So you can have [a cell phone] if you want, but it won't do you any good."
Robinson, who transferred to the school after two years at Dartmouth, said he was hooked on the school's focus on labor, academics and self-governance.
At Deep Springs, the 27 students staff the college's alfalfa farm and cattle ranch. The school is mostly self-sustaining through its farms and cattle, and the students manage their school through committees. The rustic valley life encourages a spirit of cooperation and communication without the many technological distractions at a larger university, Robinson said.
But Robinson said he misses the "little things," like getting news on his phone and not being able to download new songs.
After his two years living in the remote and communal college lifestyle, he plans to return to Dartmouth and pursue a career in management consulting.
"It might be a little hard for me, but I'll be prepared to be more engaged with the Dartmouth community and [to have] better face-to-face interactions now than I was when I first came here," he said.
For her part, Milligan says her friends are often baffled at her choice to live without constant connection and communication.
"Technology is a mask and can be a deception in this world," said Milligan, who is studying to become a teacher but is also considering a life with the church. "I don't think I will be behind other people, because I will be developing something that will be dying – the ability to communicate."
"Developing that over the years is more important to my growth than figuring out whatever Twitter or Facebook is," she added.
What about the heliograph?
Good for them. Bet they're turning out high qualified graduates than, say ,California.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 12:19:20 PM
Good for them. Bet they're turning out high qualified graduates than, say ,California.
Based on what, a gaseous feeling in your gut?
On the flipside, I don't think I have any positive thoughts about a campus that limits internet access down to a few specific sites. Especially not a catholic college.
Good for them. Surprising that college age people would give up the gadgets, but not everyone lives by relying on that stuff. Apparently it all works out for them.
That sounds lame as fuck.
Sometimes I want to just chill in my dorm room and watch a game or play a video game or something, or at least did when I lived in a dorm. Not at Wyoming Catholic College! Hooray!
e:Because it offers a four-year, integrated, Great Books curriculum, Wyoming Catholic College has no majors, minors, specialized degrees or graduate programs; it awards graduating students the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts. There were 115 students enrolled in fall 2013.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_Catholic_College
Oh. Okay then.
Quote from: MadBurgerMaker on September 03, 2013, 12:40:57 PM
That sounds lame as fuck.
Sometimes I want to just chill in my dorm room and watch a game or play a video game or something, or at least did when I lived in a dorm. Not at Wyoming Catholic College! Hooray!
"When you are no longer captivated by technology, you find your true and real self."
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 12:45:06 PM
"When you are no longer captivated by technology, you find your true and real self."
*Stares at the wall*
*takes another bong hit*
*stares at the wall some more*
Well shit, that's sort of like my dorm life at times anyway I guess
They may be non-functional in a modern workforce, but they'll be so personable!
Quote from: MadBurgerMaker on September 03, 2013, 12:40:57 PM
That sounds lame as fuck.
Sometimes I want to just chill in my dorm room and watch a game or play a video game or something, or at least did when I lived in a dorm. Not at Wyoming Catholic College! Hooray!
e:Because it offers a four-year, integrated, Great Books curriculum, Wyoming Catholic College has no majors, minors, specialized degrees or graduate programs; it awards graduating students the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts. There were 115 students enrolled in fall 2013.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_Catholic_College
Oh. Okay then.
According to the college's website the students have to go on wilderness adventures and also have to learn horsemanship. :alberta: (I'll bet Tolstoy and Thoreau are part of the curriculum.) While there are some days that I wish I had nothing to do for the next four years but read and go kayaking, I doubt a school like this represents an emerging trend.
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 12:31:18 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 12:19:20 PM
Good for them. Bet they're turning out high qualified graduates than, say ,California.
Based on what, a gaseous feeling in your gut?
Pretty much, yeah.
QuoteOn the flipside, I don't think I have any positive thoughts about a campus that limits internet access down to a few specific sites. Especially not a catholic college.
Actually, it sounds more like something East Bumpkin Baptist Bible College would do; but, as MBM's post demonstrates, we're not exactly dealing with the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities here.
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 12:31:18 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 12:19:20 PM
Good for them. Bet they're turning out high qualified graduates than, say ,California.
Based on what, a gaseous feeling in your gut?
On the flipside, I don't think I have any positive thoughts about a campus that limits internet access down to a few specific sites. Especially not a catholic college.
Yep. This school is using student loans to turn people into retards who don't know how to operate in mainstream society. Great.
Quote from: Ideologue on September 03, 2013, 02:41:00 PM
Yep. This school is using student loans to turn people into retards who don't know how to operate in mainstream society. Great.
Your hatred of all things Liberal Arts will be your undoing, young Hunakin Skywalker.
I see nothing wrong with unplugging from the distractions of modern life and returning to a more classical model of learning, one based upon scholarly reflection with an emphasis on the dialectic method. The Lyceum didn't have ethernet.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 05:26:07 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on September 03, 2013, 02:41:00 PM
Yep. This school is using student loans to turn people into retards who don't know how to operate in mainstream society. Great.
Your hatred of all things Liberal Arts will be your undoing, young Hunakin Skywalker.
I see nothing wrong with unplugging from the distractions of modern life and returning to a more classical model of learning, one based upon scholarly reflection with an emphasis on the dialectic method. The Lyceum didn't have ethernet.
+1
Quote from: mongers on September 03, 2013, 05:32:02 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 05:26:07 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on September 03, 2013, 02:41:00 PM
Yep. This school is using student loans to turn people into retards who don't know how to operate in mainstream society. Great.
Your hatred of all things Liberal Arts will be your undoing, young Hunakin Skywalker.
I see nothing wrong with unplugging from the distractions of modern life and returning to a more classical model of learning, one based upon scholarly reflection with an emphasis on the dialectic method. The Lyceum didn't have ethernet.
+1
+1
Quote from: merithyn on September 03, 2013, 05:35:36 PM
Quote from: mongers on September 03, 2013, 05:32:02 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 05:26:07 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on September 03, 2013, 02:41:00 PM
Yep. This school is using student loans to turn people into retards who don't know how to operate in mainstream society. Great.
Your hatred of all things Liberal Arts will be your undoing, young Hunakin Skywalker.
I see nothing wrong with unplugging from the distractions of modern life and returning to a more classical model of learning, one based upon scholarly reflection with an emphasis on the dialectic method. The Lyceum didn't have ethernet.
+1
+1
Yeah. Meri I owe you a reply in the Out and About thread, now where is it.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 05:26:07 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on September 03, 2013, 02:41:00 PM
Yep. This school is using student loans to turn people into retards who don't know how to operate in mainstream society. Great.
Your hatred of all things Liberal Arts will be your undoing, young Hunakin Skywalker.
I see nothing wrong with unplugging from the distractions of modern life and returning to a more classical model of learning, one based upon scholarly reflection with an emphasis on the dialectic method. The Lyceum didn't have ethernet.
Sure enough if the student chooses that*. A school choosing to restrict outside communication as well as heavily censoring the internet doesn't seem like a positive to me.
*though why they have enough willpower to make that choice but not follow through if not forced to is another matter.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 05:26:07 PM
Your hatred of all things Liberal Arts will be your undoing, young Hunakin Skywalker.
I see nothing wrong with unplugging from the distractions of modern life and returning to a more classical model of learning, one based upon scholarly reflection with an emphasis on the dialectic method. The Lyceum didn't have ethernet.
They're taking Facebook, a form of modern communications (phone), and fun (porn :P) away, not the entire internet. They allow access to the internet there, as long as they are sites approved by Wyoming Catholic College, with dorm wifi being more restricted than publicly connected computers for whatever dumb reason. If it's good enough for public computers, why can't they access it in their dorm rooms?
E: I wonder if Youtube is banned from the dorm rooms, but available on the public computers.
E2: I just noticed you might think I was talking about Facebook for all of those.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 05:26:07 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on September 03, 2013, 02:41:00 PM
Yep. This school is using student loans to turn people into retards who don't know how to operate in mainstream society. Great.
Your hatred of all things Liberal Arts will be your undoing, young Hunakin Skywalker.
My mastery of the liberal arts allowed me to have a conversation about vegetarianism (he brought it up) with my local Subway's new franchisee, wherein I successfully identified his specific religion (Vaishnavite Hinduism) and his origins (Gujarat, India, home of the largest concentration of Vaishnava Hindus per capita). He seemed pretty pleased that some white boy was aware of his cultural heritage. I also asked if he could eat spicy stuff, and we agreed it was good and permitted by God. :)
My mastery of the liberal arts has not so far, however, allowed me to get a good, permanent job.
So the question of whether liberal arts enriches my life when unemployment insurance is paying for my sub sandwich is a pretty moot one.
(Also, my lack of internalized quant skills means I should've gotten that guess wrong, since while Gujarat has the highest concentration, Uttar Pradesh has the highest absolute number, so all things being equal it would have likelier that he came from there.)
Is this where we pat you on the head?
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 06:56:45 PM
Is this where we pat you on the head?
Even if you displayed genuine sympathy for anyone other than yourself, I doubt anyone would believe it.
Quote from: Ideologue on September 03, 2013, 06:54:43 PM
My mastery of the liberal arts allowed me to have a conversation about vegetarianism (he brought it up) with my local Subway's new franchisee, wherein I successfully identified his specific religion (Vaishnavite Hinduism) and his origins (Gujarat, India, home of the largest concentration of Vaishnava Hindus per capita).
That's not mastery of the liberal arts; that's mastery of the Food Network and the Travel Channel.
QuoteMy mastery of the liberal arts has not so far allowed me to get a good, permanent job.
Perhaps your mastery of law is the problem, Doctor. Don't blame Ovid.
QuoteSo the question of whether liberal arts enriches my life when unemployment insurance is paying for my sub sandwich is a pretty moot one.
I don't recall asking that question.
Quote(Also, my lack of internalized quant skills means I should've gotten that guess wrong, since while Gujarat has the highest concentration, Uttar Pradesh has the highest absolute number, so all things being equal it would have likelier that he came from there.)
Who cares. Smelly brown pipples are still smelly brown pipples. Don't need a liberal arts education to recognize that.
Quote from: MadBurgerMaker on September 03, 2013, 06:17:24 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 05:26:07 PM
Your hatred of all things Liberal Arts will be your undoing, young Hunakin Skywalker.
I see nothing wrong with unplugging from the distractions of modern life and returning to a more classical model of learning, one based upon scholarly reflection with an emphasis on the dialectic method. The Lyceum didn't have ethernet.
They're taking Facebook, a form of modern communications (phone), and fun (porn :P) away, not the entire internet. They allow access to the internet there, as long as they are sites approved by Wyoming Catholic College, with dorm wifi being more restricted than publicly connected computers for whatever dumb reason. If it's good enough for public computers, why can't they access it in their dorm rooms?
Because they're attempting to create, promote and foster an environment where the distractions of modern bullshit is reduced to as much as possible. And limited internet access means more JSTOR, less Facebook.
Hey, if colleges can ban smoking on their premises for the greater good--
"the greater good"--they can restrict Internet silliness for the educational environment.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 07:11:45 PM
Because they're attempting to create, promote and foster an environment where the distractions of modern bullshit is reduced to as much as possible. And limited internet access means more JSTOR, less Facebook.
Hey, if colleges can ban smoking on their premises for the greater good--"the greater good"--they can restrict Internet silliness for the educational environment.
If they want to actually do something helpful, they could teach their students how to function in an environment where those distractions exist. AKA everywhere else in the world that doesn't suck ass.
Quote from: MadBurgerMaker on September 03, 2013, 07:20:21 PM
If they want to actually do something helpful, they could teach their students how to function in an environment where those distractions exist. AKA everywhere else in the world that is worth being.
And how would they do that, exactly? How could an institution of higher education teach students how to function in an environment where those distractions exist? And what would be the justification for why they would teach students these skills? Did your college teach you how?
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 07:23:50 PM
And how would they do that, exactly? How could an institution of higher education teach students how to function in an environment where those distractions exist? And what would be the justification for why they would teach students these skills? Did your college teach you how?
Well, yeah my college taught me how, at least in a way. Distractions were there, they expected me to continue to function, I continued to function. They sure as hell didn't just take it all away and hope it works out for the best after I step off campus and suddenly omg there's youtube
Anyway, it's kind of my job to function in an environment that contains all those distractions. It's also part of my job to make sure those distractions continue to function. Did I mention that I work at a university?
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 07:11:45 PM
Hey, if colleges can ban smoking on their premises for the greater good--"the greater good"--they can restrict Internet silliness for the educational environment.
:D
Quote from: MadBurgerMaker on September 03, 2013, 07:31:56 PM
Anyway, it's kind of my job to function in an environment that contains all those distractions. It's also part of my job to make sure those distractions continue to function. Did I mention that I work at a university?
Fat, drunk and constantly trying to fix PeopleSoft incompatibility issues is no way to go through life, son.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 07:35:35 PM
Fat, drunk and constantly trying to fix PeopleSoft incompatibility issues is no way to go through life, son.
I don't do PeopleSoft.
Apparently nobody else does, either.
HA!
Quote from: Ideologue on September 03, 2013, 06:58:02 PM
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 06:56:45 PM
Is this where we pat you on the head?
Even if you displayed genuine sympathy for anyone other than yourself, I doubt anyone would believe it.
I'm very empathetic.
Quote from: MadBurgerMaker on September 03, 2013, 07:31:56 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 07:23:50 PM
And how would they do that, exactly? How could an institution of higher education teach students how to function in an environment where those distractions exist? And what would be the justification for why they would teach students these skills? Did your college teach you how?
Well, yeah my college taught me how, at least in a way. Distractions were there, they expected me to continue to function, I continued to function. They sure as hell didn't just take it all away and hope it works out for the best after I step off campus and suddenly omg there's youtube
Yep. Though if the idea is to prep people to live in isolated communities (I mean we are talking Wyoming) then maybe though presumably people in those settings don't need 26k/year educations.
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 07:41:17 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on September 03, 2013, 06:58:02 PM
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 06:56:45 PM
Is this where we pat you on the head?
Even if you displayed genuine sympathy for anyone other than yourself, I doubt anyone would believe it.
I'm very empathetic.
I believe you. :hug:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 07:38:42 PM
Apparently nobody else does, either.
There's just the one guy at my joint who does. Poor bastard.
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 07:43:26 PM
Yep. Though if the idea is to prep people to live in isolated communities (I mean we are talking Wyoming) then maybe though presumably people in those settings don't need 26k/year educations.
I sincerely doubt these kids are unfamiliar with the uses of modern technology. They are, however, most likely unfamiliar with a dedicated academic learning environment.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 07:01:43 PM
That's not mastery of the liberal arts; that's mastery of the Food Network and the Travel Channel.
Who cares. Smelly brown pipples are still smelly brown pipples. Don't need a liberal arts education to recognize that.
Stunning exhibit of the value of a liberal arts education.
Quote from: Maximus on September 03, 2013, 08:10:52 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 07:01:43 PM
That's not mastery of the liberal arts; that's mastery of the Food Network and the Travel Channel.
Who cares. Smelly brown pipples are still smelly brown pipples. Don't need a liberal arts education to recognize that.
Stunning exhibit of the value of a liberal arts education.
Everything on their side of the planet smells like curry.
And diarrhea.
Hipsters who use typewriters shouldn't have a say in the whether or not technology detracts from education. They're obviously biased.
and old :P
Quote from: HVC on September 03, 2013, 08:27:55 PM
Hipsters who use typewriters shouldn't have a say in the whether or not technology detracts from education. They're obviously biased.
and old :P
+1
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 08:00:52 PM
They are, however, most likely unfamiliar with a dedicated academic learning environment.
Which has little or nothing to do with modern technology.
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 11:10:48 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 08:00:52 PM
They are, however, most likely unfamiliar with a dedicated academic learning environment.
Which has little or nothing to do with modern technology.
For a generation with the attention and retention span of Ritalin-addled chipmunks after a meth-fueled weekend bender with the Philly chapter of the Warlocks MC thanks to their inability to discipline themselves regarding the use of modern technology, I would say it does.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 07:11:45 PM
Hey, if colleges can ban smoking on their premises for the greater good--"the greater good"--they can restrict Internet silliness for the educational environment.
Beware the heretical Tau! :mad:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 11:26:47 PM
Quote from: garbon on September 03, 2013, 11:10:48 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on September 03, 2013, 08:00:52 PM
They are, however, most likely unfamiliar with a dedicated academic learning environment.
Which has little or nothing to do with modern technology.
For a generation with the attention and retention span of Ritalin-addled chipmunks after a meth-fueled weekend bender with the Philly chapter of the Warlocks MC thanks to their inability to discipline themselves regarding the use of modern technology, I would say it does.
Yeah but you're old and out of touch.
Am not.
Are so. :blurgh: