Illustration by Arnulfo Bermudez
|
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday April 23, 2003
Let's face it. Every once in a while, the lure to gaze at porn sometimes gets the best of us, right? A new Arizona law says that all state employees ÷ including the University of Arizona employees ÷ are now subject to more severe punishments for looking at pornography while on the job. Signed into law by Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano on April 17, HB-2498 now prohibits "purposely viewing, downloading, printing or saving material on university computers that is considered pornography, unless it is research-related," as reported in the Wildcat. It is effectively an extension of a current rule that states that employees should not use "university resources for purposes that aren't in the interest of the university."
While some employees who work next to porn-lovers may be relieved, many criticize the law as being a waste of Legislature time and taxpayer money, not to mention an addition paperwork requirement for UA administrators.
Anti-porn bill makes gov't morality police
Kudos to the Legislature for having the courage to overlook the trifling matter of the budget in favor of more inspired legislation ÷ that is, inspired by the Puritans with a vise-hold on the Senate. One might wonder who poses a greater threat to productivity: government employees who occasionally indulge an unsavory tooth or inert government "leaders" who would rather legislate commonly held moral maxims than deal with serious, controversial problems?
While seemingly innocuous, the anti-porn bill is a symptom of an increasingly popular crusade for consensus at the cost of progress ÷ a flight to unanimity given voice in the oft-uttered phrase "united we stand. "That ethic, which has found fertile soil in a populace turned to zombies by the horror of Sept. 11, is a far greater threat to our prosperity than any employee surfing lewd web sites on his lunch break.
But to be more specific: Why shouldn't this bill have passed, let alone passed unanimously? First, legislation already exists to reprimand the personal use of government computers. More importantly, the law would make viewing pornography an infraction on par with showing up drunk for work ÷ the message being that libido is as intoxicating, and dangerous, as alcohol. The bill sends a clear message ÷ and not just to porn fans, but to everyone ÷ that the government is now in the business of institutionalizing morality.
More and more every day, we're being led down the primrose path toward a fundamentalist Christian state.
Caitlin Hall is a biochemistry and philosophy sophomore. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
The naked truth about the recent porn bill
The decision to pass a bill that would prohibit the viewing of pornographic material on university computers reeks of self-promoting politics. There is a UA rule already in existence that states that employees shouldn't use university resources for purposes that aren't in the interest of the university.
Is there a rampant volume of pornography being looked at over UA computers that the current rules are unable to regulate? Are there such huge problems at UA that state legislators are needed to step in and baby-sit? Of course not. But every couple of years, right around November, certain people in Arizona are looking for ways to remain employed. It wouldn't hurt if they were able to say that they supported a bill that the majority of voters would obviously be in favor of.
What the voters see is an important bill that supposedly supports their moral standards. What the voters don't see is the bill that should have been passed had the legislators not been wasting their time passing unneeded legislation.
Arizona may have problems with border issues, traffic issues throughout the larger cities and an education system that is hurting our future, but at least we have a bill being passed that resolves an issue that was never a problem.
Steve Campbell is a senior majoring in Spanish. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
Employees have moral obligation
Sexual predators are one of the many problems that Americans face. The advent of the Internet has made it easier for sleazeballs to circumvent the criminal justice system. As evidenced by high profile kidnapping and child pornography cases, punishment should be severe for everybody, including state employees caught looking at porn on state computers.
Regulating morality is a difficult concept to accept, though. There is a fine line between regulating morality and invading privacy. This bill is more concrete than the rule UA already has which states that employees shouldn't use university resources for purposes that aren't in the interest of the university. In essence, the bill tells UA employees whatever they do personally is their own business, but when you are on the job, you have a moral obligation to uphold. In the same way, it is fine for employees to go out at night and have a few beers, but if they come to work hammered, they're going to get fired.
There is nothing wrong with containing this sort of misbehavior.
But this is just another example of legislators skirting around less pressing issues when they should be doing something more important.
Like protecting borders and nuclear reactors for starters.
Bill Wetzel is a creative writing and political science junior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
Bill waste of time, shows lack of leadership
This anti-pornography bill was the result of poor judgment and a lack of leadership on the part of the Legislature. I do not, however, oppose this bill because it legislates morality. Indeed, nearly every law on the books has a deep-seeded moral value judgment. Yes, liberals have morals too, just a different set of morals than conservatives. If we didn't legislate based on moral values, then murder except in self-defense would not be against the law.
Our state community recognizes that it is inappropriate for state employees to be viewing porn on state computers on state time. However, our state Legislature has failed to demonstrate that there is a bigger epidemic of porn-viewing by state employees than children receiving substandard educations, seniors receiving inadequate health care and high unemployment across our state.
It was not legal for state employees to view porn at work before this bill had passed. While it may have been necessary to increase punishments, bills addressing less-than-acute problems should not be consuming our legislators' time when a serious budget crisis and other monumental issues plague our state.
Next time, the Legislature should save it until after they have approved a budget!
Kendrick Wilson is a political science sophomore. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
Workers should be free to have their porn
Arizona has passed a new law that prevents state employees from looking at pornography through state computers. We are turning into the same people we went to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. They don't even get to see their women's ankles, let alone see them in pornography. That's why they're celebrating today, not because they were liberated; heck no, it's because they know that now they can go to the market and buy a copy of Playboy without getting beheaded.
Pornography is a part of the fabric of society. Ask any good ol' American male what one of their memorable moments in their life was and they can tell you when they first discovered the treasure chest of porn ÷ then talked about it with his friends at school. Even girls like it; otherwise they wouldn't have their own market.
"Oh but it distracts state workers." Because state work sucks. In fact, all work sucks; that's why it's called work. People do many things to distract themselves from work. Smokers take a cigarette break, and Fortune 500 companies let their employees take 15-minute "power" naps. The purpose is to get your mind off work and give your brain a chance to refresh. Porn should be no different.
The next law they'll want to pass is to not allow cursing in a college newspaper ÷ well, fuck them.
Arnie Bermudez is an art education senior and assistant illustrations editor. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
Legislature needs cheaper way to waste its time
In some ways, I sympathize with state legislators. Composing budgets, planning program cuts and actually addressing the state's real problems must get awfully boring. The temptation to pack it in and compose a frivolous piece of puffery would be enormous. Every once in a while ÷ as in the case of the new porn law ÷ everyone has to succumb.
Passing legislation prohibiting the viewing of pornographic material in state workplaces may appear to have at least a veneer of substance. But make no mistake ÷ this is a frivolous law. No one thinks porn is appropriate in the work place, which is exactly why most state agencies have already established rules regulating it, as dozens of critics from President Likins to the Wildcat editorial board have already pointed out. The porn law simply adds another unnecessary layer of legalese on top of existing rules and laws.
In fact, the porn law is worse than frivolous ÷ by forcing the state's universities and other agencies to develop protocols to identify and prevent the viewing of dirty pictures, the Legislature is heaping yet another financial burden on already cash-strapped institutions.
In my home state of New Mexico, the Legislature also likes to pass silly laws establishing official state cookies or state questions. If Arizona legislators really need to waste time on silly laws, they might want to try something similar.
Phil Leckman is an anthropology graduate student. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
