Internet Use Greater With 24-7 Access

The 2012-2013 school year saw the implementa- tion of 24-hour student Internet access, setting last year’s proposal into action and marking the beginning of a more lenient Internet policy for Phillips Exeter Academy.Prior to this school year, students were faced with an internet shut-off time of 11 p.m. on weekdays and 1 a.m. on Saturday nights.Once the new Internet proposal was passed and implemented, internet usage has generally increased, ac- cording to Informational Technology Services.“We do see a difference in usage patterns for the Internet since we eliminated the curfew,” Director of Information Technology Services Diane Fandrich said. “Usage is fairly steady during study hours and continues through until about midnight when we see a gradual de- crease that bottoms out around 2:30 a.m. Activity picks back up around 6:30 a.m.”Many students welcomed the 24-hour internet ac- cess, citing many reasons to view it in positive light.“There are so many assignments that require us to use the internet, so when 24-hour internet passed, it took a lot of stress off, knowing that the internet wasn’t just going to shut off,” senior Angela Lei said. “I had 24-hour internet because I had a Wi-Fi hotspot from Verizon, so I thought it would only be fair to have 24-hour internet for the entire Exeter community and that people wouldn’t have to resort to buying their own internet.”Upper Megan Do agreed. “This year, 24-hour inter- net has been extremely helpful, especially with research for U.S. history, so I’m glad that this policy was finally put through for my upper year,” she said. “Ultimately, it is just much more convenient to have 24-hour internetnd have the ability to look something up if I do get confused, rather than being blocked from it until the next morning.”

While most students responded well to their new around-the-clock Internet access, some still had concerns regarding the negative effects that the change might bring on.“I think it’s the right step, but you can’t really enforce ‘lights out’with preps and lowers because the internet is there,” upper Lloyd Feng said. “There is an incentive for them to stay up late now.”In response to concerns such as those brought up by Feng, many faculty members affiliated with dorms believed that while 24-hour internet might be a better policy for students, there have been neutral or no noticeable changes to students and their patterns of behavior regarding internet usage.“My position is that it has had no noticeable im- pact on students’ sleep habits or study habits. People who tend to stay up late still do it, and people who weren’t, still don’t,” Webster North dorm head Giorgio Secondi said. “I assess it as a largely neutral change.”Director of Studies and Dutch House dorm fac- ulty Laura Marshall agreed. “I live in a small house, and I have noticed no changes in behavior in our house

due to 24-hour access.”Other than the primary academic concerns that24-hour student internet access resolved, lower Fran- cis Lee believed that the new internet policy, in turn, provided him with a renewed sense of responsibility and time management.“I think that it wasn't a bad change because it al- lowed me to sort of pace myself in doing work in the evening,” Lee said. “It gave me more luxury in terms of time that I can use the internet, which was nice.”The largest factor that most faculty members have identified as the main reason behind the minimal change in students’ behavioral patterns is the fact that even before the official change to open up internet for 24-hour usage, students have selectively had vari- ous ways to access the internet using non-Academy internet and devices.“I think part of what we realized is that many students already had 24 -hour internet access because of smartphones, iPhones, and other hotspot Wi-Fi devices,” Director of StudentActivities and Hoyt Hall dorm faculty Joanna Lembo said.

Dean of Students Melissa Mischke agreed. “Ac- cess is out there 24/7, and the change was inevitable. It seemed ridiculous to restrict our internet while a good number of people could get on it anyways.”