Students poured out of the Class of 1945 Library on Wednesday after a computer network crash. For the fourth time in two weeks, “excessive pornographic downloading” clogged the Exeter community’s internet so severely that it shut down. The library is home to over forty desktop computers, each of which crashed simultaneously. Librarian Susan Daniels said, “I can’t believe these kids. We give them access to the internet so that they can study and use online sources – not so they can view such lewd and inappropriate material. They’re reminding me of my ex-husband.” David Burns ’08, who visits the library each evening to “do homework on the computer–alone,” is concerned with the school’s response. “I don’t think [the administration] understands the problem. Personally, I have a roommate so it’s difficult for me to find the time to view pornography in my dorm. But the library, with its dim lighting and high-speed connection, has been great.” Other students, including nearly every girl on campus, have a different opinion. “I think this whole thing is disgusting,” said Sarah James ’09. “I’m never touching a keyboard in the library again without wearing gloves,” she added. Library proctors noticed an unusual amount of pornographic material circulating in the library in the past few weeks, but did not think to report the activity. “I thought it at the normal levels,” said Roger Dawes, a 64 year-old Exeter resident who has been a proctor for nine years. “The game has changed with the advent of high-speed internet. Before, we used to find dirty magazines all over the place. Back in 1998, we even found an animated flip-book depicting two people engaging in intercourse. A waste of talent, if you ask me. But now, these kids can access pornography with a few clicks,” Dawes said. When asked in a recent Exonian survey if they had ever viewed pornography in the library, almost 40% of male students replied “Yes.” For the same question, over 50% of male students replied, “Yes! High five!” “Clearly, we have a problem on our hands,” Daniels said. The library will begin to attempt to limit pornographic viewing on the library internet in the next few weeks. “To get kids off of our network, we’ll be supplying them with pornographic DVDs that they can check-out and watch in their rooms. That way, we free-up the network and keep pervs out of the library,” Daniels said optimistically. “DVDs?” Burns responded to the news of the library’s initiative, “finally, a library resource I’ll use.” The Exeter Office of Technology released a report on Thursday that featured information concerning the most frequently visited sites in the library. Nearly all of the sites were pornographic. Mike Thompson, an assistant manager in the Office of Technology, wrote the report. Thompson said, “After carefully researching each site for hours and hours, I determined that they were, in fact, pornographic sites.”
