It’s no secret — people love pornography. However, some students and faculty members believe it can affect students’ lives in more ways than simply providing a few moments of short-lived pleasure.
According to a 2010 study conducted in part by University professor and chair of the Department of Political Science James Stoner, Internet users are frequently turning to pornography to satisfy their entertainment needs, with 11 percent of all Internet visits belonging to pornographic websites.
Stoner has done extensive research on the social costs of pornography. He said he believes porn is detrimental to society and has contributed to its sexualization.
“Pornography is often sold as ‘harmless’ entertainment; however, it is not harmless at all,” Stoner said. “Pornography can tear apart relationships because women aren’t comfortable with their significant other looking at other women in the way they are portrayed in pornography. It can also affect students’ performance in the classroom if they are actively watching pornography instead of doing classwork.”
Stoner said children grow up seeing sexual images on TV, then use the information they absorb to interact with others sexually in the future.
“Pornography is simply disinformation about sex,” Stoner said. “It can affect students’ sexual interactions in the future and make them abnormal from what sex should be.”
English sophomore Emily Guidry agrees with Stoner on several aspects but disagreed that all porn is bad.
“Clearly, using a University computer to watch porn is something students should avoid; that’s not what they are purchased to do,” Guidry said. “However, I am OK with students watching it in the privacy of their dorm. As long as it isn’t extreme I would be OK with my significant other watching porn.”
Guidry also agreed that extensive use of porn could affect students’ grades.
“Watching porn is exactly the same as watching a few hours of someone’s favorite TV show,” she said. “Anything you do that isn’t studying can certainly affect your grades, and I think pornography is one of those [things].”
The University has an official policy relating to use of explicit material, which states in part: “each user of computing resources shall not: utilize computing resources, including the Internet and/or e-mail, to…receive, or solicit sexually oriented messages or images or any other communication prohibited by law or other University directive.”
“[ITS does] not actively police the network specifically against pornographic traffic. We would certainly encourage students to stay away from those sites not only because of existing policy but because they too often contain malicious viruses,” IT Communications and Planning Officer Sheri Thompson said.
Even though this policy exists, University employees have been prosecuted in the past for use of University resources to access pornography.
The Daily Reveille reported in 2003 that University Relations employee Ron Brown had a collection of child pornography on his computer and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest.
Stoner said another case in the mid-’90s found a University employee with pornography on his computer.
Students are not exempt from this policy and have also been prosecuted in the past.
“In the two years and 10 months that I have been here, I have seen several cases of students getting in trouble for using porn,” said Jennie Stewart, assistant director for the Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability. “We don’t keep records of how many students have been charged, but pornography is something we have seen students get in trouble for.”
Stewart said punishment varies for each individual student.
 
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Contact Joshua Bergeron at [email protected]