The Stevens network is once again preventing access to several categories of websites, including ‘questionable’ sites such as 4chan.org, ‘abused-drugs’ sites such as leafly.com, and ‘extremism’ sites such as BestGore.com. There are also several websites that do not have an identified category but which still are not reachable from the campus network, including the website of Victoria’s Secret and “gay dating site” Adam4Adam.
Some websites that seemingly fit the blocked categories are not blocked, such as Cakeboy Magazine.
These websites were previously blocked by the Skyline Wi-Fi network after its creation. The blocks were removed after The Stute reached out to the Stevens Division of Information Technology for comment regarding them.
On the pre-hack ‘Stevens’ Wi-Fi network and on the current network since mid-September, students were given the freedom to explore the deepest, darkest realms the internet has to offer.
As The Stute previously reported, many blocked websites are not known to be vectors for malware. Websites such as Victoria’s Secret provide legitimate services to students — it is unclear why students are being disallowed to view websites such as these.
In response to The Stute‘s previous article, Director of Public Relations Thania Benios said that the post-hack website blocks were “a temporary measure only in order to get secured operations up and running.” It is unclear why the blocks were reinstated, as no announcement has been made clarifying this, and Benios’ remarks seem to directly contradict the ongoing block status. Benios and other members of the Stevens administration have not responded to The Stute‘s requests for comment.
Several students have expressed misgivings about the return of the website bans. One student noted that several of the discovered blocked websites seem to specifically inconvenience women and members of the LGBTQ community. Another student reiterated concerns from September about the negative impact this will have on university research, as researchers will now once again have to travel off-campus to cite community resources such as Leafly.
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