Notre Dame may be on the verge of blocking access to porn on its Indiana campus.
When I was a student at Notre Dame in 2019, I met with the then President, Pastor John Jenkins, and urged him to adopt a campus-wide porn filter. Our student-led campaign has attracted thousands of signatures and attracted national media attention, including reports from Newsweek, Daily Beastand ABC’s “Night Line. ”
Notre Dame has more reason to chase student leads, as major companies are keeping their distance from the porn industry.
I explained to Father Jenkins, a beneficial priest in the Congregation of the Holy Cross, how porn burns trafficking of women and children. However, he seemed more concerned about avoiding attempts to control the behavior of male students watching porn. His argument? That blocking porn is to steal students from the opportunity to build self-control.
Six years later, the discussion feels even less contacted. Today, the growing consensus recognizes pornography not as a harmless personal evil, but as a driving force behind child sexual exploitation and female trafficking. That too Bad for the brain.
That change in understanding occurs when a new generation of Notre Dame students begin another effort to persuade the university to act. Last month, students introduced a petition urging the university president to “take immediate action to promote a campus without porn.” According to Irish Rover, a conservative student newspaper, Over 600 students You have already signed the petition. This is an impressive show at the university with around 9,000 undergraduates.
“You’re infected with rape video”
Public opinion has changed in recent years thanks to some of the groundbreaking 2020 New York Times articles by columnist Nicholas Christophe.Porn Hub kids. In it, Kristof documented how Pornhub collects “child rape, vengeance porn, spy cam videos in a woman’s shower, racist and misogyny content, and footage of women choking in plastic bags.
Kristof’s column shared the story of a young woman who gained profits when abused as a child was filmed and abused from one of the world’s most powerful porn websites. Kristof subtly concluded that the porn hub had “rape videos being infiltrated.”
The world of corporates has been attracting attention. In response to Kristof’s public, MasterCard, Visa, and discovering everything I blocked payments to Pornhub To avoid responsibility that allows for child sexual abuse. Under pressure, the pornhub announced New Age Verification Policy last year. However, the majority of porn websites still do not need such protective measures. Child sexual abuse material is ramped across “mainstream” platforms.
Notre Dame has more reason to chase student leads, as major companies are keeping their distance from the porn industry. Other Catholic institutions already have it.
It was inspired by the 2019 initiative at Notre Dame. Passed the student government’s resolution Ask your administrator to “prohibit access to the top 200 porn websites through the campus network.” President John Garvey agreed I respected the request. Franciscan University and Christian World in Steubenville are also universities. Keep similar porn filters.
Overcoming resistance
Now, new leadership at Notre Dame has improved the likelihood of actual action. Rev. Robert Dowd became university president in June.
When I was a student, I had the privilege of learning from Father Dowd. Unlike professors who treat students as exchangeable, Father Dowd made time to meet everyone individually. His compassion was not limited to the classroom – he also founded Ford Program in Human Development Research and Solidaritysupports research aimed at reducing poverty in developing countries. Opposing child sexual exploitation would be perfectly consistent with both his academic and moral commitments.
However, Father Dowd faces institutional resistance. Some administrators fear blocking porn may look provincial Notre Dame. Others worry that filters may in some way hinder academic freedom.
Neither fear is groundless.
Firstly, Notre Dame can lead the country by taking it A principle stand against an industry that promotes exploitation and abuse. Second, academic freedom can be preserved in basic accommodations. If a faculty or student needs access to porn for legitimate research, they can ask Notre Dame IT department to lift a filter for their account.
And technical hurdles? It’s minimal. John Gorseman, former Vice President of Information Technology at Notre Dame, is a student with a child-oriented policy. Installing the filter “It’s technically difficult or cost-free.”
I hope Father Dowd listens to today’s students and takes meaningful action against the evils perpetuated by the porn industry.
It ends where I started. In 2019, when Father Jenkins rejected our request; I said this:
Porn spreads sexual assault, contributes to the objectification of women, and advances the sexual exploitation of children. Instead, we invite Notre Dame to stand as a women and children champion by enforcing the university’s official policy against the use of porn on campus Wi-Fi networks.
The call is still waiting for a response. Now is the time.
