IS ACCESS TO INFORMATION A RIGHT?

Ever since COVID-19 has hit the country, a lot of us have imposed social isolation on ourselves, for fear of catching and spreading the virus. And since Oregon Gov. Kate Brown put heavy restrictions on non-essential, public socializing, we’re essentially confined to our homes.

A stay-at-home order is completely new to most of us, unless we often work from home. Still, it’s interesting to be left to our devices – that is, unless we don’t have one.

Sure, a lot of people now at home are either binge watching Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and so on, or playing video games such as “Call of Duty” or “Animal Crossing” – and if you’re student, getting up to date on your online classes. All of these come down to one finite thing: the internet.

At this point in history, we’re more reliant on the internet than any other service. But the internet is not free. To take part you have to buy into one of the many phone/provider companies’ services that is best suited for your area. Depending the quality of the internet service you choose and where you live, it can be very expensive.

Schools and counties have sufficient resources for access to the internet, for public and school libraries, etc. – and for the most part, those resources have allowed us to avoid confronting the larger issue of online accessibility.

But for some public institutions, such as libraries, to close down, and others, including colleges and universities, to move entire online – we’re still not adequately addressing the unresolved issues associated with the “universal solution of putting everything online.”

On Wednesday, April 15, Brown announced at a press conference that all Oregon K-12 public schools will be closed for the rest of this academic year. High school seniors who had passing grades before the pandemic arrived will receive a passing grade for their courses and will graduate. So, where does that leave students who did not have passing grades? According to Brown, those who were not on track to graduate will be paired with educators in their district through the Oregon Department of Education, and will have until August to meet graduation requirements.

Like Oregon, most all the other states have closed public schools. Also like Oregon, they have provided links to educational activities for parents to do with their children at home. However, those households who do not have access to the internet will not be able to take advantage of those resources. This setback might even put some students at a disadvantage continuing into the next school year, especially high school seniors who hope to enter college in 2021.

Meanwhile, this term college students are either taking online classes or taking a break from classes altogether. It isn’t entirely unlikely that some of those taking a break just do not have the resources, such as internet access, to take online classes. Internet access is something that it is easy to take for granted; not having it puts people at a serious disadvantage in today’s society.

School is essential and the learning experience, no matter what grade level, needs to be nurtured. Our government is quick to issue bailouts to large corporations and companies that are most affected by social isolation restrictions, but it seems like the welfare of the American people are an afterthought.

Discussion of internet access as a right for all people is not a new argument. In recent decades it has been called into question dozens of times. However, this pandemic has shown just how necessary that discussion is. Is there a program that could be created by the government to work with internet providers to serve low-income citizens? If not, why not? Access to information and education is a right that all people should possess.

The biggest issue this pandemic has exposed in the United States is the widening gap between social/wealth classes. People who could barely afford to live in America before the pandemic are feeling the worst of it. Hopefully a lack of access to the internet will not lead to major setbacks for anyone who was already struggling in the first place – never mind the fact they can’t watch “Tiger King” or reruns of “The Office.”