A student in the library uses the word “Renoir” to do a computer search for a project. The French Impressionist painter’s name yields thousands of matches and the student must sift through a mass of material to find information relevant to his topic. At last, he finds a page he thinks will help him and clicks on the hyperlink. Suddenly, a yellow banner, with a watchdog logo and the words “Bess Can’t Go There,” flashes on the screen. The student has run into Old Town High School’s Internet filter.

Bess, the filter for the entire Old Town School System, has been in place for three years. Of the majority of students who use the Internet at school, nearly all have encountered Bess. When the filter blocks their access, students must either find other research tools or go without the information.

While students and faculty agree on the dangers of an unrestricted Internet, they disagree on what material should be screened and how it should be censored. The federal government’s quick fix has been Internet filters – third-party programs that screen incoming content based on a variety of criteria.

According to federal law, schools must institute Internet filters in order to receive certain funding. The regulation is specific: “Schools that receive either E-rate discounts or federal Title III funds for Internet connections and computers must install filtering or blocking technology that is designed to block materials that are obscene or harmful to minors.”

While the filters succeed in blocking certain Internet sites, the inefficiency is of primary concern. The most common type of filter blocks pages with offensive words, denying access to an entire server (including free sites such as Hotmail or GeoCities). Bess, for instance, often permits access to offensive content, but keeps appropriate material out. One student reported that he obtained information about purchasing guns in school, but was denied access to wrestling sites. Others tell horror stories of projects being ruined by Bess.

Though faculty members had little say in the decision to acquire the filter, many believe that Bess, despite its flaws, is the best safeguard available. The efficiency of filters is bound to improve with software advances, silencing many complaints about available programs.

Meanwhile, the student who is researching Renoir will have to find his information elsewhere and figure out how to finish his art project on time.

Student Union is written by students at Hampden Academy and Brewer, Old Town and Orono high schools. The weekly column is a joint effort among the schools, the Bangor Daily News and Acadia Hospital. This week’s column was written by Old Town High School’s writing team whose members also contribute to the school newspaper, The Screamer. Their adviser is Karen Marley.