On March 13, the House of Representatives passed a bill banning TikTok from American devices. This was, in their eyes, meant to help protect American citizens from influences and spying happening overseas. However, suddenly and without warning, the House has begun to pass numerous other bills banning many other apps all over the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Including in this recent wave of bans includes our very own Canvas. Starting next week, all devices registered in the United States, including phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, etc., will have Canvas removed from them by a federal agent. This process will hopefully go without a hitch, and hopefully, they will ask nicely to see our devices however, no promises. This decision though comes due to the Canvas just seeming too suspicious, and mainly due to their lobbyists not paying enough to keep the attention of Congress. The House claims that due to Canvas having supporting features to zoom and other apps that they are all connected, as well as something about it connecting to the Wi-Fi and how that means it takes information or something.
When asking around campus how they felt about this new information, most had no idea what we were talking about. However, here are a few responses that we managed to get.
“I don’t want to use Schoology again,” said Madison Stewart, a third-year engineering student.
Luckily for all of you who are worrying about the same thing, the College will not require us to change what software we use. Instead, students will be instructed to use something called “paper and pencil” again. Some professors are enjoying this change as they realize they will not have to change and learn how to use a computer after all. The College is also preparing all the old scantron machines in preparation for the hundreds of tests that will need to be graded now.
“This ban has honestly made me feel a mix of conflicting emotions. One side of me is deeply saddened by the loss of my silly little video app. On the other hand, I will happily say goodbye to Canvas. Since we don’t have it, now it brings the question of what resource we will use going forward. I say we should just stop doing assignments all together. That’ll help my mental health,” said Stephanie Motz, a third-year year Computer Science student.
Sadly, for this student and many others, as stated above, assignments will not be forgiven or dismissed. Since we no longer have access to these apps anymore, like TikTok, we should have plenty of time to do our work and make our handwriting neat once again.
Looking forward now, the school will be issuing us some school supplies to get us started. So, check your mailboxes for some pencils and paper, and hey, maybe even one of those pens that has a bunch of different colors.
