To many, the Internet is a plenitude of information that links us to faraway places we otherwise wouldn’t have visited. But to the Iowa Legislature, telephone company profit concerns seem more important than education for college students in Iowa.

A 35-14 vote passed the Senate version of the “Internet bill” on March 25. The Iowa House passed its bill on April 10 with a 58-36.

The bill, which now rests in Governor Branstad’s hands, would charge students and faculty for dialing up computer access from off-campus locations. The bill would not affect computer access on campus, including the residence halls and other campus computer labs.

Currently, students and faculty do not pay for Internet access if they are surfing the Net off-campus because the Iowa Communications Network provides the service for free.

But the free access may change if Branstad gives his John Hancock to the bill. His press secretary, Eric Woolson, said last week that the governor hadn’t decided whether to sign the bill. Branstad is a vocal supporter of the ICN and its activities.

I hope, Branstad will veto the bill to keep someone else from nickel-and-diming college students to death.

The idea was introduced after phone companies that provide internet access voiced concerns that the state-owned ICN is competing with private companies by providing the free service, thus, taking away some telephone company profits. Legislators listened to the phone companies, but it seems as if student outcries against the bill have been crushed.

Quite a bit of the bill’s action has taken place since February and March, but legislators didn’t have anything to say about it until it was passed by the House on April 10. The public, including the students the bill would affect, was uninformed. Perhaps some blame can be placed on legislators, perhaps some can be on the media.

The only newspaper with up-to-the-minute story about the House passage of the bill was the University of Iowa’s student newspaper. But that paper only heard about it because its legislators told them about it. The Associated Press, an organization that has a reporter sit in legislative sessions, didn’t have any reports the following day. Ironically, the Daily found out about the bill when we were surfing the Internet.

The legislator that talked to the U of I newspaper was smart to do so. None of the senators or representatives for the Ames community even brought the issue to light for the Daily. I understand that one of the duties of the press is to report on the inner-workings of government and the media shouldn’t rely on those government officials for information; instead, we have the responsibility to find some of that information on our own. However, Ames legislators should have said something to the Iowa State community.

Even if representatives voting against the bill thought they had to chance to win their cause, rallying student voices to object against the bill may have prevented the bill from getting to this stage. Perhaps one of the chambers wouldn’t have passed the bill. Some students did organize, but only after it was reported. These organized voices worked hard, but it was almost too late.

Now the bill is sitting on the governor’s desk, waiting for either a yea or a nay. If the governor vetos, students will be able to access the Internet with no obstructions. If the bill is signed, students and faculty will have to dial up and pay for it.

What is so disturbing about this issue is that the Internet is continually dubbed the Information Superhighway. For many of us, the Internet and other services are ways we get class notes and research material for college courses.

If college is supposed to be educationally enlightening, it needs to do so with technology. The Internet and education are integrated. Separating the two, or creating any gates to access, is only going to decrease the quality of education for Iowa State students.

Erin Payne is a junior in journalism and mass communication and political science from Rock Rapids.