Argument On The Provision Of Cable Television On College Campuses

There is a Problem with Having Cable Television on College Campuses

Eleven o'clock on a Tuesday night, walking through the brightly lit halls, many doors wide open in a dormitory complex on the campus of Bowling Green State University, one can see that the only light that emerges from the open doors is the constantly changing illumination coming from television consoles. Passing from door to door, sounds such as sports cheers, gun shots, screams of people being slain, and moans of woman in ecstasy can be heard. Although many students have the time to watch the television, many of them don't. The televisions utter no words of mathematics or Biology. Because of this horrid "accommodation" provided by the college, the quality of students intellectually, morally, and physically has made a sudden turn for the worst. Some ignorant persons argue that cable television provides quality educational programs to students and helps them to cut lose after a hard day of studying, but the true harsh reality is that cable television, due to the vast amount of extremely worthless channels such as HBO, Cinnemax, and, of course, MTV, do nothing but discourage interpersonal relationships and association, provide a distraction, inspire sloth, and install thoughts of sex and violence into the easily malleable minds of students, especially younger freshman and sophomores living on campus.

Some people have views that cable television is beneficial to students. In this fictional scenario, one can see the arrival of the idea of cable television onto the campus of Bowling Green State University. The administrators while sitting around their monstrous finely polished eastern oak table in their soft reclinable chairs, smoking their illegally imported cigars, thought of what seemed to be en ingenious idea. They thought of a way to supposedly improve the learning environment of students. One idea can be speculated that stood out in their minds. An idea that could give their students an incredible edge over other students from some other schools, the idea could be none other than the introduction of cable television into every room on the campus of their fine university. To them, this would give students access to explore a vast amount of educational and informational channels such as Discovery, Life, CNN, Animal Planet, and Health. Disney would also be provided for the mentally challenged, playful at heart, student wanting to have fun learning multiplication tables from Mickey Mouse or Goofy. They thought that this idea would also help students to unwind after a long day of studying or be quite after a hard night of partying. This idea of providing cable television may have been done with good intention, but, in reality, there could not have been a worse idea. They could have just as easily and more cost efficiently painted a square picture on the wall that read, "Look at This for Four Hours if You're a Jackass." (A couple blunts and students would look all day and night just as long as the paint showed up in a black light.) There are many reasons why cable television is a terrible idea.

The provision of cable television discourages mostly new students from conversing with each other and forming relationships. Definitely not all, but many students, mostly younger ones (freshman and sophomore), are still adapting to college life. It can be hard for them to make the transition from being at home to living on a large campus such as Bowling Green State University. Some of the new students are often quite shy and find it hard to talk with some of their peers. They look to cable television as a way to avoid awkward situations that they are afraid that they might encounter.

Another reason why providing cable television on a college campus is a bad idea is that it provides a horrible distraction to college students. Instead of doing homework, they spend their time destroying their intellect looking at a square box not even remembering what happened two minutes beforehand. A BGSU student, Keith Piper, also known as "Viper," with notes in hand, staring at the television falling into a "television trance," managed to groggily slur this peculiar comment before trailing off into television delirium, "My intention is to do my homework but the TV distracts me. I never even look down at my notes. The TV is a drug. It is an addiction. My addiction. It beckons me. It controls me. I can't turn it off. I am its servantÐ'..." The rest of the statement was to unintelligible to be put into a quote form. This was yet another victim of the "television fixation," not completely the fault of cable television, but the combination, along with the propensity of many college students to fall into these mindless television trances, is definitely part of the problem. These two variables make for a bad outcome. Can we let this imminent problem of television fixation, brought about by cable, bestow unyielding damage to the minds of more innocent young campus residents. Something needs to be done fast, or will others face the same fate of poor Keith Piper? God rest his mind and physical health.

The physical and mental health of campus living students is also affected by the provision of cable television. The physical health of the average college student is another thing that is at risk by an excessive amount of attention paid to the television. The impact that the television has on discouraging physical activity on a college campus is another major problem that has been brought about by the coming of cable television.