In his spring letter to alumni, University of Chicago Law School Dean Saul Levmore made quite an interesting and bold announcement. In between construction updates and faculty change notifications, Dean Levmore announced that, starting this quarter, he would be shutting off all wireless and wired Internet connections, including cell phones with Internet access, in the Chicago Law School’s classroom wing.

While our initial reaction as students may be one of outrage or righteous indignation, few among us can deny having drifted off to the whimsical land of the World Wide Web while fighting to stay awake in an early morning IHUM lecture. Dean Levmore admits this weakness himself, saying that he too has caught himself glancing under the table at his Blackberry during staff meetings, something that brought around an assessment of his university’s policy concerning the issue.

Chicago is not the first school to implement this measure — numerous other law schools, along with other graduate and undergraduate programs, have taken steps to block Internet access in classrooms. There are already some Teaching Assistants and professors at Stanford that have a “no laptop” policy in their classes. Perhaps taking campus-wide action would not be such a bad idea here, but it would require careful deliberation.

In today’s hyper-connected world there is never a shortage of tasks, obligations, commitments or distractions available. From looking at finances to re-organizing Facebook groups, one can always find something to do online. Now, with the introduction of more Internet-capable phones into the general population, drifting away has never been easier. A simple click or a quick button press, and the lecture hall fades away and the clock speeds up — who could ask for more? But how often do we stop to consider the negative effects of such voluntary distractions?

Surfing the Web during class is not a victimless crime: beyond the more immediate personal distractions, people who browse the Internet during class can also be a distraction to those sitting around them without computers. It becomes exponentially more difficult to pay attention to the professor when one has a smorgasbord of computer screens to view in the surrounding seats. Turning to the left and reading the latest ESPN Draft article or tilting to the right and watching YouTube videos makes focusing on your trusty pen and paper just that much more difficult; the externalities of Internet usage in class are a very important consideration.

There is no denying that computers are an integral part of the modern collegiate education process. From note taking to presentation making, a laptop or desktop is absolutely indispensable in college. We don’t believe anyone would rationally be calling for the banning of computers from classrooms. The Internet, on the other hand, is an entirely different animal. There are, of course, always exceptions. Sometimes one needs to be both at a review session and writing a letter to a family member or an employer. For many a busy Stanford student, multi-tasking has become second nature. But just because it is “normal” does not make it a good idea.

Going to class without paying attention seems, at best, a little counter-productive. Are we really paying $30,000 plus in tuition fees annually in order to browse Facebook or write emails to our high school friends? Perhaps we do need a little more policing in order to, as Dean Levmore phrased it in his letter, “protect us from ourselves.”

The discussion of Internet usage and in-class distractions is a very pertinent topic. While the Editorial Board doesn’t believe that completely cutting off the Internet is the best possible answer, we do believe that everyone should be made more aware of the potential negative effects of constantly browsing the Internet during class.

We at Stanford believe in freedom of choice and allowing individuals to make the decisions they feel are best. This freedom, however, does not mean keeping quiet about potentially harmful choices or habits. Next time you have the temptation to click away your lecture boredom, consider that perhaps what the Professor is saying has been included in class for a reason and try to hold off on that very tempting escape.