Equitable Access of Technology for Students

 Unfortunately, not every student has reliable access to technology. Unfortunately, this is the result of our country’s crumbling infrastructure. Due to certain people in Washington not wanting to vote on bills that would improve our infrastructure (I’m looking at you GOP and Joe Manchin) improvements on infrastructure are falling behind. Now, this is nothing new. But now that the Democrats control both the House and the Senate for the first time in years, you would think that the Democrats (and Bernie and Angus King, who caucus with the Democrats anyways) would band together and pass the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill that would be sure to improve our infrastructure. That, however, is not the point of this discussion. The point of this discussion is to argue for equitable access of technology to students.

Now, every student should have the same opportunities. They should all be able to compete in the same sports, join the same clubs, and have access to the same resources as other students across the country. However, this is not the case. About 51% of students surveyed in a 2020 poll say that they lack reliable access to high-speed internet at their house. And a lot of students in rural parts of the country do not have personal computers that they either bring from home or that the district provides for them. And with the world continuously moving towards the digital age (i.e., meaning that more and more things are going onto the global space and moving away from traditional forms of media such as print media and linear broadcasting) those students that do not access to these resources will unfortunately be left behind. And if those students are left behind, then our whole country will be affected. Reason being is that if those students will be affected, then our country’s productivity will decrease, and those companies that pay high paying factory jobs, such as Boeing and BMW, they will potentially move out of the country, and these students will not have the same opportunities that you and I have. Now, I know this may seem a bit hyperbolic, but that’s only because that that is a very real possibility. Is it likely to happen? Probably not. But could it happen, especially if we don’t give every student the same opportunities and equitable access to technology? Absolutely.