This week, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal the net neutrality rules established under the Obama administration. The once bipartisan mandate that all information on the internet should be treated equally was abolished with a party-line vote; the Republican appointees were in favor of the repeal. This happened in spite of the fact that a vast majority of Americans, including 3 in 4 Republicans, support net neutrality.

The Vanderbilt Hustler has an interest in preserving net neutrality. Without a fair online platform, internet service providers will be able to put giant corporations who can shell out the cash in ‘fast lanes’ and leave small publications, like the Hustler, out to dry. We can’t afford to pay Comcast to give our website the same bandwidth as the New York Times or Facebook.

In an online world where megaliths get served to consumers on a silver platter, independent content providers get screwed. We don’t have the money to force Verizon to treat us the same as bigger publications. So our pages will buffer. Our content will be harder to navigate to. You might even have to upgrade your internet service package to read the Hustler.

We’ll see y’all next semester. Hopefully, you’ll still be able to see us.