Electronic Comment Filing System

Julius Genachowski Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St SW Washington, D.C. 20554 cc: Commissioner Michael Copps Commissioner Robert McDowell Commission Mignon Clyburn Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker December 8, 2010 Dear Chairman Genachowski: This letter came together when a group of over 100 students visited Washington, DC for a week-long educational experience. The program brings students from around the country to learn about government policy making and current events. This letter is the result of a seminar on media issues and the Internet. After they learned about the issue, the students created the following comments about why the FCC must assert its authority to create strong Open Internet rules. We are students who are very concerned about the future of the Internet. We need an open Internet to explore educational opportunities and democratic values. Gatekeepers of Internet content will harm our ability to freely explore all of the information the Internet has to offer and stifle innovation of new products on the web. We urge you to exercise the FCCâ??s authority and adopt rules protecting the open Internet. The Internet is important to students because it is an integral part of the education process, laying the foundation of our future. Education is time consuming, students shouldnâ??t spend time worrying about how to find access and if they will be able to access the content or applications they are seeking. Many educational materials are increasingly moving online; classes, research information and homework. Timely news information is important for understanding the world and can be most easily accessed online. Streaming video and live chat are utilized to learn and experience education in ways previously not possible. Communication between teachers and other students is very often web based and necessary to complete assignments. Using the Internet to communicate and learn reduces our environmental impact by reducing our need for paper. Please donâ??t allow corporations to be gatekeepers by taking away our freedom to access content on the web or allow them to stifle speech. People shouldnâ??t be concerned with finding alternative ways to access the content they want. An open Internet is about our freedom to communicate and learn. Applications, specifically Skype and VoIP, are the only affordable means for some families to communicate, including currently serving American military. Students across the country need an open Internet to pursue their education, learn, and communicate. Changes to the open Internet could severely impact our education if corporate gatekeepers are not made to operate under rules. We urge the FCC to protect the Open Internet. Sincerely, Taylor Davis, Ennis, MT 59729 Nico Perez, San Francisco, CA 94118 Joshua Siu, San Francisco, CA 94131 Tanner Northros, Ennis, MT 59729 Sean Donovan, San Francisco, CA 94127 Chris Megenbier, Chicago, IL 60160 William Noorlag, Chicago, IL 60126 Jessica Cuddiny, San Francisco, CA 94127 Julie Schabarker, Ennis, MT 59729 Ben DiIorio, Ennis, MT 59729 Jordan Largent, Kaycee, WY 82639 TJ Trussell, Henefer, UT 84033 Lily Simon, Kaycee, NY 82639 Matt Johnerson, Ennis, MT 59729 Lorena Perez, Houston, TX 77020 Elizabeth Herrera, Houston, TX 77020 Nicholas Saenz, Houston, TX 77017 Jade Riddle, Kaycee, WY 82639 Amy Bristow,` Coalville, UT 84017 Jacob Winters, New York, NY 10027 Michelle Dig, Houston, TX 77020 Katie Wu, San Francisco, CA 94122 Alejandra Rodriguez, Houston, TX 77013 Aidan Fitzsimon, San Francisco, CA 94116 Ben Lloyd, San Francisco, CA 94112 Nick Repetto, Pacificia, CA 94044 Genesis Zarasua, Houston, TX 77521 Alexandra Warlen, San Francisco, CA 94107 Nicholas Warlen, San Francisco, CA 94107 Marissa Garcia, Houston, TX 77011 Angela Chack, San Francisco, CA 94112 Elber Reyes, Houston, Tx 77086 Allessandro Cretella, New York, NY 10011 Maggie Dagrosa, New York, NY 11231 Dallan Rees, Henefer, UT 84033 Tori Durham, Ennis, MT 59729 Haley Konen, Ennis, MT 59729 Alli Minnick, San Francisco, CA 94132 Dina Giannini, San Francisco, CA 94112 Nyereie Thornton, Houston, TX 77061 Tamar Awarenga, Houston, TX 77020 Dylan Ryan, Ennis, MT 59729 Francisco Corrales, St. Louis, MO 63118 David Gentilini, St. Louis, MO 63123 Robert Gates, St. Louis, MO 63118 Alex Pratzon, New York, NY 10009 Brylee Streeter, Kaycee, Wy 82639 Megan Barney, Ennis, MT 57929 Britnee Bauman, St. Louis, MO 63129 Kelsey Tacchi, St. Louis, MO 63136 Brenda Salvador, Houston, TX 77093 Chassidy Smith, Houston, TX 77536 Matthew Brown, New York, NY 11220 Marcos Montalvo, Houston , TX 77061 Rebecca Loredo, Houston, TX 77098 Matt Griffiths, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Fiona Evans, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Anya Opshinsky, New York, NY 10025 David Copeland-Loredo, Houston, TX 77502 To reach the above students, please contact Rachel Colyer, Organizing and Communications Manager, at the Media and Democracy Coalition for additional information. rcolyer@media- democracy.net.