The University of Notre Dame introduced an optional online filter on campus Wi-Fi for pornography and explicit content on Tuesday, April 14. In an email to students, Father Peter McCormick, C.S.C., Assistant Vice President for Campus Ministry, highlighted the importance of honoring the dignity of the human person, recognizing the “devastating reality” of the pornography industry’s connections to trafficking and exploitation.
In the letter, Fr. McCormick addressed the significant and growing prevalence of pornography on campus. He urged students to honor the dignity of others and to live chastely through personal discipline before giving a message of hope for students, offering the support of Campus Ministry—especially the option of a Wi-Fi pornography filter for students.
Students have led several unsuccessful campaigns for an explicit content filter in recent years. In 2018, Students for Child-Oriented Policy (SCOP) petitioned for a mandatory Wi-Fi filter, receiving over 2,400 signatures, more than 1,000 of which were from students. Though he declined this solution, then-president Father John Jenkins, C.S.C. explained that he would work towards implementing an “opt-in” system instead, allowing students to voluntarily sign up to have their campus Wi-Fi filtered.
In 2023, four hall senators, Ayden Ellis, John Soza, Bobby Spence, and Caroline Potts, proposed a resolution in the student senate with the purpose of “adding pornography sites to a list of banned websites on all campus Wi-Fi networks.”
During the senate meetings, students opposed to the resolution argued that the filter would limit student freedom and would “give the University more power to take things away from the Student Body.” One senator asserted that “there is value in the free will to choose not to watch porn instead of having someone else choose for you.”
Some students argued that banning Wi-Fi access to pornography would discriminate against students with limited data plans. Others objected to the precedent of “tying [justification for the bill] to the Catechism.” After extensive debate, the motion failed to pass in an 11-24 anonymous vote.
In 2025, SCOP created a new student petition for a ban after Fr. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. began his presidency. The petition garnered over 600 student signatures. Following the petition, conversations began between students and administrators that eventually led to the implementation of the opt-in filter.
Holy Cross College applied a pornography filter to their Wi-Fi in 2009, one of the first schools in the country to do so.
The university’s concern for sexually explicit content on campus is not new. The most recent iteration of the Responsible Use of Data & Information Technology Resources Policy from 2016 states, “When using Notre Dame’s information technology resources, users must … never use University resources to post, view, print, store, or send obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, or offensive material, except for officially approved, legitimate academic or University purposes.”
Following the 2018 petition, Paul Browne, former Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications, issued a statement via email to Crux, saying that the university “condemns and abhors” pornography as “an exploitative menace.”
“Our Office of Information Technology has the capacity to assist students in electing for filters on individual computers or phones,” the statement reads. “Notre Dame is happy to assist in that regard. However, we expect our students and others not to patronize pornographic sites in the first place.”
The university’s more active stance will engage several campus resources, including Campus Ministry, Residential Life, and Student Health and Wellness.
Fr. McCormick’s email began by recognizing the difficulties of chastity. He continued, “Addressing this struggle can sometimes be even more difficult than reforming the habit itself, which is why conversations about this topic must be grounded in hope.”
Fr. McCormick noted that the prevalence of explicit content in the digital age calls for greater pastoral support. “Unlike previous generations, you and your peers are no longer in deliberate pursuit of this content, which now enjoys greater prevalence, perceived anonymity, and a potent visual pull.” He continued, “For many of you, accessing pornography has turned into a habit that is particularly hard to break in an environment where the material is only just a few clicks away.”
He tied chastity into the Christian faith, invoking ascetic practices: “In the Christian tradition, we are invited to maintain a personal discipline in our embodiment of faith. Practices like fasting, prayer, and almsgiving serve to strengthen devotion, establish habits that are consistent with our goals, and aid in our identification of the greater purpose for our lives.”
In addition to its use as a practical tool for cultivating virtue, Fr. McCormick emphasized that the filter provides every student with an opportunity for self-reflection, writing, “I encourage you to consider why it might be a useful tool in your formation as you continue to grow into the person you hope to become both on and offline. Ask yourself: Where do I want to focus my attention? How do I want my desires to be shaped? And, perhaps most importantly, how can I honor the dignity of others even in the unseen spaces of the internet?”
The email recommended several counseling services and support groups like EthosND for students struggling with chastity and pornography, available through Campus Ministry and the University Counseling Center.
EthosND is a student-run organization dedicated to helping men grow in chastity. It offers fraternal support and accompaniment through small groups to “build a culture of strength, accountability, and spiritual resilience, empowering each man to live in alignment with his values and faith.” Although similar support groups have existed in the past for women through Magdala Ministries, no active women’s group currently exists on campus.
The email to students concluded, “I invite you to receive this message in the spirit it was intended: as a call for us to be our best selves, to honor the dignity of all, and to work together to create a more just and loving world.”
In an interview with the Rover, President Emeritus and current Vice President of SCOP, Theo Austin, whom Campus Ministry consulted for the letter, provided clarification for the purpose of the filter.
Though SCOP originally rejected the idea of an opt-in filter when it was first proposed, Austin explained the reason behind its later acceptance. He underscored the need to choose to honor the dignity of others, assisted by the university.
“The idea is that a mandate is only effective if the organization mandating it has total control, but because everyone has their own data provider, and you can just switch off the Wi-Fi, you can’t be helped unless you want to be helped. [This solution] is less concerned about a statement and more concerned about getting something that’s helpful to the students who would want it or choose it,” Austin said.
However, Austin also pointed out that the journey should not be made alone, and other tools used in conjunction with the filter would be most effective. He highlighted EthosND in particular, saying, “I hope that [the filter] can be a gateway to Ethos. I do think that Ethos is the more effective method of [growing in chastity] because every filter is only so good, and if you’re really looking for [porn], you’re gonna find it.”
Austin emphasized that Tuesday’s email is not the end of the journey towards honoring the dignity of others, both for individual students and the university’s support: “How do we get [the resources] brought up at the beginning of every year, so that every new set of students on campus hears about it, so that it’s not just some link buried somewhere? We’re going to try and put it on as many websites as possible, and then make its existence known every year.” He also mentioned the possibility of including the resources in RA training to spread awareness.
Austin also highlighted the opportunities already available at Notre Dame, saying, “You have guys who are willing to journey with you. You have priests accessible. You have confession four times a day. I think there’s a tendency, particularly with our generation, to put it off. But … especially with pornography, there’s an urgency to get out of this prison in college. Do it now.”
Freshman Aaron Stadelman expressed support for the filter in a comment to the Rover, saying, “It’ll guard you from temptation. You making an active choice of using [the filter] is a step forward in and of itself.” Stadelman also noted his appreciation for the filter being optional, saying, “You wouldn’t want the administration to encroach on your free will.”
Instructions to install the filter are available through a link in the email as well as on the EthosND website. The Office of Information and Technology will maintain and regulate the filter.
Henry Omanga is a freshman from Houston, Texas majoring in philosophy and psychology. You can reach him at homanga@nd.edu.