Ever seen Milano naked?

I have. Her post. "Who's the " image was directly to my roommate's computer screen last spring courtesy of Harvard University.

And that's not several photos of one of those blond girls who used to be on "Baywatch." And extended, graphic scenes of hardcore . And of course, lots of Japanese (Yes, nude cartoon characters.)

I don't know too much about computers, but I'm beginning to appreciate the so-called information-highway thing that everyone's been talking about. "Internet" certainly has a nice ring to it.

Yet I surmise that when the University officials decided to wire all undergraduate housing to the Internet, they probably weren't envisioning erudite Harvard students sailing the seas of cyberspace sleaze.

Of course the Internet--a global data communication network--is an amazing resource for students who want to conduct research for classes or send electronic messages to friends around the world.

But underneath the silicon respectability resides a seedy underworld. And prim and proper Harvard has given all of us a free ride.

To access the Internet from your room, all that you need is an Ethernet card, which costs between $60 and $150 depending upon your computer's capabilities. And if you don't own a computer yourself, you can access Internet from free computers in the Science Center.

Several electronic bulletin boards available over the Internet are dedicated solely to the distribution of pornography. And the sexual photographs, short films and animation are all free for those willing to wait a few minutes to load the information onto a hard drive.

"Pornography is really easy to get because there are no real rules," confirms Jeff C. Tarr '96, co-founder of the student technology group Digitas. "Harvard has no restrictions...because it is all public information."

Yet, there may be some unfortunate bumps on the proverbial information highway. As The Crimson reported last week, a Harvard student was recently detained and questioned by University police for obtaining pornographic material over the Internet.

The naive student brought his personal computer into the Office of Information Technology (OIT) for repairs, and some of those meddling OIT engineers discovered pornography in one of his unsecured files.

After Harvard police finished harassing the poor kid, he was released and not charged. Clearly someone seems to think there's something wrong with partaking of the plethora of free pornography.

Yet the University already has the ability to deny students access to various unsavory "newsgroups," which contain the bulletin boards of porn. There are apparently no restrictions at the moment.

And Dean of the College I. Fred Jewett '57 says the Ad Board has never reviewed a case of Internet porn. With regard to future indiscretions, Jewett is vague. "If there are rules against it in general, clearly the University wouldn't allow it."

Yet, if the University is against students obtaining pornography from the Internet, officials should just eliminate access to those bulletin boards which offer the offensive material. Or, if the University continues to allow full access to the current 3,104 newsgroups carried by Harvard, then officials should ask the Harvard police to refrain from harassing students for actually taking some of the free information.

But I imagine that there won't be too many roadblocks on the way to the Internet's red light district. After all, Lamont Library carries back-issues of Playboy.

Brad Edward White's column appears on alternate Wednesdays.