“L
awmakers and Latinx student activists today called for Comcast to provide affordable internet to more families, saying nearly half of Baltimore’s students lack WiFi and can’t learn from home.
“Every morning our family has to decide who gets to use internet,” said Kimberly Vasquez, a student organizer with SOMOS, a student group at Baltimore City College, at a press conference and rally outside of City Hall.
In a letter sent to Comcast last week co-signed by more than 100 individuals and organizations, SOMOS students said they recognized Comcast’s efforts to increase internet access in Baltimore, one of the country’s least-connected big cities.
But leaving any student unconnected is unacceptable, they wrote. “Baltimore City’s young people are being denied their human right to learn and work, We believe this crisis demands more of all of us.”
SOMOS, which stands for Students Organizing a Multicultural and Open Society, made three demands: faster internet for families on Internet Essentials, a longer period of free internet for those families, and more free WiFi hotspots.”