No one wants to make the world a crappy place... It's that I don't want fanatic nutjobs trying to control my life with their made-up mumbo-jumbo. That goes for you on BOTH sides of the argument.

It gets hairy here, because while they can't control what you do, they can control if it's on company equipment. For example, at my company our laptops won't connect to the internet unless through the company VPN, (TGF BT3 USB) which means they monitor and act on the information you exchange. I know plenty of people who've been dismissed for improper use of company equipment, regardless of it being onsite or at home. The bigger issue is ownership of the machines - if the students get to buy them at the end, don't they own them (or are at least renting them?). I'm in favor of not censoring the usage anywhere - just make sure the students are using the machines in public with a responsible adult present.