Be honest. You’ve downloaded dozens of MP3s while using Fairfield’s network and you’ve stressed because you don’t know what the consequences are for grabbing unpaid music while on campus.
“I usually don’t feel comfortable doing it, but I still do it occasionally,” said Chris Martin ’07. “I just don’t want to get in trouble.”
When does Computer Networking Services intervene?
Unless students are downloading a “tremendous” amount of music, they will not be targeted as abusers of the network, according to Diane Daines, desktop support manager of CNS. CNS does not have the staff, resources, or responsibility to monitor all students’ computer network activities on campus, she said.
According to Daines, CNS has the responsibility to restrict individuals’ use of the network if there is a potential to endanger the stability and operation of the network.
Even though CNS does not have the jurisdiction to impose penalties upon students, a student could face judicial punishment because downloading or obtaining copyrighted material is illegal and against the university’s Acceptable Use Policy.
“If a serious problem developed as a result of downloading music or other software, then we would deal with it, most likely by terminating the offending individual’s access to university computing and network resources,” said Dean of Students Mark Reed.
Although CNS has the ability to redirect students’ machines that are vulnerable and possibly harmful to the network’s operation, it is difficult for the department to identify individualstudents who download music. Without detailed monitoring of computing activities, Daines said that it is unlikely that a specific student could be targeted.
Some students download worry free.
“I download music and I don’t think I’m going to be caught because you need to download a great number of songs in order to be caught,” said Eddie Papa ’06. “Most of my friends download music and don’t worry about getting into trouble.”
Because some universities are restrictive, their students find ways to play MP3’s without downloading them.
“We have had students punished for downloading material so a lot of students are starting to use iTunes,” said Alison Haley, a sophomore at Wake Forest.
iTunes is a program that allows students to play media files on campus networks, but not download them. They also tend not to be corrupt files that students often get from outside downloading services like Kazaa.
Although some students have resorted to simply playing music files, many still want to download them. University of Connecticut student and Kazaa user Meg Gannon ’06 said, “It’s not like students are just going to stop downloading music. They’re going to get around the universities’ restrictions.”
Fairfield students “get around restrictions” just like their friends in other universities by using peer-to-peer networking to share MP3 files. A popular program used to share files is Ares.
“I love it. I have 500 songs, and I get them so quickly,” said Caitlin Ledwith ’07.
However, it is a violation of Fairfield’s Acceptable Use Policy for students to distribute any music, whether bought or illegally downloaded.
Many universities are contemplating allowing their students to download music legally – for a price. At the end of the year, the student would be billed for how many licensed songs he or she downloaded, and the university would pay the digital music providers.
“Not that I am worried about downloading music illegally, but if a reliable service was provided at a reasonable price at Fairfield, I would be interested,” said Will Yost ’06. “Maybe I’d download a few songs if the service was guaranteed not to mess up my computer or get me in trouble.”
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