While some universities are forwarding settlement letters from the Recording Industry Association of America to its students for illegally downloading music, others are offering filesharing programs to spare students the risk of facing a lawsuit.
Bentley College began providing filesharing program Napster to its students in fall 2005, said Bentley Student Government Association President Mike Caliva. In its first year, the college funded the Napster subscription, and after the program’s initial success, the student government began funding the next year’s subscription through a student activity fee.
Napster is now used by 60 percent of Bentley students, said Bentley IT Client Services Director Jonathan Everett.
“I commend the administration for offering a solution with Napster and not just blocking off our connection and saying, ‘Tough luck,'” said Caliva, a Bentley junior.
Bentley also has a firewall system that prevents students from illegal peer-to-peer filesharing, Everett said. When students are caught sharing files, they are removed from the college network for about 10 minutes, and the school logs their illegal actions.
“There is a computing code of ethics that every student signs,” Everett said. “I couldn’t say we’ve eradicated illegal filesharing completely, but we’re headed in the right direction.”
In fall 2006, the University of Washington began providing Cdigix, a free legal downloading program, to students. Its agreement with the university will end June 1 because the company is leaving the business, said Washington Computing and Communications Senior Manager Daniel Duffy.
“Looking at the marketplace again, there are no companies left that really provide a university service,” Duffy said.
Boston University, however, has no plans to provide students with such programs, said Information Technology Consulting Services Director Jim Stone.
“Our view is that if students want music, there are legal ways to get it,” he said, “but that’s up to the students to decide. The RIAA is showing no signs of going away or giving up, so don’t put yourself at risk.”
BU recently forwarded 46 students letters from the RIAA offering out-of-court settlements of about $3,000 for illegal filesharing.