Last week several UNCW students living on-campus had their internet service disconnected for illegally sharing music files over the internet. As the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has begun cracking down on file-sharing the number of complaints UNCW has received in the past year has increased significantly.

Jennifer Allen, who lives in the on-campus suites, was one of the students who were reprimanded for sharing files. “I was given a warning and had to remove the program and the files from my computer,” said Allen.

There is no follow-up inspection to ensure the deletion of all necessary files from the computer, but as of yet no student has violated the policy twice. If such an infraction were to occur the student would face judicial action by the university.

According to Jennie Royal, Assistant Dean of Students, the purpose of meeting with students is to inform them that what they are doing is in fact illegal and to protect the legal interests of both the student and the university. However, the meeting itself does not absolve either from legal action.

The students who were reprimanded for file sharing range from those who thought that they were outsmarting the system, to those who did not know that sharing music files was illegal. Most were surprised to find out that they were not only in trouble for downloading, but for allowing their own files to be downloaded by others.

Letters of notification sent to UNCW by the RIAA identify the user, the file downloaded, the time it occurred and the IP address. The letter also recommends that students review the website www.musicunited.org, which contains detailed and comprehensive information about copyright law.

“We would strongly encourage students to review the website to make themselves more aware of the law and to avoid legal and/or university judicial action,” said Royal.

Regardless of the law many students will continue to illegally download music off the internet.

In efforts to curb this practice on campus, as well as recognizing the educational value of such access, several universities within the UNC system are experimenting with different providers to enable students to download music legally. UNCW has partnered with Cdigix.

“As of now, for the rest of the semester students living in the residence halls can download music for free through Cdigix,” said Sean Ahlum, Adminsitrative Assistant of Housing and Residence Life.

According to Ahlum, there has been a very positive response from students living in the residence halls who have registered through CDigix.