Friday, April 6, 2007 New RIAA crackdown aimed at college students By Joshua Lane student life editor The Recording Industry Association of America RIAA, in its long and won derful history of suing everyday citi zens for the past four years, has once again opened up its legal department and decided to start filing suits. Only this time, those suits are aimed specifi cally at you. It's no secret that the RIAA has been narrowing their hunt at college kids for illegal downloading and file sharing, but this time they have decided to take the next step. They have chose to aim their guns at the colleges them selves. College students have long been in the crosshairs of the RIAA, and some would say it's for a good reason. A 2006 survey by the Student Monitor claims that more than half of all college stu dents participate in illegal downloading and college students were responsible for over one billion illegal music down loads in 2006 alone. The RIAA calls this amount of file sharing and unacceptable The next wave in the RIAA crackdown involves mass mailing university presidents and asking for their cooperation in the ongoing fight against illegal downloading. The RIAA is also sending what they call pre litigation letters to students, effectively hulls Mg them by telling them they can either take a hefty fine, usu ally between $3,000 to $5,000. or they can go to court where the RIAA will then sue for $750 per song, which could add up to millions. Kander and Ebb opens in Behrend Studio Theater By Brian Hutchison contributing writer For students and others interested in the theatrical arts, the Penn State Behrend Theater Department will be beginning its spring semester performance April 13, at 8 p.m. in the campus's Studio Theater. Instead of the usual play however, students this time will be perform- ing a music review amongst the seating. This feature will take the number of available seats down from last year's three night sell out, the "Comedy of Errors." Because of the different set sizes each production requires, the number of seats avail able changes. In the past, productions such as full-length plays, musi cals, and one-act plays, have been performed in the Studio Theater, uti lizing every inch of its usable space. Westwood explains that, "there are few out lets on Behrend's cam pus for the dramatic arts since there is currently no theater major offered here. There is an inter setCONTRIBUTED PHOTO est among students New play hopes to sell out at Behrends own Studio Theater here, and this is one of the ways that they can experience the theatrical arts here on campus." The musical revue of "Kander and Ebb," opens April 13 at 8 p.m. in the Behrend studio theater. Shows will also be held on the 14th, 18th, 19th, and 20th, all at 8 p.m. The April 15th show will begin at 2 p.m., and the closing show will be at 7 p.m. on April 21st. "Kander al Ebb." Unlike play or music. that has a pli line, this 111111 f cal review w consist simpi of songs pei formed one aft( another. This perform. ance will be the last Behrend's onl full-time theatl professor any show directs Dr. Christie Mangone, as sl travels Connecticut f' a new job. Part time profess, T.J. Laffan, teaches Behrend's building will stay as a nationwide search for a replacement full-time pro fessor is conducted. Songs written by Kander and Ebb including "All That Jazz," and "New York, New York," will be sung by a cast of Behrend students made up of five men and four women. Stage Manager, and Penn State *unior R an Westwood claims, "every show rir \,j The Record Industry Association of America cracks down on file sharing. This time it's aim is at universities extensive n ['LEI frrl L i I've worked on has had the best cast. We all form unique bonds with each other. It's always great because each show consists of a different group of people Along with the musical revue format that will set this performance apart from others, a cabaret style will also change the experience from that of past shows. Students will be invited to help themselves during the show to drinks and snacks that will be set up on tables of songs many of which were hip-hop. They also have sued an 83-year-old woman in 2004 who had been dead for over two months. They claimed that she was responsible for making over 700 songs available for illegal download on the internet. The main problem with this new wave on college students is that many students share a dorm with one to three people. It is impossible to distinguish who downloaded what song. Spacious 3 & apartments $625-$lOOO per person id El Top 5 Animated Shows 5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 4. Family Guy 3. Chip & Dale/Rescue Rangers 2. Doug 1. The Simpsons Priced as low as for the summer The Behrend Beacon I Last month, the RIAA sent out over 40(1 of these pre-litigation letters to students at I 3 different schools. The RIAA promises that this action is only the beginning of their newest cam paign. They promise to have "hun dreds of similar enforcement actions" every month. The RIAA has also set up a web site called P2P Lawsuits, which is designed to allow college students to basically give up their Fifth Amendment right and incriminate themselves. The site works a lot like the failed 'Clean Slate" website did hack in 2003. The idea is illegal file sharers can "confess - to the RIAA that they do participate in file sharing and they can then sign a notarized affidavit saying that they will never again download illegally and will immedi ately delete all illegal music from their computer. The RIAA is, and has been under stiff criticism for their suing rants. In 2003. the RIAA sued a 65-year-old woman for illegally sharing thousands Andy McLachlan 4 bedroom available •' a
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