Copyright Issues

I felt I learned so much from today's lecture in class. I learned that a subpoena is given to a student who has performed illegal downloading which results in that student getting sued for a copyright infringement. I also learned that a take-down notice is given to a student for doing the same thing, but is a warning and that student doesn't get sued. I learned from Mrs. Graves that the getting of a subpoena or getting a take-down notice is random, and that she has nothing to do with deciding which thing a student gets for committing a copyright infringement. I feel that this presents an issue to the students receiving these subpoenas and take-down notices.

Only four students here at trinity have ever gotten a subpoena. I'm guessing they had to have been mad because everyone else got warnings without getting sued. A settlement for a copyright infringement averages between $13,000 and $17,000 which is alot of money! The ones doing the suing feel that it is right since the students shouldn't have been doing it in the first place. I feel like it is really unfair to get a subpoena without getting a take-down notice first. If I were to get a subpoena without getting a take down notice, I would be extremely mad. I think that everyone should get the chance to at least get one take down notice first, so that they can be aware that sooner or later a much larger penalty is about to occur. I am very glad that I got the chance to learn all of this new information because I feel much more informed about the consequences of copyright infringements.

Now knowing the concequences, I'm not going to even think about illegal downloading. Going to school here is expensive enough, and adding on another $13,000 will only leave me even more broke when I get out of college!

Zack Garcia

Wireless Advantages On Campus

I feel extremely lucky to attend a university like this where I have the capability of accessing wireless Internet virtually anywhere on campus. Trinity is voted as one of the schools in the top ten wireless campus' in the country and now I know why. College students throughout America find it very important to use the internet for studying and such. Pew Internet Project has taken many statistics to verify how much college students us the internet and the article can be seen here at http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/Pip_College_Report.pdf. It is so nice to be able to take it to my classes and having Internet with me at all times. The weather these past couple of days has been absolutely amazing. It's been so nice being able to take my laptop outside and doing my homework where ever I feel comfortable. My teacher for English class has given us permission to take our laptops to class, therefore I have been able to work on essays and such during that time instead of taking the time to do them in my room. I love how the wireless connection is fast as well. As soon as I turn on my computer I have the Internet right away which is really nice. Having Wireless Internet helps out so much when it comes to researching things on the Internet for assignments. To sum things up, the wireless network here is outstanding and something I should not take for granted.

Zack Garcia