The attorney for heavy-metal band Metallica and rap artist Dr. Dre sent letters to 18 colleges including the University last Wednesday, urging them to block the use of Napster, the popular online music file-sharing service.
Howard E. King, lawyer for Metallica and Dr. Dre, urged universities such as Harvard, Columbia and Stanford to ban their students' use of Napster through the schools' Internet servers.
Along with the letters, King sent copies of the lawsuit Metallica has had pending against Napster since April.
The lawsuit alleges that Napster encourages users to trade songs illegally without the artists' permission. It originally named Indiana University, Yale and the University of Southern California in the suit, but dropped their names when each university restricted student usage of the service.
King has said that by sending the letters, he does not intend to sue institutions that allow students to use Napster. Instead, the letters urge university administrators to take a closer look at the use of Napster and its potential copyright infringements.
The federal courts have not yet handed down a final decision about whether universities can be held accountable for failing to block Napster.
At the University of Virginia, school officials have already attempted to curb student usage of the service through preventative measures.
The University makes efforts to educate students about the laws regarding copyright violations and the Internet, said Robert F. "Chip" German, Jr., director of policy and strategic planning for the Office of Information Technology.
"The two primary mechanisms of copyright education are the 'Responsible Computing Handbook' that students receive at the beginning of the academic year and the 'Responsible Computing Quiz' that students are required to take before they can make use of the University online services," German said.
Students make responsible decisions when deciding whether to download files, he said.
"Our students are thoughtful people and I feel they will make an informed decision about whether Napster is fair to artists," German said.
First-year College student Rory Stuart Gordon said he does not think the University should be overly concerned by the communication from the attorneys.
"I don't think the University can effectively block the use of Napster. They should wait for a decision from the courts before adopting a policy on it," Stuart said.
As for potential honor offenses, Honor Committee Chairman Thomas Hall said that while downloading files from Napster is stealing, it is not necessarily an honor offense.
"It's clear that use of Napster is stealing. However, an offense can only be considered serious if open tolerance of it hurts the community of trust at the University," Hall said. "And very few students would argue that downloading music -- wrong as it may be -- harms the community of trust."
First-year College student Jessica Wagstaff said she does not consider the use of Napster to be an honor violation.
"I think the Honor Committee over-reacts," Wagstaff said.
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