Students sued by the RIAA for illegally downloading music have lost Internet access on campus.

School-related use of Internet by NIU students was the main discussion at Faculty Senate on Wednesday. Senate members discussed concern over how the loss of Internet usage could affect the academic performance of an impacted student.

“This raises a question for [faculty] who might communicate with our students through e-mail, through Blackboard and so forth,” said Faculty Senate president Paul Stoddard. “If these students no longer have computer privileges, how are they to get the information they need for class?”

NIU does not legally need to comply with RIAA and revoke Internet usage by students involved in the lawsuits, said Doug Bowman, associate professor of mathematical sciences.

“There are a lot of examples of universities that have refused to cooperate with the RIAA on exactly this issue,” Bowman said. “You are essentially talking about a private party – albeit big corporations or their industry representatives. It’s not the justice department or the police that’s doing it.”

The university can, however, send a message to charged students by restricting Internet access in the event of a lawsuit, said associate professor of accountancy Natalie Churyk.

“I don’t think we should condone students that are illegally stealing music,” Churyk said. “I think we should cooperate.”

Due process is also a factor, said Diane Swanson, associate professor of English and women’s studies.

“If this is a criminal justice issue, shouldn’t we assume innocence until proven guilty?” Swanson said.

The imminent effect of students losing Internet privilege needs immediate attention and can’t wait for a committee to debate over what to do, said mathematical sciences professor Linda Sons.

“The faculty need to know what to do or how to handle it in order to be able to relate to those students,” Sons said. “If they are not being kicked out of the university, they’re still in classes. They still have obligations for those classes, and we have some obligation relating to them.”

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.