In the rough and tumble of the student union here at Pennsylvania State University, the moral code is purely pragmatic. Thou shalt not smoke – it will kill you. Thou shalt not lift a term paper off the Internet – it will get you kicked out. Thou shalt not use a fake ID – it will get you arrested.
And when it comes to downloading music or movies off the Internet, students here compare it with under-age drinking: illegal, but not immoral. Like alcohol and parties, the Internet is easily accessible. Why not download, or drink, when “everyone” does it? This set of commandments has helped make people between the ages of 18 and 29, and college students in particular, the biggest downloaders of Internet music.
Students say they have had the Internet for as long as they can remember, and have grown up thinking of it as theirs for the taking. The array of services available to them on campus has only encouraged that sense. Penn State recently made the student center, known as the Hub, entirely wireless, so students do not even have to dial up to get on the Internet. In comfortable armchairs, they sit clicking on Google searches, their ears attached to iPods, cellphones a hand away. A swipe of a student ID gets them three free newspapers. They do not need cash – only a swipe card, the cost included in their student fees – to buy anything from a caramel caffè latte to tamale pie at an abundance of fast food counters. There is a bank branch and a travel agency, and a daily activities board lists a Nascar simulator as well as rumba lessons.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/20/technology/20COLL.html?ex=1065099414&ei=1&en=4c33e99a396306fb?
Related
- Penn State students blast the new Napster
- Penn State Students Lose Internet Access Due to Filesharing
- Students Dropping Out of School to Pay RIAA Legal Fees
- Students refuse to buy a single song from Napster
- BSA Poll: 60% of College Students Know Where to Download Software Illegally
