Andrew Peters (AS3) was shocked when he got busted for illegal downloading during his freshman year.

“I got an e-mail in my inbox saying I had a certain amount of days to meet with the Dean of Students,” Peters said. “I went around telling all my friends not to download files.”

Most college students probably know what LimeWire is and how it works. But do they really know the consequences of using it, or any similar file-sharing program?

Filesharing and peer-to-peer networks such as LimeWire pose a significant risk when used to share and distribute files which are copyright-protected by their recording artists or distributing companies. Sharing this media can result in civil or criminal liability for violation of copyright law.

Although an easy, free and convenient source for music or other media, these programs are against the law, especially here on the Drake University campus.

Technically, the possession of programs such as LimeWire, Kazaa or BitTorrent is not illegal by itself. Their main function, however, is downloading and sharing of copyrighted materials without the permission of the author, and that is highly illegal. This is known in legal terms as “copyright infringement” or “piracy.”

For years now, the news has been dotted with cases of illegal downloaders, the majority of whom are under age 30. Lawsuits brought by major record labels against LimeWire and other file-sharing services by major record labels have sparked legal battles which rage on for months, often with no binding resolution.

But where does Drake stand on the issue? Does the university have systems in place to prevent its students from accessing millions of files without paying, or are those cyberspace raiders merely getting away with it?

“The industries are trying to work with the universities to educate the student body to the dangers of piracy,” Dean of Students Sentwali Bakari said.

Drake does not have a system directly in place to monitor the students and any potential unlawful downloading. If a student is caught pirating music or other media, it will be due to an outside party, such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The RIAA is a trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry, the artists and performers who create the musical booty that pirates enjoy stealing. The RIAA can track a particular internet user who downloads and shares multiple files using a file sharing network. It can also trace the student’s activities to the Drake server and report their IP address to the administration. University officials will then connect the IP number to a particular student on the Drake network, and he or she will be called to meet with Bakari, who deals with piracy issues on campus.

Bakari said he prefers to take an educational approach with students committing the offense, rather than disciplining them heavily in order to set some sort of example.

“I believe my approach of education rather than punishment not only is more representative of Drake University, but also much more effective than standard punishment,” Bakari said.

He said he explains to the offender that he or she violated Drake’s Acceptable Use Policy, which states that it is a violation to download copyrighted audio, video, graphics or text materials without proof of licensing arrangements. This policy also prohibits illegal peer-to-peer file sharing.

Peters said he appreciates the policy that Drake uses.

“It’s good that Drake has something in place,” Peters said. “If they didn’t, the recording company could have come after me straight away.”

Bakari said that eight to 10 illegal downloaders on campus live in the residence halls.

After the first offense, a student will be required to remove the file sharing software from his or her personal computer. Should a second offense occur, the student will lose Internet access for a semester. A third offense results in the student being banned from online activity for an entire year.

So does this system work?

“We’ve never had a second or third offense occur,” Bakari said.

Some college students don’t get off quite so easily. In 2007, several Iowa State students settled with the recording industry in order to avoid a copyright infringement lawsuit. The settlements started at $3,000. Those who didn’t settle initially stood to pay an even greater amount of money in court costs and legal fines. CDs may be overpriced, but they aren’t usually worth three grand.

Illegal downloading may seem like an easy method to save a few bucks, but most would agree that the risks are significant enough to make the average student think twice before he or she clicks that fateful “download” icon.