Students react to request by Napster foes

They want their Napster. Students reacted with a mixture of anger and contempt for the letter sent to University President Judith Rodin by attorneys for the heavy metal band Metallica and the rap artist Dr. Dre this week. The letter, which was received Wednesday, asked Rodin to ban access to Napster through the University's Internet service. Metallica and Dr. Dre have been vocal critics of the popular computer program, which allows users to share high-quality music files for free. Many Penn students feel that Rodin should not give into demands. "She should wait for the courts to decide," College sophomore Jake Kraft said. "I don't see that there's a moral imperative to act one way or another, because right now it's not clear how Napster falls under the law." In the letter, the attorneys gave Penn until September 22 to comply with the request. The Recording Industry Association of America -- an organization representing major record labels -- first filed suit against Napster last December, charging that the company violated copyright laws. This summer, an injunction was issued ordering Napster to shut down until a verdict was reached, but Napster successfully appealed the decision. The lawsuit is currently in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier this year, another suit was filed against Napster by many record companies, and other music-sharing Web sites have settled similar suits. Penn is one of many universities nationwide to receive a letter from the attorneys. The University of Southern California and Indiana and Yale universities were included in the suit against Napster after they failed to comply with the musicians' requests. The three schools have since settled and limited Napster use on their campuses. But Penn ACLU member and College sophomore Adam Lubow said that Rodin should not shut down Napster on campus out of fear of a lawsuit. "Penn should not capitulate to these threats," Lubow said. "They should not show themselves as willing to give in at the slightest threat of a lawsuit." In a letter to Rodin on behalf of Penn ACLU, Lubow also urged her to protect students' freedom of speech. "It would be in the spirit of the First Amendment for the University to continue providing its students with the fullest opportunity to exercise free speech, no matter what medium is the source for information," Lubow wrote in the letter. And College freshman A.J. Cabrera said it is not the University's place to regulate Internet use. "Online is a private medium that should not be regulated by anyone other than the user," Cabrera said. "It should be the user's right if they want to participate in an illegal act." And other students took issue with Metallica and Dr. Dre's objection to Napster. "More than the majority of artists support [Napster]," College junior Casey Mork said. "Metallica and Dr. Dre are just greedy bitches."