Do It Legally Campaign Press Release
Contact: Kendel White
Media and Publicity Chair
white21@uga.edu
PANEL TO DISCUSS DIGITAL DOWNLOADING
"Face the Music: A Panel Discussion on Digital Media Downloading" to be hosted by the Do It Legally Campaign
ATHENS, Ga. March 19, 2008-- Students and faculty will have the opportunity to learn more about the issues surrounding illegal digital media downloading along with legal downloading alternatives at a panel discussion at 7:30 p.m. on March 25 in Room 248 of the Student Learning Center on the University of Georgia campus.
The panel will discuss a variety of topics including the legal ramifications of illegal downloading; the effects illegal downloading has on artists, the university's role in dealing with illegal downloading on campus and legal downloading alternatives.
"The issues surrounding illegal downloading of copyrighted material is a national issue and one that the University of Georgia takes very seriously. I am pleased that the students have taken ownership of this issue and have embarked upon a campaign to educate themselves and each other on the legalities and alternatives surrounding this matter," said Matt Winston, assistant to the president at the University of Georgia. "I think our students have been as proactive on this issue as any student body in the country, and that in and of itself is commendable and demonstrates the caliber of young people we have at the University of Georgia. I hope that this effort will help our entire university community understand the issue more fully and will make wise decisions regarding how they acquire movies, music and other media."
Panel members will include Matt Winston, assistant to the president at UGA and Imaad Rashied, a UGA student who received a pre-litigation letter from the Recording Industry Association of America and is dealing with the consequences. The other panelists include Nelson Wells, co-founder of Team Clermont, a music industry public relations firm; Mike Dekle, a singer/songwriter; Dr. Bill Lee, a professor in the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication; Chris Utah, director of subscriber acquisitions for Ruckus and Matthew Grayson, senior reporter for the Red and Black, UGA campus newspaper.
The panel, sponsored by the Do It Legally Campaign and the Music Program, is a blue card event and is free. There will also be giveaways from legal digital media companies.
For more information about the panel event or Do It Legally, visit the campaign Web site at www.uga.edu/doitlegally or join the Do It Legally Facebook group.
About the Do It Legally Campaign
The Do It Legally campaign is an effort sponsored by the UGA Committee on Digital Media Downloading. The committee formed in fall 2007 to review the different options for bringing legal alternatives to campus. Committee membership includes representatives from the Student Government Association, Campus Life, Office of the President, Enterprise Information Technology Services, Legal Affairs, and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Its purpose is to explore and recommend legal solutions to music and movie downloading and to increase awareness of the issues and consequences of illegal downloading. For more information please visit www.uga.edu/doitlegally .
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Contact: Kendel White
Media and Publicity Chair
white21@uga.edu
Students to learn how to 'Do It Legally'
Do It Legally campaign to educate UGA about legal music downloading options
ATHENS, Ga. March 17, 2008- This month students at the University of Georgia will be introduced to the Do It Legally campaign to reduce illegal media downloading on campus. The student-led campaign, sponsored by the UGA Committee on Digital Media Downloading, will promote legal alternatives to illegal file-sharing and educate the UGA community about the potential consequences of copyright infringement.
Since August 2007, UGA received 335 notices of violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act on its networks. Because many of these complaints result in lawsuits against students, the campaign aims to inform students and faculty that illegally downloading files on the UGA network puts them at risk of being caught and prosecuted by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The campaign also hopes to educate students and faculty about the many options currently available for legally downloading media. Millions of songs, movies and television shows are available online through legal downloading services, where costs range from free to a nominal monthly subscription fee.
"There really is a legal downloading option to fit everyone's needs," said Whitney Turner, a UGA graduate student and the Do It Legally campaign group leader. "We want to make it easier for students to find a great legal alternative that they will actually enjoy using."
Activities hosted by the Do It Legally campaign will be held around campus during the week of March 24-28. The events will include giveaways and interactive opportunities for students to learn about the evolving environment of downloading media and file-sharing. The campaign will host a panel discussion with representatives from the music industry, the university and the student body on Tuesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 248 of the Student Learning Center. The panel discussion is a Blue Card event.
About the Do It Legally Campaign
The Do It Legally campaign is an effort sponsored by the UGA Committee on Digital Media Downloading. The committee formed in fall 2007 to review the different options for bringing legal alternatives to campus. Committee membership includes representatives from the Student Government Association, Campus Life, Office of the President, Enterprise Information Technology Services, Legal Affairs, and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Its purpose is to explore and recommend legal solutions to music and movie downloading and to increase awareness of the issues and consequences of illegal downloading. For more information please visit www.uga.edu/doitlegally.
Additional information about upcoming events can be found on the campaign Web site at http://www.uga.edu/doitlegally and the campaign Facebook Group, "Do It Legally."
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