Student Internet use after receiving a Recording Industry Association of America notification was briefly discussed on Wednesday at the Faculty Senate meeting.

The FS discussed how students’ academic performance could be hindered by NIU’s cutting off of RIAA-accused student’s Internet access.

The university will cut off a student’s port in his or her residence hall room after being approached by RIAA, said Paul Stoddard, Faculty Senate president. Such measures do not apply to students living off campus, Stoddard said.

“The student still has access to their account; they can still go anywhere else on campus or off campus and access Blackboard and their e-mail accounts,” Stoddard said. “They are not really at a disadvantage.”

The majority of illegal internet activity is not through universities but private usage, Stoddard said.

“The university has engaged in some rather limited cooperation with RIAA; they’re not giving out any names,” Stoddard said. “[The university is] cooperating because the university provides the Internet service and therefore is a conduit for this activity to happen. In order to protect themselves, the university has to provide this minimal cooperation.”

When warned by the RIAA, the student has 10 days to contact ResTech to resolve the problem.

The university sometimes encounters problems when trying to contact students by e-mail and voicemail when the student fails to receive the message, Stoddard said. He suggested NIU send a letter to students as an alternative contact method.

The RIAA’s current strategy involves going after people who upload music over peer-to-peer services.

“Students are not getting in trouble for just downloading music,” Stoddard said. “They are getting in trouble when they make the copywritten material available to the entire Web,”

Monsanto building

The readiness of the Monsanto building, located at Illinois Route 23 and Bethany Road, was also discussed at the meeting.

The building is ready for move-in, chemistry professor C.T. Lin said.

“The last we heard, they are shooting for a March move-in,” rehabilitation counseling professor Nancy Castle said.

At the moment, there is no furniture in the building, Castle said. An end-of-spring semester move-in is most likely, Castle said.

Currently, CHHS’ Speech and Hearing Clinic, physical therapy rooms, the Tri-County clinic and COE’s Reading clinic are planned to move to the Monsanto building, according to literature handed out at the FS meeting.