PERSPECTIVES Letters to the Editor

RIAA Controls

THfS LETTER WAS SENT AS A RESPONSE TO ROSIE GONZALEZ' ARTICLE CONCERNING ON-CAMPUS MUSIC DOWNLOADS.

What does Cabrini do to prevent downloads?

Ts it still possible to download no matter what ITR does? How?

How has ITR dealt with this in the past?

rs there anything in the works to stop this from constantly happening or can students always find a way around it?

Are downloads common among faculty and staff as well?

ITR has performed many tests using a technology known as packet shaping for bandwidth management. We are preparing to implement this technology in full throughout campus later this term. Once implemented, the controls that the packet shaping device employs are absolute. Since the technology was created to analyze each and every of datapassingacrosstbe network, we at ITR will be able to offer total protection. Along with packet shaping technology we are using network sniffing and intrusion detection systems. With these. we will be able to pinpoint exactly where (down to room number and computer address) and who (which users are causing traffic problem!. for everyone else on campus) and deal with each on a one by one basis. A more thorough description of what packet shaping is and how it works is provided below.

Faculty and staff are prohibited from downloading copyrighted music since access to install programs on the computers has been limited: ITR locks down campus owned computers so that users cannot install programs without a special request to the ITR department. This set- up also prevents anyone from installing common P2P, which stands for Peer to Peer, programs in the first place.

Packet shaping is a Layer 7 traffic classification, which identifies applications. both business and non-business. running across a network such as the Cabrini network. Whether one has tunneled through HTTP tunnel gateways or not. the system will discover and track P2P applications like KaZaA, Morpheus, Gnutella, iMesh, and AudioGalaxy. Once P2P traffic is identified, packet shaping applies decisive policy controls that eliminate or minimize P2P's presence on the campus network. Packet shaping can block P2P, contain it to a reasonable bits-per-second rate, and/or limit each user to a maximum. It can even discourage usage and avoid blocking by providing P2P with such a small trickle of bandwidth that users experience dismal performance and refrain from using the applications completely. While packet shaping controls P2P traffic, it allocates appropriate amounts of bandwidthto missioo critical applications and services to ensure efficient and reliable performance, and this is really what we are after.

A number of colleges and universities including the major schools in our area have already implemented package shaping software and are very pleased with the resulting improvements to their overall net\vork performance, not to mention keeping themselves within legal bounds.

John McIntyre Director of Information of Technology Resources, ITR

Lovebomb

Music is dying and each time someone downloads a song the plug is being pulled further out of the socket. It's suffering because the loss of revenue for the music industry has cut their budget on supporting new talent. This leaves the conswner, who claims to love music above all else. with the same options that they had five or IO years ago.

There's no such thing as a "single" anymore. Back in the 60s, singles were songs that you couldn't find on the album. They sold like crazy and could send a band from depths of obscurity to the top of the charts. Singles created buzz for an album, they dictated the success of a future product and a future artist. Today, the single doesn't exist primarily because people wouJd just download it and not have any interest in the full album.

Of course LOVEBOMB supports downloading. They support it because no one wants to pay for their songs. If they relied on.albumsalaaa.tbcir-BOlll'U of income, l'm sure they'd be humming a different tune. It's up to the consumer. If you truly love music, you 'II want to hear more of it. You·nwant variety, you '11 want something new. With the advent of iTunes and buymusic.com, legal downloading has become so easy and inexpensive. For less than a dollar, you 're getting a quality download, you're supporting the artist, you're supporting music and you're giving aspiring bands a chance.

According to an article in last week's issue, LOVEBOMB wants to play the Jazzman Cafe, keep downloading music and it's the only place they'll be playing. You wouldn't want your work stolen? Would you steal work of another?

Mike Kazanjian Class of 2003

I was walkingto the caf last week,when I openedthe door in front of me and a guy grabbed it out of my hands and gave me "the nod," letting me go ahead of him. I thoughtthe gesturewas nice at the time.

A recent sociologyclass examinedthe reason why men feel compelledto hold doors. It made me start thinking,"Do men hold the door because they have to or because they want to?" It seems to be a preconceivednotion that men must hold the door for women. I have had doors held for me by both women and men. I have held the door for both womenand men. I have also been insultedwhen the door is not held for me and find myself,now,asking why I was insulted.I am more than capableof holdingthe door for myself.

The movie"A BronxTale" points out that a girl, who gets into a car and leansover to unlockthe door for a guy, is a keeper. As women, it's up to us, to find the one guy that "wants" to hold the door and does not feel that he "needs" to hold the door.

Okay,maybe it is not as simple as door holdingand unlockinglocks, but the truth is that one small act could determineif you have found ''the one." Never settle for anythingless than what you feel you deserve.

Crack of dawn fire alarms

RYAi\ WTLLIAM Cox STAFF WRfTER RWC722@ CABRINI.EDU

T find it extremely exhausting that living in New Residence Hall means standing outside waiting for the fire alarm to shut off. Here is how a typical night goes: I finally come back to the room after a long day of school and work, change into my comfortable pajamas, and then finally, J lie down and relax. Somewhere along the lines, right before dozing off, a sound more intense than a plane traveling at 700 miles an hour and smashing into another plane traveling at equal speed wakes up everyone in the building.

As you groggily make your way out of your room and walk to the end of the hall, the alarm gets louder and louder until you are directly underneath the resonator; at which point it feels like your ear drums are bleeding. The wait outside is the most ridiculous part of it all. Every time I go outside, I am bombarded with people laughing, yelling, and overall speaking their minds; which sounds pretty lame at 5 a.m. I would, however, like to know a few things; who is pulling the alarm? And, why is it funny to stand outside at 5 a.tn only to freeze in pajamas? Whatever the case, whoever feels that this is a funny joke is in for a shocker if caught.

Not only will the perpetrator receive a hefty fine for disruptive on-campus behavior, but have to deal with hundreds of angry New Residence students. I, for one don't know what is worse. As if standing outside once a night is not enough, there was a night a few weeks ago that the alarm was pulled three times. Residents chose to remain in their rooms when the alarm went off. I can't say I blame them. Whoever is pulling the alarm needs to be aware that he or she is putting people's safety at a serious risk. If students are sick of going outside when the alarm goes off because of some immature prankster, they could get seriously hurt, or even die if there is a real fire. All of this could be tied to the principle of the story of "the boy who cried wolf."

Maybe there should be a stronger emphasis on surveillance. If cameras were strategically placed at all areas containing fire alarms, Public Safety could catch the person or persons involved in the pranks. I feel this is a more effective measure than having RAs shout at all residents outside with comments such as "This is all up to you guys," or the famous "If you guys were mature, you wouldn't be standing out here." These comments are, for a lack of a better term, dumb. Instead of focusing on finding the culprit, they would rather scold everyone in the building and hope the guilty is there among the crowd of over a hundred.

This topic needs to be dealt with, or serious injury could result. Public Safety should receive some sort of credit as well, due to the fact that they are called one, two, and sometimes three times to New Residence to shut off the alarm.

Fishing for the re a I people

MICHAEL A. know who your real friends are.

SrnRtCHE STAFF WRITER MAS723@ CABRll\l,EDU

Communication is the key to any relationship. Whether it be your boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, or even your family. There are times in our life that unexpected things happen between friends or so-called friends. Sometimes we can't help it, especially because it was inevitable. Times like these are when you

You can make friends with anyone but the challenge is to find a true friend. Let's say you stop speaking for a while -you know that what you told them is safe even if you guys aren't on the best terms.

If you don't talk about issues you have with your friends they will never be solved. Sometimes it's something so petty that can ruin a friendship. For example, I feel no girl or guy is worth losing a friend over. This may be because of how I was raised. Never let a girl come between you and your boys. Same thing goes for the ladies, never let a man come between you and your girls. It never fails that when your significant other hurts you, you always go running back to your friends asking for advice. Your friends will always be there for you IF you chose them wisely.

Some people are raised believing that you can't trust people outside of your family with secrets. But then there are some things that you just can't tell your family and its better that they just don't know. The thing is you can't tell all your friends. You need to know who can trust.

How do you know who to trust? Just because they confide in you doesn't mean you have to tell them things. Maybe you need more time to feel comfortable with them in order for you to open up more.

I am one of those people who like to keep things to themselves I have very few close friends that I can tell everything to and J like it that way. It's hard to find people you can trust. Some people that I though I could trust I really couldn't.

I have met a lot of shady peo- pie here at Cabrini. They act like a friend to your face but the minute you leave the room they talk about you. The scent of your cologne hasn't even left the room and they are already running their mouths.

I've learned in the past two years that communication is very important. I have a real bad problem trusting people on this campus. There are few I trust, and some I'm still getting to know. I hope to leave Cabrini with a handful of real friends. If not, so be it.