To the Students and Faculty of Villanova University: In regards to the, “Letter to Students Regarding the Downloading of Music, Movies and Software Application over the Villanova Network”, e-mail that was sent to the entire student body, and as an enrolled student of the University; I would like to open a discussion about the privacy of University students. I understand the position of the University in respect to copyright infringement; it is clearly an illegal act. However, I would expect the University to protect the privacy of its students by not giving out personal information without a judge ordered subpoena. I am fully aware that section 512 of the Federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act “permits a copyright owner to send a subpoena ordering a “service provider” to turn over information about a subscriber” (http://news.com.com/2100-1023-981449.html). However this law allows corporations to infringe on the privacy of individuals by ignoring due process that every American is entitled to in the Bill of Rights. Through this law, a corporation, acting in its own financial interest, can obtain personal information of an individual without evidence or proof. As an educational establishment, I would expect the University to stand against such unconstitutional acts, and reject any subpoena sent from corporations that are not approved by a court of the United States of America. Both Boston College and MIT have set precedence by rejecting subpoenas that did not follow due process; their decision to do so was upheld by a Massachusetts’ Court. (http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/20030808_eff_pr.php). I would hope that all universities would share the position to uphold the privacy of its students from corporations who use a poorly written law to strip individuals of their constitutional right. Hopefully, this University is willing to hold open discussion about this issue and will not give into a corporation’s unproven claims about an individual.

Respectfully, Nicholas SchafferClass of 2006