PDF for Thursday, April 7, 2011

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Observer the

The Independent Newspaper Serving Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s

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THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011

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Volume 44 : Issue 117

Campaign addresses illegal downloads Professor researches education

By AMANDA GRAY News Writer

A campaign to inform students about illegal file sharing began recently, Robert Casarez, assistant director of the Office of Resident Life and Housing (ORLH), said Wednesday. The campaign, held in conjunction with the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and help from the Office of General Counsel (OGC), launched this week to educate students about the consequences of engaging in illegal file sharing, Casarez said. “We would like to take a proactive approach on the issue rather than waiting for the violations,” he said. “Over the last year, the number of copyright infringement notices that the University has received has more than doubled, and we are aiming to keep as many students out of the disciplinary process as possible for these types of violations.” Casarez said the University does not actively look for illegal file sharing, but ORLH “conservatively estimates” more than 40 percent of the student population

By ANNA BOARINI News Writer

Copyright Act representative in the OGC, which is then forwarded on to our office for identification,” Casarez said. “Illegal sharing or downloading is traceable, and once the student responsible is identified, they are notified by our office of the violation.”

Peace studies Professor Catherine Bolten, an anthropologist by trade, has focused her research on the state of education in post-war societies, specifically Sierra Leone. “I started out working as an apprentice for a medicine man studying ethnobotany in Botswana 15 years ago, Bolten said. “When I went to Cambridge for my master’s I wanted to study AIDS, but after I made a very good friend from Sierra Leone, they convinced me I would be better off studying war and resources.” In 2003, Bolten made her first trip to Sierra Leone. The We s t A f r i c a n n a t i o n h a d recently ended a ten-year

see FILES/page 6

see LEONE/page 6

LAUREN KALINOSKI | Observer Graphic

is engaging in illegal downloading or sharing of copyrighted material on the University’s network at any given time. This year alone, the University has received more than 800 copyright infringement notices. Illegal file sharing is defined as the downloading or sharing of copyrighted material without having purchased or received

Club donates money, time to orphanages

expressed permission from the copyright owner, Casarez said. File sharing is monitored on the internet by major organizations, such as the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America. “These organizations then send a copyright infringement notice to our Digital Millennium

Employees take courses By NICOLE TOCZAUER News Writer

Photo courtesy of Michael Daly

Senior Michael Daly poses with children at an NPH orphanage in Honduras. FOTO sponsors trips to the country during school breaks. By EMILY SCHRANK News Writer

As many Notre Dame student clubs begin to wind down their a c t i v i t i e s f o r t h e y e a r, t h e Notre Dame branch of Friends of the Orphans (FOTO) still has big plans.

INSIDE

TODAY’S PAPER

FOTO is a student group that raises funds and awareness for Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) orphanages. Consistent with the orphanage group’s name, which translates to “our little brothers and sisters,” the orphanages provide homes for

see ORPHANS/page 4

While many students spend some of their free time at ca mp us jo bs , a numbe r of University employees do just the opposite, electing to enroll in courses while employed at Notre Dame. T h i s s e m e s t e r, 7 1 n o n degree students have taken advantage of an employee benefit facilitating ongoing education for those on the University payroll, Assistant Registrar Chris Temple said. “ T h e r e ’s a 9 0 p e r c e n t tuition remission for an undergraduate course and 100 percent for a graduate one,” Temple said. “Payroll does some tax considerations because the benefit is taxable, which is part of the reason why Human Resources comes into play.” Eligible candidates — including administrators, faculty, staff, postdoctoral research associates, interns and spous e s — m ust me et academic prerequisites for any course they enroll in. In addition to this, they must obtain the approval of their immediate s u p e r v i s o r,

LAUREN KALINOSKI | Observer Graphic

Temple said. Once employees meet these requirements and receive approval, they have access to courses with spots available after degree-seeking students have finished registering and can begin classes alongside regular students. Te m p l e s a i d e m p l o y e e s often take classes out of a

desire to learn without necessarily having a goal of receiving a diploma. “I really do believe the main reason employees choose to enter classes is personal enrichment,” Temple said. “Some, though, have hope of using these

see CLASSES/page 4

New stud. gov. administration sworn in page 3 ◆ Viewpoint page 8 ◆ ‘Waiting for superman’ at DPAC page 10 ◆ Football readies for Blue-Gold Game page 20


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