Did you see us in our sweet Do It Legally t-shirts?

The Bolton and Snelling Dining Commons are always hot spots for students looking for some grub between classes. Last Wednesday and Thursday, UGA students got some food for thought from the Do It Legally team when we passed out informational fliers on illegal downloading, legal alternatives and the RIAA.

The fliers had facts about our campaign, the RIAA and information about consequences if you get caught downloading illegally.

We also were handing out some cool free t-shirts, music download cards and hats from legal alternative companies like Ruckus , Pandora and Best Buy.

Some of UGA’s finest were even interviewed about their downloading habits, what programs they use and why they do it legally.

We were glad to bring you students some reading material while you noshed on tasty treats and put off doing your homework! And we hope you enjoy your t-shirts and music downloads!

For more information, visit our Web site.

Panelists from our “Face the Music” panel discussion faced the tough questions about illegal downloading and the RIAA from UGA students Tuesday night.

Here’s what was said during the discussion:

1.) UGA tries to protect its students from the RIAA’s lawsuits.

Matt Winston, assistant to the president at UGA, explained the RIAA came to UGA asking them to implement technology to monitor student’s computer use. However, UGA did not agree to monitor computer use, instead they asked the RIAA to help educate students through radio announcements and movies at Tate instead. He’s still waiting for the response…

2.) The RIAA is flawed in its handling’s of illegal downloading but that doesn’t change anything.

Matthew Grayson, a reporter for the Red & Black who wrote “Hooked on Downloading?” , a story comparing legal music alternatives, explained that the RIAA is completely random in finding who they prosecute.

UGA communications law professor Dr. Bill Lee said he didn’t know of any other industry who sues its own customers to keep them in line, and they should shift their focus to educating through legal alternatives.

3.) The RIAA sees college students as influential.

Nelson Wells, co-founder of music industry publicity firm Team Clermont, said the RIAA is trying set examples through us. College students are influential when it comes to music downloading,and the RIAA knows that.

So get the facts about how to get music the right way and avoid getting busted by the RIAA. Visit our Web site to find out more.

See what the Red & Black had to say about the panel discussion.

How do we download digital media? Well that’s simple, we do it legally. What’s legal, you ask? Let’s see, there’s iTunes, Pandora, Ruckus, Spiral Frog, Last.fm, Napster, Rhapsody…and the list goes on. With all of the different download options, why wouldn’t you do it legally? It just makes sense.

Here you’ll find updates about the Do It Legally campaign at UGA, including information about legal alternatives, consequences and ways you can get involved. For more information, visit our campaign Web site.