THE CHAMPLAIN CURRENT Champlain College • Burlington, Vermont Vol. 8, No. 56 • November 2010 Torrenting Raises Conflict on Campus by Ian Davis Earp, there are also legal uses Special to the Current for torrenting, which is the main argument promoting this service. A lot of talk on campus and “There are legitimate uses for Facebook lately has been about torrenting which, when brought torrenting. Many people have to our attention, we will try to been complaining about how assist with,” Earp says. “Recent their torrents have been slow or examples include our tweaking just plain not working. Different things so that the Blizzard students have gone to a few Updater, commonly used for administrators to try and see “World of Warcraft” and “Starcraft what the deal is with blocking 2,” would work despite being a this service. torrent- based program. Another Torrenting or BitTorrent is a similar program is the Square peer-to-peer file sharing service Enix updater included in “Final that allows one user to download Fantasy XIV,” also torrent-based.” files from many other users. Many Apart from the legality issues, people like this service because BitTorrent could be called a it allows them to download big greedy service. The way it gets files with ease and speed. What’s files so quickly is by attempting to so wrong with that? The issue connect to as many other users as is not so much the service, but possible in order to grab little bits what it gives users access to and of the file and piece them together. also how it behaves in a network It is a good concept, but, due to the environment. amount of connections a user can Paul Dusini, assistant vice make and how much bandwidth it president of Information Systems, uses, it creates issues in a large says that one of the biggest issues network environment. that Information Systems has The main technical issue run into is the Higher Education with torrenting is the amount Kyle Dodson, Director of Champlain’s Center for Service and Civic Engagement, gives blood at the Staff Council Blood Drive. PHOTO BY STEPHEN MEASE Opportunity Act. of bandwidth and connections it “Non-compliance with the attempts to make. The way the Higher Education Opportunity network is set up now, people Staff Council Blood Drive Sets Record Act means no financial aid for are given a certain amount of students,” says Dusini. Schools bandwidth and they can only The Staff Council-sponsored Fall “We came together as a Council. “That means we had a hill from Champlain’s campus. that do not start implementing use that amount at any one time. Blood Drive, held Wed., Oct. 27 community and were able to part in saving 200 to 300 lives.” Blood donation hours are Monday measures against peer-to-peer file Not everyone will be using their in Hauke Conference Center, set produce 100 pints of blood,” said The College’s record pint total for through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to sharing risk losing eligibility for assigned amount at one time a record for the annual event, Jen Perlee, Information Systems a blood drive is 101, set in 1990. 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30 federal student aid. so people can be assigned more netting 100 pints of blood, nine senior analyst, who coordinated The Red Cross Blood Center a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Appointments John Earp, the Champlain bandwidth. The total bandwidth more than last fall’s total of 91 the event with help from other is located at 32 North Prospect are not necessary. network administrator, adds, “We assigned is much more than is pints. members of Champlain’s Staff Street in Burlington, just up the are required by law to implement actually there, so people still more technical measures to combat the or less share it. use of peer- to- peer technologies “Most clients will immediately to share copyrighted material. We attempt to open as many sessions shape all applications that utilize as possible and utilize all available Sew Successful: BYOBiz peer- to- peer so that the available bandwidth to facilitate sharing, bandwidth for these applications often drowning home networks is effectively zero. quickly, and contributing Entrepreneur at Work in Wick “Because of the primary use to congestion on enterprise of torrents is to distribute items networks,” says Earp. The other in a manner which violates law, it alternative to over-assigning by Elizabeth Crawford that sells his handmade a week coming up with a has become viewed by the public bandwidth would be to split the Staff Writer felt hats. As a member pattern.” as largely an illegal mechanism, bandwidth 100 percent equally of Champlain’s BYOBiz All of Hall’s hats are hence the laws being enacted among students. Doing the Walking into Lloyd Hall’s program, Hall has the unique either his original designs to curb its use,” Earp continues. math, that would be around 12.8 area of the BYOBiz office in opportunity to participate or are based on popular “Many of these illegal uses include Wick feels more like entering in a program specifically Pokémon characters. downloading music, movies, and See Torrenting a tailor’s shop than an office. designed for students with an He keeps ideas for new video games.” But, according to Page 6 The first noticeable feature entrepreneurial streak to start creations in a small is a white sewing machine or grow businesses during their sketchbook and is always standing where a computer time in college. But he didn’t up for taking custom would normally be on the always plan on turning what orders. desk. Instead of filing cabinets, started out as a small project “I make every hat to stacks of colorful felt line the for school into a full-fledged order so they can pick side of one wall, and in place business. whatever size and color of office supplies like pens and “In my senior year of high they want, or if they want staplers are spools of thread school we had to do a project in something that I don’t and packages of needles. On order to graduate, and it could have on my website they most afternoons, Hall can be be anything we wanted,” says can request it.” found chugging away at the Hall, who learned to sew in Because Hall is a whiz Lloyd Hall PHOTO BY ELIZABETH CRAWFORD 2 sewing machine or kneeling on middle school. “I saw someone on the sewing machine, the floor, needle and thread in wearing a hat like this one—” his simpler hats can take him “I sell them for anywhere hand and poring over a garment he indicates what looks like under 15 minutes to complete. from 15 to 50 dollars,” says spread out before him. a winter hat with cat ears He prices his products based Hall. “It depends on how much Tim Ashe Hall, a first year game sticking out of the top—“and I on the amount of time it takes Connects With design major, is the creator thought, I wonder if I can make him to finish, and that depends See Sew Young Vermonters of dimbarion.com, a website something like that. I spent on the difficulty of a project. Page 2 PHOTO PROVIDED Champlain’s Brand Bodes Well for Admissions by Amanda King who decided to enroll, was far higher schools or who simply disappear be more aware,” said Mortimer, to 6 Staff Writer than years past” said Ian Mortimer, off the radar. Of those accepted to have an increased drive to succeed the assistant vice president Champlain, nearly 700 sent their and know what they’re getting Times are tough around the of undergraduate admissions. deposits and 651 actually came. into. “As an enrollment division, we nation and the world, but here Admitting students and getting The process was filled with want to be transparent,” he said. Beat on the Street: at Champlain, class sizes have the right number to actually come uncertainties and questions this “We don’t just want students; we Humans vs. actually grown. Rumors have flown to Champlain is a tricky process year. In fact, Mortimer said, the want graduates.” Zombies around campus that is very economy left the Admissions But Admissions lets the college most frequently much guess- Department nervous in March and sell itself. “We’re not interested in citing a need and-check. April “because [they] didn’t know driving admissions up just so we PHOTO BY DILLON PALMER for money as This year how things would play out.” As the can deny more people,” Mortimer the driving for example, numbers illustrate, things worked said, which means being honest force behind 3,133 students out pretty well. Mortimer has a and open about Core and LEAD the college applied. theory why. as well as looking for students admitting so Admissions Champlain is, as students who are the right fit for the school many students. accepted and faculty know, a small college both in academics and in their 7 It turns out that 2,575 of those dedicated to providing “an extracurriculars. while the 651 The new Welcome and Admission Center at Perry Hall. students. experience-based education.” This While rising admissions new freshmen PHOTO BY STEPHEN MEASE The formula, “brand” of education has proven are great for Champlain and, make up the according itself to be more worth the money eventually, the economy, it does New Arts Section largest class Champlain has ever to Shawn McElwain, assistant than the more traditional routes come with some risks.