News Sources: Downloader Loses Lawsuit

The music industry has won a key legal victory in a US civil trial on illegal downloading, a case likely to send a strong message on piracy through cyberspace. In the first US trial to challenge the illegal downloading of music on the Internet, a single mother from Minnesota was ordered Thursday to pay more than $220,000 dollars for sharing 24 songs online. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including (click on names for contact information):

Zorina Khan -Assistant Professor of Economics, Bowdoin College - Zhan has published articles on technological change in the 19th century, including patenting and patent law; changes in patterns of litigation and the settlement of economic disputes; and antitrust litigation dealing with technology. Peter Christenson - Professor of Communication, Lewis & Clark College - Christenson is the co-author of It's Not Only Rock: Popular Music in the Lives of Adolescents, covering 30 years of research on teenagers and their music. He has completed a study of impact of video game ratings and the only study to date on music warning labels. His interests are in mass media and socialization of children and adolescents.

Raymond Riley - Associate Professor of Music, Alma College - A classical pianist and a first-prize winner in the Society of American Musicians competition, Dr. Riley has also conducted extensive research in the area of computer technology and new media that is reshaping the music industry today. He teaches several courses in MIDI composition, digital recording techniques, and multimedia development.

Museum Reopens Its Treasures

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art reopens its doors Oct. 14 after an extensive renovation and expansion. Its more than 15,000 objects span the world of the ancient Assyrians through the 21st century.

His Brother's Keeper

Cleon Rich, a freshman biology major at Morehouse College, was the only black male in his high school graduating class in Kilmarnock, Va. It's not an isolated experience. But thanks to a recent on-campus community fair, Rich was one of more than 20 Morehouse students who signed up for a program to mentor young black males and help inspire them to stay in school.

News Sources: Disparities in Prison Sentences

What happens when lawmakers dictate that similar crimes should have differing penalties, or when sentences vary from courtroom to courtroom? The Supreme Court wrestled with these questions Tuesday in a pair of drug cases that included one dealing with a law that calls for tougher punishment for possession and distribution of crack cocaine than the powdered variety. The crack-powder disparity also has a strong racial dimension because the vast majority of crack offenders are black. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including (click on names for contact information):

Robert McNamara - Assistant Professor of Sociology, Furman University - McNamara's research focuses on crime prevention, policing, drug use and prostitution. He is the author of Beating the Odds: Crime, Poverty, and Life in the Inner City, an autobiographical account of growing up in New Haven, CT.

James O'Kane - Professor of Sociology, Drew University - O'Kane focuses on issues of crime, ethnicity and urban studies. He is an expert on patterns of urban crime, especially murder. His book, The Crooked Ladder, deals with gangsters, ethnicity and the American Dream.

Lief Carter - McHugh Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Colorado College - Carter's areas of expertise include constitutional law, legal theory, courts and politics, administrative law and politics, contemporary Supreme Court, and religion and law. He is the author of five books, including Contemporary Constitutional Lawmaking: The Supreme Court and the Art of Politics and The Limits of Order.

Historic Grant to Promote History at a Historic School

Washington College has received a government grant that almost outshines the 50 guineas it once received from the father of our country a couple centuries ago. The $625,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities is the largest federal grant the school has ever received. It will be used to support the school's noted programs connected with American history and related fields.

Now THAT's Staying Close to Your School!

Singing your alma mater is not the only way to forge an eternal bond with your college. Hendrix College, for example, is building a new columbarium where alums can have their ashes interred.