Withholding money hurts students

Last week IU alumnus and audio pioneer Mark Cuban told the IDS he offered to write an open-ended check to purchase the extra bandwidth the University would need to bring back Napster, the banned MP3 program, to IU computers. \nCuban, the owner of broadcast.com and the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, said he offered to buy one year's worth of service on a DS3 line priced at $540,000 ($45,000 per month.) Cuban said he wanted to bring Napster back to campus because of the learning experience it would provide to students.\nChristopher Simpson, IU vice president for public affairs and government relations, said he only had two conversations with Cuban. Simpson said he had no indication that these general conversations meant Cuban had made a formal offer to support Napster.\nCuban went on to claim that IU has "wimped" out for fear of further legal issues.\nAlthough the truth to this statement is debatable, it is Cuban who has truly "wimped out" of his promise to help IU students. Cuban told the IDS that the University's decisions to ban Napster and fire former head basketball coach Bobby Knight have convinced him to stop giving money to IU. \nCuban is entitled to cease donating money to make a statement against the actions of the IU administration. But the people that these actions truly hurt are the ones who Cuban claims he wants to help, IU students. \nIU relies, in part, on alumni donations to provide the top-level educational and technological experiences students have come to expect. If other alumni choose to start following Cuban's example, it will not be the administration feeling the brunt of the loss. Instead, IU students are the ones who will experience the loss of needed programs and resources. \nAlthough it is possible the return of Napster would cause serious legal implications for IU, Cuban's offer of money could be used in a variety of different ways that would be equally helpful in keeping IU competitive with the innovations of other institutions.\nRecently IU has been thrown into the spotlight by several highly publicized incidents, such as the firing of Knight, the banning of Napster and a lawsuit by the Genocide Awareness Project. As each of these situations make headlines, many alumni have spoken out to the media about their concern for IU's future. If they truly believe these concerns are warranted, the best way to help is not to cease monetary support. Although the sentiment of such a move might be directed at those at the top, the repercussions will be transmitted primarily to people at the bottom.