Free Culture at Virginia Tech is a chapter of
Students for Free Culture.
We have meetings every Wednesday at 8:30pm in Torgersen 3180.
Students for Free Culture is an international
chapter-based student organization that promotes
the public interest in intellectual property and
information and communications technology policy.
For example, we use free software like GNU/Linux,
follow RIAA lawsuits, and listen to Creative Commons
licensed music. Check out our
wiki,
join our mailing list,
or come by some time to find out more!
A couple of weeks ago, James Maguire came by our chapter meetings to check out Ubuntu. He wrote a review, and comments even showed up on the Ubuntu forums!
Nelson Pavlosky (founder of Students for Free Culture, sued Diebold for abusing copyright law) is coming to speak on the third anniversary of Students for Free Culture.
Along with the ACM, we are bringing in Richard Stallman to give a speech entitled “Copyright Vs. Community”
Location: Torgerson 2150
Date: March 25th
Time: 8:00pm
Abstract:
Copyright developed in the age of the printing press, and was designed to fit with the system of centralized copying imposed by the printing press. But the copyright system does not fit well with computer networks, and only Draconian punishments can enforce it.
The global corporations that profit from copyright are lobbying for Draconian punishments, and to increase their copyright powers, while suppressing public access to technology. But if we seriously hope to serve the only legitimate purpose of copyright–to promote progress, for the benefit of the public–then we must make changes in the other direction.
Bio:
Richard Stallman launched the development of the GNU operating system (see www.gnu.org) in 1984. GNU is free software: everyone has the freedom to copy it and redistribute it, as well as to make changes either large or small. The GNU/Linux system, basically the GNU operating system with Linux added, is used on tens of millions of computers today. Stallman has received the ACM Grace Hopper Award, a Mac Arthur Foundation fellowship, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer award, and the the Takeda Award for Social/Economic Betterment, as well as several honorary doctorates.
There is no regular meeting this week, because we are about to have our first big event! We are partnering with the VTU to do a showing of Night of the Living Dead and The Brain That Wouldn’t Die. Please come! It’s free!