An email I sent this morning to Nancy Pringle at Ithaca College:

Ms Pringle:

Through a link on techdirt.com, I read the recent article in the Ithacan online about the fair use proposals being drafted by Ithaca College.

In a word, don't empty fair use.

It is my view that one of the central missions of educational institutions is to defend the notion that the free and open dissemination of knowledge is fundamental to a democratic process and to the pursuit of human enlightenment. Without knowledge, all that is left is ignorance and ignorance is the weapon of oppressions of all kinds.

Please do not cave to the pressures of those that want to subvert centuries of human progress and wrap chains around knowledge, turning it into nothing more than a commodity to be placed on the altar of commercial greed.

I know all the arguments and counter-arguments about protecting the livelihood of creators, etc. etc. etc. However, an educational institution has a responsibility to adopt a higher standard and that standard must be about the betterment of the students, and through the students, the betterment of our world.

I urge Ithaca College to so stand up to the recent misguided extensions of copyright law. I urge Ithaca College to embrace the full meaning of fair use. And if necessary, I urge Ithaca College to be civil and disobedient for the sake of its students, its country, and the world at large.

Thank you.