Your e-mail is down. You can't check your test score on ANGEL. There's a constant threat of a new virus infecting your hard drive.
But don't worry - you're still able to download a remix of "P.I.M.P." by 50 Cent.
MSU received nearly 600 complaint letters in one month last spring from record companies about illegal file sharing.
When there are so many other technology concerns on the front burner, file sharing should not be one of them.
It's up to the students to leave 50 Cent in the pocket of KaZaA, as well as all the other forms of media that come through file-sharing software to your monitor.
Media downloads have become as commonplace as Instant Messages, coffee and floor meetings to many college students.
And, if it's free, it's only another way to cut costs in the midst of books, laundry and tuition bills.
It's going to be a hard thing to give up, but the benefits might be bigger than most people realize.
The University of California at Berkeley limits student transfers to five gigabytes per week, and surpassing that limit twice leads to a loss of Internet access for the user.
Some universities have also added an Internet-usage fee, or banned file transfer software altogether.
The MSU Computer Center added a copyright infringement policy to the network registration Web site before the start of classes. In 2002, MSU also limited uploads to 128 kilobits per second, which pales in comparison to drastic measures these other universities have taken.
Students who register their computer with the university's network agree not to illegally distribute copyrighted material.
Computer center officials have the possibility of adding a fee-based file-sharing service to students who use the university's network.
But when tuition costs are up, another fee is just not a good idea when added to the everyday expenses of being a college student.
The university has proven that it shows no mercy when it comes to going after students who violate instituted policies.
Just look at students who have participated in the March 28-30 disturbances who were suspended from school.
And in a setting where everyone on campus is forced to use the network, it is easier to get caught instead of hiding in anonymity.
The Recording Industry Association of America estimates that 2.6 billion copyrighted files are downloaded illegally each month. An underlying issue also is whether people who download are stealing from artists.
Some might argue that these artists make a lot of money anyway, and downloading that one song or one movie is just a drop in the bucket. True, the artists are rich and students are not. But it is their art being stolen with each download.
Students pay thousands of tuition dollars to keep technology at MSU functioning properly, and it's inevitably up to the them to make sure it remains that way.
