The Trustees of Amherst College (the “College”) last amended these terms and conditions on January 30, 2007. Please read them carefully.

Acceptance of Terms

By using the College’s web site (“Site”), you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions, which include the Privacy Statement (together, “Terms”).The Terms are an enforceable agreement between the College and you, the user of the Site, whether you are a student, faculty member, employee, alumnus/a, group, association, corporation, or other individual or organization. If you do not agree to the Terms, you are not authorized to use the Site. The College reserves the right to change the Terms in its sole discretion, and it will post any changes on the Site. If the College decides that it is appropriate, it may also provide additional notice of more significant changes. Any modified Terms are effective immediately upon posting. By continuing to use the Site after the College posts modified Terms, you agree to be bound by them.

Nothing in these Terms overrides the application of other College rules or policies. For example, if you are a student, faculty member, staff member, or other similar user, your use of the Site is also subject to:

Privacy Statement

Please review the College’s Privacy Statement, which forms a part of these Terms. The Privacy Statement describes the collection, use, and protection of information about you on the Site.

Using the Site

The Site is intended to foster communication among the students, alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and others who together form the extended College community. It is a resource and forum for members of the community to exchange information of interest to them. To that end, various parts of the Site allow users to post messages, information, or other material, including text, images, photographs, video, sounds, musical works, computer files, computer programs, and works of authorship (collectively, "User Content"). User Content may appear, for example, on group activity pages, user-created pages, message boards, or other interactive forums.

The College is not responsible for User Content or any injury or offense it causes. The College has no obligation to (and generally does not) pre-screen, monitor, edit, or delete User Content, but the College reserves the right to do so if any User Content fails to comply with these Terms or is otherwise harmful, inaccurate or objectionable. The College is not responsible for any failure or delay in removing User Content that fails to comply with these Terms. The College does not endorse or adopt any User Content. The College does not endorse third-party web sites that may be listed in User Content.

The College values a diversity of viewpoints and expects users of the Site to exhibit the same level of respect for others on the Site as they would in any other College forum. All users of the Site are obligated to practice discretion and maintain civility in their online communications. While the College does not condone censorship, you may not upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any User Content that is unlawful, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, or libelous, or that is threatening, hostile, harassing, or abusive on the basis of personal beliefs or characteristics. These include, but are not limited to, race, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation or belief, age, color, religion, national origin, ethnic identification, physical or mental disability, economic status, or veteran status.

Unless otherwise authorized by the College, all material on the Site is for the personal use of users and may not be sold, used for any commercial or political purposes, or used for any type of solicitation, fund raising, recruitment, or analogous activity. You may not use any material from the Site in a manner that attributes a false or misleading statement to, or implies a false endorsement by, the College or related parties.

You may have access through the Site to the Personal Data (as defined in the Privacy Statement) of others. This Personal Data is provided only for your personal use or for approved use in connection with College-related activities. You may not engage in or permit others to engage in data mining or the systematic collection of Personal Datafor any reason.

Without authorization, you may not reproduce, distribute, publicly display or perform, transmit, incorporate into a database or compilation, adapt, translate, modify or create derivative works of, or in any way exploit or use any material, User Content, or Personal Data on the Site (or any computer programs and other coding) that is protected by copyright or otherwise, whether owned by the College or a third party.

Certain areas of the Site are protected by user names and passwords and may be accessed only by members of the College community. If you have a user name and password, you agree not to share them with any other person, including any person who may have his or her own user name and password. You are responsible for all uses of your name and password to gain access to the Site and for all activity under them, including the use of any information or material obtained by using them. You may find further details in the Policy on Acceptable Use of the Amherst College Electronic Environment.

As a condition to your continued use of the Site, you warrant that you will not use the Site for any illegal or fraudulent purpose or for any purpose prohibited by these Terms. If the College believes, in its sole discretion, that your use of the Site violates these Terms or creates a liability for the college, the College reserves the right to take any and all actions it deems necessary. These include, but are not limited to, deleting content or information you have posted to the Site, terminating a discussion group or other collaborative page or activity, or limiting or denying your access to the Site.

Material Posted to the Site by You and Other Users

You take sole responsibility for any User Content you create or post. You acknowledge that your User Content is not private or confidential. You may not create or post any User Content that frames the content of any other web site. You will not impersonate or try to pass yourself off as any other person or entity. You represent and warrant that your User Content does not (1)defame any party; (2)violate any third party’s copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, right to privacy or publicity, or any other proprietary or personal right; (3)otherwise violate any applicable law or regulation; (4)contain any information furnished to you in confidence or in the understanding that it would not be disclosed or published. You will not upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any information, files, code or other materials that contain time-bombs, viruses, spyware, adware, keyloggers, backdoors, trojans or other malicious code of any kind, including code that corrupts or destroys data, disrupts, damages, or disables College software, hardware or equipment, provides for the unauthorized transmission of software or material to any computer, or has any other effect which the College or any user of the Site would reasonably consider undesirable.

You grant the College a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, unrestricted license (with the right to sub-license) to reproduce, distribute, publicly display and perform, transmit, adapt, translate, modify, and create derivative works of (in any form now known or later developed) any User Content in whole or in part. This license terminates when you remove your User Content from the Site, except to the extent appropriate for the College to maintain the Site or archive its contents. This license does not grant the College the right to sell your User Content or to distribute your User Content other than in connection with the Site.

The College does not claim any ownership rights in the User Content, except (1)as expressly stated otherwise in these Terms, (2)where subject to a separate agreement, or (3)when created or posted by the College’s employees within the scope of their duties for the College.

You acknowledge and agree that the College has the right (1)to delete, modify or supplement User Content at any time for any reason without notification to anyone and (2)to restrict you from posting new User Content or otherwise participating in interactive forums on the Site for any reason at any time.

Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement

The College intends that all material posted on the Site respect the copyright and other proprietary rights of third parties. However, the College cannot monitor the copyright ownership of all material posted on the Site. If you believe that any material posted on the Site infringes your copyright, then you may request the removal of those materials from the Site in accordance with the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), and the procedures described below.

A notice of infringing material that complies with the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) ("Notice") must be sent to the agent the College has designated with the Copyright Office:

John Manly (dmca[at]amherst.edu)
Director of Systems & Networking
Rm B-15 Converse Hall
Amherst College
Amherst, MA 01002-5000
(413) 542-2641

To comply with the Copyright Act, your Notice must be in writing and must include the following:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works;
  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the College to locate the material;
  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the College to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which you may be contacted;
  5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and made under penalty of perjury, and that you are the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

When the College receives a Notice that complies with the Copyright Act, it will remove the identified material immediately. The College will promptly take reasonable steps to inform the user who posted the allegedly infringing material (the “alleged infringer”) of the Notice and subsequent removal. The alleged infringer may then provide the College with a counter-notice ("Counter-Notice) that the initial infringement notice was erroneous. Such Counter-Notice must be in writing and must include:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of the alleged infringer;
  2. Identification of the material removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;
  3. A statement under penalty of perjury that the alleged infringer has a good faith belief that the material was removed or access to it disabled as a result of error;
  4. The alleged infringer’s name, address, and telephone number; and
  5. A statement of consent to jurisdiction in federal district court and that the alleged infringer consents to service of process from the complaining party or its agent.

Upon receipt of a Counter-Notice, the College will notify you of the Counter-Notice and restore the material within 10 to 14 business days of receipt of the Counter-Notice, unless you inform the College that you have filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the allegedly infringing party from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on the Site.

Amherst College Trademarks

Amherst, the Amherst logos and other Amherst indicia of source used on the Site are owned by the College (“Amherst Trademarks”). You may not use the Amherst Trademarks without valid, written authorization from the College. Additionally, you may not use the Amherst Trademarks in any manner that (a) will likely cause confusion about the source of any product or service, (b) implies that the College sponsors, endorses, or is affiliated with any third-party activity, or (c) disparages or discredits the College or any of its officers or personnel. You may not register any domain names containing any Amherst Trademarks without the College’s prior written consent in each case.

Frames, Metatags and Links

You may not frame the content of the Site on any other web site. Any link you create to the Site or any of the individual web pages contained in it must open in a new browser window. You may not use metatags or any other “hidden text” that incorporates the College Trademarks without the College’s prior written consent. Links to the Site must display, in a plain typeface, the words "Amherst College" or the name of the appropriate page on the Site and must not use any College logo or design.

You may not create links to the Site from a web site with content that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, threatening, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, abusive, illegal or otherwise objectionable, or in a manner that would constitute or encourage a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party (directly or indirectly), or otherwise give rise to liability or violate any law or imply the College’s sponsorship, endorsement or approval of another party’s site or activities.

Links to Third-Party Sites

As a courtesy only, the Site contains links to web sites controlled by third parties. The College is not responsible for these third-party sites or their content, activities, or privacy practices. The inclusion of links on the Site does not imply the College’s endorsement of the linked web sites, their content, or any associated organization or activity. The College makes no representation or warranty whatsoever about the nature of the linked sites. You should read the privacy policies and terms of use that govern your use of other sites.

Disclaimers of Warranties

THE SITE AND THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH IT ARE AVAILABLE "AS IS" AND “AS AVAILABLE.” THE COLLEGE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR ANY OF THE SERVICES OR MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH IT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. THERE MAY BE DELAYS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS AND INACCURACIES IN MATERIALS OR SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE. THE COLLEGE MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, RELIABILITY OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OF ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE OR SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH IT, INCLUDING THE USER CONTENT, OR THROUGH LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES. THE COLLEGE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CORRECT ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE SITE. IF YOU RELY ON THE SITE AND ANY MATERIALS OR SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH IT, YOU DO SO ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER LAW, THE COLLEGE DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE AND ANY CONTENT, INFORMATION, GOODS OR SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH IT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE (EVEN IF THAT PURPOSE HAS BEEN DISCLOSED).

ALTHOUGH THE COLLEGE INTENDS TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF VIRUSES, WORMS, "TROJAN HORSES" OR OTHER MALICIOUS CODE TO THE SITE, THE COLLEGE DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE, OR SERVICES OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE, ARE FREE FROM SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. THE COLLEGE IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR HARM ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH FEATURES.

Limitation of Liability

THE COLLEGE AND ITS OFFICERS, TRUSTEES, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER BASED ON LOSS OR INJURY BECAUSE OF ERRORS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS OR INACCURACIES IN THE SITE OR ANY SERVICES OR MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE INCLUDING LOSS OR INJURY THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR BREACH OF ANY PROVISION OF THESE TERMS.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE COLLEGE OR ITS DIRECTORS, TRUSTEES, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST REVENUES OR PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR LOSS OF DATA) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE OR THESE TERMS, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OF ANY KIND), CONTRACT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY.

SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN KINDS OF DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THESE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the College and its officers, trustees, employees and agents against all liabilities, losses, damages and costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), that the College may incur based on claims arising out of your violation of these Terms. The College reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which it are entitled to indemnification. You agree to provide the College with whatever cooperation it reasonably requests.

Termination

The College reserves the right to limit or deny your access to the Site, to delete any content or information you have posted to the Site, and to terminate these Terms at any time without notice for any reason, including your violation of these Terms. The following sections of these Terms survive any termination: limitation of liability, governing law, jurisdiction and venue, all provisions relating to material you create on, post on, or download from the Site (including your license to the College of User Content), warranties, indemnification, and any other provision that by its terms contemplates survival.

General

The Terms, which include the Privacy Statement, are the complete agreement between you and the College regarding your use of the Site and are governed by the laws of the State of Massachusetts applicable to agreements made and wholly performed there. You irrevocably agree to bring any claim or dispute relating to your use of the Site and these Terms exclusively in the applicable state courts located in Hampshire County, Massachusetts or the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (sitting in Springfield), to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of those courts, and to waive any objections based on jurisdiction, venue, or inconvenience of the forum. If a court determines that any provision of these Terms is unenforceable for any reason, then that provision will be deleted and the remaining provisions will be enforceable to fullest extent permitted by law.

Questions

Please contact the College at AskIT@amherst.edu with any questions you may have about these Terms, including the Privacy Statement.