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Our Perspective...
Ignorance no excuse for downloading
Soon, three students will discover downloading 50 Cent’s music off the Internet will cost them more than a dollar.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced last week it would be taking to court 762 copyright infringers from all across the nation.
In the case of Appalachian State University, the three students live on-campus (including University Highlands and Mountaineer Apartments) and were all using Kazaa Media Desktop.
There were 25 other universities targeted in this crackdown as well, including notable names like Louisiana State University.
University officials are not sure if they would label this a “scare tactic.” The Appalachian, on the other hand, is certain that is what these new set of lawsuits are set to accomplish.
If users, whether they use Kazaa or other P2P programs, know there’s a crackdown, some may give up downloading all together, especially if they have a friend who will be taken to court.
If some cases are settled out of court, the RIAA is most likely to ask for a good chunk of money. While university officials do not know an exact number, the settlement price in the past has ranged around $12,000.
Is that a lot of money? Sure it is, especially for students.
However, while the RIAA’s tactics are overly harsh, they should not be unexpected.
The recording industry and the university haven’t left students in the dark. Appalachian has taken steps to inform students of the rules regarding downloading, and what would happen to them if they are caught in the act.
The recording industry has been suing people for years over sharing copyrighted material.
While unfortunate, none of these current events should surprise you, and if you’re caught in the crosshairs of the RIAA, you only have yourself to blame.
While it is easy to say that Britney Spears and Toby Keith already have too much money, what about their back-up bands? The sound engineers? The guy who cleans up the studio? All of these people are trying to make an honest living and the RIAA is trying to protect these people.
Yes it would be easy to cry to your parents about the big bad music industry and how it was not like this back in their day.
However, college is about growing up and maturing. Part of that is a little thing The Appalachian likes to call personal responsibility.
Ignorance is never the answer nor an excuse.
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Testosterone rules road when men drive
Yeah, we have all heard it.
“Watch out for those women; they’ll run you off the road!”
It is very obvious that men don’t think women can drive.
Well you know what guys? I am putting an end to all of this big talk once and for all. Take a deep breath because this is going to be a shocker.
Men are the ones that can’t drive!
Now don’t get angry and throw the paper down, because we all know how your tempers are. Unlike your rips and raves I have some actual facts to back this one up.
In fact, let’s start with the subject of that temper.
Now I am not going to pretend that I don’t have my own driving faults. Yes, even I have had my moments of road rage, but it is almost humorous to see a guy get angry when he drives.
An eight-step program comes to mind when I think about it.
The whole process starts with the finger tap, leading to the long sigh and then the overenunciated throat clear. This soon turns into heavy breathing, mumbling under the breath, some kind of wave with a single digit and of course some friendly words screamed violently out the window.
Finally the temper boils over and the car is thrust into high gear, flying down the road like a bullet, with me inside clinging for dear life to anything I can get my hands on.
No guys, this is not fun nor does it make a good impression for those of you who feel scaring the heck out of a girl is a turn on.
I think a man’s biggest fall back when it comes to driving is the mentality that he can. I’m not saying that men can’t drive, but as soon as they start realizing they can, they start doing stupid things. Just because you can drive down a road doesn’t mean that you can go 85 mph around a corner of the parkway.
You may wish, and I think sometimes you may truly believe, that you have some James Bond super car with missiles loaded on the side, and I do hate to pop your happy bubble, but it’s just not the case.
You have a normal car that breaks when it hits things, just like your body.
In fact, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, men made up for two-thirds of all motor-vehicle deaths in 2002. You guys even get hit by cars walking down the street twice as much as us women do.
Don’t even think it either. I know what you want to say.
“Women must have been behind the wheel.”
The truth is, guys, you don’t take care of yourself while you drive. Men are more likely to speed, drive erratically, not wear their seat belts and worst of all, are more likely to drive drunk.
I know you want to be those big, growling, crotch scratching masculine men, but come on guys, stop for a second and take care of yourselves.
Despite what it may seem like from this commentary, I like most of you enough to want to keep you around.
Another thing that simply drives me to insanity are men’s driving attention spans. As hard as it is to believe, it might be shorter then their attention span toward a complaining woman.
With all their toys and gadgets no wonder they can’t pay attention to the car grinding to a halt right in front of them.
I’ll give you a quick tip. Keeping your eyes on the road while you drive helps prevent accidents. No, not that group of girls walking down the street … right in front of you … yes, that’s the road.
As much as I try not to think about it my mother’s voice keeps ringing in the back of my head.
“It’s not you I’m worried about, Jen, it’s the other people on the roads.”
Could she have meant men when she was talking about the “other people?”
Either way I feel it is my duty to share this warning.
So I caution all the women; look out ladies, testosterone is on the road!
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Old and new, history makes baseball great
It’s not even my favorite sport. Not even close. It’s slow and the games last forever. Boredom comes to mind and there are too many games. But baseball is the greatest American sport, no question.
I’ve never been a baseball fan. I’ve never wanted to watch it on TV, and I actually did not care it existed. That is until last season’s playoffs. Yeah, I’m one of those people who jumped on the Chicago Cubs bandwagon. I’ve been riding ever since. I got hooked and reeled in. With this season’s playoffs here, I’m getting excited about baseball.
The 2003 playoffs brought baseball into the limelight again. It was exciting, and at times insane. Watching Sammy Sosa hit a home run into the crowded streets next to Wrigley Field made me yell for joy. Watching Aaron Boone hit a game winning, game seven home run to go to the World Series made me scream in agony.
There was so much history involved with last year’s playoffs. Both the Red Sox and Cubs came so close to the World Series and in the end preserved two curses for at least another year.
Two teams steeped in history almost made what could have been the best World Series ever.
I’m glad they didn’t make it. It just adds to the history and gives even more reason to watch again this year.
It looked like all hope was lost after the Red Sox and Cubs lost dramatic game sevens last fall. The Yankees could have won again, but they didn’t. Such parity. You never know what will happen or who will win.
It made me realize how great a sport baseball is.
The tradition possessed by baseball alone puts it atop the pedestal of American sports. Consider Ichiro Suzuki.
Last Friday night Ichiro broke the record of 257 hits in a single season. That record was set by George Sisler, in 1920. What other sport has 84-year-old records? Baseball already had a rich tradition by 1920. Football had none and was basketball even a competitive sport back then?
Last week was the 50th anniversary of Willie Mays’ great catch in game one of the 1954 World Series. It is considered the greatest defensive play of all time, although there have obviously been better catches. To even compare any other play to that play is like committing a crime in the baseball world. The myth of that play makes it stand alone. We’ll compare Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan and Tom Brady to Joe Montana, but not even the best baseball players of today are worth enough to smell Willie Mays’ cleats.
Maybe that’s because old time baseball players could compete with today’s players. I’d be willing to bet that if asked to choose between Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mickey Mantle, most managers would choose Mantle. No coach today in his right mind would choose Bill Russell over Shaquille O’Neil or Bart Starr over Donovan McNabb.
Today’s best players in any other sport are the best ever. Not so with baseball. Babe Ruth will always be the best home run hitter of all time, no matter how many more home runs Barry Bonds hits.
That’s what makes it so good. The fact we can honestly compare how teams of today would compete with teams of yesterday. It’s a landslide in favor of today’s teams with any other sport.
The icons baseball has are also larger than any other American sport. Babe Ruth is just as big an icon today as Michael Jordan, and Michael Jordan played in our lifetime. Ruth didn’t even play in our parents’ lifetime.
Baseball is just a plain and simple sport, which is why it’s the greatest American sport without question.
Letters to the Editor
Ashford's opinion 'malarkey'
We are writing in response to op-ed piece titled "Profanity: The New Air-Pollution On Campus," by Elizabeth Ashford. Quite frankly, we think this article is "malarkey" - to use a 'clean word' from your recommended website: www.cusscontrol.com. The reason for our opinion is because we, as college-age students, are all adults. Consequently, we are able to judge for ourselves when we are able to use 'unclean language.' Not everyone is offended by this type of language, as can be seen in the typical language used on television, in movies, and in other forms of media (gangsta' rap comes to mind too). This great country of ours is founded upon the right to Free Speech. As terrible as this may sound to you and me as humans who never ever swear, the First Amendment guarantees us the right to drop "F" bombs gratuitously (for evidence I cite "Pulp Fiction" and Dick Cheney).
ENG 1000 Section 148
courtesy of James Reynolds
masters candidate, English
jr26769
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Poster restriction hypocritical, inconsistent
Regarding the story "Poster sale contents restricted" published in The Appalachian (Sept. 2), I have the following questions for you. Is Appalachian State University still part of the United States of America -- you know -- where we have freedom of speech and expression? Do you really believe posters sold on campus that depict illegal behavior actually endorse or condone illegal behavior? If so, do you think simply because alcohol is legal it is acceptable for posters to endorse and condone its use? I sure would appreciate answers to these questions since I am appalled by the decision to ban sales of certain posters on our campus.
As you consider your response, I would like to ask you to pick up a copy of my book Why Crime? (Prentice-Hall, 2004) from the bookstore and read the sections in chapter 6 that concern drug use and crime. In it, you'll find clear evidence that the drug most responsible for all types of antisocial behavior (including violent behavior and sexual assault) is alcohol. Further, the most deadly drug in the world is tobacco. Do you both really think it is acceptable to depict alcohol and tobacco use simply because these substances are legal -- even though the result is more rape of our students, more fights among our students, and ultimately more dead Appalachian alumni?
Finally, I want to remind you that even though alcohol is a legal substance for people over the age of 21, it is illegal for people under the age of 21 to use it. Another story published in The Appalachian (Sept. 9th) titled "Underage drinking continues to plague campus" proves that many of our students violate the law by drinking underage. This is, in fact, one of the largest problems on campus. So, why not restrict posters depicting alcohol use too?
The truth is that the decision to ban some posters and not others is hypocritical and inconsistent with the US Constitution.
Any time you would like to talk about this, stop by my office in Whitener Hall. But I have to warn you to close your eyes ... one of my Bob Marley posters may offend you.
Dr. Matthew Robinson
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
robinsnmb
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Bias column shrugs off major incidents
Without a doubt, the media is biased. Without a doubt, the bias is overwhelmingly liberal. Without a doubt, the only people that think there is no bias are the left. While the bias is markedly less so than it was 20 years ago, it still persists today. In Anna Oakes recent column, she attempts to shrug off the recent Dan Rather incident by simply ignoring it. She mentions it, and then goes onto claim the conservative bias in media by mentioning Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Alan Colmes are all commentators. They are not newscasters. They are paid to present their bias on television.
Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and all other newscasters are exactly that, newscasters. They report the news, they don't comment on it. They are supposed to report it as objectively as possible. If Rather and company had taken the time to fact check the Bush papers the way they should have, rather than sensationalizing in the same way Matt Drudge does, the story would have been shown to be a fraud.
History will tell us whether the war in Iraq becomes another Vietnam. Is the world safer because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power, I would say so; but yes, where are the WMD's? However, history has already told us that Bill Clinton lied under oath. That's called perjury, and you can be imprisoned for it alone. It doesn't matter if you lie about what your favorite color is, whether you had sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky, or if you shot and killed someone.
Oakes attempts to reassure us that the Appalachian staff holds a wide variety of political views. While the staff may hold a wide variety of political views, Oakes has missed the point entirely. The reporting should be completely apolitical and non-biased. Bias doesn't have to be partisan either. Telling students that Farthing is the obvious choice for voting, even though Farthing does not meet Federal requirements for voting locations is a bias.
How dare Oakes imply that the coverage of the Reagan funeral was partisan. Ronald Reagan was PRESIDENT of the United States. For eight years no less! People who didn't support him came out and mourned his death alongside those that did. A man like Reagan was a part of everyone's life, and implying that America should have just gotten over it is rude at best.
I encourage Oakes (and everyone else) to read Bernie Goldberg's book, Bias Goldberg was a newsman for many years at CBS before he was forced out for questioning the bias present in the media. The funny thing is, Goldberg is not a conservative, he simply recognized that news was supposed to be non-partisan, and non-biased.
I'm sorry that Oakes doesn't realize that.
Jeff Zehnder
junior, communication
jz51525
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