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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1999)
Battalion Q PINION Page 11 • Friday, September 24, 1999 TOAD ME DOWN, MATEY! WWA ' I Internet music files - Jot wrong unless illegally I | pirated for profit hi\ lomputer- savvy ^■^Ags ci .me back to Hoi this se- Uer to find eKesNet In- I'Si service m. ss accessible it was e B^ar. MARIANO CASTILLO Bien students heard about Bey Levy, a senior at the have$!c(B ers ity of Oregon, who be gs, fete M 0 t ^ ie ^ rst casualty of the appediBest Internet anti-piracy law. Rumors immediately began •' Hrculate that new restric- m on the campus network F* ere set up to curb illegal rawing of software programs PfMP3 music files. 3create:! In reality, the problems with :gsaresraMet access were just a tjlhasp. |tch in the server's configura- m-ledniLp which has now been fixed. ■ students' assumption that [incjflojBrestriction was a punish- alit shows that they feel they xmirimfrac doing something wrong. '^PdP3 piracy has increasingly . .Borne a hot topic as the for- yyRt gradually becomes simpler rt " ^ bfencode, transfer and burn )i}to CDs. ‘■ffBefore making an ethical i«mtioj.|jg men t on t j le i ssue> it is im- P^rartant to distinguish between tw0 g reat seas plundered n, cyber-pirates, riteiec/l Fi rs t there is the ResNet, a est neuvork of the computers in residence halls. One can access ih/ copy any files shared by ijtputer owners, and it is easy to find MP3s and ither loot. Bien there is the Internet, ■ng MP3s is harder, but the Mty of goodies one can find greater. Bie domain is basically the TM entire world. How criminal is copying some songs from a friend’s computer or the Internet? That is a tricky question. Listening to an MP3 file from someone else’s computer should not be illegal. It should be encouraged be cause it gives music-lovers the chance to hear new and di verse music before making a purchase. The real problem with MP3s is students’ irre sponsibility with compact-disc burners. The true culprits are those who not only distribute copy righted MP3 files but also burn them onto discs and sell them for a profit. There also are the comput- er-geek thrill-seekers out there who create Websites devoted to distributing MP3s to surfers. These people are blatantly breaking the law and stealing from both the artists and the recording industry. There are sites that offer complete albums for free and others that require a member ship. But the 1997 Internet copyright law makes it a felony to steal intellectual property and make it available to the general public. The law is clear and makes sense. Those who insist on playing the part of the rebellious col lege student may do so, but they have no right to whine when their sites get closed down and they are fined up to $250,000. It is a fine line, but techni cally, university networks and the programs shared on them cannot be dubbed illegal. In short, the residents of a college campus who can access MP3s cannot be labeled as the general public. Sharing files can be a learn ing tool, and campus networks do not giving access to the public as a whole. Sharing MP3s on ResNet should never be restricted in any way. As far as copyright is sues go, MP3s that stay within the campus network can be beneficial to smaller artists. The songs found on every one’s computers are the popu lar, well-known songs. Just like the radio, they give students a sample-of an artist’s music without stealing from his or her work. On campus, if you like an artist’s MP3 and want to hear some more, the only option is to buy the album. But the right to share files on the network is being endan- RUBEN DELUNA/Thi: Battalion gered by students who illegally manufacture and sell compact discs with MP3s. If the Recording Industry Association of America could see the MP3s on colleges cam puses stay within its confines, there would be no pressure on schools to crack down on stu- dents’ use of computers. Mariano Castillo is a junior KIATL. HURRICANE TRACKING CENTER MAIL CALL Pageant standards should remain high In response to Jeff Webb’s Sept. 22 column. I don’t think it is necessary to change the rules in the Miss America pageant. While it is true divorce is at an all-time high and abortions are now very common, those are not the types of images we need to be telling our children are OK. Single women who are able to bal ance being a mother and having a ca reer should definitely be given credit, because it is a hard thing to do. But without contradicting myself, these are not the type of goals I would want my daughter striving for. By making these women role mod els we are telling young ladies it is OK to have an abortion or to get a di vorce at a young age because Miss America did it. Standards are set high in these pageants to set these women apart as role models. If you have ever gotten past the idea that pageants are only about looks and actually watched one, you would know a lot of these women have volunteered for helpful organi zations. In many cases, these women have started organizations of their own. These women are not only beauti ful but also intelligent women with goals in their lives. We can say it is unrealistic to find that sort of perfection. But is it really? Just because divorce is a common thing does not make it OK. I would like for my children to see perfection in a pageant and feel it was realistic to strive for that. Stacey Farrell Class of ’99 VIEW POiNTS Pain in the arrears T he United Nations’ strongest mem ber is quickly becoming its biggest laughingstock. At the opening sessions of the inter national organization’s General Assem bly, it was evident the United States’ name is mud among many United Na tions members. “There’s no reason to hide it,” U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told the New York Times. “They resent us deeply because we are not paying, and we are the backbone of the U.N.” * Albright was referring to the $1.6 bil lion in back dues owed the United Na tions by the United States. Gridlock in Congress has continually blocked efforts to pay off this incredible sum, and with every new defeat of legis lation to erase the debt, America’s ef fectiveness as a U.N. member is blunted. The United States routinely pre sumes to be the model leader of the in ternational group, but a good leader must first be a good member. By shirk ing its financial commitment to the or ganization, the U.S. is forfeiting what lit tle moral authority it may have with its fellow members. In a time of national prosperity and budget surpluses, when Congress is weighing the merits of an obscenely large tax cut, the U.N. debt must not be swept under the rug again. Uncle Sam should clear his books. — Caleb McDaniel Whafs in a name? T elevision and reality go hand in hand, right? Not nearly enough for many vocal minority groups this fall. Because of a lack of substantial minority characters, excluding maids and cab drivers, many minority groups have called for a national boycott of the major networks. They are calling the boycott a “brownout.” Naming the boycott a "brownout” does not make complete sense. Certainly, if people want to change something, they should protest it, deny it money and pressure the chairs of the boards everywhere to fix it. But do not diminish the cause by re ferring to the boycott as a “brownout.” The term “brownout” is much more offensive than any ridiculous sitcom contrivance. It seems undeniable that television networks fill the minority quota by scripting bit parts involving “the help.” It is unfair minority groups are so misrepresented. However, the term “brownout" not only makes it seem minorities exclu sively should be offended that they are being misrepresented, but also serves as a racial divider. If racism is occurring, shouldn’t everyone be offended? It may not be re alistic to think that all Caucasians would even notice minority characters rarely play anything but bit parts, but it should be offensive to all that these er roneous generalizations abound in life, much less television. People separate themselves by the idea of race too much already — it is unfortunate minority groups would con tinue to cement those racial divides. While people continue to stereotypically classify something as black or white or Hispanic, lack of representation on prime-time television is the least of so ciety’s problems. Sitcoms last only a few years however racial divides can survive almost forever. — Beverly Mireles fOH urkish government should learn from mishandling of quake CAESAR RICCI he dying came suddenly and un expectedly, he earth shook, |ding towering apart- t complexes col- ing from their pre- ipus heights to piles Irubble. fchildren, women d men laid strewn about the debris proken concrete beams, sharply pro- ing reinforcement metal and scat- d furniture. ust moments before they had been deping peacefully. Now they were ■own into a nightmare of terror. Some frere saved by a lucky fall, but most Nre not. [Crushed by the heavy concrete that from above or pinned beneath de ls for days without water, death was fate for many. Death did not discriminate — a wn man might lay uninjured next to crushed corpse of an innocent child. At 3:01 a.m. on Aug. 17, a 45-second thquake devastated northwestern rkey. More than 15,000 people were killed, hundreds of thousands were left homeless and whole cities were leveled. But was all the death and destruction inflicted upon the unsuspecting Turkish people inevitable, the work of unforgiv ing and unpredictable natural forces be yond man’s control? Or did human folly work hand in hand with natuie to am plify the disaster? Would more precaution and prepara tion have limited the massive loss of more than 15,000 lives to, say, a few hundred? J ^ , . . Many experts and Turkish citizens believe so. r , , Although some of the devastation caused by Turkey s 7.4-magnitude earthquake was inescapable, much of it could have been avoided. Thousands of lives could have been saved if the Turkish government had more strictly enforced building codes or had better prepared disastei-relief ef forts. But housing contractors were al lowed to build shabby apartments, brib ing officials to let the buildings pass inspection. And when the buildings did come tumbling down, unorganized gov ernment rescue efforts came too late. Just as a reckless drunk driver who unintentionally kills someone is guilty' of manslaughter, Turkish housing con tractors and government officials who are found negligent should be punished. Their carelessness and greed cost countless lives. "However, there is no sense in rubbing salt on Turkey's wound." Turkish housing contractors and mu nicipal officials invited the Aug. 17 earthquake to turn into a humanitarian disaster. To save money and time, contractors used cheap materials and methods to construct the 20,957 people-filled build ings which reduced to rubble when the tremor struck. Municipal officials, who never should have let the flimsy apartments pass inspection, often took bribes from profit-hungry contractors. Rafik Sahin, a Texas A&M civil engi neering graduate student from Turkey, said his country has “great codes” for building homes and buildings, but they are not enforced. “Much of the damage could have been prevented if contractors were more careful,” Sahin said, who left Turkey just 19 hours before the earth quake struck. To compound the agony of earth quake victims, the Thrkish govern ment’s reaction to the catastrophe was slow and chaotic. Many people died, not because they were crushed by falling debris, but because they were trapped without water or medical assis tance for too long. Dr. Mustafa Yavuz, a Texas A&M physics professor and native of Turkey, described the government’s lack of preparation as “unacceptable.” The government “didn’t take action on time,” he said. In an Associated Press article, one of the country’s top judges called Tlirkey “a diseased, clumsy state.” But TUrkey has learned a painful les son. No person, government official or building contractor wanted to cause their people anguish. Criticism is definitely warranted, be cause it leads to improvement. But what is most important for Turkey now is not to take revenge on those at fault but to learn from its mistakes and better prepare to prevent future catastrophes. TUrkey, a developing country, has learned a bitter lesson: Never sacrifice safety for convenience, and always be prepared for the worst. There is no sense in rubbing salt on Turkey’s wound. All that can be done now is to learn from this dreadful expe rience. The Turkish people must now ensure all dwelling places are construct ed to resist earthquakes and that gov ernment relief efforts are well-prepared and coordinated when future natural disasters strike. It is only sad significant changes and awakenings had to be bought with such a terrible human price. Caesar Ricci is a junior plant and soil science major.
