Money or trust
The University has been somewhat removed from the ongoing conflict over the computer program Napster over the last year, until now.
Wednesday, the lawyer for the hard rock band Metallica and rapper Dr. Dre sent a letter to the University, asking administrators to block access to the program. The letter comes with a copy of the lawsuit that was filed against Yale University, the University of Southern California and Indiana University in April. All three schools were dropped from the suit after they agreed to block student access to the program.
While blocking access to Napster would be an easy move for the University in order to avoid being sued, we must urge the University not to take the easy road.
Upon entering the University, students are considered honorable and trustworthy. It's the reason we're allowed to take tests outside classrooms and enter the bookstore with our backpacks. It's the reason we can walk around Grounds without a cloud of suspicion. It's called the honor system.
We're presumed honorable until we show otherwise, at which point we're asked to leave the community of trust.
We all know that the system isn't perfect, that individual students frequently violate the code and get away with it. Likewise, most users of Napster are stealing, pure and simple. Napster is almost always used as the 21st century equivalent of dubbing a cassette for a friend. Yet, the program does have feasible legal uses.
Whether or not the company behind Napster is responsible for the rampant copyright infringement brought on by the program is an issue for the courts to decide.
If the University were to block access to Napster, however, it would make a dangerous statement about the trustworthiness of its students. The University would be saying that it cannot trust its students with access to a computer program that can be used for potentially illegal purposes.
Anytime the University hints that it cannot trust its students, a statement is made that questions the core tenet of the honor system.
The Napster situation has no easy answers. On one side is the potential for a multi-million dollar lawsuit; on the other is the community of trust. The University should not take the decision lightly.
Pepping up the game
We would like to thank the responsible parties for allowing the Pep Band back on the PA system at the football game Saturday.
A vast majority of students have never seen a real Pep Band routine, since the band was censored several years ago for constantly offending opponents and getting banned from performing in various football stadiums across the nation, including Scott Stadium for a while.
For years, the band would perform skits on the field in addition to their musical fare, and tell jokes over the PA System. In many cases, the shows resulted in a flood of complaints to the University from the various people the band had poked fun at.
While the content of Saturday's program has been seen before, we hope it will be a start of the return of the type of programs the band used to perform. Our football games have long been devoid of a tradition fans and students can latch on too, and the Pep Band's raucous routines are the closest thing we've ever had.
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