•u-r 8 a
View From The Lighthouse
The day the musi
So you finally saved up enough
money to buy that CD burner.
Everything is installed and raring
to go. The Napster gods are
awaiting your presence. Oh,
wait.. .no more Napster?
First, the world was told that
they would have to pay a small fee
to use Napster monthly. There was
uproar; many accused Shawn
Fanning of selling out. Many more
blamed Metallica. But it got
worse. The latest announcements
have revealed that Napster will be
shut down completely. The
Napster website reads “the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled
against Napster.. .Napster is not
shut down, but under this decision
it could be.”
It has all come down to money.
Whatever happened to making
music for the thrill of playing?
Where did the sheer love of
writing influential lyrics disappear
to? Oh, that’s right...Metallica’s
bank account. (Aren’t they rich
enough already?) Essentially,
because a few anal-retentive band
members decided to be greedy,
everyone else gets hurt.
Napster is a great way for new
bands to get their name out. A
section on Napster called the
“New Artists Program” lets
subscribers discover new and
upcoming bands and solo acts.
Not only is this a boost for the
bands, but it also provides
something unique to listen to for
the user. Just how many Dave
songs can one really download?
All the bands and artists that care
about playing and sharing their
music and thoughts have now
been shutout. Their voices are no
longer heard.
The major problem involves
copyright infringement. Some
may remember last year when an
enormous amount of Napster
subscribers received letters
claiming that their use of the
music-trading program was
illegal. Hence, the war began.
Trading went on as usual, Napster
gained mostly positive publicity,
and now over 50,000,000 people
are registered with the service.
The masses may soon have to look
for other ways to obtain their
music.. .like buying actual CDs.
But wait, record sales actually
went up since the birth of Napster.
Take that, Metallica. Oh, that’s
right, everyone hates you now.
In actuality, though it originally
seemed harsh, paying a small fee
for Napster use seems trivial.
Fifteen bucks seems like nothing
compared to the amount of CDs
that could be burned over the
course of a month or the
thousands of songs that could be
played through computer speakers
while writing that impossible term
The Behrend Beacon
published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Editor-In-Chief
Jason Snyder
Managing Editor
Jeff Miller
News Editors
Liz Hayes
Erin McCarty (assisstanr)
Editorial Page Editor
Katie Galley
Features Editors
Karl Benacci
Jermaine Hardy
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Deanna Symoski
Sports Editors
Abby Long
Jeanine Noce (assistant)
Wire Service Editor
Rob Wynne
Photo Editors
Becky Weindorf
Neil Makadia (assistant)
Associate Editor
Christine Kleck
Copy Editor
Paige Miles
Money Page Editor
Amortya Sinha
Postal Information: The Beacon is
published weekly by the students of
Penn State Erie, The Behrend
College; First Floor, The J. Elmer
Reed Union Building, Station Road,
Erie, PA 16563. The Beacon can be
reached by calling (814) 898-6488
or (814) 898-6019 (FAX). ISSN
1071-9288.
led...
ic d
paper. No, a fee isn’t going to
make everyone happy, but at this
point it seems that there will be a
fee or there will be no more
Napster at all. It seems that new
file-sharing programs should be
popping up everywhere now that
Napster is about to meet its fate,
and they are, but if the court
decision holds, these sites will
quickly be shut down also.
Honestly, what’s the big deal?
What’s next? Is the radio bound to
be outlawed? The general public
doesn’t directly pay for what they
hear over the airwaves. A kid
listening to a friend’s CD doesn’t
have to pay a fee, nor will be
accused of copyright infringement.
All Napster consists of is trading
music. The songs aren’t being sold
with the profit going to Fanning’s
wallet. Even if a fee was charged
for monthly usage, record
companies would see this money,
not Fanning. Chances are, the
bands would rarely see any of the
profit either. Once again, the
record executives are getting rich
off of other’s talent.
It isn’t as if all musical artists
are in on the evil conspiracy either.
Napster’s website lists a plethora
of prestigious artists that are in
favor of the service. Madonna,
Dave Matthews, Dave Grohl,
Moby, Fred Durst, and even 8.8.
King have voiced their support for
Napster. Most find it downright
silly that such a beneficial service,
to the listener and the artist, could
be shut down because of greed.
Some artists have even attempted
to release songs and albums over
their band’s personal websites, but
again the record companies have
halted the right to free music. As a
side note to the record execs,
please remember that your
companies wouldn’t be anywhere
without the talent of these bands.
America now waits to find out
the next step in the proceedings.
Napster users are frantically
downloading songs day and night
to try to stock up on as many
songs and comedy files as they can
before the harsh winter of
copyright infringement comes.
Shawn Fanning, we salute you.
Keep up the fight. Besides, where
else can one hear Britney swearing
up a storm?
Health Page Editor
Sarah Orr
Advertising Manager
Ann Marie Havey
Business Manager
Kristine Harakal
Public Relations Manager
Ainslie Ulmer
Distribution Manager
Doug Smith
Secretary
Melissa Proba
Advisor
Robert Speel
Letter Policy • The Beacon
encourages letters to the editor.
Letters should include the address,
phone number, semester standing
and major of the writer. Writers can
mail letters to behrcoll2@aol.com.
Letters must be received no later
than 5 p.m. Tuesday for inclusion
in that week’s issue.
EJ«| * 1
ditorial
( RRESEKT
'coM'PAbnr N
excEPreo...;
Getting the facts straight about Police and Safety
Dear Editor,
In response to a previous letter to the editor
regarding Police and Safety, I have a few
remarks. First, the anonymous author of that
letter needs to get his or her facts straight. On
the front page of the very same issue of the
Beacon was an article stating that there have
been eight reports of car vandalism, not several
every weekend.
Second, no one here at Behrend is particularly
happy about the parking situation. We all have
to hike at least half a mile to our parked cars.
Deal with it or leave your car at home.
Third, no matter how well trained and well
staffed a law enforcement agency is, they can’t
be everywhere at once. So until the world is rid
of jerks that vandalize other people’s property,
vandalism is going to occur.
Fourth, I wonder if the anonymous author has
met any of the P and S officers. I have been a
night assistant for one and a half years and in
that time have gotten to know most of the
officers. The officers are not interested in just
Note: After Spring Break the Beacon will no longers run letters
to the editor that are not signed. Thank you
Police and Safety not the ones to blame
listening to your professor lecture continuously
about facts that will most likely appear on your
next exam. Trying to jot down as much
information as you can in your notebook, you
suddenly remember that you were supposed to
read chapter three in your text for a quiz you will
have in your 2:00 class. You get out your book
to start reading when a friend of yours who
obviously doesn’t care about what the professor
is saying starts telling you about what happened
at last night’s party.
So you have a decision to make. Do you.. .a)
continue to jot down notes so you can pass your
next exam, b) read chapter three so you have
some facts straight for your 2:00 quiz, c) listen to
the latest Behrend gossip in hopes of keeping up
to date with what’s going on at this campus, or d)
all of the above.
It’s obvious that the only answer that it can’t
be is “d.” I mean, there’s no way you can take
notes on a lecture, read a book, and listen to your
friend all at one time. The more you read your
book, the less notes you have. The more you
listen to your friend, the worse you will do on
your quiz. And the more you actually listen to
your professor, the less up-to-date you will be
with the latest Behrend gossip.
So if we realize that it’s impossible to do three
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
harassing people. If they were, they would be
using more physical measures similar to those
used by local law enforcement officials when
dealing with students. As far as harassing
students about drinking, my experience with the
officers has been that they are mostly concerned
about the student’s own safety and the safety of
others. I also wonder what kind of relationship
between a law enforcement agency and the
population it serves the anonymous author feels is
appropriate. I personally would rather have a
police force that says hello and interacts with
students in a positive way than a Gestapo like
authoritarian institution.
In conclusion, I think the author of the fore
stated letter to the editor needs to be complaining
about the immature individuals that commit
senseless acts of vandalism and not those who are
trying to keep the problem under control. And by
the way, I am not afraid to sign my name to my
own opinion.
Amanda McKain
things at once, then how can we demand
, • i Behrend’s Police and Safety to do the same thing?
fit IYI me Granted, there’s not an overabundance of
er ’Web campus crime that should be taking up all of
_ Police and Safety’s time, but there are some
ison Snyder other duties they are required to do that are
77 —” » * just plain ridiculous. This week’s “Police and
ItO 1 "111 - i 011 Safety report” (page 2) states that our officers
who are supposed to be occupying all their time in
investigating the vandalism happening on campus
while giving students escorts to buildings they
don’t want to have to walk to, had to respond to
calls dealing with loud and obnoxious students
and overflowing toilets.
This doesn’t include the help they must provide
for people that lock their keys in their car or need
office doors open. Believe me when I say that the
Police and Safety report that appears in the
Beacon every week is not the entire police log.
There are multiple pages of calls made to Police
and Safety that the officers must report to.
It always makes me chuckle to hear students
complaining that Police and Safety “wastes” their
time ticketing cars without permits. “How dare
the officers spend their time ticketing illegally
parked cars while there are vandals running
rampant on campus!”
If I’m paying over $l5O to park on this campus
per semester, you bet I want Police and Safety
walking through the lots ticketing the students that
think they can go through the semester on a free
ride. I’ll admit that I was pretty miffed when I
approached my car earlier this semester to find a
ticket on my windshield on the first day that
students were required to have their permit, but
you can bet the first thing I did after that was buy
my parking permit for the semester.
It would be nice to be able to say that all crime
can be stopped before it even happens, which
appears to be the expectations of students here on
Imagine
ttmg in your
1:00 class.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16,2001
Why no escorts
from Police and
Safety?
Dear Kditor.
This letter is in response to the Police and
Safety report that was printed in the February 9
Beacon. Police and Safety were requested to
prov ide an escort to the Logan House by a
female student. The summary stated REQUEST
DENIED because the escort was needed for 9:00
AM. The excuse that P&S gave was that they
don't escort anyone when it is light out. First of
all. if the student requested an escort she
obviously felt uncomfortable walking to the
Logan House alone. That in itself should justify
an escort. Secondly, what the hell could P & S
be doing at 9:00 AM that would keep them from
providing an escort. Isn’t this situation exactly
what the escort program is all about? If it’s
actually a policy that P&S do not escort students
durine the day. they should seriously reconsider
Brian Forsman
Troy Shafer
Dan Cargioli
campus. However, statistically, most criminals
are caught after the crime is committed through
investigations, not while the crime is actually
taking place.
We continue to blame Police and Safety for
crimes that happen on campus. Do we blame the
Erie Police for crimes that happen in Erie? Do
we expect the Erie Police to be so good, that they
can catch all crime before it even happens? It
would be ignorant to say that a qualified police
force should be able to do this.
So let’s make up our mind. Do we want
Police and Safety to sit up in the parking lots to
watch for the vandals while the rest of the
campus goes unprotected? Do we want Police
and Safety giving people escorts in broad
daylight as opposed to investigating the crimes
going on at Behrend? The more we expect our
officers to protect one part of the campus, the
less they can protect others.
Let’s start putting the blame on the people that
deserve it. It’s the irresponsibility of students
that need Police and Safety assistance for being
passed out on their dorm room floors that take
away from the functions our officers should be
performing. It’s the fact that there are students
that don’t follow proper parking procedures that
“waste” our officers’ time ticketing them. And
it’s the ridiculously childish vandals that roam
the campus at night ripping sideview mirrors off
of cars because they don’t have any respect for
themselves that put Police and Safety in parking
lots while underage drinkers are passed out
because they are too cool to know when to stop.
When students begin to start taking
responsibility for themselves. Police and Safety
can start protecting this campus. Until then, we
just keep permitting vandals to act like high
school kids.
Snyder’s column appears every three weeks.
u.O\