4A the university daily kansan opinion friday,may 7,2004 EDITORIAL BOARD Smokers beware: Petition is bad Local bars and restaurants prepared to put away their ashtrays and close their smoking sections by July 1 after Tuesday's City Commission vote. The smoking ban in Lawrence's will include all OUR VIEW OUR VIEW People who smoke will have less of a chance to overturn a referendum. "enclosed public places." If the opponents of the ban continue on their self-destructive mission to put the issue to a citywide vote, those ashtrays and smoking sections will be even less likely to ever come back. The opponents of the ban, such as Red Lyon owner Jerry Neverve, plan to get the needed 3,764 signatures of registered Lawrence voters on a petition, forcing the issue of the smoking ban to be included on the voting ballot as a referendum. Their target is the primary election ballot in August. This strategy has the potential to blow up in the pro-smoking group's face. If the issue is on the ballot, and the vote is in favor of the smoking ban, the ban will carry much more weight than the decision of five elected officials. Because the anti-smoking groups are more mobilized than those that oppose the ban, the smokers will have an uphill battle to win the vote. Groups such as Clean Air Lawrence have already won over the city's elected officials with more than a year of organized lobbying, while in newspaper story after story, the ban's opposition seems to consist of bar and restaurant owners. Also, having a vote in August may mean that students who live outside Lawrence, a group which has a large stake in any smoking ban, might not be able to make their voices heard. The opposition to the antismoking ban should take time to make its case heard loud and clear and to mobilize people against the ban. For example, it could register new voters who are outraged by the ban in time for their votes to count in trying to bring it down. MUSIC OF MY MIND A citywide referendum is more difficult to overturn than a city commission vote; the petitioners who oppose the smoking ban have to make sure they're confident of the result before they let the people vote. The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni. Submissions should be sent to opinion@kansan.com TALK TO US For any questions, call Meghan Brune or Johanna M. M. Maska at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansan.com. General questions should be directed to the editor Zach Newton for The University Daily Kansan Recording Industry is a punk "...It's part of their plans to make us think that it's all about partying and dancing. Yo, it might sound good when you spit it in your rap, but in reality don't live nobody like that." — Dead Prez "Radio Freq" from the 2004 Album RBG: Revolutionary But Ganesta I was stricken with a flash of panic when I learned that two unnamable KU students are being sued for downloading music in the latest episode of the Recording Industry Association of America's renewed hunt for young witches. Relief from my fears came soon, though, as I reasoned that our pair of Jane and/or John Does could not possibly be me. Those two identity-free individuals — known only by their computers' unique IP addresses, the virtual fingerprints that linked them to these crimes — were busted for downloading songs by Rage Against the Machine and 98 Degrees, among others. The RIAA claims that those of us who prefer to get our Coldplay from Kazaa are responsible for a 15 percent decline in CD sales since 2000. It has been crying foul since the fall of Napster — insisting that music file-sharers such as the two among us are going to ruin music. I would never download a Ruge album. Those brothers deserve my cash. As for 98 Degrees, I'd rather download a virus-ridden e-mail attachment. If agents of the record industry knew what the folks who live in Margaret Amini Scholarship Hall and McCollum Hall knew right about now, they would know that no matter how much Snoop and 2Pac they download, the ResNet gangster freshmen down the hall ain't ruining nothing. On April 29, Rolling Stone reported that economists at Harvard and the University of North Carolina found that filesharing is not the cause of declining CD COMMENTARY Cornelius Minor opinion@kansan.com sales. This study, co-authored by Felix Oberholzer-Gee of the Harvard Business School, is the most comprehensive analysis available. As the RIAA continues to chase ResNet surfers, this most recent economic data leave it with no real foundation to its arguments. Even though the economists say that swapping music online is as harmless to the industry as listening to the radio, the RIAA hunt for residence hall music pirates persists. Though KU students are among the most recent, we are not the lone suspects in the RIAA's search for those who, according to it, insist on downloading and tarnishing the industry as we know it. Industry moguls need to recognize that long before any of us logged on to Napster, the industry was already doing the cultural work of ruining itself. The industry that once allowed for diversity and expression in the form of Blue Note, Stax, Sun Records, and others has become a cesspool of homogeneity. The creativity that once had a home in the mass market has been made out of vogue by profitability — which is just about the only thing that matters to today's industry leaders. They have sold us image after image of what we are supposed to be—if it ain't gangster, it ain't rap. If it ain't a midriff, it ain't sexy, and if it ain't ghetto, it ain't authentic. The Napster generation is guilty of anything, it is of believing them. The people policing our dorms for tech-savvy boy-band lovers are the same people who attempt to tell us what is real by selling us unhealthy images of poor folks, of ethnic minorities, of women, of masculinity — of ourselves. If the major labels were interested in artistic integrity and the moral character of the current generation of file-sharers, they would invest in school music, art and technology programs so that we can create the next generation of instrumentalists, vocalists and sonic technicians. If they really cared about what artists were losing in profits, they would not sign those artists to exploitative contracts in the first place. They would give those people the creative room and the marketing force to be inventive beyond the recycled themes of violence and irresponsibility. Why do the big record labels continue to invest in sex and excess when there are plenty of artists who are already poised to provide intelligent alternatives on a large scale? Market researchers say that sex and violence sell albums, and that other things just don't sell as well. During the past two decades, innovative marketers have created audiences for pet rocks, toy slime and remix-it-yourself soda. I find it hard to believe that they cannot create an audience for intelligent music. I nope that the record industry and its market-driven way of doing things dies a complicated yet speedy death. I'm waiting for the day when I don't have to hide my love of pop music — a day when I can be proud of a popular music standard will be one rooted in artistry and creativity — not sex and shock. There are more than 3,500 songs on the iPod in my back pocket. Hopefully they will last me until then. Minor is an Atlanta graduate student in American studies. He is co-host of KJHK's Voice Activated, on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Free for All Call 864-0500 Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com of America last week forallegedly sharing music files via the Internet. Why does the whole campus smell like fertilizer today? John Doe No. 2 has a lot better taste in music than John Doe No. 1. OK, so is this how you do it? I think it is so hot when guys come up to me in the club and pop their collar. of America last week forallegedly sharing music files via the Internet. Man, I have a lot of hair. Woo hoo. I got the Internet Got net? of America last week forallegedly sharing music files via the Internet. So the bookstore will sell me a used book without a CD at the beginning of the semester but now they won't buy it back because it doesn't have the CD. --of America last week forallegedly sharing music files via the Internet. Why aren't my messages ever in here? I always call. You always ignore me. I want to be in here. 图 of America last week forallegedly sharing music files via the Internet. What do you call all of the pretty girls on campus? Visitors. This goes to the girl in my journalism class eating a taco. I got a better grade on my paper. So eat that. of America last week forallegedly sharing music files via the Internet. And on the seventh day, ResNet said, "Let there be Internet." 图 图 Our campus smells like one big pile of chicken poo. Seriously, who do I have to sleep with to get my Internet back? My friend is cheating on her boyfriend and I am going to tell. 图 For a second I thought I went to K- State because this week our campus smells like poo. EDITORIAL BOARD I hate saltines Just because you can button a pair of pants doesn't mean that they fit Why do two out of my three roommates get some booty but not me? of America last week forallegedly sharing music files via the Internet. I just saw Blue. He looks glorious. Piracy suits don't solve issue; piracy continues Two University of Kansas students were among those included in a lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association OUR VIEW When there is a will, there is a way. Piracy will continue despite suits. Music sharing isn't bad. were two of five Kansas residents included in the most recent RIAA lawsuit, are just the latest in a trend that has been targeting college students suspected frequently share music files over The unidentified students, who All right. Let's think this through before we start pointing any fingers. Students share files and download music from the Internet. Is it illegal? Sure. By now everybody knows this. At the same time, though, what do these government-mandated lawsuit's want to accomplish? They are, essentially, attempting to get money from students who have to dig through their couch cushions to go out and drink on Friday night. the Internet. Copyright restrictions allow anywhere from $750 to $150,000 to be collected per song. Lawsuits are not the answer to curbing illegal file sharing on the Internet. It should be apparent to the RIAA that the 2,454 lawsuits that it has filed since last summer have done little to stop people from sharing music. One of the KU students under investigation was reportedly caught while downloading music by Journey, 98 Degrees and Alabama, among other bands. Is this user guilty of bad taste? Most definitely. But stealing — the grounds on which the lawsuits are filed? Not a chance. Artists and recording companies that continue to create a stink about people downloading their music from file-sharing programs instead of going to Best Buy and paying $18 for it need to realize that: Number one, they're already disgustingly, needlessly rich (looking at you, Metallica). No.2, file sharing is something that will always be around. No.3, there isn't enough time in a day to catch even an eighth of a percent of the amount of people who actually download music. What it really comes down to is that no matter what steps the government or recording industry takes to help curtail file sharing, there will always be someone who's much smarter and will figure out a way around the barriers. Fact is, he or she is out there right now, probably laughing, downloading songs from Limewire while counting the coins that the love seat yielded. KANSAN Michelle Rombeck editor 864-4854 or mburhnn@kansan.com Andrew Vaupel managing editor 864-4848 or vaupel@kansan.com Meghan Brune and Johanna M. Maska opinion editors 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com Danielle Bose business manager 864-4358 or addreder@kansan.com Stephanie Graham retail sales manager 864-4358 or adsales@kansan.com Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7686 or mfisher@kansan.com Makcolm Gibson general manager and news adviser 864-7687 or mgibson@kansan.com Editorial Board Members Editorial Board Members Kendall Dix Llynze Ford Laura Francoviglia Amy Hammontree Kelly Hollowell Teresa La Mindy Osborne Yara Scarrow Elizabeth Willy Paul Whitmorette Zach Stinson Zach Newton Wes Benson Sara Behnke Kevin Flaherty Brandon Gay Zack Humenway Alex Hoffman Kevin Kampwirp Amly Kiley Cameron Koelling Courtney Kuhlen Brandi Matheisen Travis Metcalf Mike Norris Jonathan Reeder Erin Riffle Alea Smith Kari Zimmerman C