Good riddance to DC++?

I’m really happy to see DC++ go. People who share files are stealing food straight from the mouths of the Recording Industry Association of America executives and Metallica drummers. This wanton demographic has been neglected in the debate. And come on, if students are rich enough to go to college, then they’re certainly rich enough to buy CDs.

Because of such deviant behavior, ex-DC++ users will be forced to go underground using various spyware and adware ridden file-sharing programs such as Kazaa and Limewire. I look forward to all of the viruses which will spread throughout the campus network, an obvious result of students being forced into these programs. I think of this as divine punishment for the great unwashed multitude of university file-sharers. How dare they force Lil’ Jon to have a cubic zirconium grill and not one made of precious African diamonds?

Matthew Kermit Leibensperger

History

Towson University

Pulling out: Risky Business

It is appalling to hear that “pulling out” is considered, by many, to be a birth control method. This method is not only among the most unreliable and prone to error, but also leaves partners vulnerable to STDs. 

Understandably, there is no monetary cost of using “pulling out” as a birth control. But are both partners willing to face the higher medical costs if they catch an STD and need treatment or face the higher risk of getting pregnant? 

If this is a result of the stigma that people still feel when they go to get more effective methods such as condoms or birth control, this says something about our society. Abstinence isn’t the solution for everybody, so let’s teach people that safe sex isn’t a dirty practice and let’s make the resources easily attainable.  

If a monogamous couple knows each other and both accept the risks of “pulling out,” then they should be able to use it. After all, no form of birth control other than abstinence is 100 percent effective. However, they should understand that all birth control methods have some level of failure, and “pulling out” may be among the riskiest.  

Christine Perez

2006 Alumnus

University of Maryland