DT Quotes Show File-Sharing Rift on Campus

The students quoted in this Daily Trojan article show an interesting rift in sentiment on the USC campus in regard to file-sharing and the RIAA's lawsuits:

"It's a rippling effect. [The RIAA] starts doing this, and we find sneakier ways to download illegally," he said. "Until they get the picture that we're not going to stop until they make it much easier to get music at a reasonable price, we're not going to stop." - an anonymous freshman interactive entertainment major

versus...

"It seems like they're trying to make some sort of compromise," he said. "You've seen the lawsuits where some grandma is sued and pays thousands of dollars, so if they're willing to settle out of court - sort of like a, 'You help us, we'll help you' - that's a good thing." - Brandon Lang, freshman business major

Notice that the budding cultural creator is opposed to the RIAA's tactics and expresses dissatisfaction with the music industry, while the budding business mogul views the RIAA's actions as defensible--even beneficial.

I'd like to think that the rift between the two viewpoints is mostly an information rift--that with more knowledge, Lang would ultimately come to see how the RIAA's tactics are dangerous to civil liberties and dangerous to our future as consumers and technloogists. But what would be the best way to go about having that dialogue?

(via the Daily Trojan)