To the editor

I was very disturbed by Christopher Ortiz’ column in the July 16

edition of the Collegian. Ortiz spent most of his column

rationalizing why it is okay to download music without paying for

it. Toward the end, he says, “The moral of the story is it is up to

you to determine if downloading music is wrong or illegal.” It is

not up to the individual to determine if it is illegal, it is up to

Congress.

Regardless of Ortiz’ personal views on the subject, copyright

violation is a federal offense, and it is irresponsible for the

Collegian to advocate violating the law.

In the second to the last paragraph, Ortiz points out Apple’s

online store where people can purchase single songs, but rather

than push for people to patronize Apple’s website, he suggests

people continue to steal music.

Professional musicians did not become professional musicians to

play music. They became professional musicians to get paid to play

music. If a musician has skills and talents that you value, you

should reward them accordingly and buy their music, not steal

it.

John Eisele

Photographer with CSU Instructional Services.