Many supporters of the SOPA and PIPA legislation argued that both bills were actually in defense of to free speech and free exchange. Cary Williams, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Recording Industry Association of America wrote in the New York Times “[that the anti-online piracy legislation] is specifically designed to focus on the worst of the worst sites whose model is predicated on theft.” Coincidentally, the histories of content industries do not support Williams. Over the last twenty years or so, content industries have made broad, assertive claims of what constitutes their intellectual property.

Indeed, both bills illustrate an example of the increasing collusion between government and business. Companies such as Time Warner Cable, a staunch supporter of SOPA and PIPA, lobby Congress for legislation that would have made it difficult for low-priced or free websites to compete. This drives companies with new technology and lower prices out of the market. For example, Qwiki.com, an online encyclopedia which uses audio and video multimedia content—a great deal of which are taken from Time Warner affiliated sites—to display Wikipedia pages would have been shut down. Furthermore, other websites such as those which allow users to search for a broad range of content such as Google, Yahoo, and AOL could have plausibly been fined or challenged by SOPA and PIPA. Search engines neither censor nor scan for pirated content and can lead users to websites where they can download copyrighted material—a violation of SOPA and PIPA.

The broad language included in SOPA and PIPA may have effectively ended public domain. This is a confrontation to the original purpose of the internet. The internet is a perfect spontaneous market. Free speech thrives. Good, services, and information exchanges between individuals. Entry and transaction costs are low. Innovation is not centrally planned, but is driven by entrepreneurs. Individuals employ their knowledge and capital productively without an understanding the entire system. People make decisions on which websites to use based on their desires.

Accordingly, when the influence of corporate lobbyists enters the political process, policy can raise entry costs for competition. Companies try to maximize profit, but it is protectionist and crony policies that can lead to decreases in innovation, ideas, and free speech. At any rate, perhaps something good did come from the brief scare caused by both SOPA and PIPA that was felt by college students, professionals, businesses, and other individuals alike. When both bills were taken up as national issues civil protest unfurled. Numerous websites, in order to display what may happen if SOPA and PIPA were passed, initiated a blackout of their respective sites for a number of days. Numerous online petitions were created and signed by hundreds of thousands of people. Here, the power of ideas, innovation and individuals were released. Perhaps this is a progressive sign that we are finally tired of the government cronyism.

Related posts:

1. The United States Government is Not a Business
2. Why We Can’t Stimulate, Quantitatively Ease, or Twist our way to Prosperity

Last fall, the Habitat Golf Event raised over $2,500 to enable them to “continue building homes and building hope.”  Included among the 32 golfers were two H-SC teams: the Circle K team of Tim Shen, Patrick Lynch, Scott Cutler, and Steven Ellmann; and the Phi Gamma Delta team of Conner Rund, Andrew Near, Eric Rutherford, and Samson Canovos. Faculty golfers included Drs. Curt and Susan Smith, along with Dr. Jerry Bryce. After a round of golf at the Manor, there was a lunch with silent auction to raise additional funds. The Inter-Fraternity Council provided financial support for the event, as did the Habitat Club and H-SC’s ARAMARK donated snacks and drinks.

The Habitat Club, meanwhile, has been reorganized and is actively looking to help with construction and deconstruction projects, as well as fund-raising events.  So far the club has held cookie sale fundraisers and has done deconstruction work to support the Habitat Women’s Build that is currently taking place. In early February the Habitat Club is also participating in Habifest, a music festival held by Farmville Area Habitat to raise money. Next weekend, the club will be inviting students to come help with the current house-building project in Farmville. There are lots of ways to become involved!

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1. An Appreciation for Hampden-Sydney Sports
2. Finding a Place in the Hampden-Sydney Culture
3. All in the Hips

This culture on campus has led to dangerous patterns of drinking developing among students. The CAC plans its events at times not to the benefit of the school as time during the week days, which are times either for studying, work, or lectures. Weekdays are filled with video game tournaments offering large prizes whereas the weekends are left barren with the exceptions being a few CAC sponsored game nights every few Fridays.

 It was suggested in a letter-to-the-editor titled “Welcome to Suitcase University!” in the last issue of the Tiger that the CAC should grant money to have the fraternities host weekly events. This undermines the need for college-sponsored events as they offer students choices other than parties. Clubs like the Animation Society, which hold a bi-weekly movie showing, are left to offer an alternative event from the frats with far less funding.

Students pay $208 a year in activities and due to allocations by the Student Finance Committee, half of that money goes to the College Activities Committee. The CAC receives more money that any other organization on campus under the SFC’s purview. The cost of one CAC event is valued at the same level of many clubs’ budget for the entire year. This money is not always being spent on campus either. For example, the CAC sent fifteen students to the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins game. The trip is estimated by the CAC at a value of at least $3,750. If the entertainment culture on campus is going to be changed by means already available, then either the CAC needs to focus on more small events available on the weekends for students or the SFC should consider less appropriations to the CAC and more towards the clubs that have already displayed the ability to hold entertaining and cost effective activities.

The Student Senate, College Activities Council and Student Finance Committee were unwilling to turn over records or be interviewed for this article.

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2. The CAC: Working Hard So You Can Play Hard
3. My Beef with OrgSync

Let me start this article with an admission: I am biased. As a former Marshal, or Pledge Master, and current Rush Chair of Theta Chi. I am, therefore, ideologically committed to the idea of Fraternal Organizations. I will attempt to be self-aware enough to check that and approach this article as purely a student.

Every week I, like all students here, spend hours upon hours secluded in academic buildings, computer labs, and the library attempting to gain an education that rivals any offered in the world. The incredible faculty of this school hold us to a standard that other schools can only dream of and give us an education of such quality that I have never even heard rumors of elsewhere. Yet, every week, I watch a common scene: the fine young men of Hampden-Sydney College packing their vehicles for a weekend at UVA, UNC, or any number of other colleges and universities within driving distance. Their answer is always the same: why would I stay here for the weekend?

The problem is that they are right. The CAC simply doesn’t have the resources to entertain the student body every weekend. This wasn’t a problem in years past. Students could find a Fraternity Circle that would surely be able to provide release for a night or two from the endless effort that pursuing a quality liberal arts education required. Now, the Circle seems quiet and lifeless and more reminiscent of specialty housing than a place for the men of Hampden-Sydney to find a break. What changed?

The problem is a decline in the quality of Greek Life on this campus. Every year new regulations are put on Greek Life that strangle it. Limits on Rush negate brothers’ ability to get new men interested and result in the diminished size of Fraternities. With this diminished size comes a diminished resource pool and cash poor social budgets. Strict regulations about the conduct of Fraternity men, which don’t apply to the whole student body, put Fraternities constantly on edge and defeat the means and willingness of Fraternities to invite non-brothers into their parties. So, in an effort to preserve the existence of their organizations, Fraternity men feel they must close their houses. Hence, the Circle becomes an unwelcoming and anti-social place for all students since even Greeks are so wary, that enjoying the company of their brothers in their house might risk its very existence. So here we find ourselves, a campus in social decline with Fraternity Circle unable to step up to the plate and serve our community.

My solution is a new approach to the interaction between the CAC and Fraternity Circle. I do not know the operating budget of the CAC. I do, however, know what it costs to host live music at a fraternity. Anyone who has been to a fraternity house with live music playing knows how fun that atmosphere can be and the comfort level of students who know they are at an event run by other students. East Coast Entertainment, the managing agency that handles nearly all of the bands who play at fraternities at this campus, quotes a one night performance at 1,500 dollars. In a given semester there are about 10 weekends in which neither the CAC nor Fraternity Circle can offer real escape to the student body. Coincidentally there are nine member organizations of the Inter-Fraternity Council. For 15,000 dollars a semester the CAC could allot each fraternity a weekend in which they would host live music, not including those weekends in which live music is already prevalent. To accept the funds Fraternities would, of course, have to agree to abide by certain conditions, i.e. no common alcohol source and an open door policy. With this solution, the CAC and Student Body can know that there will be some sort of activity at the school every weekend, and the IFC can enjoy an atmosphere in which they do not feel suffocated by our College. Not only does this give the Student Body something to do on campus, it might also allow for the resurgence of Greek Life which I addressed earlier in this article.

Until a solution is found, however, to these problems we will stagnate where we are: stuck with a CAC that cannot possibly satisfy students’ needs every weekend and a Fraternity Circle suffocated by regulation. We, once again, will watch the train of cars depart on Friday afternoon. Finding themselves, likely, at fraternity houses on other campuses where students are not held to the standards of gentlemen, where doors must be locked to prevent theft, and where a sense of community and honor is reserved for novels.

This situation will not make me leave; however, my concern is not for myself. With the apparent decline in Greek Life, how will I be able to perpetuate the betterment of young men through Fraternal Organizations? More dire still, how can we perpetuate the betterment of young men through Hampden-Sydney College when we tell them to spend 4 years of their life at an all-male institution with incredible academic standards and no social life to speak of?

Related posts:

1. The Future Looks Bright for the Greeks
2. H-SC isn’t Holding Up its End of the Deal to Fraternities
3. IFC Sets Constitution for Reform

Mr. Turpin claims “people are not infinitely smart or wise.” We certainly agree. Man does not have perfect knowledge. He does not, nor can he possibly, know everything there is to know in the world. In fact, in 1945, Nobel laureate economist F.A. Hayek published “The Use of Knowledge in Society.” Hayek argues that each individual possess only a small fraction of all the information that exists in society. This is called circumstantial knowledge, and one of the keys to the success of any societal arrangement is how well it can turn this circumstantial knowledge into an efficient allocation of resources. The free market is able to do this through the pricing mechanism. Hayek calls prices “incentives wrapped in knowledge” since they communicate marginal values and provide signals for good profit-maximizing entrepreneurs. Not only is it impossible for us to “centrally plan” the use of all knowledge, but we don’t need to. Our collective knowledge, when coordinated through prices, can do more than any single individual.

Each morning when we take out our pencils to practice drawing supply and demand graphs before economics class, we benefit from the efforts of the millions of people that made the pencil, yet we have no idea how to produce one. The pencil has wood that was cut down with a chainsaw, designed by an engineer, powered by gasoline, which was made via crude oil, which was extracted from the ground. The pencil also has a rubber eraser that was farmed, imported, sold…we could literally continue this process without end. Even though the number of people contributing to making one simple no. 2 pencil is essentially uncountable, we need not centralize knowledge and coordinate everything between them because all these resources are allocated via a spontaneous order: the product of human action, but not human design. You are right Mr. Turpin, no one can know it all, which is why we need free markets.

Mr. Turpin also claims that man is fallible and makes mistakes, which is true as well. Mr. Turpin asks what will happen when people believe they are acting in their own interests, when really they are not—they will learn! The Spontaneous order emerges stronger.  In 1985 Coca-Cola changed its drink formula and introduced “New Coke.”  Despite successful field research, once “New Coke” hit the market, sales dropped. Even former Cuban dictator and avid Coke drinker, Fidel Castro, criticized the formula change (ironically, he blamed it on “capitalist decadence). However, hard working, profit maximizing, entrepreneurial, ( and “selfish,” for Mr. Turpin’s sake), Coca-Cola executives resurrected the original Coca-Cola formula, which left us with the Coca-cola Classic we now have today. Sometimes innovations are good and sometimes they simply are not, but without the market, we simply cannot know. You are right Mr. Turpin, people will make mistakes, which is why we need free-markets, so that we can distinguish successes from failures.

Perhaps the most drastic misconception that leads Mr. Turpin astray is his understanding that “Economists study markets, not people.” Quite simply, the people are the market. Separating the market from people is impossible. Thus, a study of the market is a study of people. One cannot exist independently of the other. The most basic textbook definition of Economics is a “study of how humans act in a world of scarcity.”  Mr. Turpin is correct in his analysis that markets will provide for whatever one desires, so long as entrepreneurs can make a profit doing it.  However, simply because markets will provide goods and services that some might call “immoral” is not a case against markets. The free-market is a mechanism for allocating scarce resources. It is not a system we use to distinguish what is good and bad for one’s soul.

For the sake of argument, we will accept Mr. Turpin’s claim that “people aren’t always smart,” which is why we need government. However, if people aren’t always smart how do we know who the dumb one here is? The burden of proof is on you Mr. Turpin. As far as we are concerned, Liberty is the default.

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3. The United States Government is Not a Business

All the best,

Frasher A. Bolton ‘12

Secretary-Treasurer of Student Government

*Please note that several clubs failed to schedule audits, did not request funds, or are self-funded.

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Over the past several years our society has taken the responsible move to help protect the health and safety of our citizens by reducing and limiting areas where smoking is acceptable based on years of research which highlights the negative impacts of smoking. The results of a statewide survey completed four years ago revealed that Hampden-Sydney College was the only college or university in Virginia that still allowed smoking on campus with virtually no restrictions. The findings of this survey led to the administration reaching the decision to make all buildings smoke free.

Obviously, this has resulted in the cultural change taking place on our campus.  We have found that most people who live and work on the Hill comply willingly (or at least comply), and we commend those who do.

Several types of smoking receptacles have been used outside dorms and academic buildings to help the smoker discard cigarettes in a safe and aesthetically pleasing manner with varied degrees of success. The most recent design is simply a five gallon bucket with sand inside. These have proven to be effective to some extent although they are also being used for trash receptacles in some cases, which creates a fire hazard. There were two such fires reported on campus last spring.

Within a three-week period last year, our campus experienced two fires in mulched flowerbeds ignited by carelessly discarded cigarettes. One was at Gilmer Hall and the other occurred at Sagebrook Apartments. Both were fortunately extinguished before getting out of control or doing a great deal of damage, but the outcome could just have easily been very different.

On March 12, 2009, the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house at Washington and Lee University caught fire at 4:30 AM. One student was treated for smoke inhalation. The damage to the house was estimated at nearly half a million dollars. The cause: mulch ignited by a lit cigarette. Even though the house was made from brick, the front porch ignited and the fire reached and ignited the third floor and then spread from there to the rest of the house.

A responsible smoker recognizes that once you light a cigarette, you own the fire until it is extinguished and will react accordingly. If a cigarette is simply dropped on the ground, thrown out of a vehicle window or carelessly tossed into a mulched flowerbed, the potential to ignite a fire is very great and may put the life and or property of others in jeopardy. This behavior or decision does not conform to the mission of Hampden-Sydney College: “To Form Good Men and Good Citizens”.

This topic has been raised by the Hampden-Sydney College Safety Committee and it was agreed that student input would be sought as we endeavor to find a solution to a potentially fatal problem. You may email your constructive ideas for review and consideration by the Safety Committee to smokingsurvey@hsc.edu.

-Chuck Ironmonger

Fire Safety Supervisor

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As the president of a fraternity, I would like bring to attention a school policy that is deeply harming the greek system: Hampden-Sydney College is not responsible for any property left in college housing over the summer—which is subsequently stolen. I believe H-SC needs to do more to prevent fraternity property loss because fraternities are different in nature than all other college housing, and the school is missing an opportunity to attract money from donors as it stands.

Over the past two summers, my fraternity has had thousands of dollars worth property stolen. While I do admit that not all of these items were properly secured, various other items have been taken from closets that are supposed to have very limited access. Ask any fraternity member and he will have a list of items that have gone missing from his house over recent summer breaks.

Fraternity houses are different in nature than campus housing because they stay in the fraternity from year to year. H-SC has a long greek tradition, and a large portion of its donors are greek. Fall weekends are big opportunities for fraternities and the school to raise money. Suppose an alumnus came to campus last year for Homecoming and donated a television to his fraternity. If he returns to H-SC for this year’s Homecoming to find that the television he donated is not around anymore, is he inclined to make another donation to the fraternity again? I would think not. He would leave thinking the fraternity members are neglectful and unappreciative. If he looked into the matter more, he would learn that the school is doing little or nothing to help fraternities safely store property, which does not reflect well on the school.

H-SC took ownership of fraternities in the 90’s. Therefore, as current owners of the fraternity properties, the school is responsible for stolen items stored in “safe” areas of the houses. Rather than the school investing in new locks or security systems for the whole circle, I’m suggesting the school provide one secure storage unit or building in which the fraternities can store their valuable property over the summer. Access needs to be limited to the dean of Students office and the head of B&G.

I believe this simple solution could cut down on fraternity property loss ten-fold. Donors like to see their money being put to use; this policy will allow fraternities and HSC to show just that.

-John Chambers ‘13

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1. Thefts on Fraternity Property Continue to be Overlooked
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When riding the elevator down to the lobby thirty minutes later I saw the used band-aid, plus two candy wrappers on the floor. Ick!

After dinner I read “Cigarette Butts: Incentivize, Don’t Criticize”. Cigarette butts littering our campus–ICK!

Mom Alert:  I don’t offer my children monetary rewards, or special treats, to incentivize them to empty the trash, carry the groceries in from the car, or to clean up their rooms. Part of growing up means learning to do the right thing—just because it is the right thing to do.

You cannot be a Hampden-Sydney Gentleman, unless you are willing to live like one. Gentlemen do not need incentives to behave like gentlemen. To quote John Bridges in How to be a Gentlemen: A Timeless Guide to Timeless Manners, “… being a gentleman has little to do with tying a tie or fumbling with the flatware. Instead, it requires only a little logic, a bit of forethought, and a great deal of consideration for others.”

The cigarette butts that line the sidewalks and pile up in front of academic buildings and dorms are as disgusting as the used band-aid on the floor of the elevator.  Gentlemen do not inflict their messes on others—and on those occasions when a gentleman does make a mess (e.g., when making breakfast for his mom on Mother’s Day), he cleans up after himself.

The fate of the band-aid and the candy wrappers? I fished around in my purse for a tissue, picked them up, and put them in a trash can.  It wasn’t my mess. But, I’m certain it was the right thing to do.

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1. Coats & Ties Versus Cigarette Butts
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3. Smoking on Campus: Opening the Dialog

Creating a festival themed show, involving three bands, the CAC found a new tactic to draw in a crowd. The CAC decided to host a festival Greek Week Concert by bringing in three different bands in order to produce a night of music and entertainment for the Hampden-Sydney Community. The CAC and the more than 1000 attendees to the concert jammed out with Perpetual Groove, Tea Leaf Green, and the Jesse Chong Band. The comments coming through the door were of amazement of how much better the concert was than what most people were expecting. Furthermore, there was nothing more exhilarating than hearing the crowd chanting “One more song” at the end of the concert to get Perpetual Groove back into the mood just when they thought they were rapping up their set. 

The CAC would like to graciously thank all those who took part in the effort to make this production happen. Much thanks to all the B&G staff, especially Sarah Tolley and Tom Gregory, to our security for the show, provided by the Minority Student Union and Chief Gee and his staff, all the ARAMAK staff, Jim Pohl and Joy Donaldson, as well as all the wonderful ladies in the Business office, especially Mrs. Burkhart and Ms. Puckett. Thank you to all the other individuals who took so much of their time into making this show possible, from Dean Ramsay, Ms. Dottie, and all the other members of the supportive staff. If you have any ideas or suggestions for next fall’s Start of Classes show, please direct ideas to our facebook fan page.

- Josh Rivera, CAC Secretary

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