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News
The Clarion | Jan. 20.2012
SGA kicks
off new
semester
By Carolina Anderson
staff Writer
SOPA
The Student Government Association
(SGA) here at Brevard College has always
been a voice for the students and with the
semester having just started, now is the time
to become move involved with the Student
Government Association.
The Student Government Association serves
as a “middle man” between the students and
the administrative board. During an interview
with Mark Moseley, a Junior, Wilderness
Leadership major at Brevard College, he
explained how that process works.
When a student or group of students have
a proposal that they would like to present to
the administrative board. Student Government
Association serves as a preliminary
presentation, before the students present there
proposal to the board.
The Student Government Association
members look over and review the proposal
and make the appropriate changes in order
to have the proposal be accepted. When the
proposal receives the Student Government
Association stamp of approval, they proposal
is given a much better chance of being put
into action.
Now is the time to become more involved
in the Student Government Association.
This being a new semester with new campus
leaders, the Student Government Association
has many ways for students to become
involved and they encourage everyone to
join.
The Students Government Association has
not yet had their first meeting of the semester
but they are planning on holding one in the
near future.
media firms, pharmaceuticals makers, and the
US Chamber of Commerce. These supporters
claim that it “protects the intellectual property
market and corresponding industry, jobs
and revenue, and is necessary to bolster
enforcement of copyright laws, especially
against foreign websites.” A foreign nation
is boycotted against because it is the main
source of downloads, and the purchasing of
pharmaceutical mediations. The bill would
even criminalize the unauthorized streaming
of copyrighted materials, which can lead to
five years in prison.
Why the pharmaceutical makers? Because
Google had to pay a 500 million dollar
settlement with the Department of Justice for
allowing Canadian pharmacies to advertise
prescription drugs that are illegal to the
United States. Although it is true that there are
certain websites that sell illicit or mislabeled
medications there are more that do not.
According to a group called RxRights, a
consumer advocate’s group, "there are
Canadian and other international pharmacies
that do disclose where they are located, require
a valid doctor's prescription and sell safe,
brand-name medications produced by the
same leading manufacturers as prescription
medications sold in the U.S” But SOPA will
be unable to distinguish between counterfeit
and genuine websites. This therefore will not
allow residents of the United States to order
foreign medications.
Those most affected by this bill are new
search engines, social media sites, tumbler,
YouTube and even small sites like deviantart.
This is because these sites will allow
copyrighted material to be posted. Even sites
that allow certain advertising can be at risk.
However, with the US Department of Justice
deciding which sites are legal and illegal, and a
certain judge believes that using a quote from
a movie or a drawing of a certain television
character is infringement, then the site could
be shut down.
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Protests are happening all over the nation,
opponents of the bill are even saying that it
violates the first amendment, the freedom
of speech. A group of at least 100 lawyers
signed a letter to the House or Representatives
stating that the passing of this law was
unconstitutional, the authors. Professor Mark
A. Lemley (Stanford Law School), Professor
David S. Levine (Elon University School
of Law), and Professor David Post (Temple
University School of Law) state that; “The
Constitution ‘require[s] a court before material
is completely removed from circulation...
to make a final determination that material
is [unlawful] after an adversary hearing...
immediately by the Attorney General after an
ex parte hearing.” The bill was never given
an adversary hearing by a judge, therefore the
House of Representatives is violating the first
amendment by removing these websites from
circulation before they have been given an ex
parte hearing by a judge.
SOPA and PIPA, are both bills that put the
internet as we know it at a serious risk. The
internet has become a major industry for
countless programs, and even people. It was
through social networking sites that the early
days of the “Arab Spring” were even possible.
If this bill is passed the first amendment will
be violated, and the people of the United
States cut off from foreign websites, certain
downloads, and even the social media.
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