Uncle Sam vs. Walkman
Battlelines Drawn for
Next Year’s Fight Over
Home Taping
by Julia Haskett
Popular consiuner practices such as
taping an album or compact disc to play
on portable or car'stereo systems, or
compiling a collection of personal
favorite single recordings on one tape,
are likely to be |he focus of an intense
legislative flght over home taping when
the 102nd Congress convenes in January
of 1991, according to the Home
Recording Rights Coalition (HBRC).
A lawsuit to bar the sale of a new
consumer home taping technology
known as the digital audio tape recorder
(DAT) was initiated this past July,
signalling the first event to serve as a
dress rehearsal for the expected
campaign to restria the long-established
consumer practice of home taping. DATs
combine the mechanical technology of
the VCR with the digital technology of
the compact disc to produce cleaner
sound with a ^perior dynamic range.
The litigation came as an unpleasant
surprise to consumers, who have been
looking forward to sales of DAT in the
United States for a long time. According
to Gary Shapiro, Chairman of the HRRC,
“There is no reason they should be
denied the right to enjoy this new format ”
In Congressional hearings during
the summer of 1990 on the issue of the
DAT technology, the National Music
Publishers Association, which is
supporting the lawsuit to ban DAT sales
in the United States, testified in support
of royalty taxes on the sales of blank
tapes and tape recorders. HRRC has
maintained that noncommercial home
taping for private purposes is
encompassed in basic rights of American
consumers and it has in past years
helped defeat several attempts in
Congress to enact royalty taxes that
would infringe on such rights. Shapiro
pointed out that obtaining such royalty
tax legislation appears to be the real
goal of the anti-DAT lawsuit
He said that it is ironic for this suit
to be filed so soon after a long-awaited
study by Congress’ Office of Technology
Assessment (OTA) found there to be no
evidence to confirm that home audio
tapinghurts record sales. To the contrary,
OTA’s study, released late last year,
found that most consumers tape from
albums they already own. The reason
given most often was portability —
making tapes for car tape players,
personal stereos, '1>oom boxes”, etc.
Tlie OTA found that, overwhelmingly,
most consumers see nothing wrong
with home taping and would not favor
any legislation that would prohibit it or
impose royalties on private taping.
If you’d like your voice to be heard
on this issue, write to Senator Jesse
Helms or Senator Terry Sanford at the U.
S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510 and
Congressman David Price, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
For further information, contact the
Home Recording Rights Coalition at 1>
800-282-8273.
If We Could Talk to the
Animals
What a way to spend fall break!
Ms. Jan SulUvan, biology department
instructor, announces a special
workshop, Dolphin Biology and
Behavior, to be held October 12>14 at
Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Planned
activities include field trips to observe
and f^tograph bottlenosed ddphins,
and a visit to die North Carolina Maritime
Museum. The deadlirte for sigrnip is
Wednesday, September 13 so you need
to see Ms. Sullivan as soon as possible
to reserve your place. Fee for the
weekend is $150 ($135 for Friends of the
Maritime Museum). Ms. Sullivan’s office
is in Hunter Hall and her phone number
is 1. She promises a great learning
experience and lots of fun!
Attention Science and Math Students
Applications Being
Accepted for Hands-on
Research
Are you studying science, physics,
environmental and life sciences,
mathematics or chemistry? If so, you
may be interested in the Oak Ridge
Science and Engineering Research
Semester (ORSERS). ORSERS is offering
college juniors and seniors an
opportunity to do hands-on research at
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
in Tennessee during the academic year.
ORSERS is part of a nationwide
effort by the U.S. Department of Energy
to increase the quality and quantity of
students preparing for careers in science
and mathematics and is managed by
Oak Ridge Associate Universities, Oak
Ridge, Tenn. Participants become
members of research teams engaged in
long-range, intensive investigations
employing advanced facilities and
equipment. Fields of study include
artificial intelligence, biomedicine,
mathematics and engineering.
While the emphasis of the program
is on hands-on research, ORSERS also
includes an educational enrichment
component Participants attendseminars
and symposiums sponsored by the
divisions at ORNL and. have the option
of enrolling in a laboratory-approved
course at the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville or other nearby colleges.
Students are also encouraged to arrange
for the granting of academic credit by
the home institutions for the research
semester.
According to the National Science
Foundation studies, by the year 2000 the
United States will not have enough
scientists to meet its needs. “Manpower
projections for all types of scientist and
engineers show the future demand for
these specialists to be much greater than
the supply,” said ORSERS program
manager Ernestine Friedman. “Experts
contend that the gap is widening to
serious, if not critical, levels.”
To be eligible for participation in
ORSERS, students must be 18 years of
age, have completed the sophomore
year at an accredited U.S. college or
university and be a U.S. citizen or
permanent resident alien. They must be
working toward a degree in scien^ or
mathematics. Guidelines suggest an
overall grade point average of 3 0 or
higher.
While in the program, ORSERS
partidpanis will receive a weekly stipend
of $200 per week, free housing, and
travel reimbursement for relocation to
the appointment site.
For more information about the
program, contact Ernestine Friedman,
ORSERS Program Manager, Science/
En^neering Education Division, Oak
Ridge Associated Universities, P. O. Box
117, Oak Ridge, TN 37831'0n7.
The application deadline for the
1991 spring semester is October 20,
1990. The 1991 fall term deadline is
March 15,1991.
City Entertainment
By Patricia Underwood
Looking for free entertainment?
Check out Pea% College for the Shady
Grass Bluegrass Band on Monday,
September 10, at 6:00 p.m. For more
information call 832-2881.
If you are interested in learning tie-
dye techniques and making wearable
art (How many shopping cUys left 'till
Christmas?). Call Arts pace to enroll in
their ”Fall into Art” series of craft classes
at 821-2787.
Meredith students, did you miss the
"Crudble” auditions, but still want to get
into theater? Well, this is your lucky
break. Peace College is heading auditions
for Wallace Shaw’s thought provoking
friay "Aunt Dan and Lemor.” For more
information call 832-2881.
The North Carolina Museum of
History will show a series of films about
space travel every Sunday this month.
One of the features will be the 1963 Aim
“The Right StufT, shown at 2:00 p.m. on
September l6th. The admission
course, free. The museum is also looking
for volunteers. Fall training starts soon
so call 733-3076 today.
Theater in the Park has two new
plays opening this week; “Les Liasons
Dangereuses” and Marriage of Beoe
and Boo.” Ticket price is $10.00 and
$5.00 if you go on a Tuesday or
Wednesday. Call 831-6058 for times
and dates.