Pag^ 4, December 15, 1977
Royalties May End Free Music
(Taken from Elon College Student
Neswpaper) Free music may be
about to end at colleges and
universities. Royalties amounting
to several million dollars a year are
about to begin.
On Jan. 1, the federal copyright
law will no longer exempt in
stitutions of higher education from
payment of royalties for music
played on campuses. College of
ficials are hiring lawyers who are
experts in music copyright law and
negotiating with powerful music
licensing organizations.
During November all groups will
be trying to agree on a model
licensing policy to cover all types of
non-exempt musical performances
on campuses. Each college could
then adopt the nationally negotiated
form of agreement and spare
themselves time and expense of
separate negotiations with music
licensing agencies.
Gary English, executive director
of the National Entertainment and
Campus Activities Association, said
the impact could be “devastating’ ’
because the change takes effect in
the middle of the college year, and
budgets do not include music royalty
money.
English said he believes licensing
fees might be as high as half the
total budget of student-activities
boards. A lot of musicians will be
out of work, he forecast, and a lot of
concert schedules will be reduced.
Almost all royalty payments are
made to one or three organizations
which represent composers and
publishers who own copyrights: The
American Society of Composers,
Authors, and Publishers ( ASCAP);
Broadcast Music, Inc. (M.M.I.); or
SESAC, Inc. Since a college cannot
know whose music may be per
formed in advance, it may have to
pay license fees to all agencies.
The alternatives are not at
tractive: a $250 minimum fine for
performances that are unlicensed;
or a music diet of Stephen Foster
and older works on which the 75-year
copyright has expired.
Clearly exempt under the revised
law is music played within a non
profit educational institution by an
instructor or students in the
teaching of music otherwise , a
musical perf ormance will oe exempt
Salt Lake City, Utah (I.P.)-A new
regulation at the University of Utah
may be one of the first moves of its
kind in the country to help “cool off
some of the high grading practices^’
according to Dr. Pete D. Gardner,
vice president for academic affairs.
Beginning with the current
quarter, letter grades on student
transcripts will be followed by the
average grade all students received
in the class. It will be a numerical
equivalent based on a four-point
scale and will appear on both the
report card and transcript.
“This is not a mechanism for
solving the problem, but a step in
that directioni’says Dr. Gardner.
“The grade which prospective
employers or professional school
admission committees are seeing on
a student’s transcript is not an ac
curate measure of his achievement’
The new procedure - recommended
by the University Senate - will better
reflect a student’s scholastic ability.
It will allow students to evaluate
their relative performance
realistically, and also will be of
value to honor societies, seriously
concerned with academic
achievement. But the vice president
believes the real impact of the new
regulations will be felt in the
graduate schools where entrance
requirements are highly com-'
petitive.
if there is not direct or indirect
admission charge, or if there is one,
all proceeds go to educational,
religious, or charitable purposes. Or
there is no direct or indirect com
mercial advantage and no payment
of any fee or other compensation for
the performance to any performer,
promoter or organizer.
Several organizations of higher
education are suggesting that
student groups sign no agreements
with licensing agencies until after
the outcome of the national
negotiations. Institutions should
have legal advice before they act,
these organizations also say.
Student Aid Not
Countering Rising Costs
Washington, D.C. - (I.P.) - While student aid programs are important, “as^
currently designed”they are not “an effective counter to rising student costs”
and if not modified, “may become counterproductiveVaccording to Allan W.
Ostar, executive director of the American Asscxiiation of State Colleges and
Universities. ^ j ^ *.u r> •
Among the reasons for needed changes, Ostar noted that the D^sic
Educational Opportunity Grant program “induces states to raise tuition ”in
order to “capture”more federal funds; and creates a false set of expectations.
He also noted that, “present student aid practices are turning educational
access into a system of bureaucratic maladies and of potential abuses similar
to those that characterize our present welfare program’ ’ Ostar cited the
growing default rate on loans and the increasing number of enforcement of
ficers needed by the Office of Education as evidence of the welfare mentality
that is beginning to invade higher education policy.
As steps in a policy to achieve equal access, Ostar recommended
elimination of incentives in federal aid programs for states to raise tuitions;
and a maintenance of effort clause for federal aid programs which would
prohibit states from reducing their effort on behalfof education.
He also recommended the creation of a new “Tuition Cap Program wh(»e
funds would be used to keep tuitions from increasing.” Ostar said the funcls
could be distributed to public and private institutions on a perstudent basis
using an inflationary cast formula, most logically the Higher Education Price
Index.
High Grading Practices
State Personnel
Meeting Synopsis
by C. Larry Wilson, Ph.D.
Dean of Student Affairs
In a recent meeting which four of our Montreat-Anderson College staff
members attended, ther was one seminar on Student Values which I think
warrents sharing. Three panelist presented viewpoints: a Chaplain and
Religious Professor at Elon College, a Professor at Davidson College, and a
Director of Students Activities from Chapel Hill. The opening discussion af
firmed that student attitudes have greatly changed. Further, the unrest of the
60’s was attributed to breaking down of family patterns, crowding of students
on the large university campuses, thechnology emphasis, and the war no one
wanted (Vietnam).
\
The concensus was that presently there is some unrest due to spiritual voids,
too few jobs, lack of educational relevance, less socialization, and too much
emphasis on instant success. Bible study and interest in eastern religions
support the noticeable shift in attitude back to an identity with God. There
seems to be renewed emphasis on friendships, respect for authority and
‘getting one’s self together!’ Students currently value group interaction (a
sense of belonging), moral values, inquisitiveness, and a revived response to
music, art, and culture. Students seem to want deeper and stronger roots and
more than ever are searching for self-idsntity, spiritual truths, and resolution
of current problems: political credibility, human inequities and suffering,
pollution, energy conservation, and peace in the world.
Whereas students previously were reactionary or ‘tuning out’the establish
ment, it appears that the trend now is toward self development, i()b
preparation, and search for answers to major problems. Further simpliPed,
it can be said there has been a shift to internalizing or ‘centering’on self, others
and society in general.
Certain of the remaining problems surrounding student values are: com
munal groups, living together outside marriage, hedonism, alcohol and drugs,
broken families, and uncertainty of the future. These were just the mam
issues discussed by the panel and members of the group. There was general
agreement that on our campuses, in North Carolina at least, there was a
spirit of optimipm, cooperation, respect, and a greater appreciation for
things of true value.
What Other Students
Are Reading. •
MAC reading on campuses
1. Your Erroneous Zones, by Wayne W. Dyer
2. Passages, by Gail Sheehy
3. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Trinity, by Lion Uris
5. All Things Wise and Wonderful, by James Herriot
6. The Grass is Always Greener over the Slelptic Tank, by Erma Bombeck
7. Star Wars, by George Lucas
8. Roots, by Alex Haley
9. The Lincoln Conspiracy, by Daved Balsiger, et al.
y
10. The Dragons of Eden, by Carl Sagan
The Chronicle of Higher Education’s list of best-selling books on college
campuses was compiled from information supplied by stores serving
numerous U.S. campuses.