Companion Essay
Elizabeth Schwartz - Blizzard
Arianne Zwartjes
Companion Essay
4/18/10
The stance that I have chosen to take for the public argument was that I am against the act of piracy and to acquire a program called the Icarus at the University of Arizona. I chose to take this stance because after researching all of the different perspectives, I have personally witnessed the consequences due to illegal file downloading. In the beginning, my view on piracy was that it really isn’t that big of a deal. I agreed with stealing from the media because of how convenient it was for me and for my piers. Illegally downloading files was faster, cheaper, and easier than going out and buying a CD or going to spend ten dollars to see a movie. However, now that I have looked at all possible scenarios of getting caught and now fully understand the moral issue in this crime, I believe schools such as the University of Arizona should adopt programs, especially the Icarus, in order to reduce and completely prevent piracy. In order to try and actually adopt this program, I wrote a letter, almost like a petition, for students and those who also believe that the University of Arizona should eliminate illegal file sharing. I initially had a large black poster board with purple and gold glitter writing saying “I dare you” on it in order to lure people into seeing my website. It said I dare you across the entire board because I thought it was catchy enough to convince people they wanted to hear my argument and it was so shiny and large that people couldn’t turn their eyes away when they saw it. Once they came over, they were interested in what I was really “daring” them to do. After I got student’s attention, I showed them my website and tricked everyone by letting students think they could download songs and movies illegally. They read through the cases and realized that they were stealing once they couldn’t actually download any files. The letter I wrote is to the administrative assistant
Arianne Zwartjes
Companion Essay
4/18/10
The stance that I have chosen to take for the public argument was that I am against the act of piracy and to acquire a program called the Icarus at the University of Arizona. I chose to take this stance because after researching all of the different perspectives, I have personally witnessed the consequences due to illegal file downloading. In the beginning, my view on piracy was that it really isn’t that big of a deal. I agreed with stealing from the media because of how convenient it was for me and for my piers. Illegally downloading files was faster, cheaper, and easier than going out and buying a CD or going to spend ten dollars to see a movie. However, now that I have looked at all possible scenarios of getting caught and now fully understand the moral issue in this crime, I believe schools such as the University of Arizona should adopt programs, especially the Icarus, in order to reduce and completely prevent piracy. In order to try and actually adopt this program, I wrote a letter, almost like a petition, for students and those who also believe that the University of Arizona should eliminate illegal file sharing. I initially had a large black poster board with purple and gold glitter writing saying “I dare you” on it in order to lure people into seeing my website. It said I dare you across the entire board because I thought it was catchy enough to convince people they wanted to hear my argument and it was so shiny and large that people couldn’t turn their eyes away when they saw it. Once they came over, they were interested in what I was really “daring” them to do. After I got student’s attention, I showed them my website and tricked everyone by letting students think they could download songs and movies illegally. They read through the cases and realized that they were stealing once they couldn’t actually download any files. The letter I wrote is to the administrative assistant
Cited: Cohen, Maxwell. "Illegally Downloading." Interview by Elizabeth Z. Schwartz. 17 Apr. 2010: 2. Print.