In the hallway, the elevator, the stairwell, class, the library, the UC, at the swimming pool, the IM fields, Charties, the food court, on the way to class and even in the bathroom- everywhere you look you see the same thing. No, it’s not porn because that would be a horrible thing. It is the iPod. They are taking over our school. The little MP3 player that has taken the world by storm was so popular last holiday season that they actually ran out. What about this little thing that plays music makes it so popular?

This question drives me nuts every time I see a friend pass by, and I have to scream their name to get their attention, or simply when I am walking to class and hear music blaring from someone’s head. I started to look into it, just to see if maybe I missed something. Every person I asked about the iPod have had a very similar response: “To listen to music…” Well that seems simple enough, but it wasn’t good enough for me. First of all I don’t understand why people need so much music. My roommate who listens to music all the time and has thousands of songs on his computer said, “I have my music in my room, I have my music in my car. It isn’t necessary to listen to music from my room to my car.” OK, so you “need” your music but do you have to pay between $250 and $400 for it? My co-worker has a CD player in his bag; he makes his own CD mixes and listens to them on the way to class. Apparently his CD player serves the same purpose as the iPod, but it cost five times less.

There is the issue of size and the way it is used. Sure, the iPod is more convenient. You don’t have to worry about those stupid CDs; iPods are also a lot smaller than the CD player and it holds a lot more songs. That’s fine; I can handle all those reasons. I still have other problems. For one I have a PDA-it has an MP3 player built in. I also can keep my schedule with it, take pictures with it and even use the internet, but it only cost $300. So you say you don’t want all those other features and you just want space for music. That’s fine; Bestbuy.com has the Rio Karma 20.0GB Digital Audio Player, which has the same amount of space as the $300 iPod for less then $200.

In conclusion there is only one reason to buy an iPod. The materialistic views of our society that is incredibly apparent on this campus. I can see no other reason to have one, and especially to walk around with it in hand just to show it off. There are plenty of other much cheaper options out there, but I guess they just aren’t as cool.

Justin Diamond can be contacted at j.diamond@umiami.edu.

It should be no secret by now that radio music in Miami leaves something to be desired. Surely, much of the lack of selection for many is due to a clear-cut language barrier, but there are still English-language stations, ranging from world-famous (Power 96) to personality-driven (103.5 The Beat), to top 40 (the excessively teeny-bopperish Y-100) that fall flat on their face in their efforts to meet expectations.

And to top it all off? How about an unannounced change in the market’s top rock station (WZTA) to a Spanish-language format.

So, who comes along to save the day?

Rock 93, formerly Party 93, formerly Miami’s classical station WTMI.

You see, just as loyal rockers started turning their dials to uncharted territory-“You make me wanna la- la” territory-Party 93 made an overnight switch to a format that not only attempted to match Zeta’s rock catalog, but also exceeded it.

Of course, any true rock fan would honestly tell you that Zeta has been in steep decline recently: It lost its highly valued morning show duo, Paul Castronovo and “Young” Ron Brewer to rival Big 106-and had them replaced by the “about-as-funny-as-a-car-accident” Lex and Terry-and its modern rock format called for too much Three Doors Down and Nickelback.

The last time 93.1 made a format change-from classical to dance-many were up in arms about the loss of the city’s only classical station. But the end result was something magical. Party 93.1 nixed the DJ format and reduced commercial time so that every hour was packed with practically one hour of non-stop music. The station carved out huge chunks of other stations’ audiences, and may well have still been going strong today if it weren’t for a backfired ad campaign regarding its lack of commercials (when you start counting how many commercials Power 96 played in the last 15 minutes and stop playing music to announce it, you’ve basically made the whole no-commercial thing a moot point).

As for this time around? I decided to tune in to Rock 93 to listen for myself. The first song I heard them play? “No Excuses” by Alice n’ Chains, followed by some new Velvet Revolver, proceeded by Godsmack.

I shed a single tear.

Ben Minkus can be contacted at b.minkus@umiami.edu.

Florida has lost its collective mind. Seriously, I don’t care if you’re a conservative, religious zealot, or just a prejudiced homophobe. One law banning gay marriage should be enough to appease you! But nope, on Valentine’s Day, a coalition of various religious institutions announced its petition to get an amendment banning gay marriage in the state constitution. So…here’s the message I’m getting from that: “Today is a day where we appreciate all those people that we love so much. But wait, not you two guys…you’re lovin’ a little too much. In fact, it’s a detriment to my ability to love! Stop it!”

Nevermind, I don’t think any of the boneheads involved in this petition could use a 9th grade vocabulary word like “detriment.”

What is the point in introducing the same law?

In my opinion, there is none. And you know who agrees with me? Jeb Bush. Surprise, surprise. The Director of Equality Florida put the true spirit behind this petition into light: ”They have chosen Valentine’s Day to make their cruel and bigoted message clear, that our love and our relationships are inferior to theirs. That some families are more valued than others. That some people should be branded as second-class citizens.”

I’d appreciate it if those out there who are anti-gay could at least respect that a law is already on the books and try not to shove it in our faces that the majority of Floridians think gay people are inferior. In fact, your time might be better spent in the (futile) attempt at building a case that gay marriage in any way shape or form infringes on your civil rights. Think about it, you’re gonna look mighty stupid when Martin Luther King, Jr.’s equivalent comes around to organize a movement (so far the closest thing the gay community has had are Rosie and Ellen).

If this amendment comes to a national vote, there is no doubt in my mind it will pass, as almost every other amendment to the Florida constitution does. At this rate, I’m surprised interracial marriage is still legal.

Margaret Scott can be contacted at m.scott2@umsis.miami.edu.

Re: “My Chemical Romance is very OK, OK?”, 2/15

Congratulations. You discovered that My Chemical Romance is a great band, featured them on your cover and gave them a whole page with a praising text. But why did you miss to mention, that they will play on campus, April 15?

Frieder Bartussek

Student

Editor’s note: My Chemical Romance will be appearing with Green Day on April 15 at the Convocation Center. Tickets go on sale Feb. 26.

Re: “Are we really living in a porn nation?”, 2/15

“I learned through pornography basically that the value of a woman is based on the sum of her body parts, that women wanted to have sex all the time…” -Michael Leahy

First of all, I would be skeptical of most advice given by a man who thinks that pornography (or anything on television or stage) accurately reflects reality.

Second, Margaret Scott was right to criticize Leahy in her column for what the following quote from an audience member on the Porn Nation website implies that he said: “I loved when a question was asked about other ways to cure your addiction other than God; you stated that there really is no other way. I’m glad you kept it on God.”

That’s terrible. What Leahy is really saying is: “I turned to religion and it helped me with my addiction, therefore if you don’t turn to religion, then your addiction can’t be helped.” That’s an obvious, obvious fallacy. How about therapy? Trying to create a culture of “purity” where there’s something intrinsically wrong with porn that makes it dirty isn’t going to help the chances that people who have these porn addictions are going to admit their problem and seek professional help from a real person. It also doesn’t help that sex researchers who conduct studies examining the real effects of porn on behavior are assailed daily by fundamentalists and have to conduct much of their work in secret.

A lot of people abuse alcohol. Does that mean that a glass of wine is evil? Some abnormal people who go around preaching on college campuses for exorbitant sums of money have abused pornography. Does that mean that a few movies on your hard drive makes you a sinner? No. Then again, some pornographic movies are made against the will of the women (or children or animals) in the movies. I would definitely call purchasing those movies wrong. But has my legal porn made me into a person who sees women as nothing but the sum of their body parts, here only to serve me? Absolutely not.

Sincerely,

William Hubel

Student

While one may not listen to WVUM on a regular basis, it is impossible to miss the music coming from the two speakers outside of its UC office. Playing everything from typical college alternative and indie rock music to jazz, electronic, hip-hop and live sports broadcasts, WVUM’s eclectic mix is a staple on our campus.

For the past several years, WVUM has been struggling to break even financially. More than two-thirds of WVUM’s funding comes from donations and underwriting from corporate sponsors. It collects more than $20,000 per year from underwriting and private donations. However, the expenses of running a 24-hour radio station, paying licenses fees, doing remote sports broadcasts, equipment maintenance and operating costs eventually overwhelmed it.

In the past couple of years the station has seen its operating costs rise and the dire need for equipment to be updated. It is for these reasons that WVUM is going to the students for help. The proposed $1 referendum in next week’s election is vital in keeping WVUM’s high-quality programming on the air.

Even if one doesn’t normally listen to WVUM, or only listen to the sports broadcasts, one needs to understand the importance of college radio and its niche in the community, especially now that Zeta has changed formats. WVUM is more than just noise that comes from the speakers in the UC. It is one of the highest esteemed college radio stations in North America, according to College Music Journal and is home to the best hip-hop and rock shows in the area, according to the Miami New Times. The station is also a professional outlet for students, and it deserves the support of the student body.

WVUM is currently limited by a studio that is too small and is desperately in need of a digital library. There is also a need for a delay. As it works now, when listeners call in during sports shows or to make requests, there is no way for the station to control what is said. Live internet streaming is also vital for the station. It enables people outside of the Ft. Lauderdale to Homestead listening area to listen to its broadcasts no matter where they are.

The station is 100 percent student-run. The staff is made up of more than 70 DJs, including 12 on the e-board, and about eight or so on the sports staff. It brings together many types of people to create “the voice,” seeking to speak for all the University.

Many clubs and lounges throughout the area wouldn’t be nearly as successful without WVUM giving independent music the exposure it needs. One can even catch some of the WVUM staff, performing throughout the city on any given weekend, including music director Alejandro Piraquive (DJ Alejandro) at I/O on most Saturday nights.

For these reasons and many more, it is important to vote yes on the WVUM referendum. It means a raise to the Student Activity Fee, but for once, it’s an increase that makes sense.