Taking things apart, reusing, and remixing the old in order to create the new are tenets of the hacker ethic. But these impulses have also been at the heart of artists, musicians, and writers since the beginning of human creativity. Complete access to copy, reuse, and remix work is necessary for cultural and technological progress, a progress that the current state of copyright and the increasing ubiquity of DRM threatens to permanently undermine.
This fight has become political. From protests to boycotts, from lobbyists to students, there is a movement underway and an increasing number of ways to get involved and fight for your digital rights beyond sending $15 to the EFF and running GNU/Linux (which you should already be doing).
This talk will be about the current state of the Free Culture student movement and events being organized in the area, including the first ever anti-DRM protests, a Creative Commons art show, and a DVD remix contest.