We've all grown up hearing the same thing, stealing is bad. So why all the hullabaloo over nine MSU students who were caught in the act of pilfering something? Because of the common day circumstances for which they are being arraigned - downloading music and file sharing.

Thousands of people download songs off of the Internet, never dreaming that they will be the ones who are caught and in turn prosecuted for breaking the law. They suffer from "it will never happen to me" syndrome.

News flash: You're not four years old with your hand in the cookie jar. File sharing is illegal, whether you agree with it or not, and rebels will be punished. And while the guillotine might have been retired, the good old-fashioned law suit used to fleece people for all they own is still alive and kicking.

Fortunately, three of the nine students have settled their cases, presumably with the average file sharing settlement of $3,000.

The other six would do well to follow their fellow music bandits and ask for a settlement. In all likelihood, they will receive a compromise with the record companies. And they should take advantage of it.

Hopefully, none of our students will become the poster child for challenging the music industry through a lengthy and costly court battle.

These cases should be resolved as quickly as possible. The downloaders were in the wrong (even if it is a stupid law). They were caught and they will pay. They just shouldn't have to pay an absurd amount of money, especially not for the songs these nine have downloaded. Paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a Mariah Carey song should be classified as cruel and unusual punishment.

In fact, making it public that some of these students were actively seeking the music of Michael Bolton, LFO and The Goo Goo Dolls seems like a fitting enough punishment for this minor act of larceny.

It has to be said, if you're going to break the law, do it for something worthwhile. Fleetwood Mac and Avril Lavigne are not worth putting your neck on the line.