RHA to bring free movies to Web site in fall semester
By Chris Vannini (Last updated: 04/30/09 9:01pm)
Students who enjoy watching Residence Hall Association TV’s free movies in their dorm will be able to watch those movies from anywhere on campus next fall.
RHA will make its RHA TV — channels 11 and 12 — available as an application link from their Web site, www.rha.msu.edu, after signing a contract with Swank Motion Pictures Inc.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to provide a new service to students, and hopefully people will get a lot of use out of it and it will bring more people to our Web site and promote the services we do even more,” RHA President Emma Perot said.
The application will only be viewable on campus for students who have paid the $25 refundable RHA tax, RHA TV Director Scott Bishop said.
“Anybody on campus who’s paid the RHA tax, so by default, anybody living in the residence halls, and any nonresidents who decide to pay that tax (can watch it),” he said.
Undergraduate students living on campus are automatically charged the tax unless they request a refund.
Swank Motion Pictures Inc. provides RHA with movies for its movie offices and Campus Center Cinemas. RHA will pay $5,000 per semester for the service.
“It will be taxpayers’ dollars, but we’ve discussed it in depth with the general assembly a number of times and the general consensus is that it was worth the cost,” Bishop said.
Bishop said students who have set up their own wireless routers will still be able to watch the movies through their own internet, as long as they are on campus.
“The entire MSU campus uses a certain range of addresses that are reserved specifically for campus so we believe that since those routers are going to be listed under those addresses, they’ll also be able to access our server,” Bishop said.
Perot said this will draw students to RHA’s Web site, which will inform students about other services RHA provides.
“I think every student likes watching movies, so it will be great because not only will we be able to show movies, but the advertisements will allow us time to let our constituents have more advertisements,” she said.
Perot said she thinks this won’t take away from students’ attentiveness in class and students will use the service responsibly.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Robert Patterson, the Division of Housing & Food Services chief financial officer, discussed the recent 5.25 percent increase for room and board with RHA.
Patterson answered questions and explained the reasons for each increase for the 2009-10 academic year.
Patterson said the cost of room and board has increased four of the last five years. He met with Perot and former RHA President Mark Dobson several times before the increase was recommended to the MSU Board of Trustees.
“We wanted to make sure that RHA isn’t left in the dark,” Patterson said.
Originally Published: 04/30/09 9:01pm
http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2009/04/rha_to_bring_free_movies_to_web_site_in_fall_semester
About Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.
Timothy Swank, Chairman
Founded in 1937, Swank Motion Pictures, Inc. is a successful, growing business privately owned by the Swank family. Headquartered in St. Louis, Swank also maintains sales offices in New York, Berlin and Paris, with an international shipping and distribution facility located near Chicago. Swank is the world’s largest non-theatrical distributor of motion pictures for public performance and the acknowledged leader in the field.
Major Hollywood and independent movie studios have appointed Swank as their exclusive licensing and distribution partner to offer their box-office hits for public performance in non-theatrical markets (markets outside theaters).
Swank represents Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures, New Line Cinema, Lionsgate, MGM, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Tri Star Pictures, The Weinstien Company, Focus Features, Miramax Films, Overture Films, Warner Independent, Paramount Classics, Paramount Vantage, Fine Line Features, HBO, Hallmark Hall Of Fame Productions, United Artists, National Geographic, ThinkFilm, Magnolia Pictures, Newmarket Films, First Look Studios, First Independent Pictures, Monterey Media and many other independent studios.
Swank Motion Pictures provides both public performance licensing rights and licensed movies to numerous non-theatrical markets, including worldwide cruise lines, U.S. colleges and universities, K-12 public schools and libraries, American civilian and military hospitals, motor coaches, Amtrak trains, correctional facilities and other markets such as parks, art museums and businesses.
