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Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor<\/span><\/p>\n This fall, on-campus residents will have access to a free movie streaming service. The company providing the service is called SWANK. Western has branded this service \u201cResLife Cinema.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Housing and Dining Committee decided not to renew their contract with MINET two years ago, and thus left Western with limited entertainment options. After a lengthy search for replacements, the committee chose SWANK.<\/span><\/p>\n Aside from offering a wide selection of shows and movies, SWANK places a strong emphasis on educational programming. Ryan Jennings, an analyst programmer for computing services, performed the setup for this new service. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur Resident Assistants (RAs) can now request and select nearly any film they wish to build a program around, for free,\u201d said Jennings. SWANK provides discussion guides along with films to help staff start dialogues around important topics, such as identity, mental health, sexual violence and more. Residents can also take part in monthly polls which provide feedback about what kind of content they would like to see. <\/span><\/p>\n Madeleine Hannah, senior humanities major and a resident of Ackerman hall, commented that, \u201cI think it\u2019s really beneficial…not everybody has Netflix or Hulu, or ways to nicely stream things, so it\u2019s good to have access to that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sabrina Smith, junior ASL\/English interpreting major, brought up another point.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s cool because when me and my roommates want to have movie nights we can just put it on instead of using people\u2019s Netflix, because most of them share with their families and parents and they\u2019re like, \u2018oh we can\u2019t actually watch this, cause my parents might see it.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Western organizations can also create their own channels and upload content to the site. \u201cSince the product is new to us we have yet to explore this option,\u201d Jennings commented, \u201chowever it might be a nice to upload a replay of latest (Western) sporting event, or allow residents to develop their own custom content to share with others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n All on-campus residents have access to this resource, and there is no account set-up required. ResLife Cinema can be accessed through the WOU portal. The link is located under the \u201cMy Programs\u201d tab, and is titled \u201cResLife Cinema (SWANK).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n