Students can raise a Ruckus
Undergraduate and graduate students at UD now have free, legal access to more than 1.5 million songs and inexpensive legal access to a variety of popular television shows and movies.
The access is made possible by an agreement between the University and Ruckus, a digital entertainment network designed specifically for college students, which has negotiated licensing agreements with a variety of media companies.
Ruckus is the first college-only service that blends social networking features with a massive music, movie and television library. In addition to the free, legal music downloads available from Ruckus, on-campus UD students can, for a small fee, get access to hundreds of Hollywood movies and such hit TV shows as Lost and Desperate Housewives.
Through Ruckus, all UD students with Windows computers can legally share music, movies and television programs; create playlists; send personal media recommendations to friends and neighbors; and browse classmates’ profiles and media libraries.
“Through this alternative to illegal file-sharing, our students can enjoy an innovative and legal way to download and share their music, movies and television with friends and classmates,” Susan Foster, vice president for information technologies, says. “We’re happy to be able to provide our student body free access to the Ruckus music service.”
Foster adds that Ruckus is one of several legal options for downloading music and other media available to UD students. “Providing this service is an important part of the University’s mission to help students learn that there are many legal options available for downloading and sharing music and other media,” she says.
“After working in Judicial Affairs and seeing the number of students who illegally download music, I’m pleased to see that UD is promoting a free, legal music downloading system,” graduate student Adam Smeets, who previewed the service, says. “I love the Ruckus system.”
Other UD students who previewed Ruckus have been equally enthusiastic.
“It’s free—of course, students like it,” Sal Giglia, AS ’07, says. “It’s really fast: I downloaded a whole album by the Stray Cats in about five seconds.”
“I have been having a good time updating my computer’s music library,” graduate student Amanda House says. “It’s free and legal, so you really can’t go wrong.”
Giglia says he’s noticed some gaps, due to licensing issues, in the music Ruckus makes available, “but they have a ton of cool stuff, including a lot of comedy recordings and older stuff like Patsy Cline and Jerry Reed.”
The students also say they were surprised at how quickly new music appeared on the Ruckus service. “Each week, Ruckus makes the newest releases available,” Smeets says.
University President David Roselle notes that Ruckus takes advantage of “a fortunate intersection of three important facets of University life”—UD’s high-speed network, its commitment to incorporating technology into student life and its ongoing efforts to educate students about using technology responsibly.
“In particular, UD has been a leader in educational programs aimed at impressing upon the campus community the need for fair use of entertainment available on the web,” Roselle says. “This agreement with Ruckus builds on that effort by providing new access to a wealth of legal entertainment options for our students.”
— Richard Gordon