U. reaches deal with music site

The University has reached a deal with the music downloading service Ruckus to provide free music to the entire student body, USG officials said.

Reporters for The Daily Princetonian attempted to use the service last night and were successful in downloading and playing several songs.

But Class of 2008 Senator Rohan Joshi, who has largely spearheaded the initiative, said that while student accounts for the service had been activated, speeds may be slower than expected pending installation of a local server.

"Download speeds won't be as fast as they could be when the cache server is finally installed on campus," he said last night. "If you think it's fast now, just wait until the server is installed."

All students are to receive subscriptions to the service, allowing them to play music for free but not to burn songs to a CD or transfer them to a portable device. Details of the deal were discussed behind closed doors during the USG meeting last night.

"They had an idea for the date they wanted to launch it, but they want to make sure that is going to be possible," USG president Alex Lenahan '07 said in an interview, defending the secrecy of the meeting.

"The negotiations have finished," Lenahan added. "Basically, they're working out the specific details now."

Though its official launch date remains unannounced, the service is currently being installed and tested for the Princeton network.

The USG also discussed plans for "Taste of Prospect," an event that will give 250 members of the Class of 2010 the chance to eat at one of the eating clubs next February. All clubs are expected to participate, though organizers have not yet heard back from Cottage Club.

Taste of Prospect was last available for the Class of 2008. This year, the Interclub Council and the USG are collaborating to bring the event back.

"It's great for the Class of 2010," Sarah Langberg '09, an organizer of the event, said in an interview. She praised the eating clubs for their willingness to participate and the University for providing funding.

"Shirley Tilghman loves this program," Langberg noted. The initiative originally grew out of conversations with Tilghman in which she expressed concern about student anxiety regarding the Street.

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If the Class of 2008's participation in the event is any indication — 300 students took part two years ago, Langberg said — enthusiasm for the program should be high.

"I would certainly be interested in participating in such an activity," Claudel Leveille '10 said last night as he watched friends play ping pong in Wilson College. He added that he would like the opportunity to eat in Cap & Gown, the club he hopes to join as an upperclassman.

Other topics discussed at the meeting included a new version of Point currently in the works and a meeting to be held next Sunday on campus recreation.

"This is a pretty important time for campus recreation," Lenahan said, citing improvements on intramural sports and Dillon Gym programming.