SIFE starts campus DVD rental
SIFE members (from left to right) Daniel Harjoleksono, Maggie Worku and Ilir Cela stock DVDs for the new Siflix rental display in the Common Grounds north entrance.
Beginning on Thursday evening, EMU students will be able to rent DVDs in the Common Grounds coffee shop for $1.50 each.
Matthew Swartley and Enea Rrapokushi, co-presidents of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), the student organization that developed and initiated the fledgling enterprise known as Siflix estimated that they were starting with around 50 selections in action, comedy and drama.
Rrapokushi said selections are recent films and based on their appeal to students on campus. Movies will generally be those rated PG-13 and under since R-rated films must be approved by Student Life. The SIFE presidents compared this to the policy for weekend movies shown by CAC. Such movies would have to be selected carefully and have educational value. They are currently seeking approval for movies such as "The Passion of The Christ" and "Crash."
DVDs will be rented out in smaller jewel cases as a library system. The regular cases will be on display in the north entrance to Common Grounds.
Renters will fill out an info card in the Common Grounds, which employees will check along with IDs. Sales will be run through the Common Grounds register. SIFE will then check up on returns and late fees.
Prices are $1.50 for 3-nights and $1.50 for 2-night rentals on new releases (anything added to the collection in the past 3 months). An overdue list runs from $.50 per day for the first 4 days to a $20 charge after 14 days. At 15 days, renters can keep the DVD and will be charged the $20 fee.
The idea of starting a DVD business originated last year at one of the club meetings for generating future ideas. Ed Lunney, a former member of SIFE, came up with the idea having heard of a similar project at a school in Florida that had been very successful.
At the end of last semester, SIFE Advisor Andy Hershberger came up with a rough overview proposal. SIFE spent much of the beginning of this semester fine-tuning the proposal. Then they developed a list of movies which they sent with the proposal to Student Life for approval.
SIFE members Ilir Cela, Daniel Harjoleksono, Enea Rrapokushi, Matthew Swartley, Maggie Worku, and Amy Yoder were each assigned a list of 10-15 movies to collect and went bargain-hunting at area stores. Rrapokushi estimated that the group will have spent around $500 on the project.
Other work in setting up the enterprise has meant creating a logo, developing a name database system and working out details with the business office.
The name Siflix came from a desire to tie in both the SIFE club identity with the idea of a movie store. It's something original, said Rrapokushi, not a copy of any major chains.
Ben Beitzel, manager of Common Grounds, said they did not project that Siflix would require hiring more employees. He views the project as a good thing and a way of providing a convenience to the EMU community.
Siflix is not expected to be an immediately profitable business, but a learning process. The SIFE presidents also see it as another way to build community and keep students on campus.
SIFE members already have more ideas for developing the business next semester. For example, they have discussed creating a website where students or teachers could order DVDs and have them delivered to mailboxes.
The enterprise has a potential to grow in numerous ways, said Swartley, but they have to get the basics down first. "We're just students," Rrapokushi said. Eventually, the goal is for Siflix to be sustainable on its own.
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