Can you hear the sound of taps playing lightly in the background? Wave good-bye to the campus movie channel.

At the end of the school year, Channel 12, which broadcasts free movies and student-produced programming to MSU's campus and surrounding cities, will go off the air. The station was launched in 1992, and aired everything from Student Film Festival entries to live broadcasts of campus events.

In November 2004, the university conducted a study revealing 38 percent of MSU students said they never watch the channel. That means 62 percent of students watch the channel - either occasionally or frequently.

The campus movie channel is a great addition to on-campus living. At times when dorm food might be disgusting and community bathrooms are trashed, students can always curl up on their dorm futons and catch a flick. We don't want to see that disappear.

The demise of the channel also would put a damper on the Focal Point broadcast news program. Involvement in Focal Point gives broadcast journalism students valuable experience that helps them earn professional jobs and internships. If the channel really does disappear, we hope the program can find a home elsewhere.

The Residence Halls Association pays more than $15,000 a semester for the movies played on the channel, but it will cost RHA $3,000 to cancel its contract to distribute movies on the channel. In addition, because of a dual contract agreement with a distributor, RHA saves $300 to $400 on each movie it screens in Wells Hall, simply because of the movie channel. With about three movies shown in Wells by RHA weekly, that's roughly $900 to $1,200 in increased expenditures every week this year without the movie channel.

With these figures, it certainly seems as though RHA won't save a great deal of money by abolishing the movie channel. The association says it will put what money it does save toward Internet projects, but anything it puts on the Web certainly won't bring the joy of daily movies cabled directly to your dorm room.

Here's an idea: Launch a campaign to increase awareness about Channel 12. Let students know about the entertainment it can provide. Make an already high percentage of students who watch the channel even higher.

Future dorm-dwellers will appreciate it.