Feeling out of date with current events these days? Or maybe you’re just looking to keep up with the ever-changing world? Well, regardless of what you are looking to do, there is good news for all of us. As you may have noticed, the Student’s Association has once again implemented the distribution of free newspapers all around campus.
Newspapers such as USA Today, the New York Times and our very own Democrat and Chronicle are all conveniently located inside of many of the buildings that we visit daily. These free papers can be found in Wilson Commons, Douglass Dining Center and many of the residence halls. By delivering the papers free of charge to students, the school has allowed us to remain in touch and up to date with today’s world.
However, with a seemingly flawless newspaper distribution system, one must ask, “What’s the catch?” Well, maybe not a “catch” so much as one very big problem which seems to continuously re-occur – the fact that these papers do not last past the morning hours. Whether it is because faculty and staff make it to them before the students or because I just cannot get there in time, the overall consensus seems to be that there are simply never enough papers to go around.
After speaking with many of my fellow students as well as analyzing the situation myself, there seems to be only one solution: supply more papers. I mean honestly, there should be no reason why the school should not have an endless supply of papers to go around to everyone. The students obviously are reading them and not one paper is going to waste.
The solution to this problem is not only a simple one, but also an obvious one. The SA should either begin to acquire more copies of each of the papers or, better yet, survey the student body to see which papers are being read the most and maybe focus on just getting more of those papers while still continuing with the other titles of course. I have also encountered many people specifically asking for more of one title rather than all of them.
“I think they should just have more of the New York Times,” Keith Syverson ’07 said.
I may not agree with that particular title being requested more, but I do agree with the overall request; the school should provide more papers to the students, even if it is a few select titles of which there are more. Although I suppose we should all be thankful that we even have this privilege, but who knows, the school may just see fit to take this away from the students again.
Don’t get me wrong, the free newspapers that are being afforded to us are not only well-accepted but also very appreciated not only by myself but also by the school as a whole. I mean, if they weren’t, the papers would sit where they are delivered untouched day after day. The fact that we are continuously running out of papers should show the school how much we enjoy this privilege.
Although there are many different opinions, I think that there is one thing we can all agree on – it really is nice to know that all you have to do is simply walk to Wilson Commons, Sue B. or one of the many other buildings on campus and pick up a paper and be able to see what is going on, locally, nationally or just campus-wide, without having to dip into our own very shallow pockets to have to pay for one.
Roman is a member of the class of 2010.
