EDITORIAL: "A Difficult Delivery"

Newspapers should beNewspapers should beblack and white andNewspapers should beblack and white and"read" all over.Newspapers should beblack and white and"read" all over.But campus delivery isNewspapers should beblack and white and"read" all over.But campus delivery isleaving subscribers blackNewspapers should beblack and white and"read" all over.But campus delivery isleaving subscribers blackand blue all over.Newspapers should beblack and white and"read" all over.But campus delivery isleaving subscribers blackand blue all over.___________________________ Three years ago, dormitory residents who subscribed to The New York Times or The Philadelphia Inquirer woke up to newspapers on their doorstep each morning. Few worried about having their newspaper stolen. Then something went terribly wrong -- so wrong at one point that it prompted lawsuits from irate subscribers. Today, things have improved, but bear little relation to the happier past. Gone are the days when most students could pick up you newspaper in pajamas. Now, dorm delivery only saves carrying some change to a curbside newspaper box or a convenience store a block away. And if you buy rather than subscribe, at least you rarely have to worry about your newspaper disappearing or being stolen before you get to Wawa. Sharon Livingston, PSA's general manager and one of the PSA's few adult consultants, hasn't been at the University long enough to remember the glory days of newspaper delivery. However, this week she offered some insight into the sad state of affairs. "This is a student-run organization. [The customers] went into it knowing that," Livingston said. Whoa! Quick perspective check -- we thought the reason students living on campus subscribe through PSA was because they have no other choice. Although subscriptions from Penn Student Agencies are slightly less expensive than off-campus delivery, PSA doesn't deliver to your door. If you don't receive you paper for a few days during the semester, the discount is erased and frustration becomes an added cost. Conclusion: Many of PSA's current subscribers aren't getting their money's worth, and deserve rebates or refunds. Livingston is trying to remedy things. "On the other end, I try to stress to my managers that they are providing a service and they must give customer service," she explained. But aside from the student reports of not receiving refunds, return phone calls and -- lest we forget -- newspapers, it seems to us that Livingston isn't stressing service enough. Subscribers are paying for newspaper delivery every morning of every day -- not for occasional mints on their pillows. Perhaps we're a tad biased, but we think students should read newspapers. They serve as a learning tool. Many faculty strongly suggest students read a daily newspaper for their classes. Newspapers are something more than a mere convenience for many students. Sure, humans survived for millennia without USA Today and the U.S. Postal Service, but we've come to expect a bit more. Like the mail, newspapers should be delivered every morning, despite rain, sleet, snow or dark of night. Not 90 percent of the time, not 95 percent of the time, but at least 99 percent of the time. November 4 was a disaster. As campaign fever reached its climax, PSA failed to deliver newspaper coverage of the election to anyone. It should be as unthinkable that PSA would miss delivery one day as it is that The New York Times would skip publishing for a day. If student workers can't handle that responsibility, then it should be transferred to outsiders. We recognize the value of letting student groups like PSA manage real organizations before they enter "the real world." But if they can't do the job -- and that failure interferes with the learning process -- then the University shouldn't be subsidizing PSA with exclusive rights to campus. Is on-campus delivery too much to ask? It wasn't a problem three years ago. Is it even worth it to PSA? We can't see them turning a profit for long with service like this. Unless PSA can clear up the problems this year, the University should call in the outsiders next year. Then PSA to concern itself with making phone books and selling Penn watches and wall banners.