Free print copies of The New York Times are no more because the Undergraduate Assembly decided to eliminate the readership program over the summer. The Times’ poor communication left the UA feeling uncomfortable investing thousands of dollars for the papers, and fewer and fewer students were picking the papers up anyway.
Students looking for news can read the Times online for free now, but a paywall is going up on the website in January. When this happens, the University should provide the Times’ online content for free or find other ways to bring news to students.
The University is already considering giving students free access to the Times — as well as other outlets such as The Wall Street Journal — and we’re pleased. There are educational benefits to making it easier for students to find out what’s going on in the world. And even if the online subscription is more expensive than the print one, it would be more accessible and likely more widely used by the entire University community — not just those who live on campus or spend time around the buildings with newsstands.
It’s easy to get stuck in the “Penn Bubble,” and more restricted access to news about national and international affairs could make this more likely. Regardless of the outlets available, students should keep themselves informed. Hopefully, though, the UA and other University organizations will work to keep students in the loop.
