Students will be able to pick up free copies of USA Today and The New York Times starting Monday.
The university will be participating in USA Today’s College Readership Program, an initiative presented to Student Senate in October. The program provides newspapers to about 500 schools across the country.
Ian Dryburgh from USA Today presented the program at a senate meeting, and senate has since decided to take part in the program’s four-week pilot before deciding whether or not to implement the full program.
“We wanted to wait and see what the results are so we can get a better sense of how we work here at OU,” senate President Kyle Triplett said. “We’ll have to explore how to fund it if it’s something we want to continue.”
The pilot is free but the full program was too costly for the university in the past.
“(The program) has come up a couple of times, and Student Senate has, in the past, been concerned about the cost,” Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said.
No decision has been made about how the program would be paid for if the pilot is successful.
“If the student reception was positive, we’d have to figure it out,” Lombardi said. “That’s why I like the idea of the pilot program.”
If the program were to be fully implemented, the university would only be charged for the papers that were taken, and the rest would be recycled. The newspaper delivery and displays would be free of charge.
“If we put 1,000 newspapers on campus and only 900 are picked up, you are only charged for the 900,” Dryburgh said. “The program is only as successful as picked up.”
During the pilot, USA Today will be keeping track of how many papers are taken by students to track the program’s success. Then, USA Today and The New York Times representatives will come to senate and report how the program was used. Senate will also be conducting a survey to get a better sense of the student’s perspectives, Triplett said.
This month, the papers will be distributed on the fourth floor of Baker University Center, the second floor of Alden Library and in Nelson, Shively and Boyd dining halls.
“I think that this readership program will really be a great opportunity for students,” Triplett said.
tl674710@ohiou.edu
