Changes are being made to the Collegiate Readership Program, which offers students a selection of national and local newspapers, so students will get more bang for their buck.
Currently, students are charged $5 per semester for this privilege, but next year that cost is going to be cut in half. Obviously, any reduction in student fees is a good thing, even a reduction this small. It is nice to see student fees being lowered this time, instead of being increased.
At the same time that this student fee is being reduced, The Wall Street Journal is being added to the selection of papers available to students. This addition to the program will benefit students and faculty by helping us learn about the world around us.
In the past, The Chronicle has expressed concern about the Collegiate Readership Program because it hurts Chronicle readership, which is obviously a U student’s main outlet for campus news. Obviously, there are needs that The Chronicle fills for students that papers like The New York Times-and even The Salt Lake Tribune-cannot fill.
However, with newspapers all across the country reporting losses financially and declines in readership, anything to promote awareness in college students will be beneficial to our society as a whole.
Places of higher education are often where a society’s citizens are trained. While in college, we need to learn to be aware of the world around us. These newspapers being made available with so little inconvenience to individual students supports and promotes that idea.
Furthermore, the diversification of the newspapers being made available to students is important. No one should rely on any one news media outlet for all their information about current events, politics and social trends-they should pay attention to a wide range of sources.
This addition will also come as a welcomed addition to some students in the business department. Many classes on campus require daily newspaper reading, and some of these classes want The Wall Street Journal specifically. It’s nice to see that this prestigious newspaper will now be available to students on campus, without them having to buy subscriptions individually.
Ultimately, the changes being made to the Collegiate Readership Program are to students benefits, and while students shouldn’t start reading The Chronicle less, they should start reading other newspapers more.