Students can expect to find a wide selection of free newspapers located around campus until the end of February thanks to a program sponsored by USA Today.
On Tuesday, the Collegiate Readership Pilot Program began on campus. The program is meant to obtain figures of student paper consumption, said Greta Clem, senior account manager for USA Today.
The Dean’s Council approved the program after a meeting with Clem.
“This program is intended to enhance students’ education,” Clem said. “They will have access to local, regional and national news that they otherwise might not receive. Students are more likely to vote on and get involved in issues if they have access to the necessary information,” she said.
Available papers include USA Today, The New York Times, The Clarion-Ledger and The Starkville Daily News.
The pilot program is free to the university and students, she said. If the actual program is adopted, the university will pay a discounted rate per paper and will be refunded for each paper not taken, she said.
Upon adoption of the program, card reader displays would be set up around campus, said associate dean of students Thomas Bourgeois.
This would allow students to simply swipe their ID cards to receive their choice paper, he said.
Freshman vocal performance major Jenny Merry said she was glad to hear about the program.
“I have classes near the displays, so it’s easy for me to find a paper,” she said.
The program will have a different effect for business majors. Senior international business major Trevor Acy is already required to subscribe to The Wall Street Journal.
“It would be nice to have other papers available, but I’ll most likely read the Journal since I have to pay for it,” he said. “It would be nice if it was one of the papers they provided for free.”
If the pilot is a success and the university decides to fully adopt the program, tuition will not be raised, Bourgeois said. Instead, the budget for the program will be determined by sponsorships from campus organizations.