Friday, November 16, 2001

Plain Type
Newspaper program reaps benefits

It costs a person $14 for a one-month subscription to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and $159 for the year.

For about $5 a student, TCU can provide a copy of the Star-Telegram, and The New York Times and USA Today, for most students on campus next semester during weekdays, said Don Mills, vice chancellor of student affairs.

From examining the costs and benefits in purely financial terms, this is a no-brainer.

All a student has to do is pick up a copy of the Star-Telegram or USA Today 10 times during the course of the semester to get their money’s worth. Just five times with The New York Times. Most students will pick up more copies — and save more money as a result.

Some students are required to have newspaper subscriptions for certain classes. If the university continues the free newspaper program it had earlier this semester, these students will benefit.

The program makes financial sense for TCU students. It also enhances the educational experience.

In a survey of 370 students conducted by the Star-Telegram, 45 percent of the student said they read a newspaper more often during the pilot program and 62 percent said they would read a newspaper more often if TCU provided them. What the numbers show is if newspapers are available for free then more students will read them.

“The overall goal of the program is to make students better informed about what is happening outside the TCU bubble,” Mills said. “We hope this will generate some interest among students to discuss issues among themselves, and faculty can also use the newspapers as a teaching tool.”

However, more litter on campus is one problem associated with the program.

Nobody wants to add an additional burden to the hardworking housekeepers on our campus. So as long as the student body is responsible and recycles the newspapers, this shouldn’t be a problem. Mills said waste didn’t seem to be much of a problem during the pilot program.

Reinstating the free newspaper program is a win-win situation for students, faculty and the university. After all, students are here to learn, and teaching from current events is an added bonus for faculty.

Hopefully, the university will bring the program back.