Free newspapers fall to budget cuts

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - 1:19 AM

A New York Times rack sits empty in the Joe Crowley Student Union. The newspaper will no longer be available to students for free on campus. Photo by Casey Durkin.

Newsstands at the University of Nevada, Reno that once held The New York Times, USA Today and the Reno Gazette-Journal will remain empty this year. Now, only The Nevada Sagebrush, Insight Magazine and the Reno News & Review are available throughout campus at no cost to students, university officials said.

The Office of the Provost, which handled the Times subscription for the past three years, spent about $52,000 during the 2008–09 fiscal year to fund the program, Provost Marc Johnson said. This money also provided compensation for a Times delivery person and a Times representative paid to speak at UNR on a yearly basis.

USA Today and the Reno Gazette-Journal, which had previously been supplied to the residence halls, are no longer available. Rod Aeschlimann, director of Residential Life, Housing and Food Service, was unavailable for comment on the change.

Johnson said the university redirected the Times program’s budget toward “rejuvenating” tutoring assistance and academic support for students, particularly after the closure of the Math and Writing centers earlier this year due to budget constraints.

“Generally, when you cut $33 million, you look around at what you’re buying,” Johnson said. “Supporting the Times program is a lower priority than trying to bring back at least some of that early learning assistance.”

This early learning assistance includes supplemental instruction for introductory courses perceived as “stumbling blocks” to early progress, essential aspects of core math and writing tutoring and ESL support for international students. Also, the Times budget has restored some funding to the Academic Services Center.

“This money does not replace funding for the Math and Writing centers, but it is supporting the most critical parts,” Johnson said. He hopes to restore more comprehensive math and writing tutoring when the financial climate improves.

However, the Times cancellation has impacted some university courses that used the newspaper as a course text. Eve Benton, assistant director of the Honors Program and an instructor for Honors 200B, an Honors seminar and discussion course, said she has altered her curriculum to accommodate the change.

“Historically, we have required that students use The New York Times as an ongoing textbook, so they’re aware of current events,” Benton said. She required her students to read the Times daily and choose at least one article per week relating to their professional field for discussion in class.

“With the cancellation, we’re attempting to go online, but it feels different because you never walk into a classroom and see students reading a paper,” Benton said. “On the university level, I think that it affects students’ ability to recognize themselves as students of the world. It starts at UNR, but (the Times) adds a dimension to their education that we can’t add in class.”

The Honors Program will subscribe to office copies of the Times, but “we have 80 students and we will not have 80 subscriptions,” Benton said.

Lindsey Munro, a 27-year-old graduate student in chemistry, said she usually does not read any newspapers and does not feel negatively affected by the cancellation.

“I can see how people who are in a routine would be upset by this, but I don’t think it would really affect them,” Munro said. “They would adjust to getting their news somewhere else, or online.”

Patrick Barber, 26, also a chemistry graduate student, said he regularly reads the Times online, though he admits that reading a paper copy would provide broader exposure to news and information.

“I would read more if I could have the full paper out, but I’m satisfied with the online version,” Barber said. “I don’t yearn to read the print version.”

While the Times cancellation has impacted classes such as Honors 200B, Johnson said the academic assistance benefits for many students outweigh the losses resulting from the cancellation. He said those who still use the Times or who have the greatest interest in it can pay for individual subscriptions.

“There are negative effects to every shift of budget,” Johnson said. “There is not a program on campus that does not have a constituency, so there are losers and there are gainers.”

Aaron Benedetti can be reached at news@nevadasagebrush.com.