A recent reduction in the amount of New York Times issues available on campus—due to a ten-cent increase in per-paper cost—has not interfered with students’ access to the newspaper.
“So far this year it hasn’t seemed like there’s that much paper shortage,” said Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) Vice President Emily Malkin ’08.
Along with the cost increase, the WSA has struggled to come up with adequate funding for the New York Times Readership Program, forcing them to lower the number of papers ordered daily from about 900 to 600. The WSA is also concentrating papers in more active areas on campus in order to maximize circulation.
While some students have observed a decrease in the paper’s availability, they do not consider it a significant issue.
“I read the paper two or three times a week,” said Mike Kurth ’11. “I have noticed a shortage, but it’s not that bad. You just have to know where and when to go to get a paper.”
Previously, the WSA, in conjunction with Academic Affairs and the Dean of the College, paid thirty cents per paper. On average, 900 papers were delivered daily to various locations on campus, but according to usage statistics only about 670 students a day took a paper.
The majority of the WSA budget, which is around $750,000 a year, goes to the Student Budget Committee (SBC) for allocation to student clubs and activities. The New York Times Readership program, which, depending on the number of newspapers ordered, has typically cost between $20,000 and $25,000.
“We had a meeting in October with a representative from the New York Times,” Malkin said. “[The representative] told us that the price of the newspaper would go up to forty cents per paper starting in January. Basically, we don’t have that money in our budget, and neither does anyone else.”
With projected cost increases, next year’s paper program will cost around $40,000, with no group on campus prepared to take on the additional price.
“Over the past few years, with increased budget cuts around campus, the WSA has been asked to fund more and more of the program,” Malkin said. “It’s a constant struggle to come up with the funding, but it’s not as if anyone wants to end the program.”
However, even with the decrease in amount of papers, increasing costs place the future of the program in danger.
“No one doubts that this is a really valuable program,” Malkin said. “Every administrator we’ve talked with thinks this is a valuable program. Right now it’s just a question of money and resources.”
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