by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
The New York Times joined USA Today this week as one of the newspapers available to UNM students for free.
Students can find the newspapers in high-traffic areas on
campus.
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Mary Bowannie, a lecturer in Native-American Studies, said having the New York Times and USA Today is good for UNM, because students have access to information that might not otherwise be available to them.
Student Spencer Cousins agreed.
"It's definitely a good idea to have two newspapers on campus keeping the student body informed," Cousins said.
The free newspapers are part of the Collegiate Readership Program, organized by the UNM Office of Student Affairs.
Eliseo "Cheo" Torres, vice president of student affairs, said he decided to bring the Collegiate Readership Program to UNM at a conference he attended for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
"I've talked to the other universities at NASPA," he said. "All the people I've talked to have been very pleased with the readership program."
The program began offering USA Today last year.
Torres said students benefit because they become more prepared for class.
Bowannie needs her students to be informed, because she discusses current events in her courses. Students do not always know about world affairs, she said.
"The biggest challenge I face as an instructor is encouraging students to be aware with what's going on in the world," she said. "It's very important for students to know what's going on on a national and international level and how that relates back to our local communities."
Student Sarah Baca, a political science major, said the program benefits her, because professors encourage her to read the New York Times.
"It's really nice for me, because it's harder for me to find the New York Times around Albuquerque," Baca said.
There are 325 copies of USA Today and 150 of the New York Times delivered to campus every day, Monday through Friday, Torres said.
USA Today cost $12,000 last year to have on campus, Torres said.
The combined cost for USA Today and the New York Times is $16,000, he said.
The funding for the newspapers comes from the students, Torres said.
The University receives a percentage of the profits from the Pepsi products sold at UNM, and that money is supposed to be used to benefit the
students, he said.
Torres said the program is a way to give that money back to students.
"We hope we will change some habits to reading the paper daily," he said.
One purpose of the program is to provide more news options for students, Torres said.
Bowannie said she likes the program because it is a way for students to get news through a source other than iPods and
cell phones.
"It's like having a book," she said. "You know you can always have a book on tape or an e-book, but nothing is a replacement for a book."
