At their Feb. 18 meeting, the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) senate rejected a proposal to provide students with a free New York Times subscription. 

The subscription would have cost ASI $15,705. The proposal was presented in part by Todd Halvorsen of the New York Times via Zoom and Sarah Sevy, senator for the College of Arts and Humanities.

Senator of Research and Innovations Cody Jarvis asked for specific usage numbers. Halvorsen said that about 60% of college students across the United States have the subscription, and about 28% of them actually use it.

Alya Hassan, senator for the College of Health and Human Services, said that the New York Times is unethical and it avoids using words like genocide, ethnic cleansing and occupied territory.

“Why should we continue to or allow financing of this sort for a news outlet like this?” Hassan said. 

Halvorsen said he could not hear Hassan very well and that the verbiage of the New York Times’ journalists is not his side of the business.

“I have no comment on that, you know, we do report on the facts,” Halvorsen said. “That is our mission. We seek the truth and help people understand the world.”

Sevy said she conducted an unofficial survey of about 60 students asking whether they would be interested in a free subscription to the New York Times, and nobody said no. She also said she has had conversations with students who also expressed interest.

“At the end of the day, $15,000 is a lot of money, I get that,” Sevy said. “But it’s only 67 cents a person.”

Hassan said part of her hesitation about the subscription comes from a lack of demonstrated need from students.

“It kind of feels like if we were to fund this using student fees, we would essentially be endorsing the New York Times’ editorial positions and their narratives,” Hassan said. 

Sevy pointed to the wellness content and games, like Wordle, that the New York Times offers with the student subscription. She said it is about a quality student experience.

“I don’t feel like it’s irresponsible, considering some of the other things that we spend student fees on,” Sevy said. “Like, do we need tailgates? We still do them, because they’re fun.”

The motion failed, with a majority of the senators voting no on the proposal and three abstentions.

Assistant Vice President for Student Health, Counseling and Wellness Janell Morillo also presented an overview of services that the Student Health and Counseling Center (SHCC) provides. She said there are three main departments in the SHCC, which are psychological, medical and wellness.

“I would say one of the most underused [services] would be the pharmacy,” Morillo said.

Morillo also said that a recurring issue that the center sees is scooter incidents. She said that, just since Fall 2023, the SHCC has recorded 127 reports of scooter-driven visits.

“Now, keep in mind, those are just the ones that come into the health center — that’s just who we know about,” Morillo said.

The senate also approved switching from a one-year to a three-year E Ballot contract. 

“We would be locking down the rate of $5,395 for the next three years,” said ASI Operations Manager Frederick Lisitsa. “So in total, it would be $16,185.”

In her executive reports, ASI President Camalah Saleh said interviews are underway for the three California State University Board of Trustees finalists, and forums are to take place.

ASI meets every other Wednesday in the Resnick Student Union Room 207 from 4-6 p.m. Meetings are livestreamed and open to the public.

Correction: This story was adjusted on Feb. 27 at 2:14 p.m. to correct the spelling of Sarah Sevy’s name.