On Feb. 18, the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) senate voted to reject an almost $16,000 proposal to provide The New York Times subscriptions to Fresno State students.
Subsequently, The Collegian posted an article on Feb. 20 with a misleading title, “ASI rejects proposal for free student New York Times subscription,” which picked up local and national news coverage, from the Fresno Bee to the New York Post and Fox News.
There has been a huge misreporting of the facts from both the original article and the subsequent national coverage that followed, starting with the notion that this is a free subscription. While students would not have had to pay up front for the subscription, their student fees, which they paid at the beginning of the year, would have funded the failed proposal.
It is a subscription that only 29% of students who have access to it across this country use. A fact that has failed to be reported is that Fresno State has had this subscription in the past, most recently in 2018, but it was cut during difficult budget years due to low usage among Fresno State students.
Todd Halvorsen from The New York Times was very unprepared and, when asked a question, often would deflect or say he did not have the data. Also, in the presentation presented to the senate by Mr. Halvorsen, the data provided was inaccurate, including citing that 50% of CSU students have access to The New York Times subscription program, when, according to their own website, only five out of the 23 CSUs provide their students with a New York Times subscription.
As someone who has been a trustee of student fees and has served in three different student advocacy organizations solely funded by student fees — from community college student government with a budget of $100,000, to the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, which has a budget of over $2 million, to now Fresno State’s ASI — I would never vote yes on a proposal that would be a waste of student fees for a subscription that hasn’t been used in the past and wouldn’t continue to be used.
There are many other ways that student fees can be better utilized, as ASI is currently doing through funding health and wellness vending machines, providing internships for students, and offering different grants and scholarships, among other initiatives. ASI is also focused on building community among our constituents by putting on events and also funding events, including homecoming and Vintage Days, all while also providing funding for clubs.
As ASI’s budget relies solely on student fees and, as a result, on strong student enrollment, in these tough social and economic times, we must practice fiscal conservatism with our budget. That includes preventing the waste of student fees, and yes, that includes funding a New York Times subscription.
