Some UF students, faculty and alumni are already indulging in the free, digital The New York Times subscriptions brought back by UF Student Government and the UF Office of the Provost.
The subscriptions went live Oct. 29 and can be read on the computer, phone or tablet for anyone with a UFL email. Print copies of The New York Times and USA Today were available on campus before they were removed in May 2013 due to a $30,000 debt under former UF Student Body President Christina Bonarrigo, according to Alligator archives.
The Office of the Provost paid $40,000 for UF faculty and administration to access The New York Times, and SG paid $40,000 for students, a total of $80,000 for a yearlong subscription, UF Student Body President Cory Yeffet said.
“I’m really excited that we’re able to give this to students,” he said.
The previous arrangement cost SG about $60,000 per year, which was about 600 paper copies per day on campus. Weekends and holidays were excluded, Yeffet said.
SG now pays a flat rate of $1.56 per student, regardless of whether the student chooses to use the subscription. SG cannot track who has activated a subscription, Yeffet said.
Ayana Stewart, 21, has already taken advantage of the digital subscription while interning in Washington, D.C.
“I think that it’s a great thing, especially for students like me that are not on campus,” the UF journalism senior said.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 11/10/2014]
