This semester, through a partnership with USA Today and the New York Times, UB unveiled its Collegiate Readership Program.
The administration hopes it will spark student interest in current events on the national and local levels.
"It really encourages the student to keep up on the news and be aware of what's going on today," said Andrea Costantino, director of student unions and activities.
"The idea here is to get an opportunity to read for information, read for pleasure, and be more engaged in the world around us," said Dennis Black, vice president of student affairs. "How do you do that? You provide materials."
The program places USA Today and the New York Times in 10 locations daily across the North and South campuses.
Through a separate partnership, the Sunday edition of the Buffalo News is distributed at several other locations throughout both campuses, according to Black.
Tonia Lambert, a freshman computer science major, read about the program in an ad placed in The Spectrum last week and has picked up a copy of the USA Today each morning since then.
She said the program is a way for her to stay involved in life outside of campus and spend time during her two-hour-long breaks between classes. The best part, she said, is the price.
"I just kept thinking to myself, 'it's really free?'" Lambert said.
To obtain papers, students insert their UB cards into the paper box, which unlocks the machine. There is no cost for the papers and the UB card is not charged or credited for this service.
Currently, the program, which is in its pilot phase at UB, distributes 600 copies of USA Today and 400 of the New York Times each day. Close to 200 schools participate in the program.
So far, it has been a success at UB, Constantino said.
Nearly all of the 1,000 papers have been retrieved since the program started last week. The university sends back leftover papers every day.
"Last week, I got some reports from anywhere from 10 to 15 (papers) going back each day," she said, which she feels is an overwhelming response in the early stages of the program.
Daniel Leung, a fifth-year senior majoring in media studies, said that the New York Times has been the overwhelming choice of students, as it is nearly impossible to find a copy each day.
Leung said he will try to scout out lesser used distribution boxes so that he can get a copy of his hometown publication.
"It's good reading and being from New York City, it's cool to be able to pick up a copy of the New York Times," he said. "And it's finally within my financial reach."
The university tried a similar program in the residence halls several years ago, and Black said the Division of Student Affairs looked for a way to broaden the scope of the project after its initial success.
Black has a positive outlook on the program, but worries about the disposal of newspapers, which was a problem in the residence halls. The previous program ran into snags when students left newspapers scattered across the floors of the residence halls.
"Obviously there is a concern over recycling and trash; we're obviously monitoring for that, and we're hoping people will be responsible with that," Black said.
Black suggests three options for newspaper disposal: leave the newspaper for another student, recycle it, or take the newspaper home.
Lambert said she plans to continue reading newspapers past college, as she sees it as the only viable way to access the news.
"I don't watch TV - I'm completely against TV - so I don't watch the news, and this is a way to get the untainted version of the story," she said.
USA Today and the New York Times may be picked up in any of the following locations: the Natural Science Center, the Baldy/O'Brien hallway, Lockwood, Capen, Knox, Harriman, Sherman and Squire halls, or in two locations in the Student Union.
For more information on the program, contact the office of the Division of Student Affairs at 645-2055.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
