Students have the opportunity to read free popular newspapers around campus.
Regional Sales Manager of Gannet Publishing Services Lori Rohde represented USA Today at the student government meeting on March 25 to talk about the Collegiate Readership Program at Ferris.
Student government and the President’s Office fund the program on campus that offers free newspapers in The Rock, the Arts and Science Commons and the IRC. The newspapers available include The New York Times, Detroit Free Press, USA Today and The Pioneer.
“The reason why we have these programs and why we introduce these types of programs to colleges is to prepare students to live and work in a global community,” Rohde said.
Ferris pre-pharmacy sophomore Scott Mleczko said he reads these newspapers all the time.
“I think this program is important because we should have the availability to find out what’s going on in the world,” Mleczko said. “We’re college students and we’re about to face the real world.”
According to Rohde, approximately 308 newspapers are picked up every day at Ferris. The cost is determined by the number of newspapers that are picked up. The typical cost for students is about $5-$10 a year.
“It’s important these newspapers are available to students,” Ferris music industry management sophomore Adrianna Walker said. “This way we aren’t limited to only local news and can gain perspective on international events.”
Students have the opportunity to discuss what they would like to see done with the program at the student government meetings and can decide what papers are brought to campus. Some students discussed changing the location in which the papers are placed.
Student Government Public Relations Specialist Carmen Plank believes this service is sometimes underutilized by the students.
“The Collegiate Readership Program keeps students up to date on current events,” Plank said. “It provides a different news source.”