Fresno State students will not get free access to the New York Times, in part because the paper is not progressive enough.
According to a report from The Collegian, Fresno State’s student-run newspaper, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) shot down a proposal to give students a free subscription to the New York Times.
By the numbers: Student senators had a proposal to provide the campus with New York Times subscriptions for around $15,700.
- Per The Collegian, around 60% of college students across the country have access to a New York Times subscription, with 28% of students using them.
What they’re saying: One student senator called the New York Times unethical for not using certain words, such as genocide, ethnic cleaning and occupied territory in regards to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
- College of Health and Human Services Senator Alya Hassan asked, “Why should we continue to or allow financing of this sort for a news outlet like this?”
- New York Times employee Todd Halvorsen responded during the ASI meeting via Zoom, saying the choice of words reporters use is not his side of the business.
- “I have no comment on that, you know, we do report on the facts,” Halvorsen said, The Collegian reported. “That is our mission. We seek the truth and help people understand the world.”
- College of Arts and Humanities Senator Sara Sevy presented the proposal to ASI. She said she asked around 60 students if they would be interested in a free subscription and did not receive any opposition. She also noted that it would only come to $0.67 per student.
- But Hassan continued to push back, saying, “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.”
Zoom out: While Fresno State students will not get a New York Times subscription through the university, all they need is a library card if they want access.
- The Fresno County Library currently provides anyone who has a library card with free access to the New York Times.
