Starting this semester, students will no longer be able to pick up and read free copies of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal on campus. The executive branch of Student Government (SG) decided that the funds, roughly 25% of the total SG budget, would be better allocated to other programs.
Student Body President Jonathan Kaufman said the executive branch’s decision to reallocate the funds for the publications was in the best interest of the student body as a whole.
“In total, student government spent $43,575 of student activity fee dollars last year to afford a declining number of copies of the WSJ, NYTimes and state newspapers,” Kaufman said. “We decided that spending that $43,575 elsewhere would be a better use of those dollars for all of our students, so we discontinued the program.”
Members of SG are hoping that these funds can be used for new key student government initiatives.
“Those dollars will go towards a variety of services, including expansion of Carolina Cab to gamedays and a university-wide campus app, among other things,” Kaufman said.
Student Body Treasurer Ian Shannon explained that although this decision might not be popular among some students, it was the best move for them to make.
“I’m a business student; I can understand why some students have an issue with this decision,” Kaufman said. “I read the Wall Street Journal and can see why they might take issue, but honestly, this made the most sense. Before Student Government was providing the funding for the publications, the business school provided the funding. If it’s something that is important to business students, then that should be something that is addressed.”
Kaufman and Shannon both stated that the executive branch, including the Student Body President, Vice President and Treasurer, makes decisions as a team.
SG Senator Zachary Kirby said the move to stop the distribution of the publications was in the best interest for the future.
“This was a decision made by the executive branch during summer session that we as the Senate are aware of and support. It was necessary for the expansion of other key student government initiatives,” he said.
Kaufman, whose campaign focused on plans to create the campuswide app, said that he hopes the app can be up and running by May 2016.