Aaron JohnsonStudent Union senator David Rogier wants to free Washington University students from their bubble. To do so, Rogier hopes to bring national newspapers to campus to educate students, whom he is concerned are oblivious to news and other events occurring in the world at large.
“Last year I saw that the school did not provide options for newspapers, except for the bookstore, which had limited deals and excluded weekends,” said Rogier. “After reading [Student Life Opinion Editor] Yoni Cohen’s plea, I wondered what could be done. Providing free or subsidized newspapers would benefit everyone.”
The plea Rogier referred to is a column Cohen wrote earlier in the semester lamenting the lack of readily-available national newspapers on campus. Both Rogier and Cohen mention the absence of outside news sources as one of the major factors contributing to students’ isolation.
“WU stirs in a bubble,” said Rogier. “Students are na‹ve to the world around them. They live in their books and dorm rooms. They are blind to their community and the dynamic world we all share.”
Rogier’s proposal received support from those assembled at an SU open session on Nov. 13. The proposal includes four different options for distributing newspapers on campus, including distributing free newspapers in residence halls and dining areas, placing additional newspaper dispensers near apartments and residence halls, and subsidizing individual student subscriptions. Special rates obtained from various national newspapers for educational purposes may help SU cut costs for such a venture.
Rogier assembled a committee of interested senators, including Marc Bridge and Pamela Bookbinder, to look into the matter.
“I really feel like the students here are in a sort of ‘WU bubble,’ and many of them do not know what is going on in other places in our country and around the world,” said Bookbinder. “I think that if students have easier access to newspapers then they will become more well-rounded people.”
With this project, Rogier said he hopes to foster discussion and increased awareness of the world outside WU, enriching the quality of education for all students.
“Imagine a history major sitting in a cozy brown chair in Holmes Lounge reading a newspaper,” said Rogier. “She glances over an article that catches her attention, then shows that article to passing friend. Her friend, a biology major, adds an equally awesome perspective, explanation, or addition to the subject. That is college: the sharing of knowledge with people who know different things than you but are equally interested in learning.”
Bridge agreed with this assessment of the potential a newspaper program may unleash in WU students.
“Our goal is to break down the wall that prevents us as students from fully engaging with the world in which we live,” said Bridge. “The problem is one of access and availability. There is a great and unmet demand on this campus for readily accessible information. The vast majority of us want to keep abreast of the goings-on in the world, but our lives are hectic. Our goal is to reduce the significant barriers that stand between us and the engagement we crave.”
According to Rogier, deciding which publications to consider bringing to campus proved challenging. He contacted leaders of major political groups on campus, including the Campus Republicans and Democrats, and asked which paper they would prefer. The College Democrats suggested The New York Times, and the College Republicans wanted the Chicago Tribune. Rogier contacted these groups rather than taking a sample survey of WU students, feeling that a liberal-leaning student body might skew the results.
“I want the papers to educate, not push a political agenda,” said Rogier. “I asked groups instead of polling student opinion because if I asked students their opinion they would have chosen papers they tend to agree with. I don’t want students to be turned off from the news because they feel a paper is pushing an ideology. That doesn’t achieve anything except more political isolation.”
Kelley Mesa, president of the College Republicans, is pleased to see SU taking this kind of action to help students. She appreciates that both liberal and conservative groups on campus were taken into consideration.
“I think it’s great that SU sought a conservative opinion of national media sources,” said Mesa. “Finally, the campus community is realizing they can no longer ignore the growing conservative presence here at WU.”