McKena Miyashiro |
At the end of this month, students will no longer be able to find copies of The Oregonian on campus newspaper racks.
Provost Thomas Greene received a letter indicating that The Oregonian has decided to discontinue the complimentary papers they were providing to the University.
According to ASUP President junior Quin Chadwick, administration is hoping to tie in subscriptions to The Oregonian with The New York Times through the University’s readership program between the Office of the Provost, Residence Life and ASUP.
“It just wasn’t a cost that any of us were prepared to take on yet,” Chadwick said.
Aside from students reading The Oregonian for leisure, students also read The Oregonian as part of the curriculum in communication classes on campus. Chadwick predicts that once the complimentary subscriptions end, students will be aware of this change and raise questions to ASUP.
“I think it’s a resource for students that is valuable to us,” Chadwick said. “It also informs us as students about what’s going on in our larger community outside of the UP bubble. In terms of social justice issues, it’s helpful for us to have the news. As students, we need to be educated outside of our (UP) community.”
Director of Student Activities Jeromy Koffler shares the same sentiments as Chadwick.
“We have one significant paper for the state and that’s The Oregonian,” Koffler said. “I think The Oregonian is an important source of information to give the campus community a perspective of the state that we live in. Especially in times like political elections where we’re looking at different candidates and what are the issues and trying to educate ourselves on the political process.”
According to Koffler, The Oregonian originally started sending complimentary papers to University of Portland in the hopes of increasing circulation and having students subscribe to the paper once they graduate.
Koffler believes The Oregonian is facing budget challenges that raise questions about the profitability of The Oregonian as a newspaper.
“I’m fairly certain in saying the reason that they’re cutting the free circulation is for financial reasons,” said Koffler.
The New York Times, however, is still available on campus through the University’s current readership program.
“The New York Times is great for (a picture of) a much larger community…. It gives us an idea of the country as a whole…. But The Oregonian is Oregon-focused and that’s what we need,” Chadwick said. “It’s important we stay educated and involved in our larger community here in Oregon as well. I think both are vital to have.”
The Oregonian was founded in 1850 and is the oldest published newspaper on the West Coast. In October last year, the paper decided to focus on delivering online news, printing only four days a week. The paper also announced that “significant layoffs” were expected.
A subscription to The Oregonian, which includes home delivery from Wednesday through Sunday, is available for $64.99 at $2.50 a week for the first 26 weeks. Copies of The Oregonian are still available for purchase at Lucky Mart, Lombard Market and Lombard Deli and Pizza on Lombard Street.
“Why should we not have the paper on campus is the question I asked myself. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t,” Chadwick said.
Koffler, however, noted the budgeting challenges of funding a subscription.
“Everything has a cost. If you’re going to pay for Oregonians on campus … what are you going to give up? That’s the hard question that the student government and anyone else who wants to sponsor the paper has to ask,” Koffler said. “Is the priority high enough to outweigh something else that you’re paying for?”
