LETTER: News is good use of fees

Editor,

Here at Utah State, we have a system that lets the university provide certain services for students. I am talking about student fees. Each semester, students pay fees that cover such things as computer labs, the Aggie Shuttle, athletics, and theater productions. None of these services is used by every student in the university, but many of them provide important opportunities for the student body as a whole.

Recently, ASUSU has been investigating whether we should increase student fees slightly in order to pay for newspapers such as USA Today, The Herald Journal, and the Salt Lake Tribune to be available to students. One of the arguments made against this proposal is that it gives the “perception of free,” when in fact, it costs money. The trouble with this argument is that it could be used for any service offered by the university. Students could mistakenly think the computer labs are free, when in fact, they are paying for them. The same applies to athletics, the shuttles, and everything else covered by fees. They all give the “perception of free.”

The key here is not to eliminate athletics, the arts, or anything else that some students might mistakenly believe to be free. The key is for those students who care to be informed. No student need suffer from the delusion that the football game they’re going to, or the newspaper they’re reading, came for free. We need to pay attention to where our money is going, and then decide whether each fee adds something substantial to the education or social life of students at the university. We may find that many changes could be made.

As for the newspaper proposal, I can think of few better uses of student fees than providing a way for students to keep up-to-date with what is going on in the community, country and world. To be able to read different viewpoints and be exposed to the outside world is an essential part of a university education. What could support that better than the availability of different newspapers on campus?

Joshua Booth