SGB drop boxes not as effective as touted

The Student Government Board’s drop box solution to the Collegiate Readership Program might… The Student Government Board’s drop box solution to the Collegiate Readership Program might not be as effective as previously thought.

Today, SGB will vote either to continue the Collegiate Readership Program immediately or wait for boxes that would limit the papers to only people with a student ID. But Board members said that the boxes won’t limit the papers only to undergraduate non-College of General Studies students as initially intended. The boxes won’t be able to differentiate between students of each school. The Board initially suspended the program because there was no way to prevent people outside the School of Arts and Sciences from picking up the paper.

“If you have a [student] ID, you can get a paper,” Board member Alex Murdoch said. “It’s kind of like we are still funding for those grad students.”

During winter break, the Board decided to halt the program until locked drop boxes, which would limit the papers to only those students paying the student activities fee, were implemented.

The locked drop boxes would not cost any extra and are included in the cost of the program, which cost $30,500 during the pilot stage.

Murdoch voted at the Jan. 24 SGB meeting to discontinue the program because he did not think it was the responsibility of the Student Activities Fund to pay for the papers. He said that he plans on voting in favor of waiting for the locked drop boxes to avoid immediate distribution of the newspapers.

Board member Halim Genus also voted against the program at Tuesday night’s meeting. He, like Murdoch, said that he does not think the Student Activities Fund should pay for newspapers.

“I am not against newspapers and information,” Genus said. “The student activities fee is to pay for student activities put on by student organizations … It shouldn’t fund for an individual’s morning paper.”

Other organizations who receive funding from the Student Activities Fund, such as club sports teams, have graduate students on their rosters..

Student organizations are allowed to have graduate students and non-affiliates on their rosters, but undergraduates must make up 75 percent of the membership, said Glyn Cozart, a student employee at the Student Organization Resource Center.

Board President James Landreneau was unable to state what percentage of the papers were picked up by graduate students, faculty or College of General students, but he did say that he spoke with professors who admitted to picking up the papers on a daily basis.

The program is funded on a per-paper basis, said Board member Gordon Louderback. He said if the papers remained open to anyone, it is possible that more papers would be picked up than if they are limited to only students. He voted on Tuesday to extend the program, but he said he will vote to wait until the campus receives the locked drop boxes.

“If we implement right away, it will be just like before,” Louderback said. “Why would we go back to that system?”