NEW JERSEY — The Rutgers University Student Assembly(RUSA) and the university’s student newspaper, the Daily Targum,reached a compromise last week regarding the future of student newspapersubscription fees.
Last semester, Daily Targum editors worried their financialstability would be in jeopardy if Rutgers President Richard McCormick approved astudent senate recommendation to allow students to opt-out of a $9.75 newspaperfee by marking a box on their tuition bill.
Following McCormick’s call for the two student organizations tonegotiate a compromise, the RUSA last week proposed a revision that would changethe guidelines for funding the paper. The new recommendation suggests studentsbe able to opt-out of the subscription fee on the Targum‘s Web siteduring the first two weeks of a semester.
“By recommending that the refund process be placed on our Web site,RUSA is helping to ensure that students will not have to jump through hoops toreceive their refunds, while helping to protect the independence of thenation’s second-oldest college newspaper,” Daily Targum Editor-in-Chief John Clyde said in a statement.
Clyde went on to say that placing the opt-out process on the paper’sWeb site ensures parents and students will be able to make an informed choiceabout whether or not to support the Targum.
According to Clyde, about .5 percent of students typically opt out of thesubscription fee, which provides about one-third of the paper’s operatingbudget. Under current RU policy, students may request a refund at the beginningof the semester in the Targum office.
The compromised recommendation is now in the hands of McCormick, who willdecide whether or not to adopt the new refund procedure.
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