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Students deliver the news
Beginning this fall, Boston College students have been able to pick up free copies of the New York Times, the
Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, and the British weekly
Economist at five locations around campus. The service is the brainchild of an independent student group, the Quality of Student Life Committee (QSLC), which over the last four years has brokered a series of "small" (the group's espoused adjective) everyday improvements in student life.
In all, 1,260 copies of the three newspapers are delivered to campus each day, and 233 copies of the
Economist each issue. The Times, Globe, and Economist are purchased through the Office of the Academic Vice President and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at a substantial discount, from the Times's educational arm, the Knowledge Network.
Boston College is the first institution of higher learning to enter into such an arrangement to supply the Economist. The Herald provides its papers to the University at no cost.
Credit for the project goes in large part to MichaelAaron Flicker '05 and Jayshree Mahtani '06, QSLC members who spent 18 months researching costs, negotiating with publishers, and coordinating with Boston College staff in buildings management, student development, athletics, dining, and academic affairs.
Among other accomplishments, QSLC members have successfully proposed plans for: extending the course drop/add period from five to seven business days, to give students more time to weigh their choices; stationing an ATM on lower campus; opening the lower dining hall (Corcoran Commons) earlier in the morning, at 6:30, to serve students headed off-campus to practicums and internships; and posting syllabi online in tandem with course descriptions. The group's projects are developed at biannual forums, where any student is welcome to come and join in the brainstorming.
Paul Voosen
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