The lefty student government at a local California university rejected a proposal that would grant its student body free subscriptions to The New York Times, citing issues with how The Times covered major world-happenings.
“The New York Times has historically been a little bit problematic and controversial in their reporting and in their journalism,” student official Alya Hassan, who voted against the proposal,told the Fresno Bee.
Hassan referenced its coverage of Israel and Gaza as one example, adding the organization lacked journalistic integrity for avoiding words like genocide, ethnic cleansing and occupied territory in its reporting.
The paper has faced backlash and criticism regarding its coverage of the Israel-Gaza war, with critics from multiple sides accusing it of bias.
The proposal at its Feb. 18 meeting — first reported by The Collegian, the student-run paper — would haveprovided free subscriptions at a cost of $15,705to the student government. The motion failed in a majority vote after a 30-minute debate, the Bee reported.
The proposal was written and put forth by another Fresno State student, Sarah Sevy, after conversations with supporters.
“I had students say ‘oh I love the cooking,’ or ‘oh I love the Wordle,’ or ‘man that would be really handy when my professor says we have to use this article, and it’s behind a paywall,’” Sevy told the Bee.
Hassan said there was no clear demand for the free subscriptions and also questioned how it might be perceived.
“If we were to fund this using student fees, we would essentially be endorsing the New York Times editorial positions and their narratives and that’s where my hesitation comes in,” Hassan said.
The opposition from the student government came even after a New York Times representative told students the paper provides free access to colleges across the country, including Harvard, UC Berkeley, USC, NYU and UC San Diego.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
