Prompted by the disappointment students expressed after the newspaper readership program was suspended last spring, Villanova’s Student Government Association took action to bring the newspapers back.

After endless meetings and presentations by members of SGA, the Academic Affairs department granted $25,000 to reinstate the readership program. The program will bring back the free copies of The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and USA Today.

When these publications begin appearing on campus next year, students will hopefully appreciate the efforts put forth by SGA, mainly the concerns and issues committee.

The work put into this project would have driven many to drop the cause and just say “oh well,” but all those involved were motivated and dedicated and their efforts should be appreciated by all. Students need to take full advantage of the fact that we will now have major new publications readily available for free all over campus.

Daily or even occasional reading of the newspapers can not only help with classes, but also gives students a good general awareness of what is going on in the world, something which many students lack.

In addition, reading newspapers can help enormously with job interviews. Many interviewers ask questions regarding current events, and having a newspaper available besides The Wall Street Journal will prove useful to students preparing to enter the job market, or in the midst of an internship search. We can only hope that the newspaper won’t vanish again when that $25,000 runs out. The Academic Affairs department is planning to obtain feedback during next year’s program before issuing any further funding.

This means the work for SGA isn’t quite over. In order to keep the privilege of having free newspapers, the readership program must be well-maintained and run efficiently.

Those involved should be sure to promote the reinitiation of the program as well as follow up and ensure that students are indeed taking full advantage of the opportunity.

With the same dedication and motivation that has been illustrated thus far by those involved, the program should become a permanent installation at Villanova.