Due to a budget reallocation, the newspaper readership program, which supplied University students with free copies of the New York Times, USA Today, and the Philadelphia Inquirer since 2001, has been cancelled.

“It’s a shame, especially for me since I’m a communication major and many of my professors encourage and even require that we read the newspaper on a daily basis,” junior Heather Stickney said.

Administrators requested a subscription program to replace the readership program, since some classes use it as an auxiliary teaching tool. At press time, 12 students were signed up for subscriptions.

Sophomore Catherine Kinrade said, “[The free newspaper was] a great way to get students in touch with current events, but it is just a waste for it to sit there and no one reads it.”

In an effort to provide access to written media, the University Shop is offering students subscriptions to the daily New York Times at a discounted rate of $56 for the full year.

Holiday and weekend editions of the paper are not included, and subscribers will collect their copies every morning, Monday through Friday, at the University Shop in Kennedy Hall during normal business hours. Commuter students can also get a discounted rate for home delivery.

The newly formed Villanova Civil Liberties Association has announced that one of its initial organization goals will be bringing the readership program back to the University.

VCLA has started a petition to return the free newspapers to campus. The group hopes to present the petition to the administration before winter break.

“It is the VCLA’s goal to demonstrate to the University just how upset the student body is by the cancellation of the newspaper program,” Jim Saksa, the group’s president, said.