Following a successful pilot run, the Billiken Readership Program-sponsored by the Student Government Association and USAToday-is officially in place for Saint Louis University students for the 2007-2008 academic year. Aimed to expand student knowledge of local and national news and current events through newspaper readership, this program makes copies of The New York Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and USA Today available to students at 11 locations on campus.

“The pilot was so overwhelmingly successful that I think the number [of interested students] will keep growing and will eventually expand beyond the budget,” said Regional Marketing Manager of USAToday Mary Ramatowski.

Last semester, the pilot program-which ran from Jan. 26 to Feb. 26-was so well received that Dr. Kent Porterfield, Ed.D., vice president of student development, and Provost Joe Weixlmann, Ph.D., funded an extension of the program from March 19 to May 5. After winning a majority vote in the 2007 SGA elections, the program began Monday.

In 1997 Graham Spanier, Ph.D., president of Penn State University, created The Collegiate Readership Program, which has expanded to approximately 480 universities nationwide, including local schools such as Washington University in St. Louis, University of Missouri-Columbia, Webster University and Truman State University.

“I think everyone who is not a freshman likes it. I get The New York Times everyday at the business school, and I really like it,” sophomore Ryan Gach said.

Though the program retained most aspects from the pilot in the spring, the new card reader display was revamped. This keeps faculty and the general public out so students can have full access to the newspapers, according to Ramatowski.

SLU students voted to pay $5 per academic year for access to these three news sources each morning.

On the level of student awareness about the program, SGA President Andrew Clifton said, “I don’t think it is as high as it should be.” He anticipates that interest and awareness will grow after these first few weeks of the semester.

Junior Andrew Putnam, who regularly participates in the program, praised the selection of papers available. “It gives college kids a chance to catch up on current events . and I can check the business pages,” he said.

Clifton said, “I think it is going to be really successful on SLU’s campus for a long time. It has seen success at other local schools and it will at SLU too.”