The only way for students to pick up a free copy of The New York Times now on campus is stopping by Gaylord Hall and picking one off the rack.

However, this has not always been the case. At one point on campus, three colleges provided the newspaper to students free of charge: the College of International Studies, the Honors College and the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, which still does so today.

The New York Times contacted the Honors College about buying a subscription, said Rich Hamerla, associate dean of the Honors College.

The college thought it over for a semester or two until the idea was mentioned in one of the college-sponsored informal reading groups, Hamerla said.

The college petitioned the idea, and the students were interested, so they green-lighted the idea and subscribed. The cost was $1,875 per semester, and the college was delivered 25 copies of the paper a day.

The New York Times currently offers weekday-only home delivery subscriptions for $3.70 per week.

Initially, the college couldn’t keep them in the rack, and they were gone every day, but interest in the paper dropped off from semester to semester. Eventually the service, which lasted four or five semesters, was aborted, Hamerla said.

The College of International Studies faced a similar predicament, said Tracy Holloway, academic counselor for the college.

She said the initial leaders of the idea to have The New York Times on campus were the administrators of the Honors College and the Gaylord College. Her college attended a few meetings and eventually decided to take the deal, which at the time was a very inexpensive introductory deal, Holloway said.

International Studies had a rack in their building for the newspaper and tried to encourage professors to use them in their classrooms. But student interest wasn’t that high, and few papers were being picked up daily, so after the rate expired, the deal was dropped because it simply wasn’t worth it for the college, Holloway said.

The only college left with The New York Times on campus is the Gaylord College, which makes sense, said David Craig, associate dean for academic affairs of the college.

Craig said The New York Times is still one of the most in-depth news sources available, with expertise in many different subject areas of news and entertainment.

“It gives students an opportunity to get deeper insight than they could from other sources,” Craig said.

He acknowledges some of the same information is available online, but having the papers in the college is convenient for students. Craig also notes many professors in the college such as fellow Associate Dean John Hockett use the newspaper extensively in their classes.

The New York Times isn’t the only publication the college provides to students. Among the many provided are the Oklahoma Gazette, So6ix Magazine, Boyd Street and The Norman Transcript.

For many students, reading a daily newspaper wouldn‘t happen for them unless it was provided by the college.

“Being a parent with two kids and married, it wouldn’t exactly be on the budget,” said Marcus Macktima, music education sophomore.

Macktima said he regularly reads The Norman Transcript and occasionally will glance at The New York Times. He said since reading a daily newspaper, he has felt more informed about the news, especially local news.