New York Times Hits Dining Halls

Students looking to break out of the Harvard bubble are cheering the arrival of free copies of The New York Times in dining halls.

The pilot program, which will expire in six weeks, comes as a result of a discount from the Times and funding by the Undergraduate Council, House Committees, and Harvard University Dining Services.

The Crimson, which delivers the papers to the Houses, benefits financially from the distribution deal.

“When I go by Annenberg in the morning I’d like to take a glance at what’s happening in the world,” said Philipp W. Grimm ’11. “It lets me feel not so disconnected, stuck in the Harvard bubble.”

The UC nixed a proposal to bring the “Gray Lady” to dining halls in March.

UC representative Maia Usui ’11, who played a key role in implementing the plan, said she hopes the College will eventually pick up the cost of the newspapers when the trial period ends.

Not all students on campus were enthusiastic about the new program.

Kelly J. Peeler ’10 said she would not discontinue her subscription to The Wall Street Journal, even if she could get the Times in the dining hall.

Peeler said exclusive distribution of the Times would be “disappointing.”

“I think if they were to buy one newspaper, they should not necessarily provide them all, but at least provide the two opposite views, and I think of The Wall Street Journal and the Times as opposites,” she said.

—Staff writer Charles J. Wells can be reached at wells2@fas.harvard.edu.