In Response to Bad Press, SGA Cuts Globe Subscription

At a Thursday, Dec. 10 meeting, the Student Government Association voted to cancel Suffolk’s subscription to the Boston Globe, 25 votes to 2, in response to recent articles published about the university.

According to SGA President Brian LeFort, senators at the meeting expressed how displeased they were with the articles published by the newspaper, specifically a Dec. 10 Globe editorial that called President David J. Sargent’s pay “excessive” and questioned the leadership of Board of Trustees Chairman Nicholas Macaronis.

“The president is 78, the trustee chairman just a few days shy of 80,” the editorial read, “The board needs new leadership now so it can begin planning for a post-Sargent era that is soon at hand.”

The SGA did not think the Globe was qualified to make testimonials addressing these particular issues, said Lefort.

“Students felt that they were being attacked [by the Globe]” said LeFort. “The general population of SGA believes we should be able to question [President Sargent] but that it is not the Boston Globe’s position to do that.”

LeFort added that due to Thanksgiving break, the SGA was not able to discuss the Globe articles until this past Thursday.

The Globe published several Suffolk-related articles throughout October and November, reporting on President Sargent’s lofty pay package and contract extension, and the school’s efforts to re-finance its debt.

A front page article on Nov. 17 upset many in the Suffolk community, with its negative depiction of the school as being high on glitter, but low on academic value. A more recent article brought to the light the controversial circumstances surrounding the president’s contract extension, which some trustees claimed was pushed through hurriedly by Chairman Macaronis.

With 10 senators absent, the SGA took a vote on whether to keep or cancel the newspaper subscription at Thursday’s meeting. According to SGA Treasurer Mitch Vieira, there were 27 senators present, 25 voted to cancel the subscription, 2 voted against the motion and one chose not to vote.

Despite the large amount of votes favoring the cancellation, LeFort stressed that the final vote was difficult. “This was not an easy decision to make.” The SGA took into consideration the backlash that could occur from such a strong decision, added Lefort.

Some teachers objected to the cancellation. Dr. Robert Rosenthal, Chair of the Department of Communication and Journalism, said that the SGA had every right to protest the Globe’s statements but that they used the wrong method in doing so.

“It is better to engage with the Globe’s editors through the letters process than to cancel a subscription in a moment of anger” said Dr. Rosenthal. “The letter provides an opportunity to educate and enlighten the Globe and its readers; the cancellation of a subscription accomplishes none of this. In fact, it sends the wrong message to the Suffolk community: that if we disagree with some information, rather than engage in discussion, we will banish it from campus.”

Some students agreed with Dr. Rosenthal.

“I feel like it is bad because with the demands of college life it’s often difficult for students to have the time to get the news in a truly educated fashion,” said Rory Hickey, a freshman. “When they had the Globe it was a convenient way to stay informed.”

“I don’t think they should cancel it. The media basically writes what they want, true or not” said one communications major. “It’s always good to have different opinions, even if they try to make us look bad. The Globe could help people like me with reviewing different methods of writing.”

SGA is working hard to ease student discontent.

“It will be an adjustment for students when they return to campus to not have the Globe but we will still be providing the New York Times in the same locations,” said Vieira. “We will work over break to see if we can secure delivery of another newspaper for the second semester. We will be sending an email out to students soliciting their feedback on which paper(s) they would like to see as a possible replacement.”

As for handling repercussions from professors, SGA might not be fully equipped due to the fact that teachers were not taken into consideration when this decision was made.

“To my knowledge there was no consulting of professors from the senators who motioned for this,” said LeFort. “There could be some problems with the communications department. Time will tell, when it gets out and people see it's not there. We will see what the backlash is from it.”

It was suggested at the meeting that if teachers need the Globe for their classes they can request a subscription for their class alone through the school, but this was not confirmed.

“I personally was informed of that at the meeting,” LeFort said, “By the end of this week I will check if personal subscriptions [are possible]. That would be a good solution.”

According to Vieira, the newspaper program is funded through the student activity fee that is collected each semester as part of student’s tuition.

“The newspaper program is budgeted at $12,000 for the year for both [the Globe and the Times)” stated Vieira.”

He added that the money that was once budgeted for the Globe will go to the replacement paper. And if a replacement paper is not secured, “any unused funding in this account will roll over into the Initiatives account at the end of the fiscal year (June 30), which is the current practice for all accounts that are funded through the Student Activity Fee,” Vieira said.

Students with suggestions on which paper(s) they would like to see on campus, can email Mitch Vieria at fc@suffolk.edu or call the Finance Committee office number: (617) 305-6327. Students are also welcome to stop by the SGA office in Donahue 433.