By Calvin Gilbert
The Scene staff
Many Forest Park students don’t know about a college perk that can help them stay informed.
All St. Louis Community College students can get free digital subscriptions to The New York Times.
Student Alexis Lee wasn’t aware of the offer until recently. She plans to sign up.
“For educated individuals, staying up on news is important, and it helps with our growth,” Lee said.
STLCC pays for a college subscription so that all students and faculty with a college email address can get access.
The newspaper publishes news, feature and sports stories, puzzles and games, movie and product reviews, recipes and podcasts.
“It’s a popular resource that provides our users with a variety of information,” said Tori Lyons, the college’s lead librarian for acquisitions.
Student Iyana Williams also was unaware that she could get a subscription to The New York Times through STLCC.
Williams might be interested, but she would like to know more about the newspaper’s focus. In general, she believes that it’s important to stay informed.
“There’s a lot of stuff that happens outside our campus,” Williams said.
Allyson Smith was the only student interviewed by The Scene who already knew about the free subscriptions, but she wasn’t sure how to sign up and hadn’t yet done a “deep dive” into it.
Smith plans to sign up.
“It would keep me updated, and I could use it as a source for essays if it’s unbiased,” she said. “It is very important to know what things are going on in the world. It helps people make informed decisions on voting.”
To get a subscription to The New York Times, click on Setting Up Your Subscription and follow the instructions.
Those who have problems signing up can get help from a Forest Park librarian.
Subscriptions must be renewed every year. STLCC also offers free digital subscriptions to other newspapers, such as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star, as well as the NewsBank database.