The New York Times Web site began charging for some of its content this week, and so those students who wake up too late for the paper copy may miss out on articles they want to read.
The new system, called TimesSelect, will limit access to op-ed columnists and other online content to customers who subscribe to the paper edition and who pay the online fee.
Tufts students, who receive free paper copies of the Times on weekdays in the dining halls, dorms, some academic buildings, and Mail Services, will not be given access to the online service immediately.
The free paper copies on campus are provided through the Times Readership Program, which delivers bulk subscriptions to colleges and universities.
TimesSelect began this Monday, Sept. 19. It costs $7.95 per month or $49.95 per year, and provides some access to the Times archives. Currently, there is a 14-day trial offer.
Students will not receive free access to TimesSelect because the students who read the paper edition change from day to day and the company does not have a relationship with individual students.
According to James Ryan, who runs the Times Readership Program, TimesSelect will have a "phased expansion" in the coming months. Access will be expanded to students who receive print copies through campus bookstore subscription programs or through bulk deliveries, like Tufts.
Tufts was the first university to offer the New York Times free to students, Senior Assistant Provost Elizabeth Canny said.
The program was started by then-University Provost Sol Gittleman. "I always thought it was a good idea that before you go to class, you read a good newspaper," he said.
When it began, the program provided copies to Balfour Scholars - African-American students chosen each year since 1990 for the academic and leadership skills.
Canny said then-University president John DiBiaggio suggested the University provide the Times to incoming freshmen at least 12 years ago.
Delivery was added to the common areas nine years ago.
The delivery service is funded by the Office of the Provost at a bulk price. "It's significantly reduced from the regular rate," Canny said.
The New York Times pays the students who deliver the paper, though. Papers are delivered to Mail Services by 8:45 a.m. and to everywhere else by 9 a.m.
The delivery system is run through the ultimate Frisbee team. One student delivery manager hires two delivery people: one for uphill and the other for downhill.
"We get the delivery people from the team," senior Chris Healey, the current manager, said. "It's been that way for a long time."
Healey said he submits monthly invoices to the New York Times for himself and his two delivery people. Healey receives $25 per delivery day, and the two delivery people each receive $12.50 per day.
The delivery money helps pay expenses for the ultimate Frisbee team, which is not a varsity sport. The players are responsible for uniforms, tournament fees, and transportation.
"When we went to nationals in Seattle and a tournament in Louisiana two years ago," Healey said, and on spring break trips to Georgia and North Carolina, "I just about broke even with my delivery earnings and Frisbee costs."
Zach Geller (LA '04) was the delivery manager his senior year. "I made a good student income," he said.
The Office of Institutional Research has surveyed students on whether they prefer the online or print edition of the Times. According to Canny, and an "overwhelming number" preferred the print edition.
