All UW students now officially have a free 12-month subscription to the New York Times through a partnership with the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA).

This subscription has been available since late August, after the decision and funding was approved by WUSA’s previous board of directors during a three-hour confidential session in April.

WUSA Vice President Remington Zhi noted that to date, more than 300 students have signed up for the program, and that they got between 100 to 200 signups before it had been promoted at all.

When asked why the New York Times specifically was chosen for this partnership, Zhi highlighted its range and widespread recognition, stating, “It’s a really reputable news source. They cover international news, and they do also have a Canadian bureau that covers domestic Canadian news …It’s a lot of variety, in addition to the news, especially the games … [is] one of the really popular things with our students.”

The subscription provides access to current New York Times news coverage along with a full archive of news coverage dating back 90 years. New York Times games are also available, including Wordle, crosswords, Spelling Bee, Connections, Strands, and more, along with extra features such as NYT cooking.

“The subscription if you just get it yourself is $150 a year, so it’s definitely a significant value added service for students,” Zhi said. They added that they believe this is the first news media-specific partnership that WUSA has made.

WUSA is promoting the subscription through social media channels, on their website, and on digital screens across the Student Life Centre.

This offer will be available for 12 months until around September 2026, at which time the success of the program will be evaluated. Students can sign up at any point throughout this time.