If you’ve been at UMass Boston long enough, you may remember the days when The Boston Globe was available for free in stands on campus. Sponsored by The Globe and its owner The New York Times at no cost to the university, that program was terminated in 2007, when the newspapers hit hard times.

For print media aficionados, the good old days may be back. The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is partnering with USA Today to provide free copies of The Globe, USA Today and possibly the Christian Science Monitor starting next semester. Currently the program is in a two-week trial period, with one stand located on the Upper Level of the Campus Center, near the main entrance, and another outside of the Healey Library.

Sponsored by the USG’s Carry Forward Act, USA Today’s distribution manager will count the papers on the stand every day, and the university will only pay for copies that were picked up.

USA Today’s Collegiate Readership Program partners with colleges across the nation to provide up to three different national or local newspapers on campuses.

The Carry Forward Act of 2011-12 included plans for spending the $240,000 surplus from fiscal year 2011. The surplus came mostly from the $9 non-waiveable student activities fee.