Their alarm goes off at 8:00a.m and they hit snooze. It has been hard adjusting to the new school schedule after a year of running out of things to watch on Netflix, getting food delivered, and worrying about the virus completing the whole Greek alphabet.
Regardless, they get up and begin their morning routine: shower, brush teeth, quick breakfast, and get dressed. All in hopes of making it to work on time. They leave their mask upstairs and find out while they are out the door, so they quickly run back to pick one up.
After a year and a half away from campus due to the pandemic, SSU student workers experience a bittersweet relationship between working at an on campus facility and being a student.
SSU student workers earn a wage of $14 dollars an hour and have an hour cap of 20 possible work hours per week. Some say it is kind of the university to balance the work hours, however, some students seem to be struggling financially and would like to see higher wages and more hours to be given.
A hard working Seawolf who would like to remain anonymous, expressed that 20 hours should be the minimum amount of work.
“I have to pay off my car and that goes with insurance. I have to get groceries and besides that, I have to pay for my phone and streaming services,” says another hard working Seawolf who expressed similar thoughts in regards to the amount of money they make on campus. “This job is not enough for me to pay my groceries, food, phone bill, and other expenses that are necessary.”
This particular Seawolf, like many, has looked for jobs off campus. They found that some jobs pay two to five dollars more for entry level work. A quick search for part-time jobs in Rohnert park shows the higher wages at other off campus locations. They also offer the benefit of being paid more frequently than once a month, which is the current policy at SSU. However, everything has its opportunity cost. Whether that is time, mental health, or gas. Some do not even have a car to get off campus, which makes on campus jobs almost a necessity.
On the other hand, another Seawolf has the opposite perspective. They believe that on campus jobs are actually great. Their on campus job has helped them make friends, distract the mind, and get paid. “I think it is a good amount of hours. It is not a lot, but it is enough–a perfect amount.”
Wages on campus have been rising since before the pandemic. In the Fall of 2019 students were paid $12 dollars an hour. The hourly wages were then set to increase a dollar a semester until reaching the current minimum wage of $15 dollars an hour.
There are also factors like parent support, financial aid, and unforeseen circumstances that the pandemic has brought upon some students, which can dictate how they feel about the wages offered to on campus student workers.
Should students be able to dictate how many hours they can work? Allowing for longer hours, the ability to work at different locations on campus, and for the possibility of a safe method to reopen all the culinary services, like “Lobos” or “The Outlook”, could help a lot of students financially.
This can be done in a strategic way by signing waivers indicating the student is responsible for their well being, have a qualifying GPA, and advisor approval. It is crucial for students to be focused on their career in academia, but part of being successful is also being able to sustain themselves financially. Of course all student workers are appreciative of having a job that is flexible and understanding that school comes first, but some just feel like they have a little more to offer and can handle more responsibilities, as well as getting their financial needs met more adequately.
Overall, students should at least have a say in how many hours they can work and they should receive a wage of at least $15 dollars an hour for minimal labor jobs. Jobs like those in the culinary services or high stress jobs should be paid more. This all to ensure student workers are capable of taking care of their financial needs, as well as succeeding in their academics.
