In the weeks leading up to the start of Fall semester, Sonoma State let hundreds of student employees go due to pandemic-related budget cuts. Students are either finding themselves without jobs just as the new semester begins, or waiting for decisions to be made on whether their position will exist in the future.
Sonoma State’s budget for the 2020-21 academic year dropped nearly $20 million due to the pandemic, according to The Press Democrat. Such a large blow to the school’s finances has led to the need for cuts, which have resulted in many student employees losing their jobs. SSU’s Interim Public Information Officer, Robert Eyler, states, “At this time, not much hiring is happening at all on campus, and some folks have lost their job due to lack of work because of COVID-19. This includes jobs that students normally fill.”
Student employees are the heart and soul of Sonoma State. They bring a perspective to their positions that nobody else could, and they provide support to their peers using their own experiences. Students rely on the support systems peer employees create, and without these positions, especially in the world of remote learning, it is nearly impossible to provide. Inversely, during these uncertain times, student employees look to their jobs for some sort of certainty; something to look forward to. Peer Mentor Emily Marfia states, “Without [this] position, I will not be able to connect with and help first year students.”
Many students rely on their campus jobs, not only for financial support, but for other types of benefits, as well. Some jobs offer housing, dining dollars, priority registration, among many other benefits. When asked to speak about their experience with this situation, an anonymous former RA explained, “It wasn’t until just before August that I was told only 15 RA’s could be rehired…I had two weeks to find a new place to live before the semester started…losing my job meant losing my place to live.”
All across the board, students are explaining that the process of finding out whether their job survived the cuts was slow and uninformed. In a statement regarding this issue, Peer Mentor Braden Woodward says that he “was notified about a week before showing up to [his] first class and was told that even though [he] got the job months ago, they may just drop [him] from the payroll and the job.” Late notice and lack of information have been constant during these hard times, and student employees are under a great deal of stress.
“Nobody knows when or if we will have a job. There is so much uncertainty,” Emily Marfia declared when discussing the fact that her position, like many others, has not yet been approved by President Sakaki.
Supervisors and Department heads are working around the clock to fight for their student employees. Communication is key during these uncertain times, and everyone is doing the best they can with what they’re being given. According to an anonymous student employee, “You can’t blame higher-ups and the university too much. Like the rest of the world, they had no idea what was going on.”
Going into the new academic year, many student jobs are on the line, but there are still final decisions to be made, and these decisions are not made lightly. The university is doing its best to keep students informed as new information surfaces.
