The current campus minimum wage is $8.25. No amount of complicated pay schemes can change that. This fact doesn’t sit well with many of us at Elizabethtown College: that’s why we (Nicholas Wiley and Gabriel Karl) are writing this Op-Ed on behalf of the Etown Young Democratic Socialists of America.
Gabriel
$8.25 is too little, plain and simple. The jobs our campus workers do are essential. From the Marketplace to the library. From the Learning Zone to the Jay’s Nest, ITS and the Blue Bean. These are essential roles on campus, so the people who work these jobs should be paid like it. The value our campus workers create in these jobs isn’t as little as $8.25 an hour, is it?
Like we said before, our campus workers are critical to the College; we need them to function. So what happens when we don’t have enough? People aren’t able to get tutoring, administration members have to fill in scheduling gaps in the Marketplace, the Jay Truck can’t open and on and on. Any economist will tell you that there is one clear solution to this problem: raise wages. This is basic supply and demand stuff here. If the price of labor (wages) is too low, people won’t supply that labor, especially when there are better alternatives off-campus. But the College tells us there’s a student worker shortage out one side of their mouth and says no to a real raise out the other.
The final point I’ll make here is that going to college is expensive. We all understand that. And it’s not just tuition, room and board I’m talking about here (although it is a lot and only rising). It’s textbooks, gas, calculators, dorm supplies, living expenses, grad school applications for our upper-classmen, etc. A raise will make an undeniable difference in students’ ability to cover costs. More than that, it will reduce the stress surrounding money and finances, allowing us more mental energy to focus on what we’re here for: Education for Service.
Nick
To call the current minimum wage for student workers “offensive” would be an understatement. To enroll in college is to take a gamble on yourself. You are putting faith in your ability to not just manage, but excel, in order to maximize your opportunities after graduation. It’s an expensive thing and unfortunately, not everyone has a trust fund or a strong financial support network. For supplementary income, many students are forced to work while studying. If you’re a STEM major or any concentration that is completely swamped with homework, you need a job with flexible hours. That is an advantage of working on this campus, but it is not an excuse to underpay students. To maintain one’s grades and help their campus community as student workers do is a thankless balancing act. We have been convinced as workers that we don’t deserve to be paid $15, $12 or even $10 an hour for some jobs. This is a diabolical campaign and I reject that notion.
Etown prides itself on its tight-knit community. How can the school advertise that notion yet not deliver on it? A close community cares for their own and we have not been. A dollar increase to jobs across campus capped at $10 is a start, but it is not enough. We cannot settle when we are worth more than that. Raise student wages and hold Etown accountable for the promises it sells us. A better world (and campus) is possible.
