Student Employees Work for Representation
written by CHRISTOPHER MYERS
Students are now more likely to work during college than at any other point in American history. According to the economist Peter Orszag, a majority of college students work while they attend college to pay for the rising cost of expenses. At Ohio University, students have been increasingly drawn to campus jobs to counter tough economic headwinds.
“Learning and Earning: Working In College,” a 2003 academic paper co-written by Orszag stated, “Not only are students more likely to work today, but they are more likely to work full-time: the share of students working full-time while going to school full-time has nearly doubled, rising from 5.6 percent in 1985 to 10.4 percent in 2000.”
In 2000, he wrote that 828,000 full-time students worked full-time compared to 366,000 in 1985. Those numbers have changed over a decade, with rising multitudes of students searching and gaining employment throughout the nation’s colleges. The statistics and numbers lead to much more information than might be expected.
On subdivisions within the employee populace, the report provides information about how student employees view themselves. “Working students can be categorized into two [main] groups: those who primarily identify themselves as students but who work in order to pay the bills, and those who are first and foremost workers who also take some college classes. Almost two-thirds of [total] undergraduates who work consider themselves ‘students who work’; the other third consider themselves ‘workers who study,’” stated Orszag, who served as director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
More research suggests the effects of working during college change according to the kind of position a student has, and its proximity to an academic setting increases his or her grade point average. For instance, a student who works at an off-campus video store is less likely to experience the added academic benefits received from working at a university laboratory. The evidence suggests that to be the case at most state universities where student employees are prevalent both on and off campus.
Employees are also the largest demographic of students at Ohio University without representation in student government, which sets them back from other large populations in that they neither have a voting member nor access to resources other student groups have. By 2010, the labor force participation rate (the proportion of the population working or looking for work) for recent high school graduates enrolled in college was 40 percent, up from 36 percent around 2008; however, the report indicates most students earn money working some way while in college. The participation rates for male and female graduates enrolled in college were about the same (41.1 and 38.9 percent, respectively). Given the slight differences, the campus community has begun to look for ways to improve opportunities for everyone, including through student government.
The foremost reason to establish a Student Employee Commission is that other commissions do not adequately represent student employee needs while fully advocating the needs of their other constituencies. To date, employees of Residence Life have a commission working on their behalf, while employees in dining halls, recreation, laboratories, libraries and elsewhere remain without formal representation. With a commission for student employees, greater detail and time will be put toward a single demographic—much like the Black Affairs and Women’s Affairs commissions already do.
During the 2010-2011 academic year, student employees at Alden Library worked 87,494.38 hours; earned $667,787.59; answered 32,347 questions; checked out 419,956 items; and together with full-time staff provided services to 1,619,846 patrons. Libraries, like dining halls, hire many students for specific and sometimes technical positions. A member of the Student Senate who does not usually eat at the dining halls may not recognize the need for an employee commission unless they work at one: conditions can be improved, awareness issues raised, resources directed and jobs filled. A Student Employee Commission will expedite those processes and more, including helping people find a job on campus.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall of 2010 were more likely to be in the labor force than enrolled graduates (76.6 percent compared with 40.0 percent). The unemployment rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in school was 33.4 percent, compared with 22.8 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college. Those and other numbers add to the opinion that, if given a chance to work and study, more people doing neither at once would attempt to balance a job with classes.
In an earlier opinion to The Post, a four-point plan was provided to cover the functions of the Student Employee Commission. Among those responsibilities listed were advocating for employee awareness issues, especially during budget cuts and defending existing employment opportunities; advancing cleaner and greener facilities where needed and working to increase the number of jobs on campus; publishing lists of open positions on campus every semester and posting them online and in populated areas; and bundling existing resources for employees into one organized body that is accessible to all students.
One supportive student senator said “a Student Employee Commission will work to advocate pay that rivals other state universities and bridge the differences that part-time and full-time employees face.” Another letter to The Post in 2010 said, “Whoever leads the commission will be responsible for hundreds of constituents who go to work on this campus and depend on their gainful employment to fund their education at Ohio University.”
Despite whatever services and leadership a commission will provide, some statistics stack against working students that would be hard to reverse—no matter the effort put forth by officials. “Working part-time as a student generally appears to supplant only non-productive activities, such as watching television. In addition, students who work fewer than 10 hours per week have [only] slightly higher GPAs than other similar students,” Orszag stated.
According to his published report, full-time employment may impair student performance. Orszag writes that 55 percent of those students working 35 or more hours per week report that work has a negative effect on their studies. “Students working full-time also reported the following liabilities: 40 percent report that work limits their class schedule; 36 percent report it reduces their class choices; 30 percent report it limits the number of classes they take; and 26 percent report it limits access to the library,” he stated. Full-time employees, as well as part-time, have been limited by their schedules which can lead to a need for accommodations. In the least, representation is necessary for these and more issues of student employees to be heard effectively.
Of the 3.2 million youth aged 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2010, about 2.2 million (68.1 percent) were enrolled in college in October 2010, signaling the entrance of many more future campus employees. With continued research and commitment from members of Student Senate and the community at large, student employees should continue to pursue the aim of equal representation within student government. A demographic larger than most, employees have endured the twists and turns of a shaky American economy and ever-constant university budget cuts. It’s with the same vigilance and endurance that they continue to advance a proposal that gives them a much-needed voice and seat at the decision table.
Christopher Myers is a senior majoring in philosophy.
