Our community needs student workers

You may have noticed some changes around campus lately. The sub line at McGlynn’s is shut down most of the time, Sexton is opening their sub line later and your lounges might not be as tidy as they were a year ago. This is not due to laziness or a lack of desire to keep our dining halls full and our living spaces spic and span; it is due to the lack of student employees.

According to the CSB+SJU Student Employment office, about 55% of students eligible for a work award are currently working an on-campus job. This means that 45% of eligible students do not have a job, resulting in many noticeable changes in the amenities (or lack thereof) provided here at CSB+SJU. Prior to the COVID pandemic, this issue was not as prevalent, as 70% of students were working on campus. In the 2018-2019 school year, SJU Dining Services had 136 student employees and CSB Culinary Services had 212 student employees. This year, SJU Dining Services has 93 student employees and CSB Culinary Services has 85 student employees. That is a 32% and 60% decrease respectively since the pandemic.

Dining is just one department affected by the decrease in students working. CSB and SJU Custodial, SJU Life Safety and various other offices across both campuses seem to be struggling to hire student workers. The reasons behind this decline in student workers are unclear. We can speculate that the effects of the pandemic are still in play, students may be too busy to work, student workers may not feel valued or respected or perhaps students may not be adequately motivated to work.

All these reasons are to be considered; however, this does not change the problem at hand. Our community needs student workers. We believe that there are many benefits to working on campus. It means flexibility in your schedule and having a job right outside your front door. It means having the opportunity to connect to and with others on campus. Working as a student employee at CSB+SJU enhances the entire student experience and brings our community closer together. As student employees ourselves, we have experienced these benefits. Having an on-campus job has developed our professional skills, created lasting relationships and allowed us to support this community in impactful ways. We believe that everyone has the potential to do the same. We call on CSB and SJU students, who are able, to find a student employment job and support our community. Student Employment opportunities can be found on the CSB+SJU website. All CSB and SJU students are eligible to work up to 20 hours per week on campus, as long as it fits in your financial aid award.