Editorial

At CMU, there are various opportunities for student employment.

Over the summer, changes were made to the payment policy for Student Assist employees in an effort to better adhere to the Fair Labor and Standards act of 1930. These employees’ jobs are paid entirely from the funding of the department which respective students work for. The changes resulted in the dissolving of stipend-paid positions and now require all student employees to be paid on an hourly basis.

For jobs that are paid via administrative funds, like desk attendants, tutors and facilities employees, this makes sense. However, it is causing complications for students paid via student fee funds, allocated by the Fee Allocation Committee and approved by the Associated Student Government.

The student employee handbook reads, “A student employee should preform the duties assigned to the best of his/her ability.”

Unlike the stipend system, which pays a fixed amount of money for  a position, that money is now paid by the hour, meaning some students must complete their responsibilities in less time than before. This means that if students need to work more than weekly hours, they must work fewer hours in the future.

Certain positions are based on responsibility, not time. The enforcement of the hourly rule effectively limits the total amount of time any student organization can spend to fulfill its responsibilities. For some orgs and positions, this may work, but for others, like the ASG Executive Staff, the Criterion, PAC and the Cultural Diversity Board, it limits these students from fulfilling their responsibilities.

Student life positions aren’t all that different from other extra-curricular activities on campus. FAC and ASG approve clubs to become organizations and pay rates for their paid positions. Back on the stipend system, all getting paid meant was that the student government found your extra-curricular responsibilities worthy of compensation.

A club may attain org status only to then have the amount of  paid work hours limited to the amount of money allocated for their paid positions.

The student employee handbook states that student employees can work no more than 20 hours a week. The reason? To prevent students from working so much that they cannot devote enough time to their studies.

This policy only applies to extra-curricular activities that are recognized by the student government as paid positions. Other extra-curricular activities, such as clubs and athletics, may get away with spending more than 20 hours a week planning club events or practicing for and playing in games.

Why aren’t extra-curricular activities under the same scrutiny that paid positions are? What about practicums and internships that take place during the school year? Some of these require students to work at least 20 hours a week.

The recently passed Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide health insurance for employees that work over 29 hours a week. Even though most student positions probably don’t exceed this amount, the fact remains that it would be infeasible for the university to provide coverage for them if they did.

We suggest that ASG work with students to find a way to pay students reasonable amounts. The budgeted pay amounts for some positions was set under the pretense of a stipend system. This has to be done affordably.

To do that, CMU administration needs to dissolve the 20-hour-limit rule. Perhaps more sensible and conscious regulations can be made regarding student pay.