Brianna Wallen- News Editor
Here at the university, it is recommended for students to get involved. Whether it is to join a sports team, organization or a club, there are ample opportunities on campus. In fact, students can get their income on campus.
Students can participate in on-campus employment by applying for part-time positions offered by any department. Another resource is a federal program known as the Federal Work-Study Program, FWS, which offers part-time jobs to undergraduate or graduate students who are enrolled part-time or full-time.
Those who have taken advantage of employment on campus receive either a stipend or get paid minimum wage. Beginning on Jan. 1, the minimum wage in Connecticut rose from $15.00 to $15.69 per hour. Despite this raise, there is debate surrounding the amount of money student workers make.
Healthcare studies major Mahoghany Young, a sophomore, is a desk attendant, DA, and Resident Life Assistant on campus. Young gets paid minimum wage for sitting behind the desk at residence halls and $16.00 for working alongside her hall director.
Young said that she is satisfied with her paychecks as DA due to its lower maintenance duties. Despite being paid above minimum wage, Young said that she believes she should be paid more as an assistant.
“I think we should get paid more because I do anything the hall director wants me to do,” Young said. “I run errands, print stuff, check the rooms, make sure things are working.”
While some students are dissatisfied with their pay, others believe being paid minimum wage is an adequate amount for the responsibilities that their job holds. One of these students is nursing major Medline Elmo, a freshman. Elmo works two days a week for seven hours as a student ambassador.
Elmo, who works in first-year admissions, said that her job consists of answering phone calls, giving tours to potential future students and promoting the campus. When it comes to her pay, Elmo said she believes her paycheck aligns with her duties.
“I think the pay is fair. I’m not really doing any heavy lifting or physical movement besides giving a tour, and honestly, as a college student, I just like getting money, regardless of how much it is,” Elmo said.
In some cases, being paid minimum wage might not be the issue. Other elements include stipend pay and the maximum hours students can work.
Social work major with minor in psychology Damon Wooten, a sophomore, has two employment positions under his belt. He is currently working as a DA throughout the semester and was an Orientation Ambassador, OA, during the summer.
Wooten said that he is content with being paid minimum wage as a DA; however, he believed that having a stipend for the OA position lost him large amounts of money.
“For the hours in a row that we work per day, if we got paid $15.69 per hour, we would make $400 per session,” Wooten said.
If OAs got paid hourly for five sessions and training days, they would be making over $2,000 rather than a stipend of $1200.
“I think I deserve to get paid that much. I be stressed out,” Wooten said.
While some students are satisfied with their pay, others would like to have more hours. One of these students is sociology major Te’Asiah Jones, a freshman.
Jones is a student leader at the Multicultural Center. Jones is employed under FWS and gets paid $15.00 per hour. Despite working the maximum number of 20 hours a week, she said that it is not consistent.
“I don’t like that I get paid every two weeks, and the paycheck isn’t consistent of the snow days and break,” Jones said.
With Jones working different hours, she said that she wants to work more to support her education.
“I have to buy books for my classes, so that’s half of my paycheck right there,” Jones said.
