Student workers, once the backbone of campus, now face new challenges
Photo by Sydney Pressley.
From fast food to office work, student workers have been a crucial part of Lee’s campus and economic system. Following Dr. Paul Conn’s March 26 announcement of online classes for the remainder of the semester, student workers are facing new challenges during the COVID-19 crisis.
According to Student Employment Office Coordinator Amanda Murray, Lee currently employs 950 students. These students work anywhere from 10-20 hours a week and are heavily relied upon by faculty and staff.
Mallory Robinson, a sophomore middle grades education major, works in the University Relations Office under Vice President for University Relations Dr. Jerome Hammond.
“Running errands on campus and around town, making copies, stuffing and sending envelopes, working on special projects and entering computer data are all on the table for a day’s work,” said Robinson.
With the transition to online classes, student workers now find themselves without work as they await communication from their employers about the next steps.
“Sodexo was very good about emailing workers after every single change that was made,” said Miranda Philips, a sophomore TESOL and Spanish major. “We stayed very informed throughout the process.”
Kayla Laymance, a freshman accounting major working in the Graduation Office, received an email after the first university update that initially postponed classes until March 30.
“Shortly after the first announcement was made about on-campus class delays, I received an email from my supervisor regarding student workers,” said Laymance. “She stated that we were not expected to work even if we lived in Cleveland or came back to the dorms. She encouraged us to stay safe, healthy and focus on our online classes.”
While the majority of student workers are now out of a job, others are still working and facing new obstacles. For Philips, these changes have forced her to find new ways to host her language cafes.
“It was a little harder to navigate what would happen with the language labs,” said Philips. “The other hosts and I offered to do them on Zoom, and our boss happily agreed that would be the best route to take.”
Senior digital media major Bailey Jones is working closely with her employer to ensure students can still succeed even while working remotely. Jones works as a lab instructor in the Communication Arts equipment room as well as a student worker for Senior Lecturer in Communication Mary Dukes.
“I have been in communication with Mrs. Mary Dukes on how to support my lab students during this time of influx, but this is the only position that has followed me home while classes have transitioned to a virtual system,” says Jones.
While some students are viewing the virtual classes as a chance to relax, many student workers are now looking for alternate forms of income.
“Not being on campus because of quarantines and social-distancing has made it extremely difficult for many student workers, especially those like me who use the money they make to pay for their tuition,” said Philips. “It’s important that we keep them in our prayers and be aware of how difficult this situation is for some people.”
While students are adapting to a new learning environment, the loss of employment can become another source of stress.
“I feel like there should be a contingency plan for student workers who heavily rely on their wages to make ends meet in college,” said Laymance. “The pandemic is stressful enough, but adding a finance issue increases stress.”
As student workers await final information about payment for the remainder of the semester, Dr. Conn briefly addressed concerns for student workers in his announcement last Thursday. He plans to follow up with more details on Monday in a Q&A session at 2 p.m. via livestream.
