In the State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called on Congress to “give America a raise” by raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Rather than wait for Congress to force its hand, Ohio University should act now and raise student workers’ wages to at least that amount.
As tuition has continued to skyrocket, minimum wage has plummeted. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, minimum wage was at its height in 1968 when it was worth $10.71 (in 2013 dollars), whereas Ohio’s minimum wage today stands at $7.85. In contrast, tuition in 1968 was about $3,414 for a year of study (in 2013 dollars) compared to $10,380 today.
Students already have a difficult time paying for college, and it is selfish that the same generation who benefited from subsidized higher education has now made it both more expensive and harder to pay for.
At the same time, the university maintains tuition increases are necessary for administration and faculty raises. According to a previous Post article, all university employees received a 2 percent salary increase this academic year (sans hourly employees). I dispute this as necessary, and at minimum, hourly workers should also be receiving raises every year.
And to be clear, a simple 2 percent raise for student workers is unacceptable. Those already with power and wealth disproportionately benefit from percentage based salary increases. Juxtaposed to President Roderick McDavis’ most recent raise of $16,270 (a number more than most students can make in a year), $10.10 an hour is a rather reasonable amount.
It is also troubling that the university has a policy that restricts the number of hours a student is able to work to 20 per week. In a previous Post article, senior human resource director Gregory Fialko said, “It’s mainly to protect the students so they focus on their academic requirements.”
What Fialko fails to realize is that it is nearly impossible for students to focus on their academic requirements when they cannot afford tuition and the cost of living. Ironically, this policy can cause those students to pursue employment in off-campus positions, where management is less likely to be understanding of students’ academics.
The university should discontinue this archaic 20-hour requirement immediately, and let students (who are adults, after all) decide for themselves how many hours they can reasonably work and still keep up with their academics.
So, whaddya say President McDavis? Follow President Obama’s lead. Let’s give OU students a raise.
Matt Farmer is a senior studying political science and education. Do student workers deserve a raise? Email him at mf291209@ohiou.edu.
