Work-study hours cut

Boston University student Katya Belakovskaya said when she returned to her work-study job at the Myles Standish Dining Hall, the manager told her the dining hall company, Aramark, decided to cut student hours because of the current financial crisis.
‘They made a rotating schedule, so less people would lose hours, but it unfortunately cut a lot more of my hours than others,’ Belakovskaya, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said in an email.
Though Belakovskaya said her manager eventually fixed the situation, many BU students with work-study grants are facing similar problems. As the economy’ slides into a recession, the BU Student Employment and Work-Study Offices are working to prevent students from losing hours.
The Work-Study Office is bracing for an influx of applicants for the 2009-2010 academic year because financial need is increasing, WSO manager Moira Louca said. Work-study students apply for a yearly grant, and placement depends on the government’s ability to pay for Work-Study and the demand for jobs in different departments around BU’s campus.
The Work-Study Office, as well as the Student Employment Office, is trying to keep a steady supply of jobs available for BU students, Louca said.
Student Employment Office assistant Cassandra Jenecke said only a few students are regularly eligible for work-study because it is a need-based program,in which 70 percent of students’ wages are paid for by the government. There is a disparity between students who want it and those who receive it.
‘Only around 500 students receive work-study, which creates a big gap between the amount of students in the school,’ she said. ‘That’s why we supplement with the Student Employment Office.’
The Student Employment Office helps students who do not meet the financial need requirement for the work-study program or missed the program’s employment deadline. Any job that does not qualify for the Work-Study category is open to all students, Jenecke said.
Mugar Memorial Library librarian Bob Hudson said the BU library system places a priority on hiring Work-Study students because the government supplements their wages. He said the library employs approximately 225 students, 210 of whom are Work-Study.
The BU library system actively seeks returning work-study students because of their experience.’ Former library employees who have lost their grants, but want to continue working at the library, are considered based on their performance ‘-‘- regardless of their Work-Study statuses, Hudson said.
‘We feel strongly that students like to work and like to earn money,’ he said.
School of Management senior Pia Piscitelli said she chose to keep her three-year job at Mugar because of its laid-back work environment. She said she plans on working there as long as she continues to qualify, and although she said she likes her job, scheduling has become a problem.
‘A large drawback to working is that I get fewer hours this semester than I would like,’ she said.’
CAS sophomore Casey Lynch, who has been working at the Howard Gottlieb Archival Research Center for two years, said she plans on applying next year because of her financial situation.
‘I’m basically paying for college by myself, so work-study means a lot,’ she said.