Work-Study Reform

I imagine that many of my peers who read this do so while tucked in a back cubicle in one of the myriad offices at 881. Technically, you are “on the clock,” though the limited responsibilities of your job are conducive to reading… and re-reading the Freep, the Globe, perhaps even the W.B. Mason catalogue…. This will change. The current issue of The Washington Monthly assails the startlingly long list of otherwise prestigious colleges and universities across the nation that violate- either in letter or in spirit – the Federal Work- Study Program. Initially created under the Higher Education Act of 1965, the law’s purpose was to provide a way for students of low to moderate- income backgrounds to earn money by performing jobs related to community service. Indeed, according to the magazine, the current law states that the objective of the federal funding is “’To encourage students receiving Federal student financial aid to participate in community service activities that will benefit the nation and engender in the students a sense of social responsibility and commitment to the community.’” This hardly describes the 881 delivery boy, or the Shelton dining hall cashier. Recently, senators John McCain and Evan Bayh introduced a bill that would increase the mandatory percentage of community service related Work- Study jobs from 7% to 25%. The legislation has met with staunch resistance from the higher education lobby, which is fighting to protect the cheap, subsidized labor of a student work-force, and also cites the lost study time of students who may be forced to shift employment from a low-maintenance office job to a nearby AIDS shelter or elementary school. This last argument is impertinent; the Work-Study program was not designed to provide more homework time for students. (Paid homework time, at that.) Furthermore, studies show that rather than hindering scholastic performance, students who engage in non-academically related activities have overall higher GPAs. Several colleges, including Stanford University, Radcliffe College, and NYU, are already at or near 25% service participation- without any significant student performance or retention problems related to their work-study policies. Compared to its colleagues, BU ranked highly on the list; 14.5% of work-study jobs are devoted to community service. (BC registered at 6%; MIT at 1.9%.) In a quick survey of positions posted on the Student Link, I found 30 that were service oriented (19 off- campus; 11 on-campus). One-hundred fifty two were not related to community service, with the most popular job category listed as “On-Campus- General Office.” In adhering to the spirit with which Work-Study was created- and certainly in this time of rejuvenated civic pride- BU should set an example by re-evaluating its work-study program. -Student Employment (department-funded) jobs should not have the option of paying a student from a work-study grant. -The University should seek opportunities to make available more community-service oriented positions. -Superfluous work-study office jobs should be cut in favor of service jobs, and when possible, the necessary office positions should be departmentally funded. Additionally, BU should use its influence in the higher education lobby to support the proposed McCain-Bayh bill. If Boston University encourages work-study students to participate in jobs related to community service, the result will benefit everyone- the students, the University, the city, and the other institutions that will invariably follow our lead.

Brian Sirman CAS, 2002