Opinion: Why We Should Have More Pay Days

Daniel Juarez

(Edited by Jaime Baldwin and Brisa Ramirez)

Southwestern Adventist University gives students many on-campus job opportunities. I am grateful that I can find local work and not have to waste my  money on gas driving back and forth. It is a luxury that not everybody has. Although I appreciate most aspects of working on campus, there are a few modifications that I would like to see.

One aspect of on-campus employment I would like to change is pay day. Most work places pay their employees every two weeks. Southwestern, on the other hand, has decided to pay its student workers once a month. This is problematic for a lot of us. As college students, we all have bills. And even though bills come once a month, we have other personal needs that require money. For example, if I get sick, as soon as I get better I want to change toothbrushes. If I am a broke college student, which I am, I cannot change my toothbrush until I get paid next month.  I believe that students should get paid twice per month, at least. Students need to learn to budget and manage their own money.

Another aspect I would like to change is the way a percentage of our paycheck is automatically put into tuition. This makes me upset because I work hard for that money and I should be able to decide what I do with it. What if I have an emergency? What if my car breaks down? What if I do not have enough gas money to get to the hospital to visit a sick friend? What if I want to buy a new tooth brush? I think I deserve the right to determine where my money goes.

After all, college is supposed to be getting us ready for the “real world.” If we have to follow these “real world” standards for on-campus jobs, I believe that the pay periods should follow the same guidelines. It should be up to the students to decide where, when, and how their money is spent.

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