I’d like to remind everyone that most student workers only get paid somewhere around $8 an
hour. And can only work 15 hours a week. And sometimes depend heavily on campus jobs in
order to afford living on campus.
Not only are we getting paid less than minimum wage for our labor, but we’re also
apparently responsible for our peers that aren’t terribly concerned with consequences of the
working class (will this end up a bit political? Probably.). It’s one thing to be dumb enough to go
frolicking around on a closed, privately-owned database server and think nothing of it, but it’s
an entirely different thing to go broadcasting your delightful little adventure into the realm of
pseudo-hacking.
Being an Ambassador is a cushy job. A big part of it is simply being a good person with a
St. Lawrence-happy face and an obnoxious personality (I’m happily guilty of both). We’re put
through a tedious interview process to make sure we’re dedicated and cut out for the job—that
we’re adequate representatives of the student body. It’s a selective position, and it’s definitely
not a position filled solely by the kids who need to work. I am lucky enough to work two jobs on
campus, you might be lucky enough to not even need a campus job.
But there’s people depending on a bi-weekly paycheck from St. Lawrence University.
And you may be the reason they can’t make a payment this month.
Hours have been cut drastically for Ambassadors. Unless we are assigned a tour (which
isn’t exactly likely with a global pandemic) we are not allowed into Payson Hall. Which means
no letter writing, no temp work, and no paycheck.
We are supposed to be a team. This is a job we all love and are grateful to have, and one
of our supposed team members has jeopardized our ability to perform. And for what? Looking at
SAT scores of the people who got accepted into a test-optional school? Is that why I’m out
$100? For a joke?
I don’t know who did it. Or how many of my team members have been misusing our
databases. But I do know I’m losing money. I know that I’m 20 and the concept of
confidentiality isn’t lost on me. I know that my actions have consequences. I know that people
depend on paychecks. And I know that some people don’t. And I would not be shocked if the
team members screwing around on our websites and upsetting the work schedules of their peers
don’t need these paychecks.
I could be wrong. But I’ve been on SLU’s campus as a poor kid long enough to recognize
that carelessness isn’t new. It’s a privilege.