SAMUEL LEWANDOWSKI
Special to The Leader
Along with the many other changes students have faced in the midst of the coronavirus, many have now lost their campus jobs.
Senior political science student and worker at the Office of Field Experiences Sydney Mulkey said she received the news in an email from the school.
“I was highly dependent on this job,” said Mulkey. “After being laid off from the restaurant I work at off campus, this was my only form of income.”
Mulkey said that she has not received any form of compensation for her job loss and has been working for DoorDash to make some extra money.
“I feel that, if the school truly cared about the financial well-being of their students, especially considering that those of us with work study positions are financial-need students, they would have tried to come up with a solution that doesn’t force us to either go broke or move back in with our parents,” said Mulkey.
Maeve Roman, a junior music education/performance major and student leader at the Williams Center, also expressed the significance of their campus job.
“I am 100 percent dependent on this job,” said Roman. “My parents are unable to send me money, and whatever I make here is what I have for food and bills.”
Like Mulkey, Roman has not received compensation.
“I lost my job, and I am applying for unemployment,” said Roman. “I am currently looking for a job.”
Roman said that they will be able to apply to the same job next semester, and believes the possibility of reemployment is high on account of their being a good worker.
Both Mulkey and Roman have expressed that they know other student workers have moved home with their parents as a result of losing their jobs.
“Some are okay because they can lean on their parents,” said Roman. “But other people are in the same boat as me: out of money and jobless.”
Roman said they feel employers acted as best as they could given the circumstances.
Still, they agree with Mulkey in that they believe it is unfair to the students that depended on these jobs.
“For us, this isn’t just a job for extra pocket money,” said Roman. “This is our livelihoods. The customers, other students, we’re devastated. This pandemic has taken our jobs, friends and daily lives away from us.”
Senior history major Neil James worked at Center Point, assisting student and union workers with their stations and training new student employees.
James said many union workers have also been laid off, and may go without a job until August.
Like Mulkey and Roman, James said he was very dependent on his employment with FSA.
“I have personal bills to pay every month that have been my responsibility,” said James. “I essentially relied on my pay from Willy’s to make sure my car insurance was paid, so I could drive. My paychecks also covered my phone bill, and I relied on that income to eat.”
Mulkey and Roman live off campus and have chosen to remain in Fredonia because their apartments have already been paid for.
However, James has chosen to go home, and said he would have stayed on campus had he kept his job.
“I felt safer on campus,” said James. “Now I’m back home in a contaminated region, panicking almost nightly if I will find a job to cover my upcoming bills, on top of the overwhelming anxiety of forthcoming coursework that I’m sure every SUNY/CUNY student is experiencing.”
James said that he has been frantically filling out job applications.
He said that unemployment has left the students he talked to with feelings of panic, anger and anxiety.
“I’ve got it bad, but I’m privileged enough to have a home to come back to — that’s more than many of my colleagues,” said James.
Theatre arts graduate Shana Gordon said they were initially laid off from their job at Starbucks, but was able to keep their job after someone quit.
Gordon also said they are also highly dependent on their campus job.
“It pays my bills, groceries, rent and all other activities,” said Gordon. “Without it, I simply couldn’t survive.”
After learning that they might lose their job, Gordon said they weren’t sure what they were going to do.
“I’m not a student anymore,” said Gordon. “So the fact that I built a life for myself up here and that could potentially fall apart was terrifying. I am very lucky to have a secure home and job at the moment.”
Some student workers, such as junior sound recording technology major Jenna Rutowski, will be continuing their job as a tutor online.
“It appears as though it will be in a format where students type questions and we type responses,” said Rutowski. “For one-on-one tutoring, I’ll be Facetiming with my tutee.”
Rutowski said she had a second job on campus, which will not be operating anymore. Because of this, Rutowski said she has become more dependent on her tutoring.
“Tutoring is largely how I pay for a lot of purchases necessary to my major, such as software and plugins,” she said.
Rutowski said she is grateful to keep her tutoring job and mentioned how helpful Tutoring Services Coordinator Adam Hino as well as the rest of the tutoring staff have been.
“They have been nothing but understanding, helpful and informative throughout this entire process and I am so thankful,” said Rutowski. “I know other jobs on campus have not been so lucky, so I am especially grateful for how great Mr. Hino and the rest of the staff have been not only during this crazy time, but for the entire time I have been employed as a tutor.”