Student Senate talks student employee wages with Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Bill Schafer
On Wednesday night, Ohio University Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Bill Schafer spoke to Student Senate on his plans for the school year.
Schafer, now in the midst of his sixth week at Ohio U, seeks to give students more agency in their own on-campus well-being.
“We’re spending a lot of time talking about how we can continue to enhance the opportunities for students engaged in the campus community,” Schafer said. “So, your feedback in that area will be very beneficial.”
Ohio U Interim Vice President of Student Affairs discussed his plans for the 2022-2023 academic year with Student Senate.
Schafer also sought input on the university’s recent struggles in recruiting student workers.
Senator and commissioner suggestions ranged from increasing pay to providing discounted meal plans. However, the general consensus was that the university spends time and money on recruitment when it would be better served to spend on student employee retention.
Schafer mentioned that a proposal was turned into Ohio U President Sherman and the executive budgeting to increase wages in hopes to retain student employees.
It was noted by Commissioner Clay Lewis that the increase was only to $11 an hour and that the university is barely competing, in terms of wages, with other established employers in Athens.
While Schafer countered that there are other benefits to university employment, no explicit benefits were named aside from proximity, interview skills, and flexibility.
Other senate members noted issues such as disorganized and, at times, chaotic work environments, lack of benefits such as parking passes and meals, and caps on the number of hours a student can work.
The discussion came to no definitive conclusions. It was proposed that some of these questions and suggestions be directed towards Ohio U President Hugh Sherman.
Senate Treasurer Trinity Robinson set forth the 2022-2023 budget. Of the $25,520.25 in the Senate budget, $5,062.44 has thus far been allocated. $313,313.76 is available for the Senate Appropriations Commission, $299,748.04 for Spot, and $13,565.72 for UFund.
In other news, the following resolutions were passed:
Resolution 2223-01 set weekly meeting times at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Resolution 2223-02 set Robert’s Rules of Order as the parliamentary procedure for the Senate. Robert’s Rules of Order are a widely used and accepted set of rules that focus on augmenting participation and clarity.
Finally, Resolution 2223-003 designated the format of all Student Senate legislation. The resolution organizes legislation by its’ clauses and sets formatting standards to preserve the clarity of the resolution.