As university departments scale back on job hiring and work hours, many students fear for their much-needed on-campus employment. At Yale University, a $100 million deficit is cinching down on jobs that the University can offer to students.
 
Those on financial aid are particularly affected by the recent job shortage. In an effort to remedy a $100 million budget deficit, Yale University now requires that students contribute an extra $400 to their financial aid packages. To avoid taking out loans, financial aid students must now increase their working hours at a time when there is pressure on employers to cut back on wages and hiring.
 
Freshman Tiffany Polk expressed concern about her job at the Sterling Memorial Library, in an article by the student paper the Yale Daily News.
 
“My job is very important to me,” Polk said. “I could not support myself without it. I know the library has stopped hiring this semester but the idea that my job might be in jeopardy is really scary.”
 
According to the Student Employment Office the number of working students dropped 10 percent from fall 2008 to fall 2009, and has remained stable since.
 
Administrators have responded to students’ concerns by considering new hiring strategies. The Provost’s Office, which currently subsidizes half of all student wages, may offer additional funds to departments which otherwise could not provide enough jobs.
 
“We’re making sure we can provide campus jobs with priority for students on financial aid,” Provost Peter Salovey said last week. “We’ll ensure any decrease in the number of student jobs doesn’t get below the critical point of meeting all demand.”
 
The Student Financial Services and the Provost’s Office have also considered reviving an old policy where the first two weeks of each semester’s hiring period would only be open to students on financial aid. 
 
Still, many departments at Yale have limited work hours and frozen hiring. Silliman College Administrative Assistant Joanne Young says that because work hours are set in advance, students wishing to increase hours ask for other students’ shifts.
 
Charlotte Wang, a student receiving financial aid, has been searching for a second job since last semester. She was told in an interview with the Office of Development that 12 students were competing for three positions.
 
“The market is pretty rough this semester,” Wang said. 

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