Fall signifies an increase in education costs for University of
California students, an increase that for many also indicates a
pressing need to find employment.
Yet students are not free in deciding how much time they will be
able to work per week, as they are limited by campus-wide
restrictions on their working hours.
Most campus employers have a strict cap on the number of hours
students can work for them, which means most on-campus student
workers are unable to work more than an average of 20 hours a
week.
Some students, concerned about the increase in fees, are
displeased about the limitations in their working hours.
Arlene Zamora, a third-year political science and sociology
student and a cashier at the Lu Valle Commons food court, does not
find 20 weekly hours to be sufficient.
“Usually I try to work less hours, but because of the
(fee) increase I have to work more,” Zamora said.
Even with her increased work schedule, she is still counting on
parental aid with her fees for fall.
However, based on past experience, Zamora said balancing both
her studies and her job might prove to be hard during fall
quarter.
“When I’m working during the day hours it’s
fine, but when I have to work the closing shift, it’s much
harder to keep up on my studies,” she said.
Aitor Gaston, a graduate student in animation who also works at
Lu Valle, said he ideally would like to work about 30 hours per
week.
“Students should be allowed to work more, especially
international students,” said Gaston, who is originally from
Spain.
He added that international students, who were already paying
higher fees before they went up, need to be able to work more hours
to cover the increase.
The graduate division, however, does not allow graduate students
to work more than 20 hours, placing a premium on academic
concentration.
“But now I am just working on my thesis, and so I have
free time to work more,” Gaston said.
Other students, however, find the working hours cap completely
acceptable.
Raena Valenzuela, a third-year women studies student, who has
worked as a senior student supervisor at the UCLA Store for the
past two years, would work the same number of hours with or without
the cap.
“I am going to be working about 20 hours during the fall
quarter,” she said. “Since I am going to have a full
academic schedule I won’t be able to fit any more work
hours.”
Wayne Han, a fifth-year cognitive science student and a customer
service representative for the Associated Students of UCLA textbook
store, agrees.
“I worked 15 hours per week at a job off campus, and that
was too much,” Han said. “My grades started
slipping.”
During the fall quarter, Han said he plans to work no more than
10 to 12 hours weekly. The money he earns will go toward personal
expenses, and his parents will cover his fees.
In fact, many students are unconcerned about the work hours cap,
as the money they earn goes toward personal expenses, with
financial aid and parental help covering the price of
education.
Patricia Eastman, executive director for ASUCLA, which caps the
hours of its workers at 20, said the primary reason for the cap is
so students have time to study.
Academics, though, are not the only reason for the cap in work
hours.
Araceli Bermudez, a specialist for library human resources,
points to a different reason for the cap in employment hours.
“If the library employs students for more than 20 hours,
they (the students) begin to accrue certain benefits, such as sick
time, vacation time, and holiday pay,” Bermudez said.
Those benefits mean extra expenses for the library, expenses
that it cannot afford, she said.
Eastman said ASUCLA has similar reasons for their cap, since
students who work more than 20 hours are reclassified as career
employees.
This change would affect the student’s taxes and benefit
classifications, which would mean more expenses for the university
and more hassles for students, she said.
Eastman added that as ASUCLA already employs about 1,500
students, any increase in weekly work hours would mean a decrease
in the number of students working.
She said this would leave many students looking for work to help
cover the fee increase, with no other alternative but finding a job
off campus, where required hours might not be regulated.