By Gurjot Kang
Reporter
The recent decision to cancel in-person classes and activities for the rest of the semester has sparked some confusion for student employees on campus.
As of now, students employees have been told that if they choose to leave PLU during this period, their jobs will still remain upon coming back to campus for in-person learning.
In an effort to help student employees maintain their weekly work hours as much as possible, students have been provided with a new option to request an “alternative work assignment program” from their supervisor.
Gracie Anderson ’21, who works as the Civic Engagement Director of ASPLU, has begun considering how this will impact her job, which heavily depends on personal student engagement. It’s been difficult figuring out how to substitute the impact student government has from in-person meetings.
Anderson, like other student employees, has struggled to figure out how to fill in gaps in her regular work hours. It’s been difficult for Anderson to realize that important events for the semester she spent hours planning for will no longer take place. One such event included inviting Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, to speak at PLU on April 1.
“We were expecting 300 people but we had to cancel it, and now I’m trying to figure out where to put those hours, you know,” Anderson said.
However, Anderson remains positive that the event could be rescheduled to the fall or spring and appreciates the steps PLU is taking to protect the health and safety of students during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“There’s been conversations happening between students, staff and faculty on how to best handle this and I really appreciate that,” Anderson said. “So that gives me a lot of hope—that communication is happening.”
