As students continue to settle into the Spring 2021 semester, places all around campus are looking to help students keep their on-campus jobs. 

Last semester, many employment locations around campus needed to shut down in order to meet the pandemic safety protocols and because of the decrease of students that came to campus for the fall. This semester, even more places like FANS, which is located in Marano Campus Center, Fusion Cafe located in Shineman Center, Wall Street Market located in Rich Hall, Ontario Bagel Company located in Lanigan and Mackin Dining Center were not able to reopen. This has left students who were previously employed by these establishments without work. 

On the SUNY Oswego campus, there are many departments where students can be employed. The offices who tend to employ a majority of students are Auxiliary Services, federal work study and Residence Life and Housing.

Auxiliary Services is an independent not-for-profit corporation located on the SUNY Oswego campus. Their mission seeks to provide excellent additional services to the college community, and they employ over 750 student employees. They recruit students in positions such as Residential Dining Services, Retail Dining, the College Stores and Accounting and Administration.   

Federal work study, unlike Auxiliary Services, is a bit more strict because its funds are more limited and is an opportunity that is not offered to everyone. To be eligible for this program, it is strongly advised that the applicant is a current and full-time student and has indicated that they have a federal work study award on their most recent award notice. 

Residence Life and Housing has also been prioritizing their student employees and has been trying to help their student staff stay employed. In addition to their Resident Assistant and Mentor staff, they also offer great opportunities through student operations staff or SOS. However, since these jobs are right in halls, students do not have to go far, and therefore they are much harder to get.

“For us, we realize that it is important to employ students while still making services accessible,” said Shaun Crisler, the Assistant Vice President of Residence Life and Housing, referring to his goal for working with desk attendants (DA), who are part of the SOS staff ,along with recycling technicians (RT), SOS Coordinator (SOS-C), and Computer Technicians (CT).  

Crisler explained that with many students not returning, Residence Life and Housing’s goal was to help its staff by accommodating the hours to fit their schedules and availability, while providing great service to those who came back to campus.

“It’s really calm [being a desk attendant],” said Arielle Walker, who works as a DA in Hart Hall.

Walker also added that being a DA allows for students to multitask and “do [their] homework.” 

Multiple places all around the campus are currently still looking to hire. Littlepage Dining Center, located on West Campus, is currently accepting applications. It especially has been helping students get employed by offering applications and constantly making students aware that they are opening. On Friday, Feb. 5, Littlepage Dining Hall even gave the opportunity for immediate hire if the interviewees showed up at a 3 p.m. group interview.

Opportunities are currently available around the campus for students who may be looking for employment, not to mention many of the staff at SUNY Oswego are willing to work with the students schedule.

Kailee Montross | The Oswegonian