At a town hall on Sept. 16 and a follow-up discussion on Sept. 30, Sophomore Advisors (SA) voiced concerns over their lack of monetary benefits despite their many, often thankless, public health-related responsibilities. “The only way or only world in which it shouldn’t be compensated is if the position was drastically redefined in terms of responsibilities and engagement,” SA Michael Bole (23C) said. He is neither alone nor wrong in that opinion. SAs are overburdened and overworked, but receive no compensation for their commitment to keeping the Emory community safe.
As vociferous as their town hall complaints were, many SAs are fearful of University retaliation should they speak out about their lack of pay; even when speaking to the Wheel, most requested to remain anonymous. SAs should not be afraid to demand rightful compensation for their role in cultivating a safe and exciting environment at Emory. Their jobs are already demanding even before the additional COVID-19-related responsibilities, so Emory should, at the very least, provide all SAs with discounted housing and need-based stipends.
Many SAs are frustrated with the gap between their increased responsibilities and lack of remuneration. One interviewee expressed that they did not feel the desire to enforce rules because of lack of pay, while another called it “unethical” to employ students during a pandemic without compensation. If campus proctors and Resident Advisors (RA) are compensated for enforcing mask and social distancing guidelines on campus, SAs should be as well.
SAs faced demanding time commitments even before accepting additional responsibilities outlined in Emory’s reopening plan, not the least of which included playing an active role in many first-years’ initial college experiences. For example, SAs normally plan Songfest, host programming events for their residents and work to ensure that all first-years’ transitions into college are as smooth as possible through one-on-one meetings. Today, SAs no longer stop there. They now also feel pressure to monitor student behavior and enforce safety standards across campus as outlined in the Emory Community Compact.
Despite not being required to do so, SAs have labored to organize events that both fulfill the University’s social distancing guidelines and engage their residents. What would have been a single in-person event last year must now occur at multiple times and include options for virtual participation. Moreover, SAs are expected to interact regularly with their “virtual residents,” or the off-campus first-years assigned to their residence halls.
SAs do receive some benefits, but they are nominal at best and condescending at worst: the perks listed on Emory’s housing site include early move-in, a T-shirt, meals during training, leadership experience and “new friends and fun.” In regards to their housing and dining, one SA stated that they “hate the fact that they pay as much as the freshmen.” Nevertheless, many SAs believe the hard work is worth it because their experiences will help them become RAs, even though being an SA does not guarantee an RA position.
Although SAs are not prohibited from seeking part-time employment, the position’s demands make doing so prohibitively difficult. The role’s time commitment is unpredictable — sometimes totaling 10 hours or more per week — and makes working a job on top of academics and extracurriculars unrealistic. One SA lamented that “it feels like a full-time job.”
Consequently, low-income students who must work to afford their education may find becoming an SA financially impossible. At the very least, Emory should create a need-based stipend to alleviate that burden. Not paying students who put so much time and energy into creating a welcoming and safe environment for first-years, even as they risk their health to do so, exposes the University’s profound apathy toward these students.
The University, however, disagrees. In a statement emailed to the Wheel, the Office of Residence Life (ResLife) claimed “Sophomore Advisors do not have pandemic-related additions to their role” and that the “expectation on them… is the same as it is for all students” regarding enforcement of the Community Compact. Those are not reasons; they are hollow excuses with no basis in students’ experiences.
As SA Praneeth Kolli (23C) told the Wheel, being an SA is “so much more than a volunteer position.” Bole agreed that the University would “need to minimize the workload to really consider it a genuine volunteer position, but… at that point it would also lose its purpose.”
When asked why SAs remain uncompensated, ResLife could only state that the position was originally designed as a volunteer opportunity. That reasoning is blatantly circular; the role’s status as unpaid cannot justify itself. Whether they are explicitly required to do so or not, SAs’ circumstances obligate them to perform the equivalent of a part-time job every day. SAs believe that has always been the case, and in the age of COVID-19, their work is more intense and dangerous than ever before.
For far too long Emory has taken advantage of unpaid student labor. It is inexcusable and embarrassing. Their silence and complacency is reprehensible. There is no clear alternative: compensate SAs now.
The above editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is composed of Sahar Al-Gazzali, Brammhi Balarajan, Viviana Barreto, Rachel Broun, Kemal Budak, Jake Busch, Sara Khan, Demetrios Mammas, Meredith McKelvey, Sara Perez, Ben Thomas, Leah Woldai and Lynnea Zhang.
The Editorial Board is the official voice of the Emory Wheel and is editorially separate from the Wheel's board of editors.
