Students are well aware of the wilting job market and are often the first to complain about a lack of available employment opportunities. However, there are quite a few positions available right here on campus that are going to the first people who apply.
Shocked? Interested? We're sorry to say you've now missed the deadline application.
Take a look at all of the candidates running for A.S. positions directly to the right of this column. See how many are uncontested? Those are your jobs you just handed over.
California lost 79,300 payroll jobs in January, which has pushed the unemployment rate to its highest since 1983, according to a Los Angeles Times article.
So it's pretty sad more than half of these positions are going uncontested. That would be like being named the President of PepsiCo without even showing up for the interview.
Imagine how stupid you would feel if you knew that all you had to do to get a scholarship was apply. It's the same concept - one person applies for the money and gets it.
In this case, the one person to plaster his or her face on some poster boards and to do some Orion profile interviews gets a job.
Student representatives in the A.S. government get paid. They represent the student body, and they are the Board of Directors for a $30 million budget.
Not only do students not know what A.S. is, but they don't know they can run for these sorts of positions and receive compensation.
It is absurd that any job is going to the one and only person who applies. This is particularly true within the student government. People should be clamoring to represent their voices and the voices of their peers.
There are many qualified students on our campus who would do this university proud. If they realized they could get paid to lead us, then maybe these would be coveted positions and officers would take the implied responsibility seriously.
The lack of competition for the positions leads to complacency and laziness. The incumbents and candidates think they don't need to work hard and be innovators because there is no competition to keep up with or beat.
We can't just blame the students for "not getting involved," either. It's mostly a lack of education. If students knew these jobs aren't available for just aspiring politicians, maybe they would be inclined to actually try to run for office. It may be too late for this election cycle, but now that we know, it's time to step up the competition and make these A.S. candidates work for those spots next year.
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