Time is money, so where are our checks?

Students wear multiple hats throughout their involvement during college, whether it be as activists, community organizers, resident assistants, editors, presidents, orientation leaders, and more. It is safe to assume students are the backbone of their institutions, paying them to stay open in exchange for an education. 

While it may seem like a fair trade-off from a business perspective, why are involved students always getting the short end of the stick for the extra work they do to attract prospective students? 

Here at The Leader, we are a team of seven editors who contribute anywhere from 10 to 20 hours a week to put together each biweekly issue of this newspaper, working out of our office every other Sunday for at least 12 hours writing, editing, and laying out the final issue that hits racks the following Tuesday. 

While we undoubtedly love working for The Leader, gain valuable journalism experience from it, and create bonds with each class of editors and writers, the truth is that experience does not pay the bills.

A lot of us have to call off work every other Sunday, where we could be earning money to pay bills or to save for postgraduate ordeals. Instead, we have to work for free with minimal breaks in a room with no air conditioning and a mysterious stench that brings on migraines and cold-like symptoms. 

Through years at competitions (which The Leader regularly wins numerous awards at) like the Illinois College Press Association (ICPA), other university newspapers are stunned to hear The Leader editorial board, and writers, are not paid for their contribution to the newspaper; for them it’s the norm, for us it’s the dream. 

In fact, some universities even have their Editor-in-Chief on payroll and they take the year off to focus on running the paper without having to juggle both a course load and a job. 

While each institution varies from staff size, campus size, printing runs, and publication frequency, it is still noticeable there is a vast difference in how other institutions value their press compared to Elmhurst University. 

While anybody on The Leader staff can earn credit for participating in the newspaper as an internship or practicum, the age-old debate about how unpaid internships are unfair also arises. As mentioned prior, experience is great, but it does not pay the bills. 

We aren’t the only ones facing similar issues of working long hours with no pay or minimal compensation like EU swag or outings. 

Resident assistants on campus are only provided free room and board and a free meal plan for working with EU. While this may seem like a fair trade off, free housing and food in return for around the clock monitoring of the dorm halls is not a fair trade. 

At other institutions like Florida Atlantic University, RAs are paid a stipend on top of having a free meal plan and half off their room and board. Stipends usually hit their bank accounts at the beginning or end of the semester, providing a comfortable financial cushion for the laborious work they put in, which includes hourly rounds throughout the night, organizing programming, providing emotional support for students in crisis, and more. 

For the amount of work and training they’re put through, why aren’t they paid an hourly wage for at least their on-duty hours since being an RA is a full time job? 

On top of being a student, RAs have to become a beacon of resources for people their age, for free. Physical compensation does not compare to a liveable wage for people who are paying thousands to get a degree. 

Student leaders spend so much of their free time crafting and curating an image the school wants to portray, taking away from valuable self-care time and opportunities to earn money and provide the bare minimum for themselves. 

While The Leader cannot speak on the experiences of every student group on campus, we can highlight known facts about groups like RAs and their compensation. The Leader did not speak to any past or present RAs in preparation for this editorial. 

At The Leader, we don’t seek any approval before going to print, we are independent from administrative influence. We work to keep the school accountable in every aspect of our reporting and champion for the student body to be heard and taken care of. 

But we’re students too, and it gets difficult to recruit people who can commit to writing regularly. Often the bulk of the work falls on editors to pick up every production cycle. While it seems simple, writing a short 500-word article takes a lot of time between setting up interviews, transcribing audio, doing research, editing, and illustrating the story through photography or graphics. 

Some may argue that we should just quit rather than complain, but why quit when our concerns can be raised to identify issues to fix things for future generations of The Leader’s journalists? 

Historically, The Leader has paid its editors in the form of a stipend derived from the advertising budget at the end of the spring semester. The amounts vary depending on the amount of money earned from advertising, sometimes editors would earn $50 for their year of work, but in recent years, it’s been zero. 

In the past three years the current Editor-in-Chief has been on the editorial board, the editors have not been paid, mirroring the national newsroom crisis, advertisements are dwindling causing print newspapers to shut down or move online entirely. 

The Leader asks the media board to provide funds to provide a yearly or semesterly stipend for The Leader editors, to begin with, because college journalism consistently proves itself to be a vital part of campus life. 

The Leader deserves more for the contributions provided to the campus through reporting, the time devoted to putting together each issue, and for consistently keeping the administration accountable. 

Not only The Leader, but every student who contributes to keeping the institution reputable and on top of the U.S. News rankings deserves to be properly compensated for their contributions to campus.

While EU may try to divert attention away from potential scandal-ridden headlines during tours, admissions events, or public events keep this one in sight for everyone to see: Pay your student leaders. 

Eric Lutz, The Leader’s adviser, serves on the media board. Lutz did not advise The Leader editors, nor have any involvement throughout the writing of this editorial.