For Grinnell College students, it is often difficult to separate employment from academics. Many Grinnell students hold one or more campus jobs that they must balance between rigorous academics and extracurriculars. 86 percent of students receive aid at Grinnell, and one mechanism for receiving aid is work study (Grinnell College Tuition and Financial Aid). For the first issue of 2019, The Scarlet and Black has decided to create a work issue that showcases both a different side of employment in Grinnell College and broadens the conversation beyond students.
Further, it is a timely decision for The S&B to explicitly discuss employment issues on campus following the events of Fall 2018. Last semester, The S&B extensively reported on the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers and the administration’s response. The union was and is an important issue to follow, and specifically discussing work is a logical step for the paper. The S&B wants to extend our coverage of work issues on campus to not only focus on the union but shed light on less discussed matters that are just as relevant to campus life. Matters of labor and employment on campus have been covered in the news, and it is time to discuss these matters in even more detail as to how students and the community are impacted.
The S&B aims to provide further insight into the unique relationship between the College and employment by examining both students and faculty. Such issues that will be covered range from shortages in college faculty, the intersection of personal interests and work, and the balance that students must strike between academics, extracurricular activities and employment. Additionally, this issue will not only discuss work affairs on campus, but how issues of employment in the broader community impact Grinnell College students. The S&B aims to show that work issues exist not only on our campus, but around us as well, and that the unique relationship between the Grinnell community and college is affected by matters of employment. The work issue delves deeper in to the unique relationship that students have with work, understand how the campus and community are impacted by federal actions regarding labor, and make sense of how college faculty and staff operate inside the context of work.
