Students who work on and off campus are trying to remain optimistic about whether the minimum wage will be raised in the state of Florida. Over a week ago, Florida Senator Dwight Bullard proposed a new bill to raise the minimum wage from $7.93 to $10.10 according to Creative Loafing.
Florida’s last major minimum wage increase in 2004 resulted in a dollar raise. Even though the minimum wage increases every year, many feel a few cents aren’t enough.
Shiniqua Demmings, a sophomore film major who works off campus at Things Remembered and is a desk assistant at UT, supports an increase in the minimum wage.
“I feel like it should be changed because the cost of living goes up every year, your taxes go up every year, cost of food and tuition; it all goes up so why shouldn’t that?” Demmings said.
According to the University of Tampa’s student employment page, each year, more than 1,200 students are employed at the University of Tampa. Most of the students who work on campus earn minimum wage. Students can work up to 20 hours a week with on campus jobs, but on average students have only been working 10 to 12 hours on campus.
If minimum wage raises, there would be a strong likelihood that campus work hours could be cut. Many students have already decided to look for jobs off-campus. Director of the Office of Careers Mark Colvenbach said roughly 2,117 students came in for individual and walk-in appointments for part-time job and career advice last year. The amount of walk-ins has gone up 10 percent compared to last year. He also expects the number of students coming in to grow.
Azizeh Mubaslat, a senior English major, who has worked as a Victoria Secrets Manager four years, shares how earning minimum wage has made it hard to pay bills.
“I think it would be easier for me to pay my tuition” Alhzea said. “Its really hard if you’re on minimum wage to pay off tuition and bills. Its really tough to manage your money.”
According to the University of Tampa First Destination Undergraduate Report, 55 percent of students who come into the Office of Careers end up becoming employed full time off campus.
Daylin Jones, a senior studying forensics, fears there will be fewer jobs available if the minimum wage is raised.
“[Raising the minimum wage] is good in theory because at this point, we can’t live off of minimum wage,” Jones said. “But it might decrease the jobs available, but hopefully it doesn’t end up in less jobs.”
Jones, like many students employed at the university, earns a stipend of less than $1,000 a semester. She also works a second job at Old Navy, earning barely more than minimum wage.
Holley Nordman, a staff assistant at the Office of Career services, said the school doesn’t have the budget to give students more hours because of the $1,000 limit on work study stipends.
“[Raising minimum wage] will inhibit the hours students’ work a week,” Nordman said. “Work study students can only earn $1,000 a semester. So, what’s going to happen is you’re just going to burn through those hours quicker.”
Students like Demmings who rely on their paycheck to pay tuition and bills could use the raise.
“It will probably affect me in every way since every decision I make is based off of finances,” Demmings said. “I come from a single parent home, my mom is widowed and I’m the youngest of four. So funds are already tight; it would essentially help me survive.”
Mubaslat shared a similar idea, that a higher minimum wage would not only help her, but could help other students.
“I feel like it would help us manage our money better and as we get into the real world it’ll help us manage ourselves better” said. “We could actually [focus] on what we’re learning so that we can make money instead of having to give school a little bit of priority because you have to work, you have to pay bills.”
Theresa Stanton can be reached at theresa.stanton@spartans.ut.edu.