On the first day of classes, Georgie Martinez went to Archbold Gymnasium to figure out his work schedule. Instead, Martinez found out he had been fired.

‘They took me off the listserv without telling me,’ said Martinez, a senior in the College of Human Ecology.

Martinez, the father of a 3-year-old daughter, had lost his Federal Work-Study award after having Work-Study his entire college career.

This year, Syracuse University earned about 20 percent less Work-Study funding than previous years, said Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, associate vice president for enrollment management and director of scholarships and student aid. The cut, coupled with the loss of stimulus funds, caused SU to deny the money to some students who had previously received the award.

‘The biggest reason why students are seeing a cut is because last year, we got an extra $600,000 from the stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,’ Copeland-Morgan said.

The entire $600,000 was allocated to the Work-Study program, a financial aid initiative aimed to help students pay tuition through part-time employment on campus.

University officials said all need-based aid had been met, according an article published in The Daily Orange on Sept. 2. However, Copeland-Morgan said more students are depending on the award and taking advantage of it.

‘In addition to that, what we’re seeing is a greater demand for Work-Study,’ Copeland-Morgan said. ‘I think, as the cost of going to school continues to increase, students are finding Work-Study is a necessity and not an option anymore.’

Without Work-Study, many undergraduates are compensating with money-saving shortcuts, often to offset textbook and food expenses.

Hannah Warren visited the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs twice in hopes of qualifying for Work-Study, but never received it. This year, she had to opt for the cheapest meal plan, which includes five meals a week.

‘I feel like it’s kind of a lost cause now because I’m a junior,’ said Warren, a magazine journalism and women’s studies major.

Outside of her meal plan, Warren tries to find whatever’s cheapest at the grocery store and takes measures to save on textbooks. She entered the third week of the semester one book short.

‘I go online, I checked half.com,’ Warren said. ‘I’ve been buying first editions instead of second editions.’

Holleigh McMasters, a sophomore bioengineering major, learned she lost her Work-Study before showing up at her job.

‘I wish I had it now because I would definitely use it if I could,’ said McMaster, now a resident adviser.

‘I try to use the meal plan I have from being an RA, which sucks because I hate the dining hall,’ she said.

The books for her organic chemistry class cost more than $400, and McMasters entered the third week of classes without having bought the textbooks.

‘I’m just waiting as long as I can to get them,’ she said.

Juan Lombert, a junior pre-med student, also lost his job to this year’s Work-Study cuts. Lombert purchased a meal plan to save money, even though he said he’d prefer to eat out.

‘I’m abusing the dining halls,’ Lombert said. ‘I go in there and eat and take out a tray, as well. And it sucks because the food is horrible.’

Copeland-Morgan said the university is trying to help, and though Work-Study funding suffered, federal funding for financial grants and loans has increased. SU has benefited from the Federal Pell Grant Program, the largest federal grant program in the nation, Copeland-Morgan said. The university is paying for some students’ tuition in full, even though SU cut students’ Work-Study.

But federal grants can’t help an entire student body.

‘Pell Grants benefit the lower and lower-middle income students more than it does the middle and upper income students,’ Copeland-Morgan said. ‘So that’s not going to be a solution to that population.’

Copeland-Morgan said there are employment opportunities for those who are denied Work-Study money. But some students said they have faced difficulties in trying to find an alternative job.

‘I’m trying to get a job now, but everyone’s saying no because I don’t have Work-Study,’ Lombert said. ‘We’re students, and our parents have low income, and we need some type of income to live on.’

Despite his full ride, Martinez said he struggles to support his 3-year-old daughter without the help of Work-Study income. Off-campus employers hesitate to hire students due to their limited hours of availability, Martinez said. And finals week proves even more challenging.

‘Jobs off campus don’t understand (finals week). It’s really more business,’ Martinez said.

Despite many students losing their Work-Study, hundreds of students still benefit from the program. When Hannah Nelson, a sophomore communications design major, needed help finding a job, she met with an advisor.

‘I went to the financial aid office, and they were actually really nice,’ Nelson said. She was awarded Work-Study a few days after the meeting and started working at Food.com in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications just days later.

‘They gave me six and a half hours a week, and that’s all I wanted,’ she said.

Breanna Kelly, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she has never once had a problem with the Office of Financial Aid. Kelly has had Work-Study all four years and works 16 hours a week for the Blinker Deli in Huntington Beard Crouse Hall.

‘The max is 20,’ she said. ‘I’m sure if I wanted to go over a little bit, they wouldn’t mind letting me.’

But for those who don’t qualify, the financial aid office offers more than financial aid and scholarship programs. Loan Education Specialist Rebecca Rose spearheaded SU’s ‘I Otto Know This!’ program, designed to help students learn to better manage their money.

Free online modules teach students life skills, such as budgeting, credit card dangers and identity theft prevention. Professors may also ask Rose to come into their classes and talk to students. The program focuses on making smarter spending choices to prevent bad credit and debt.

‘It’s a program for everybody. It’s for our graduate students, our undergraduate students, our University College students and our law students,’ Rose said. ‘We’re here as a service for the students, whether they fill out a FASFA or not.’

The financial aid office also continues to add students to the waitlist for Work-Study.

‘We’re looking at our funding very, very closely to see if some funds are allocated back to us, and that we can give to the students,’ Rose said. ‘Unfortunately, our hands are tied when the government isn’t replenishing our funding.’

ecsciala@syr.edu

Published on September 26, 2010 at 12:00 pm