Students struggle to juggle York and work

Yuni Kim
Assistant News Editor

Alex Labib is taking 33 credits this school year, a lot of work for a student, but even after his last class wraps up, his day has just begun.

In addition to a heavy course load, the third-year law and society major also works a combined 40 hours at two part-time jobs in construction to help pay for school-related expenses, which he estimates to be about $7,000 for the entire year.

“It’s ridiculously hard to do this,” he said. “I don’t sleep anymore.”

Labib said he does not rely on government assistance or a line of credit.

He is not alone; more and more students are heavily relying on part- ime jobs to finance their schooling.

An Excalibur questionnaire that randomly surveyed 100 students on campus found a majority have at least one part-time job. Most students work 11 to 20 hours a week, and said their professors and TAs were only somewhat lenient regarding work-related conflicts.

Statistics Canada shows the average earnings for working students were approximately $6,300 during the 2009-2010 academic school year.

“It’s a shame. It’s a contradiction,” said Paula Elias, a fourth-year student in concurrent education. “You have to pay so much for schooling, you’re going into the university, and they tell you to rely on sources like OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) and lines of credit.”

Sixty-four percent of all students polled by Excalibur relied on family assistance, while 49 percent relied on OSAP to pay for schooling.

“It’s really difficult […] we’re told that [education] is going to make us so much more valuable in the work- force,” Elias continued. “But it’s hard for you to focus and prioritize when you’re already being set back by the fact that you have to [work] to pay for your education.”

Only 25 percent of post-secondary students were working part-time or full-time jobs during the 1970s, according to Statistics Canada.

Today, the employment rate for post-secondary students stands at 66 percent.

“The difficulties that students have to go through while working will always be the same,” said Eugene Spina, a York alumnus who gradu- ated from York in 2001.

“I wasn’t on OSAP, but I got through with a line of credit and help from my family,” Spina, now a high school teacher, said, adding that he would have preferred to focus on academics. “The most difficult part was trying to balance my time and getting organized.” Attending York as a part-time student nine years ago, he worked 40-hour weeks as a human resources manager for Royal Plastics and Masonite International. He estimated his tuition fees at the time added up to about $3,000 a year.

Jennifer Joudrey, a fourth-year double major in history and urban studies, works a part- time job and finds herself always short on time. “Having a part-time job completely hinders [my] ability to excel in school,” said Joudrey. “It’s unfortunate that we don’t get the opportunity to excel. I work a part-time job 20 hours a week, and I go home tired and exhausted.”

Working 40-hour weeks on a 33-credit course load still burdens Labib. He noted that if he could afford to work less and study more, he would take that option. But even as he balances full-time school and full-time working hours, Labib sees at least one positive side to managing both school and work.

“I think having to worry [about these things] is actually good because it prepares you for the world,” he said. “I personally think I manage my time better than anyone else I know.”

With files from Lexee Hoene