Thoughts: Working as a Student

Hello, my name is Jane Doe and I am a third year student at UC Santa Cruz. As one of the poorer students at UC Santa Cruz, I fund my education entirely through Grants, Scholarships, Student Loans, and Work Study.
Work study is awarded to the poorest students on campus as a way for them to make enough money to attend college. The work-study jobs on campus are reserved for work-study students and may not be given to anyone else by Federal law. I should also mention that if you are offered work-study as part of your Financial Aid package, but do not take a work study position, it is counted against you in future financial aid assessments.
My particular work study position is at the UCSC McHenry Library, where I make $7.50/hr, also known as minimum wage. During the school year I am given an average of 7-10 hours a week and not permitted to take anymore because my department hires so many students. I suspect the administration hires so many students deliberately and with ill intent, due to the fact that state law says that anyone who works a certain number of hours in entitled to certain rights (such as sick leave, raises, and breaks). By keeping so many students in the department during the school year, the administration is assured that they will never have to give any of their workers benefits. The fact that all of these workers are financially challenged work-study awardees makes this practice all the more questionable. Furthermore the Library does not hire students for Staff positions, I assume because that would also mean the administration would have to start treating these workers like human beings with rights.
Is it proper to use the campus' poorest members as minimum-wage slave labor? I have spoken with work-study participants in many different jobs on campus and their stories are all very similar: Hard work, minimum wage, no benefits. These are the students who are already taking out loans in order to fund their education and need money, arguably, more than those who are provided for by their families. I think it is despicable and deplorable that the University chooses to exploit their Financial Aid Students in such a fashion. This injustice should be exposed and the Regents should answer for their policies.

Poem: Impotent to Dream

It's been so long since I have dreamed,
I can't remember how.
When I try, they come out,
small, stilted, and broken
-out of practice and Rusty.

I admire the other Dreamers,
who I meet every day.
Their dreams lead them to places.
And I am sometimes jelous
and deeply saddened.
Watching their dreams,
turn into plans,
turn into life.

While my time continues to pass,
Impotent to Dream.

Poem: A New Past

I finally have a past,
again,
for that I should be glad.
A history,
to place on forms,
to prove I'm good,
not bad.

A former Boss
and Landlord too.
Bills for phone and gas
and all of it,
writ in my name,
to prove I have a past.

There was a time
I could not say
what I'd been doing when;
And every form which asked of me,
went to the rubbish bin.

And every person,
that I met,
demanded me to prove:
Who I was and whence I'd came.
Otherwise: No Food.

I finally have a past again,
I hope it stays for good.

But even if it goes away,
it only means:
No Food.

Poem: Noble Bums

If my Bum Friends could see me now,
I wonder what they'd say:
"Daamn, your pimpin'!"
and
"Look at you, now!"
and
"Awww, you fuckin sellout."

Yes, I've got it all again.
If by "all" you mean
places, functions, uses, to society.

In some ways I feel better:
Waking up to fresh coffee
having food in the fridge
a home to hide from the world
a shower
for the moment.

In some ways I feel worse:
Never-ending routines of,
Laundry,
Cleaning,
Shopping,
Gas,
and Work.

It's going alright
and I shouldn't complain.

Neither one seems to me
to be more Noble.

Poem: God is on my Side

I forgot how to be happy,
and god is on my side.
Wonderin if I'll ever be free,
and god is on my side.
I feel the dull, the pain, the ache.
I see the others,
enjoying their stake.
Find nothing for me,
but moments of joy.
And God is on my side.

Poem: Blessings and Curses

When the blessings
outweigh the curses,
how can the curses be so strong?

When so much is good,
can the bad still
appear strong and with force?

The good will disolve.
The bad will dissipate.
Like it never was.