E. OM . H ICE UR YO R VO S. W U YO R NE U YO
W W W. L A L O Y O L A N . C O M
EST. 1921
SP
Los Angeles LOYOLAN The
N O
OPI NI
Febru ar
y
2017 8,
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| ISSUE 19
Student Workers Program at LMU struggles with new payment system LMU has changed its financial policy for the Student Workers, leaving them searching for aid. Sami Leung
Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan
The Student Workers Program, a group made up of 24 working class LMU students
to help them pay their tuition, has recently gone through several changes in its payment system that has some of its members calling on the University to help. Kayla Hampton, a junior psychology and dance double major, is Student Worker General, which requires her to run events, keep track of the Student Workers’ hours, schedule jobs, plan their group’s retreats and other administrative jobs. According to Hampton, the students who
applied and were admitted into the program in previous years were paid a scholarship in the beginning of the year with the assumption that the students would show up to mandatory jobs when required. When attendance at those mandatory jobs began to decline, LMU changed the scholarship so that students are only paid for events they work at. The award amount remains the same, but it is now more in the students’ hands: They can make their full award by doing mandatory and
Jason Munoz | Loyolan
Sofia Hernandez, pictured above, is part of the LMU Student Workers Program and has worked for this program for four years.
Executive order hits home with students The recent travel ban has affected LMU international students. Justine Biondi
Asst. News Editor @LALoyolan
LMU has taken several steps to support its international community as President Trump’s travel ban affects LMU international students and continues to halt their ability in exiting and re-entering the country. On Jan. 27, Trump signed an executive order banning citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya from entering the U.S. for at least 90 days and placed a ban on Syrian refugees indefinitely. It also bans refugees entirely from entering the U.S. for 120 days and gives priority admission to refugee Syrian Christians, which is less than one percent of the 12,600 Syrians granted refugee status last year, according to the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book. According to Politico magazine, there has not been a terrorism-related death caused by foreign operatives coming into the country since 9/11. Every terrorism-related attack in the U.S. since 9/11 has been caused by American citizens and green card holders. President Snyder, along with Dean of Students Jeanne Ortiz and the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) have made several efforts to ease the fears of international students and show support
during this time of uncertainty. “When the dignity and freedom of any member of the LMU community is compromised, we are all diminished,” President Snyder wrote in an email to the Loyolan. “As I learned of the executive order and its impacts, I grew concerned for our LMU students and families. [...] Our international students interconnect us with our global society, personify our global aspirations and enrich our diverse, inclusive academic community. Our Catholic, Jesuit and Marymount education is based upon intellectual discovery and learning encounters with one another in a global context.” OISS also sent out an email to all international LMU students last week, recommending that citizens of the countries listed in the executive order, even those who hold a valid visa and dual-national passports, do not travel outside the U.S. during the 90day ban. The email further recommends that U.S. permanent residents also refrain from traveling outside the country, since entry into the U.S. for green card holders will be determined case by case. Along with the email, OISS reached out via phone to all students directly affected by this ban and referred students who have questions or concerns to an immigration attorney trusted by the University. The Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) and the Muslim Student Association (MSA) also hosted a Friday Prayer last week for the Muslim students on campus, followed See Travel Ban| Page 4
volunteer events, or only go to the mandatory events and not earn as much money. “It really built in me this sense of work ethic,” Hampton said. “I really feel like I could do just about anything. Also, I really think its a family. You have those people that you can build lifelong relationships with. But when we go to jobs, we’re about work.” However, Ramona Sandoval, a senior political science major, believes the new system unfairly decreases their financial aid package. The announcement of the scholarship change came after several students of the program, including Sandoval, reached out to LMU for a moderator to supervise and support their program. “As one of the main people who requested a new moderator I deeply regret my decision to reach out to the University for additional support,” Sandoval said. “Not only were we assigned a moderator with even more on her plate but our $8,600 scholarships were taken away 19 days before our first payments.” Student workers are required to work in the recycling center for 20 hours a week their freshman year in addition to working mandatory events such as graduation. Founded in 1957 by Joseph Brovetil, the program is only available to students who qualify for the Pell Grant. With the LMU Scholarship Initiative surpassing its $100 million goal for needbased scholarships by an extra $3 million, some students in the program believe that See Student Workers | Page 3