The Spire

Kimberly Von Randow ‘28

Staff Writer

As the saying goes, closed mouths don’t get fed. And at Holy Cross, they also don’t get paid. It is now the sixth week of school, and students who work outside of the dining services may notice that their wallet has been looking pretty empty lately. That is because many students have not been getting paid for the work they have been doing this entire time. 

In those six weeks, this pay delay has not been solved nor has it been spoken on by the HR department. I may not know the complicated inner workings of the payroll system in this school, but I certainly know that they are capable of providing some sort of explanation as to why and what caused this hold up. For students who rely on campus jobs to pay for necessities such as food, rent, or even to repay loans, this has been greatly impacting them in the worst way possible.

There’s also an undeniable double standard at play. When tuition bills arrive, students are given strict deadlines with little room for delay. Miss a payment and you risk late fees, registration holds, or being dropped from classes. If a student tried to explain away a late tuition payment by saying “we’re working on it,” that answer would not be accepted. The school expects our money on time, every time. Yet when the roles are reversed and the institution owes us, weeks of silence pass without apology or explanation. Also, could you imagine if the faculty and staff went six weeks without pay? They would be furious, and rightfully so. They’d storm the campus with pitchforks, protest signs, demanding their pay or else they would reenact the Fenwick fire of 1852. But are we viewed as lesser employees because we are students? We should be treated with the same amount of respect as everyone else who works for this institution, no exceptions.

One student, who asked to remain anonymous, shared a comment on this situation, “It seems strange that the school never addressed the issue or even bothered to do anything until people complained.” They also stated “I don’t know if they are fixing the issue for other students or just the ones who are making a fuss about not being paid.” The student in question has not been paid for either their job training or their regular hours worked, despite contacting the HR office weeks ago. Their experience is not unique. This frustration is likely shared by many other students, and those who did not yet realize they haven’t been paid will soon join the club.

Another student received a check on the payday of October 3rd, receiving only a fifth of what they were owed despite clearly outlining what days and hours they have worked over the past six weeks.

By the time this article is published, it is possible that the students missing a paycheck will have been compensated for their work. But that still does not justify the fact that no formal apology has been given by the department. If no one said anything about it, would they even compensate them at all? That is the main point I am trying to convey, just as the title suggests one must stand up for what is owed to them and not bother worrying about being seen as impatient.

We are not asking for the HR department to fix the payment problem overnight, and I understand that they have been switching their payment programs to a whole new system. But a simple courtesy email by the lines of “We are sorry for the delay on your paychecks” would suffice. If this institution values its students, it must prove it with more than just talk by paying on time, communicating transparently, and offering a genuine apology when mistakes are made even when they do not affect the entire student body as a whole. Until then, we’re left with the bitter lesson that we must fight for what should already be ours.

Featured image courtesy of Google Images

Copy Edited by Lauren Zerella ’29