EDITORIAL

Poor communication causes stress, confusion for Erie dining hall employees

For New York State residents, the estimated cost per credit hour at Fredonia for the undergraduate degree is about $230 for the fall and spring semesters. That price shoots up to $492 for non-residential students. For graduate courses, it is over $100 more for New York state students. Meal plans range from $495 to $1,795. To live on campus in a double occupancy is $2,525. These necessities do not include other expenses such as books, activity and other fees and leisure spending money.

Yes, there are scholarships, assistantships, work-study and financial aid packages that can help with these hefty prices, but not all students receive help. Many take up part- or full-time jobs. To assist with the job search, Fredonia offers many outlets of employment to help students pay education expenses. One of these locations is Erie dining hall.

Starting Monday, the Erie dining hall closed for installation of the new boilers as part of Phase I of the satellite boiler project. Some employees heard rumors, but most were officially notified just three weeks ago (Nov. 9) that they would be relocated to other food service jobs on campus.

According to Katie Thies, special programs manager of FSA, FSA had a 30-day window from the time they were notified to the time they had to vacate the facility. She explained that New York States manages the project and therefore it was difficult to gauge when to tell students and employees about it.

"We were aware of the project, but weren't given specific dates. But, once we knew all of the specifics, we notified everyone accordingly," Thies said. "It is my understanding that all full- and part-time employees were offered jobs elsewhere on campus and that those who wanted to work, have a job."

Three Erie dining hall employees who wished to remain anonymous agreed that employees were offered hours at other food services on campus without reapplying. However, some students could not take advantage of these hours due to conflicting class or work schedules. A few of these students are currently out of a job.

For students who were able to take advantage of the hours offered to them, they do not have to apply this semester, but will need to reapply in the spring. Whereas, when working at Erie dining hall, employees were automatically assured a position without reapplying if she/he was a dedicated employee.

Charles Notaro, associate vice president and FSA executive director, agreed that FSA was aware of the project for over a year, but specific dates were not decided on until after the fall '07 semester started.

In the article "Erie dining hall closes," in this week's issue of The Leader, Notaro noted that the delay in announcing the closing of Erie until the beginning of November was to ensure that the construction would definitely take place. Notaro said in an email that, "Hopefully, Erie would be open in April for student use."

It is understandable that FSA's hands were somewhat tied when waiting to hear from the state about specific dates for the satellite boiler project, yet that information should have been shared with the employees of Erie dining center much earlier. Additionally, employees should have been made clearly aware that they were not getting laid off so that students were not scrambling to find other jobs.

The Leader feels that the poor planning of Phase I and the lack of communication between employees and employers of Erie dining center was unprofessional and stress-provoking, especially when student employees depend on these jobs to help pay for school. It is clear that repairs need to be done and that facilities must be closed, but the Erie dining hall employees were disrespected as workers when they were left in the dark about the project.

In the future, when there is a closing down of any facility, employees of that building should be made completely conscious of that information. That way, students can concentrate on their education and not stress over how they are going to pay for it.