If you were to imagine the perfect college students, you would probably construct some image of young adults with books falling from; their hands, a trendy backpack and some sort of perfect job they have in order to pay their expenses

This image does not exist. So many Sacramento State students are forced to take on jobs they sometimes don’t want in order to keep up with their tuition, book prices and social expenses.

Having a job during your college career can make you a well-rounded individual and is essential to many Sac State students.

A job can teach you patience, skills, relationship building, and overall life development. For me, having a job while in school will help prepare me for the real world once I graduate. At the same time, many students take on jobs that don’t really get the respect and credit they deserve.

Call me naive or out of sorts, but in the two and one-half years that I have spent at Sac State, I never knew students were the ones who made up the employee payroll at the University Union.

Walking around the union, you really don’t stop to realize that our fellow classmates are the ones who set up the tables for us to sit at, run the coffee shop we buy our mochas at or even set up the concert events we attend.

Students make up about the entire staff at the Union.

They do everything from manage the game room, information desk, art gallery to the custodial duties and event planning.

“The students are the ones who pay for the Union,” said Custodial Service Manager for the Union, Steve Forseth.

So why not strive to put that money back into student payroll?

Forseth manages between 35 and 40 students. He even works with many international students that he believes learn more than skills at their trades.

“They’re here for their academic grades, but there’s also the educational working process that’s also important,” said Forseth.

Junior Ashley Tapia, building supervisor for the Union, admits that her job can get a bit grungy at times.

“I don’t understand why people leave garbage on tables throughout the union when there is a garbage can 10 feet away from them. This isn’t a fancy restaurant. If you are going to leave it on the table then leave a tip, too.”

Appreciation and acknowledgment is all that is needed. Saying please or thank you to one of the employees after they get you a chair or make you that coffee is not that difficult. They are students just like you and I, so having consideration is important to them because if it weren’t for them who knows what kind of place the Union would be, or if we would even have one.

Paying your dues is what all students have to do in their lifetimes.

Having that grungy job that you hate so much builds character and the students who work those jobs are important to your college career.

The students who run the Union are the core of helping develop our school to what it is now. Without them working at the Union, who would pick up the garbage we leave behind, or move the tables so we can study with our study group? The student workers at the Union make it the place we all love to be at. Some students at Sac State don’t appreciate the effort and hard work that goes into making that Union the spot to study, eat, and interact with your friends at. A part of our tuition pays for the Union, so why not take care and respect something we are paying for.

Tapia wants students to come to the Union to see how the student employees work hard to keep it clean, fun, and a great place to hang out.

It’s your University Union. Take advantage of what it has to offer: a game room, music listening lounge, art gallery, study lounges, and a TV room, among other things. ASI as well as the Rec. Sports, Mellow Me Out and Peak Adventures are located in the Union too. It offers a lot, so make the most of it.

So next time you’re in the Union, make sure to look around and see how the student workers there took time and effort to make it the most popular place on campus for you to hang out.

Rosa Pastran can be reached at [email protected]