The Georgetown University Student Association’s new Office of the Student Worker Advocate, which aims to address any concerns of student workers in a confidential, peer-to-peer setting, held its first series of office hours last week.

GUSA President Trevor Tezel (SFS ’15) said the idea stemmed from student feedback. In order to maintain confidentiality, he did not elaborate on specific grievances, but touched on a range of issues, heard both from individual complaints and from survey data.

“We identified that there was a need for student workers to be able to have other students they could talk to about employment concerns, perhaps before they went to the student employment office and started entering the university bureaucracy,” Tezel said.

GUSA Vice President Omika Jikaria (SFS ’15) said OSWA provides an extra resource for students who may need guidance navigating employment conflicts.

“It’s much more about disseminating information and really helping students through the process. It’s not necessarily providing them with the information that the actual offices are providing them with,” Jikaria said. “It’s more about helping them through the process and feeling like they can actually go to a confidential resource and understand how to approach their problem in the first place.”

Tezel said that the new advocacy group was modeled after the Student Advocacy Office, which addresses students’ judicial concerns. Julia Hubbell (COL ’15) serves as a student worker advocate and, as OSWA grows, will appoint other students to various positions. Hubbell received training from the Student Employment Office regarding intricacies of student workers at Georgetown. She also meets with the Student Employment Office biweekly to discuss both individual and broader issues raised by OSWA.

Hubbell said that both the university and Dean of Student Financial Services Patricia McWade have been supportive throughout the development of OSWA.

“We’re looking forward to a relationship where we can talk honestly about student experiences in being employed at Georgetown,” Hubbell said.

According to Hubbell, one main problem that student workers face is late paychecks with regards to Georgetown Management System.

“There are huge numbers of student workers on campus, many of who feel disrespected or confused about their rights on the job and these sorts of complaints would generally float around Georgetown,” Hubbell said.

Hubbell said a large part of this issue lies in the fact that student workers are simultaneously employees and students, which can lead to a destructive workplace culture. Additionally, student workers know that there are always other students in need of a job that can replace them if they do quit.

“Students also experience the dynamic of being a student, which feels much more powerless. It feels like there is less recourse, and it fosters a defeatist attitude,” Hubbell said.

In light of the recent anonymous confessions of resident assistants in the Georgetown Voice about mistreatment from the university, the GUSA Senate passed “A Resolution Addressing the Mistreatment of Residential Assistants of Georgetown University” at its Nov. 16 meeting. The resolution calls for the university to conduct an internal review of allegations brought forth by the RAs.

Hubbell said OSWA is a resource for any RAs who want assistance in navigating this campus-wide issue.

“OSWA is absolutely beginning a larger campus conversation about what life is like as an RA for our students,” Hubbell said.

Hubbell added that the office has already reached out to student working locations, such as Residence Hall Offices, in a publicity campaign that ran last week. Additionally, OSWA has its own Facebook page to reach student workers and bring awareness to this new resource.

Sinead Schenk (COL ’17), who works as a student guard, one of the most popular on-campus jobs, noted that her experience working for the university has been relatively easy. She added that one time she was paid late, but after a quick email to her supervisor, the problem was corrected immediately.

“I don’t know how it is for other student workers, but I’ve never heard anyone complaining about their work in a negative way, that they would need extra help,” Schenk said. “But maybe it’s a good idea for some people. I just don’t think its 100 percent necessary.”