The on-campus minimum wage has been increased from $10.59 to $12.59 and has been instituted for the first time this fall semester of the 2024-2025 academic year.
On February 8, 2023, the Winona State University Student Senate proposed a motion to increase the on-campus minimum wage from $10.59 to $13.00. The senate encouraged the new wage to be implemented by the fall semester of 2023.
Student Senate President and fourth-year student Alizabelle Carman pushed hard for the minimum wage increase; according to her, the topic of minimum wage is not a new issue. “My first year on Senate was the first time it was brought up,” Carman says. “My second year as chair, I went and did it again; I tried to increase the minimum wage, and it didn’t work again.”
Carman and the rest of the Student Senate didn’t give up. “I had my first year as president last year, and so I told my chair… this is something that needs to be done. This is important. So, eventually, after three years of working on it, it got pushed through.”
Carman expressed her gratitude for President Janz’s help in pushing the motion through— “I know that he is actively trying to help students, and he 100% knows the struggles that students face.”
The Student Senate wrote in their motion that “$10.59 is not a competitive wage as it is the minimum wage in Minnesota.” However, questions continue to be raised as to whether the two-dollar increase is enough to keep up with the rising cost of living.
First-year student Rebecca Magin works in the infant room at the Winona State daycare and believes that the new on-campus minimum wage is still not enough— “Gas prices are high, and grocery prices are up, and it’s hard to work less hours because you’re a student and still make enough money.”
She is not the only one. Carman herself is “working four jobs even with the increase.”
Beyond that, international students have particularly limited employment options. According to the Department of Homeland Security, international students may only obtain an off-campus job if their visa is F-1 and if they meet specific financial requirements. This means that many international students need to work multiple on-campus jobs to support their basic needs because they simply do not have access to higher-paying job opportunities off campus.
While the increase in the on-campus minimum wage is a huge step forward, there is still more work to be done. To keep up with the rising cost of living, the minimum wage will need to be increased not just on the Winona State campus, but on campuses across Minnesota and the country so that students can support themselves while remaining focused on what they came to university to do: learn.
