Students dedicate day to show appreciation for U. employees
All over campus, University workers spend their days ensuring that things run smoothly.
Whether they are cleaning, driving the buses or serving food in the dining halls, one student decided to recognize all that University workers do for the community.
Joe Cashin, student representative to the Board of Governors, is determined to thank the people who work hard to help students every day, so he has enlisted some of the largest student organizations at the University to host the first Rutgers Worker Appreciation Day.
The event will take place on the College Avenue, Cook and Livingston campuses from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, said Cashin, a School of Arts and Sciences junior.
“I think the students should come together to thank the workers here,” he said. “I wanted any organization that wanted to chip in to thank our workers for all that they do.”
Monika Juzwiak, a member of the Rutgers United Students Against Sweatshops, said RUSAS has always been in favor of workers’ rights. Last fall they helped end the contract between Adidas and the University because of the sporting goods company’s unfair treatment of workers.
“We will be giving out coffee and donuts, as well as making thank-you cards and goodie bags to give out to bus drivers and dining hall workers,” said Juzwiak, a Rutgers Business School first-year student.
Cashin said he noticed the University body only seems to come together for a few large events and wants Rutgers Worker Appreciation Day to become one of those events.
“I was trying to think of other events other than football games and Dance Marathon that bring the Rutgers community together,” Cashin said. “I don’t see a lot of events that bring students and workers together and I thought this could do that.”
Aman Haq, liaison for the Rutgers Business Governing Council, said he was excited when Cashin approached him with the idea.
Haq, a Rutgers Business School sophomore, said he recognized the hard work of the University’s staff and decided that they deserve to receive appreciation from students for at least one day of the year.
“It’s not just the bus drivers and people who check us into the dining halls, but it’s also the people we don’t see and can’t thank on a daily basis. We want to show them … that we are grateful for what they do,” Haq said.
Justin Lucero, a representative for the Rutgers University Student Assembly, said students saw firsthand the hard work of University staff during Hurricane Sandy.
“We saw them all go above and beyond for the students,” said Lucero, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student. “During the storm people put thank-you notes on the bulletin boards in Busch. We wanted to continue to have a good relationship with the workers.”
Lucero said because the University is a family that includes the staff, students, and faculty, this event is a great way to tell the workers the University community supports them.
Anastasia Millicker, chair of programming and publicity for the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Governing Council, said some students thank their bus drivers or the people refilling the napkins in the dining hall, but they could always do more.
Some workers go unappreciated and every day we should thank them for what they do — but sometimes we may forget, said Millicker, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences junior.
Millicker said the SEBS Governing Council plans to give out thank you cards on Cook campus and collect signatures from students for a banner that will hang at the Cook Campus Center.
Haq said he invites all students to come out and participate, and thank those who make the University a better place.
“Come out, come work on a poster or make a thank-you card. It will be a lot of fun and we are all looking forward to it,” he said. “If we make even one worker’s day just a little bit better, our mission is complete.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the locations of the SEBS Governing Council tables for Worker Appreciation Day. It also published a statement by Anastasia Millicker as a direct quote when it should have been a paraphrase. Millicker's title was also incorrect.
