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Thursday, June 1, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
OPINION

A 

question I hate is one, 
like 
clockwork, 
that 
I 

find 
myself 
answering 

every year beginning in April and 
through June. And after summer? 
It becomes a question in the past 
tense. I don’t like that question for 
largely two reasons. Firstly, because 
I sometimes don’t know what I’m 
going to be doing and secondly, it’s 
often not nearly as cool as what 
others are doing. But even more so 
because follow up questions almost 
always lead to the “paid or unpaid” 
question.

Sheepishly, I would sometimes 

admit to someone that I am not 
getting paid, quickly adding that I 
know I’m very fortunate to be able 
to have the position. But sometimes, 
hopefully trying to avoid further 
conversation, I would be somewhat 
vague as to my position — hoping 
that the person won’t ask the 
question in the first place.

Before I go further, I want to 

make it clear that I recognize 
that 
some 
people 
who 
need 

to 
get 
a 
paying 
job 
might 

feel 
uncomfortable 
in 
these 

conversations 
as 
they 
cannot 

necessarily accept a potentially 
exciting position because it is 
unpaid. Here, though, I can only 
speak to my experiences, and for 
me, what made me uncomfortable 
about this question was I had to 
recognize my privilege.

For the past two summers, I’ve 

worked at a few law organizations 
as an unpaid intern, learning 
extensively about asylum law and 
the procedure to gain legal status 

in the United States, as well as 
observing the workings of different 
civil courts and the process of 
eviction cases. Though I am 
certainly not ready to take the Bar 
or anything, there is no doubt I have 
gained valuable experience. And as 
became evident in interviews for 
internship positions, my unpaid, 
stipend positions at the Daily 
helped me get these jobs. These are 

experiences I likely would not have 
had if I needed a full-time paying 
job throughout the year. 

Furthermore, 
though 
being 

enrolled in top schools is still 
important, recent findings make it 
clear that something else is often 
what sets some job candidates 
apart. 
Lauren 
A. 
Rivera, 
a 

researcher 
at 
Northwestern 

University, found that it wasn’t 
enough for someone to hail from 
an elite university. Extracurricular 
activities have become a large 
part of what recruiters for elite 
companies are looking for in their 
interns.

More 
frequently 
now 
than 

ever before, recruiters are doing 
what Rivera calls a “secondary 
screening” — looking for people 
who have also done “high status, 
resource-intensive 
activities” 

outside of the classroom. And these 
types of activities, according to 
Rivera, are most specifically in line 
with the activities of those who 
are white and in the upper-middle 
class. This practice “contributes to 
a social closure of elite jobs based 
on socio-economic status.”

The 
bottom 
line? 
Having 

the 
ability 
to 
partake 
in 

extracurricular 
activities 
that 

do 
not 
pay, 
getting 
unpaid 

internship experiences that will 
give them more of a leg up, helps 
tremendously in the long run. And 
unfortunately, without change, 
this structure will continue to 
perpetuate inequalities, which is 
especially dire given the studies 
that show how certain groups of 
people — especially minorities — 
disproportionately face financial 
barriers to these opportunities.

Nonetheless, I am not trying to 

say that people who work multiple 
jobs cannot also hold unpaid 
internships simultaneously. My 
intent is not to paint a picture 
that diminishes anyone’s ability 
to balance many responsibilities. 
I know many people who have 
multiple paying jobs and do 
amazing internships. But even so, 
there will be some internships that 
won’t be possible, or they will not 
get time to do other things and 
further their interests outside of 
work and internships. Finances 

NISA KHAN

EDITOR IN CHIEF

SARAH KHAN

EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

DAYTON HARE

MANAGING EDITOR

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at 

the University of Michigan since 1890.

“What are you doing this summer?”

shouldn’t ever be a barrier, but they 
are, and we need to do something 
about it.

Those who can work the most 

rigorous, 
all-encompassing 

internships, those who can afford 
to be paid very little if nothing 
at all, have their pick of a much 
larger 
number 
of 
internships. 

Those who can spend hours 
each week in organizations as an 
undergraduate, those who can 
volunteer extensively at nonprofits, 
are the ones whose resumes will 
presumably be sent to the top of the 
pile when they apply for jobs.

I 
know 
many 
smaller 

organizations 
— 
non-profits, 

for example, that are helping 
people of low income — cannot, 
understandably so, pay a bunch 
of students to do some filing and 
shadow lawyers to court. But I 
implore the organizations that have 
the capabilities to do so to really 
invest in their interns.

And the University of Michigan 

must also do its part. I can tell 
you now, administrators, if you’re 
reading this, that what I won’t 
remember is the extra comfy chairs 
in the study room in Mason Hall, 
or the extra shine of the building 
plaque. But what I will remember 
are the nights I was at the Daily 
until 2 a.m. to publish an editorial 
alongside a breaking news story. 
I’ll remember standing for nearly 
24 hours at Dance Marathon. I’ll 
remember learning about asylum 
law and sitting in on cases at 
eviction court.

I know funding is often tied up 

in a specific entity, I know it’s not 
as simple as reallocating funds 
and all that stuff. But to encourage 
diversity, to attract people from all 
walks of life, I ask that the University 
take the lead in continuing to 
create and promote scholarships 
for students to take on leadership 
roles in campus organizations and 
summer internships so everyone 
has a more equal chance at the best 
opportunities.

Central Student Government’s 

scholarship is an important start, 
but we need more. Everyone, 
regardless 
of 
their 
financial 

situation, deserves a chance to 
thrive. Because when given the 
tools, more often than not, people 
will take these opportunities and 
thrive. And furthermore, everyone 
deserves the chance to do what 
they love and not worry about the 
financial barriers. This might seem 
overly optimistic, but even as a 
person who leans pessimistic more 
often than not, I truly believe we 
can work toward giving everyone 
these chances.

And for the individuals who 

may be reading this and frustrated 
because you think I am telling you 
to forgo your job at the American 
Embassy to stand up against 
unpaid internships, I’m not. Keep 
your plane ticket, move into your 
apartment and enjoy your job. But 
I implore you to recognize it as a 
privilege. There are many students, 
as summer rolls around, who can’t 
afford to pick and choose their jobs 
or internships because they need 
to work somewhere that will pay 
them. They can’t go out-of-state or 
abroad because that would mean 
finding housing and transportation. 
Be thankful for what you have, and 
do your part to work to shape the 
future.

Whether 
it’s 
committing 
to 

continue research like Rivera’s, 
writing articles exposing these 
inequalities, advocating for changes 
to work policies, writing grants 
or lobbying for scholarships for 
students to do unpaid internships 
or take on a leadership role in a 
student 
organization, 
everyone 

can make a difference. Changes to 
the system don’t only have to come 
from the ones with millions of 
dollars to give to charities. Big 
or small, what you do will make 
a difference. 

—Anna Polumbo-Levy can be 

reached annapl@umich.edu. 

Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns

Samantha Goldstein

Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan

Sarah Khan

Anurima Kumar

Ibrahim Ijaz
Max Lubell

Lucas Maiman

Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy 

Jason Rowland

Ali Safawi

Sarah Salman
Kevin Sweitzer

Rebecca Tarnopol

Stephanie Trierweiler
Anna Polumbo-Levy

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY| COLUMN

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editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 
300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 
words. Send the writer’s full name and University 

affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.

Everyone, 

regardless of their 
financial situation, 
deserves a chance 

to thrive.

