I was able to sit down with senior Joe Anderson and talk about his role on campus, his involvement in student politics, and his plans after graduation. Joe is passionate about politics and is currently working within UIC’s student government to urge legislators and UIC officials to pay UIC students a living wage for working on campus.
Name: Joe Anderson
Age: 22
Year: Senior
Major: Political Science and American History
HC: What’s your involvement on campus?
JA: I am in student government here at UIC as well as Model United Nations. I work on campus at the Athletic Facility with athletes.
HC: How has this affected your time at UIC? Positively? Negatively?
JA: Definitely positively. It’s helped me become a better time manager. It has also helped me with talking to people, specifically Model UN where we debate. I’ve been able to learn how to tackle issues and break them down. I meet a lot of new and amazing people and especially here at UIC, there is a huge diversity which breaks down any stereotypes you have had beforehand.
HC: Tell us more about your experience with student government.
JA: Currently the most important thing we are working on is dealing with the students workers’ minimum wage. Students are only paid state’s minimum wage ($8.25/hr) and not Chicago’s ($10/hr). In student government, we go down to Springfield every April for “Lobby Day.” We take as many people as we can from UIC along with the other state schools (UIS, UIUC) and tell each of our personal stories to discourage legislators from cutting funding.
HC: How did you find out about students not receiving Chicago’s minimum wage?
JA: I follow the news very closely, especially local news. Once it was announced Chicago was inputting the $10/hr minimum wage, it wasn’t clear whether that applied to UIC students or not. It was kept silent and hidden from workers and neither the workers nor employers were sure if their wage was going to change or not.
HC: Spoiler: it didn’t.
HC: Why are you so passionate about this issue?
JA: I’m a student worker so not only does it affect me but it affects the people around me even worse. Being a part of student government means that we are here to serve the students. It is my duty and obligation to fix this. Not everyone has family financial support. This university has many low-income and middle-class families that are receiving thousands of dollars of debt along with receiving an unlivable wage.
HC: What are your plans after graduation?
JA: I’m still debating about what to do but I’m leaning towards going to law school in order to sharpen my mind about the law. The more you know, the more you can help. After law school, I may practice law or go straight into politics.
HC: Lastly, what is your advice to students who want to get involved in changing the way things are run around here?
JA: Firstly, organize. Join an organization or maybe just make your own on a certain issue! Expose yourself and meet people. You have to get on a personal level in order to get to a collective level. You have to come together and unite to make others realize issues. If it’s not currently an issue addressed by university, you can make it an issue and change it.
HC: We wish Joe the best in his future endeavors (not like he’d need it with his drive, anyway!) and look forward to seeing all that he achieves. Hopefully, he will be able to give us students the wage we deserve. Thank you, Joe!