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Lyle,
With students headed back to school, it’s important to recognize one of the biggest financial hurdles students have around their summer internships: Paying their schools for the privilege.
Seems backwards, right? Students take on the additional cost of housing and transportation during the summer, and are paid in course credit―which the university charges them for!
At Pay Our Interns Action, we think internships should be accessible to all, not just the few who can afford to work for free―or even pay out of pocket for them. If you agree, make a $5 Back to School donation to Pay Our Interns Action today!
Inside Higher Ed highlighted this problem in an article a few years ago called “Paying to Work,” which details the challenges that face interns who aren’t just unpaid―they’re billed![1] This problem isn’t going anywhere, and in the Covid era, it may even be getting worse.
The solution isn’t to stop giving students course credit for their internships. In many cases, they have educational value in addition to networking potential. But the added expense of course credit presents one more barrier to entry for students. That’s why it’s so important to pay our interns!
Throughout the 2021-22 school year, Pay Our Interns Action is going to be organizing and raising the alarm around exploitative, exclusionary unpaid internships. Donate $5 today!
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:
Thanks,
Jess Huang
Pay Our Interns Action
1 https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/05/17/when-students-pay-tuition-work-unpaid-internships
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