UW-Madison pays students to 'advance social justice issues'

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is seeking to hire three social justice interns to help with social justice efforts around campus.

According to the listing, the university is seeking people “who are passionate about advancing social justice issues such as racial justice; access to education; access to clean food, air, and water; criminal justice and prison reform, LGBTQ+ rights; women’s rights; voting rights; economic justice, immigrant justice; and/or civic engagement.”

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Qualifications that the school is looking for in an applicant are, “a strong interest and commitment to creating a more just society, a strong interest in connecting student organizations, individuals, campus departments, etc., around shared interest in social justice work, and a background knowledge/familiarity with social justice issues.”

Interns would work 3-12 hours per week and be paid minimum wage at $10.50 per hour.

Meredith McGlone, Director of News and Media Relations at UW Madison, told Campus Reform, “the Wisconsin Union is a student-led organization that organizes programming and activities. Student interest in topics such as access to education, voting rights, and women’s rights has led the Union to create a ‘hub’ to host conversation and events. This student position will assist with that effort.” 

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Duties of the internship include: “establish[ing], support[ing], and guid[ing], social justice student working groups, developing social justice events for the spring semester, identifying resources for campus social justice programs, and developing a plan to attract people to the social justice program.

Alesha Guenther, a junior at UW-Madison and the Communications Director for UW Madison College Republicans, told Campus Reform, “It appears that the Wisconsin Union is attempting to advance a political agenda through a ‘Social Justice Intern.’ Using the Wisconsin Union to advance such an agenda is inappropriate at best and seems to exclude those with different viewpoints surrounding social issues from the Wisconsin Union.” 

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