By Jason Zaler
As you read this, many students are beginning to get the hang of their new co-op jobs. They are becoming friendly with their bosses and co-workers and know how to find the smallest items in the office supply closet. While most students have become more comfortable in their new surroundings, not all have jobs that are up to the standards Northeastern brags about.
One area where this is especially true is for students studying political science. The co-op jobs available to political science majors are underwhelming at best, and close to pathetic if carefully scrutinized. Some jobs are available at law firms, though most primarily involve making copies, running errands and sorting mail.
This semester, a job as a tour guide at the Massachusetts Statehouse was considered among the cream of the co-op crop. This may be surprising until you consider that zero — that’s right, zero — jobs were available to NU students in the offices of state lawmakers on the House or Senate side. It seems that the only way for NU students to get a foot in the door of the Massachusetts legislature is to point out the highlights to tourists.
Consider the level of political participation in the Bay State. Massachusetts residents are known around the country for their interest in politics and community affairs. Forget for a moment NU doesn’t even have a single job lined up with a lobbying firm OR political think tank. Labor Unions are another potentially valuable source of employment that is forgotten, while NU tries to leave no law firm behind.
The inexcusable lack of relationships with good employers can be directly traced to the political science co-op coordinators.
Bill Wray and Lester Lee are the men in charge of this farcical operation in which excitement is stirred up when the Massachusetts Secretary of State opens up a job showing tourists from Iowa the Statehouse hallways. Mention either of their names to students trying to find a good co-op and eyes roll before a string of criticisms are unleashed.
With some legwork, Wray and Lee could likely increase the number of co-op jobs in state legislators’ offices by over 100 percent – from 0 to 1 — or even more. By working hard now to establish concrete bonds with various political offices, the groundwork will be in place for the future. Political science co-ops will then finally be able to be proud of what they’re studying and where they work.
The last step to improving the current co-op situation for political students is to assist those who find good political jobs on their own. These jobs often pay little or nothing, but provide valuable political experience and contacts that cannot be gained through the jobs NU presently offers.
I currently have one of these jobs and consider myself blessed even though I make $2.83 per hour. That isn’t a typo. But that $2.83 and the experience of a lifetime is better than six months wasted due to the apathy of the powers that be.
It’s time for Northeastern to stand up for its students and start working to provide political science co-op’s with jobs that actually reflect their field of study and that can positively impact their future.
– Jason Zaler is a sophomore political science and international affairs major. He is currently on co-op in the Office of Sen. John McCain in Washington, D.C.
