Editors’ note: Some sources are referred to as first and last initials for privacy reasons.

Fewer advising appointments, fewer writing tutors, and now, there may be fewer student employment opportunities. 

UC Santa Cruz is dealing with a structural budget deficit, which occurs when the university spends more money than it makes.

As McHenry Library adjusts its budget, some students employed by the library are beginning to feel the weight.

AC, a fourth-year student, worked at McHenry Library for nearly two and a half years, but quit once she learned that her position could no longer be fully funded due to budget cuts.

“I really liked the job, but I wasn’t going to receive a work-study grant from financial aid. That persuaded me to leave,” AC said. 

Work-study is a federally financed program that provides qualifying students money for their labor. Depending on the amount of the reward, a large portion of their work-study payroll doesn’t come out of the university’s pocket.

Before AC decided to quit, she attempted to receive work study by reaching out to the Financial Aid & Scholarship Office. 

“It was pretty difficult. I called them during drop-in hours and I waited on the phone for two and a half hours till I got a hold of someone,” AC said. “There was no reassurance from them that they would be able to help me.” 

Inconsistent work-study isn’t the only reason that students may not be offered hours. 

According to Bono, The library’s budget for the fiscal years 2025-2026 is set to reduce student employment spending by 24 percent. 

“The reduction this academic year was achieved by hiring fewer students and offering fewer total work hours,” shared John Bono, the associate university librarian in an email to City on a Hill Press. “No library student employees were laid off or lost their jobs as a result.”

Although there have been no direct job losses, the significant reduction has led to cuts to some employees’ hours. 

“I would say that it went from 20 to 25 hours a week to anywhere from 12 to 15,” said Freschtta Warres, a fourth-year student and employee of McHenry Library. “For me and a lot of my other coworkers, we had about one to two weeks to figure that out, or find another job to be able to make an income: to pay for our rent, to pay for our groceries, for all of these other things.”

According to Bono, this is just one part of many cutbacks made throughout the library this year. 

“The library has had to reduce its expenditures in every part of the budget, including library collections (i.e., books, journals, and databases), staff and librarian positions, facilities operations, and student employment,” he wrote in an email to City on a Hill Press. “The reduction in student employment funding is one component of these broader, library-wide budget cuts.”

It is unclear how many students currently work at the library and how that number will change moving forward. Regardless, with soaring Santa Cruz housing prices and recent restrictions in federal food support, the need for student employment opportunities is as evident as ever.