Satire by Rosin: Dining Hall Employee Forced to Teach Labor Course

Valentine Dining Hall staff member Samuel Marcs was asked on Monday to fill a teaching vacancy in the Education Studies department as the college continues to struggle with employment shortages. “I’ve been assigned to teach EDST-145, ‘Work,’ on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a topic which I know nothing about,” Marcs said with a wink. “No potential job candidate wants to come here and have to prepare a continental breakfast in the morning and then lecture on labor unions in the afternoon. So at this rate, current dining hall employees will be working mid-level administrative positions by the end of the month.”

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, before lecturing on labor force participation, Marcs will complete a 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. dining hall shift serving scrambled eggs, sausage and pancakes. After leading student discussions on workplace conditions in minimum wage industries, he will return to Val to finish a two-hour lunch shift. Marcs will then hold office hours on the Main Quad from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. to discuss questions related to ethical management strategies before completing the day with a dinner shift that ends at 9 p.m. “I’m stretched too thin,” Marcs explained. “I can’t prepare superior herb-roasted chicken while also providing the research into exploitation of immigrant labor that’s now expected of me as a professor.”

Despite being named an adjunct professor in the Education Studies department, Marcs reported being compensated only in the form of a one-time $500 sign-on bonus, coupons to local restaurants, and a cotton tee-shirt from A.J. Hastings. He has also been asked to advise five thesis students whose research analyzes worker mistreatment in the restaurant industry. In response to his complaints about the extra work, the college assigned two members of the campus security team and custodial staff to serve as the course’s teaching assistants.