Lawsuits debate legality of unpaid internships

Like many students, junior Desere’ Cross is feeling pressured to find a summer internship.

As she chooses between different locations and positions, she’s considering one factor above all else — money.

“I wouldn’t do an unpaid internship again,” said Cross, a public relations major who has completed two internships during the past two summers.

“I’m spoiled,” she added.

Summer internships can offer professional experience with little or no monetary reward, a reality that Ray Angle, director of University Career Services, said is a common concern among students.

Unpaid internships have recently received national attention amid the filing of several lawsuits concerned with their legality, Angle said. The Department of Labor has guidelines for what can legally be considered an unpaid internship, he added.

Angle said a survey given to graduating seniors in 2012 showed that 72 percent of graduates said they had completed at least one internship.

Most students who pursue internships can’t get assistance from the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, said Dan Thornton, associate director of the office.

“Unless they are a scholarship recipient already of a merit scholarship, we really don’t have anything available,” Thornton said.

He said because a large portion of internships take place over the summer when students aren’t taking classes, they’re unable to receive financial aid.

“Students have to be enrolled for money to be dispersed into their student account,” Thornton said.

But Angle said there are many ways students can find support on campus that would allow them to take on an unpaid internship.

“Many offices like ours provide stipends and funding,” Angle said.

Career Services offers two internship stipend programs — one for transfer students and one for students pursuing arts and non-profit internships.

Jacquie Gist, assistant director of Career Services, said that, for the latter program, the students receive $500 to $1,000 to pursue unpaid internships. She said students can only apply for the stipend if they have applied or been accepted to an arts-based or non-profit internship.

Gist said 23 students received the non-profit and arts internship stipend last year. This year’s applications for the stipend should be available this month, Gist said.

Laura Lane, assistant director of Career Services and liaison to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said financial concerns shouldn’t stand in the way of gaining professional experience.

“A lot of students get a part-time internship and a part-time job over the summer,” Lane said. “I encourage a lot of students to do something like that — to balance that paid opportunity with that unpaid opportunity.”

Cross, whose internships were both communications-based, said students face a tough decision when looking for internships.

“Especially during the summer when you have the options of having a job and getting paid, you have to decide what’s more important — experience or money,” Cross said.

“Some students need the money.”

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