By Jonathan Smith, Managing Editor

Budget cuts across campus have caused some students workers to either lose their jobs or take reduced hours.

All workers in the Learning Enhancement Center could lose their jobs at the end of the semester if the LEC is cut.

Student workers were notified about the strong possibility of a cut when they met Jan. 12, the first day back to school, said Onita Hill, director of the LEC.

Jennifer Machin, graduate student in communication, said she “was a little shocked” by the decision.

Machin, who works 20 hours a week at the LEC, said she hopes to find another on-campus job this summer.

Hill said 28 student workers will lose their jobs as a result of this cut-five graduate students and 23 undergraduate. She said the students work an average of 12 hours per week.

Other departments are also feeling the effects of a tighter budget. Courtney Varner, sophomore English major from Abilene, said many students working in the office of Financial Aid have had their hours cut significantly this semester.

She said administrators in the department are now only allowed to have 10 student worker hours total, and some administrators have more than one worker.

As a result, Varner said, her hours were reduced from 15 to five; some students were told of the change Jan. 12.

“I was pretty upset. We know there’s a lot of student workers in financial aid; I just would have appreciated more notice so we could have gone out and found other jobs to offset the hours and money we lost.”