Students and employees at American University on Tuesday said although this year’s presidential election seems more contentious than those in the past, voting still should be a priority.
Most agreed voting is an important part of being an American citizen, and said those refusing to vote in an election is a disservice.
“Crazy presidents happen when people don’t vote,” said George Howard, 18, who will vote in his first election in November.
Kathryn Ray, 65, an American University library researcher and former president of the League of Women Voters, said voters may never find a perfect candidate, but said voters should look for “one that best represents you.”
Ray empathizes with younger voters who may be dissatisfied with this year’s top two presidential candidates.
A Quinnipiac University poll from June showed among millennial voters, third party candidates were gaining ground against the two major parties, but still 6 percent of them said they’d stay home rather than cast a ballot.
But Pam Rivers-Salisbury, an 18-year-old American University student, won’t be among that number.
People walk on American University’s campus Wednesday, July 13. Photo credit Olivia Azulay.
“Everyone should vote,” Rivers-Salisbury said. “If someone tells me they’re voting for [Donald] Trump, I don’t care. I’d be proud of them for voting.”
Jennie Yu uses an organic waste bin in the McKinley Building at American University. Photo credit Samaa Eldadah.
Four years away from its goal of “Climate Neutrality” but with some students skipping participation in its greening efforts, American University has pledged to continue its sustainability efforts on campus.
Students and staff interviewed this week said the university’s commitment to environmental issues on campus including composting, recycling and the maintenance of a community garden makes it a leader in the nation.
The university “is doing a pretty good job,” said Liam Toohey, 35, who works at the Bender Library on campus.
In April, AU signed Second Nature’s Climate Commitment, a document that reaffirms the school’s goal of climate neutrality. Second Nature assists colleges and universities nationwide with efforts to become more sustainable. The document emphasizes higher education’s role in sustainability.
Signatories “believe firmly in the power, potential, and imperative of higher education’s key role in shaping a sustainable society,” according to the document.
Five months earlier, AU joined more than 300 colleges and universities in signing the White House’s American Campuses Act on Climate agreement.
The Zero Waste Policy AU adopted in 2010 also prompted the establishment of AU’s Zero Waste Club, a group of students that takes initiative in reducing campus landfill waste, as their name explains, to zero. AU’s Zero Waste Policy has called for “reducing and diverting 100 percent of the university’s waste stream.”
Most buildings on campus, offer four different ways to dispose of materials. These include bins for organic waste, trash headed for landfills, glass and plastic recycling and paper.
But, not all students pay attention to the separate bins, and that may jeopardize whether composting materials–food waste, napkins and other biodegradable materials–are treated as environmentalists hope. In the past, the University has had issues finding a composting facility that accepts mixed materials from the bins.
“People need to pay attention,” to composting bins, said Fabiola Lizardi-Clemente,17.
Allie Goldsmith, 19, a barista at the Dav, a coffee shop in the School of International Service, noted that it has been going green for as long as she can remember, and said many students at SIS do a good job paying attention to environmental issues.
“People are more conscious here,” Goldsmith said.
A sign at the coffee shop read, “SAVE the WORLD, use a MUG! Take it ANYWHERE but please, please, PLEASE bring it back to the DAV.” Another sticker pasted at the shop said, “We proudly serve TAP WATER.”
Tucked behind the SIS building, down a narrow gravel pathway, is an herb and vegetable garden, an effort by AU’s Arboretum and Gardens team to promote consumption of locally grown produce.
The garden, according to Toohey, is open to all AU faculty, and is filled with herbs from “Stir-fry Thai Basil” to “Simply Salsa Cilantro.” Other plants include curly kale and blackberry bushes.
The School of International Service building, which is LEED-certified, is renowned on campus for being a “green place.” That means its better at reducing water and energy usage.
Other buildings, like the Kogod School of Business and the Mary Graydon Center, have green roofs, helping to cut down on water runoff and boost “energy efficiency,” according to the university’s website.
A man walks towards the McKinley Building on American University campus while playing Pokemon Go. Photo credit Fletcher Peters.
“Pokémon Go”has been sweeping the world’s attention and in Washington, D.C. students, professors and parents are among the millions using the app who are trying to catch ‘em all.
Players are tasked with finding Pokémon in an augmented reality with the creatures popping up on screen as they walk. The object is to catch as many Pokémon as possible, with some having more value than others.
District residents said the surge in play this week has been noticeable.
“I saw teenage boys at a park for the first time in my life,” said Aiyana Riddihough, 20, a new “Pokémon Go” user and Washington University student. “I think that’s pretty good.”
While “Pokémon Go” has encouraged players to step outside and explore their neighborhoods, it also has brought risks. The National Safety Council released on Tuesday a statement citing concerns noting people walking and driving while using the app may be putting themselves and others at risk.
“It takes people out of their environment, but also puts them in it,” said J.T. Tubbs, 21, a camp counselor at American University.
A large difference between “Pokémon Go” and other games is the freedom it presents to its users, according to Patrick Flynn, an American University adjunct instructor of film and media arts. While some applications may punish you for not checking up regularly, “Pokémon Go” allows players to catch Pokémon whenever they like.
A woman at American University captures a Pokemon saying she wants to best her sons’ scores. Photo credit Fletcher Peters.
“As the game gets on and as hierarchies develop as they always seem to do, that’s when we’ll start to see what the real problems are,” said Flynn, who said with more time more issues might arise.
The future of “Pokémon Go” may change with the beginning of the school year. High school students won’t have the same amount of time to play, however, college students will return to campuses flooded with Pokémon.
“You could, theoretically, see fraternities or clubs setting up lures and using that as a way to meet people and expand their membership, in a very organic, social way,” Flynn said.
For now, “Pokémon Go” attracts users from many backgrounds. Players don’t need prior knowledge, but for those Pokémon fans the game is like a dream come true.
“I’m obsessed,” said Dylan Kenney, 21, while catching a Pokémon on the table at a campus cafe. “I’ve played Pokémon for years, and now I can actually catch a Venonat in Starbucks.”
Citizens stand in protest of current minimum wage at the time in California in 2016. Photo by Ross D. Franklin, AP.
In early June, D.C. officials promised a $15 minimum wage for low-income workers, according to the Washington Post. The “Fight for $15” movement has been campaigning for years, rallying for higher wages in American businesses across the country.
The movement has seen victories in New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Carolina, D.C., and other states and territories, according to the National Employment Law Project.
The most recent of the campaign’s successes, that of Washington, D.C., presents a significant potential shift in the area’s economy. The concept has sparked mass debate because of the potential effects of higher wages.
Expatistan states that Washington, D.C. is the third most expensive city in the United States. With D.C.’s high cost of living, the raise in wages opens a world of possibilities for impoverished individuals and low-income households; however, the raise could also lead to the downfall of several local stores or restaurants, critics claim.
Katrina Jenifer, supervisor at a Tenleytown Best Buy, says that the raise in wages won’t significantly affect some established businesses like Best Buy. According to Jenifer, since most Best Buy employees are already earning more than minimum wage, the staff will see hardly any effect.
Whereas larger businesses such as Best Buy may not be put under pressure after the wage raise takes effect, many speculate that chains like McDonald’s may feel the strain since many of their employees are paid minimum wage.
Jenifer suggests that employees at smaller businesses such as restaurants or supermarkets will be more affected by the wage raise, meaning people of all ages will be exposed to the benefits and drawbacks of the change.
“The typical minimum wage worker is not a high school student earning weekend pocket money,” the United States Department of Labor found. The department says 89 percent of people who would be affected by the wage rage are 20 years or older.
Defenders of the wage raise use this as a main reason to support the change–adults with low-income jobs will be able to better care for their families.
“…the current minimum wage leaves too many families in poverty,” says Heather Boushey of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. “[Earning federal minimum wage] puts a single adult just barely above poverty. But if that worker has to support any other people—such as a child—then this family would be living below the U.S. poverty threshold.”
At the beginning of 2016, the lowest state minimum wage was $4.63 (average of federal and state minimum wage) in Oklahoma, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage and working 40 hours a week would have an annual salary of $15,080. The average annual cost of living for a single adult in America is $28,474, CareerTrends says. Many argue that federal minimum wage is not enough to live on.
The visual above displays the comparison between annual income and cost of living in the U.S. The data assumes that all adults earn federal minimum wage and work 40 hours a week.
Local businesses that cannot afford to pay their workers more than the current federal minimum wage may suffer if their states vote to raise the wage. Management at the Blue Scoop, a locally owned ice cream shop in Delaware, feels that a wage raise would be too much for their business to handle.
Support a living wage but raising minimum wage in DE to over $10 an hour? My small seasonal business will have a hard time absorbing that
Washington, D.C.’s minimum wage will be gradually rising in the future, reaching $15 by 2020 according to the Washington Post. Economic effects will follow.
Demonstrators prepare signs supporting the raising of the federal minimum wage during May Day demonstrations in New York May 1, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
The D.C City Council approved a gradual minimum wage increase to $15 an hour by 2020 on June 27, 2016. On July 1 the minimum wage was raised to $11.50 an hour, which will start the gradual increase. D.C. joins 10 other states, like California and New York, that plan to gradually increase their minimum wage.
The vote will increase the minimum wage in D.C by 70%, and will become the highest minimum wage in the country by 2020, when the increase will end. The lowest minimum wage is Wyoming, at $5.15 an hour, and there are no plans as of now to increase the Wyoming minimum wage.
Minimum wage rates for states compared to the federal minimum wage. EMAZE
The D.C City Council, known by their democratic and progressive actions, was on track to pass the bill ever since it was introduced in 2015. Moreover, President Obama released a press statement after the vote to raise the minimum wage came through saying, “I commend the District of Columbia, Mayor Muriel Bowser, and the Council of the District of Columbia for raising the District’s minimum wage. Since my first call to raise wages in 2013, 18 states and D.C have taken action- action that will help over 7 million Americans.”
Meanwhile, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, agrees the minimum wage should be increased, but not so suddenly and not by so much. Her campaign site notes that Clinton supports a gradual raise of the minimum wage to $12 an hour. She supports movements like the one in New York, where a law was signed to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour while the economic effects are monitored.
On the other hand, Donald Trump, presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has stated that he will keep the minimum wage where it is now if he is elected president. On August 20, 2015 he stated, “having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country.” According to his platform, Donald Trump says he will bring more jobs to America, which will wipe out the need for an increase of the minimum wage.
While some agree with the views of Trump and Clinton, some disagree. Kenneth Rambertt, D.C resident, said that “the minimum wage should be raised, what’s the harm? This is America!” Rambertt described how he worked for Johnsons for $7 an hour and said he was “a slave for them.” Many other Americans agree that the importance of the U.S economy partly hinges on the minimum wage ceiling.
The Pew Research Center found that 84% of Americans cite the economy as a “very important” issue when deciding on who to support in the upcoming election. Moreover, 80% of Clinton supporters cite that the economy is important to their vote, versus 90% of Trump supporters.
The nation-wide movement to raise the minimum wage will surely affect the presidential race. The decision to support or reject the increase in the wage will affect voters decision to support a candidate, as many citizens look to the economy as a key deciding factor in their vote.
DC’s city council members voted unanimously to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020 on June 7th. The law that was passed includes a year-by-year plan of how the district will reach the $15 wage, increasing it as each year passes until 2020.
Washington DC is known for having the biggest pay gap in the whole country, according to New York magazine, and supporters of the minimum wage raise agree that a $15 minimum is needed to help close the income gap in DC and larger cities.
According to the “Fight for $15” movement, minimum wage, workers are “forced to live in poverty” despite their hard work, which is why they strike and work in hundreds of cities throughout North America and the world.
Fight for $15 movement supporters advocate for the increase of minimum wage to $15 per hour at a rally on Capitol Hill. April 22, 2015 Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Jonathan, a physicist and staff scientist at AU, believes businesses will have to “rethink the way they are organized but corporate entities will definitely survive.” He also believes the federal government should “guarantee a minimum income, not wage, based on the area.”
As of July 1st, DC has the highest minimum wage in the country at $10.50, while the lowest minimum wage is $5.15 in Georgia and Wyoming, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Others think raising the minimum wage will relieve the stress of worrying about making ends meet at the end of the month with rent and other expenses – like Jackie, a cashier at AU’s Eagle’s Nest and Christine, a professor at AU.
On the other hand, small business owners are worried this decision may have a negative impact on their community. Carolina Story, co-owner of Straw Stick & Brick delicatessen (DC) told The Daily Signal the minimum wage raise “puts a big stop on little startups like ours.” Other small business owners are afraid they might have to reduce their staff or make major changes within the business in order to stay afloat.
Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office released a video on their official YouTube channel announcing the deal with Fight for $15 movement in which she states the raise of the minimum wage for the District.
According to USA Today, Washington, D.C., is the third wealthiest city in America. However, a high income leads to high living expenses and USA Today goes on to report that the cost of a “comfortable” life in D.C. is $108,092 annually. The high cost of living in the city is one of the driving factors behind the council’s decision to increase the minimum wage.
Some who oppose the raise in wage believe that the increase will cause the expenses for living in the city to increase as well. Tyon Britton, store associate of Ace Hardware, disagrees because “the cost of living in the city is already sky high.” Britton supports the council’s decision because he believes it is “good for a lot of people, especially people who don’t have a lot of education.”
#ConservativeBecause raising the minimum wage won’t raise retirement checks, but it’ll raise the prices of everything else.
Both states contain a city or cities included in USA Today’s list of the ten wealthiest cities in America. The trend of wealthy areas having high minimum wages is also exhibited by CNBC’s list of the ten most expensive states to live in. Of the ten states, New Jersey has the lowest minimum wage and it is still the sixteenth highest in the country.
Minimum wage is one of the primary issues confronting candidates in the 2016 election. Presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) changes positions on the issue fairly often, however, according to The Politics and Elections Portal, he has said that “[w]e can’t have a situation where our labor is so much more expensive than other countries’ that we can no longer compete.”
Candidate Bernie Sanders (D), on the other hand, strongly supports an increase in the federal minimum wage. On Friday he won a $15 minimum wage amendment to the Democratic platform, according to Newsday.
Fellow candidate and Democrat Hillary Clinton also supports the increase, according to The Politics and Elections Portal. She has voiced her support for the Fight for 15 campaign and finds the minimum wage for tipped workers especially unfair “because it is assumed that they’re gonna make all this money on tips.”
Demonstrators gather in front of a McDonald’s restaurant to call for an increase in minimum wage on April 13th, 2015 in Chicago. SCOTT OLSON/GETTYIMAGES.
The $15 per hour minimum wage measure, which is called “Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2016” by petitioners and was not put on the ballot for voters in Washington D.C. The city council aims to raise the minimum wage to $15 by the year 2020, and this initiative was met with encouragement from supporters, who recently saw a wage increase from $10.50 to $11.50 in D.C.
This victory for the “Fight for $15” campaign is viewed by minimum wage workers and non-minimum wage workers as both positive and negative.
Alle Goldsmith, 19, is a student at D.C.’s American University who works at a coffee shop inside the campus; She believes that “it’s good and bad,” because “more people are gonna be able to afford all their lives’ necessities, but it will make the job market more competitive.” The journalism student makes $12.50 an hour, and she can safely state that “for students, it’s very beneficial,” since it ‘’makes it so you can work and study.”
What the D.C. Council decided still needs to be confirmed by a final vote, and it seemingly forestalled a November ballot measure, which would have raised the minimum wage to $15 for all workers, even waiters and such workers who receive tips.
Sue Anti, a D.C. resident, when asked whether she believes that the fight for a higher minimum wage will become a nation-wide trend, she responded by saying that “anything’s possible, but there is a lot of opposition to it, I don’t know that it will.” Although it may not affect her community, Anti agrees that “if people can afford a living by working then they will try harder to get jobs,” which would make the job market more competitive than it is now.
The D.C. Council’s proposal would increase wages for approximately 114,000 working people, which would be around 14 percent of all D.C. workers, as well as more than one-fifth of D.C. private-sector workers. When the minimum wage reaches $15, affected workers will earn roughly $2,900 more per year than they did before.
As stated in California’s “Fair Wage Act of 2016″, the sole purpose of the proposal is “to ensure that workers receive wages that will financially support them and their families,“ in order to improve the quality of life in across the United States.
Taking into account the possible repercussions of this decision, it will take “a lot of re-calibrating the budget,” as stated by Garrett Schlichte, an event coordinator at the American University. Given the high standard of living within Washington D.C. and the rising inflation within the nation, which went up 1 percent year-on-year in May of 2016, this change is one that Schlichte would “much rather figure out how to accommodate… than [any] other change.’
The city council of the District of Columbia confirmed that it would increase the minimum wage within the area over the next couple of years.
The “Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2016” works to modify the “Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 1992.” As a result of this act, which was signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser on June 7th, 2016, the city’s minimum wage will increase over the next several years. This growth will last until 2020, when it reaches a rate of $15 an hour.
Photo by 123RF.com
Many are in support of the policy, holding that workers deserve to be paid more for their work, and that people in low paying jobs require more wealth in order to sustain themselves and lift them up out of poverty.
“I think it’s fair for people to be compensated and get the credit that they deserve,” says Joanna Sobieski, a graduate of American University’s School of Communication.
The primary focus of those in favor of the policy is making the new minimum wage a “livable wage,” in which someone can support his or herself without the need for outside assistance, which some believe would consequently decrease the cost of the welfare system on the government.
According to the “Living Wage Increase Notice of 2016” signed by Director of the D.C. Department of Employment Services, Deborah A. Carroll, states that the “livable wage” in the D.C. area is $13.85 as of January 1st.
While some support of the act, others are concerned about its potential consequences. “Some businesses will struggle to give higher wages to their workers and will have to shift their priorities,” says Max Leopold, an American University student in favor of the new policy.
Due to the increased cost in hiring workers that would result from the act, some people think that some businesses will be forced to fire some of their employees, forcing them into even more severe levels of poverty. Another possibility is that companies will raise the prices of their products in order to make up for their lost revenue, increasing the cost of living substantially. Others claim that when the minimum wage workers get a pay increase it will result in everyone who previously earned more them will also desire a raise in salary, increasing the severity of the previously stated issues.
One interesting factor to minimum wage laws is that for jobs in which employees are permitted to accept tips the minimum wage is much lower. This is because the gratuities payed by the consumer to the worker is meant to supplement their income at the cost of a higher wage. As a result, the minimum wage of employees who receive tips from consumers will be $5 instead of $15 by the year 2020.
Because of the new policy, Washington D.C. currently has a higher minimum wage than any state in the country. This is because more densely populated regions have higher costs, thus workers require a much higher income than in more rural areas. As a result, the local government institutes a higher minimum wage than the state’s mandated amount in order to ensure better that employees are fairly compensated relative to the common expenses of people living in the region.
In an action that has been years in the making, the DC council voted on July 22 to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The decision was unanimous.
This culmination of the “Fight for Fifteen” campaign, a movement aiming for a higher minimum wage to meet the costs of living. As elections press on, new topics are thrust to the forefront of public political attention, and this year minimum wage had become a hot button issue. Coupled with the aforementioned movement, the election cycle has prompted actions such as this to occur across the nation. The raise could send ripple effects throughout the not only this area but the entire nation as well.
Robert Wideman, a maintenance mechanic at McDonalds Corp., shines the shoes of a Ronald McDonald statue outside of a restaurant while protesting with fast-food workers and supporters organized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Fight for 15 began in New York City when a few hundred minimum wage fast food workers decided to strike for $15 and hour pay and union rights. The movement has since ballooned into a nationwide rally, and, according to a takepart.com article on the issue, its goal has been attained in not only New York but also California and now D.C. as well.
The election cycle further set the wheels into motion on minimum wage legislation. Especially on the Democratic side of the primaries, minimum wage has been deeply discussed and debated.
With a portion of the national voting demographic being minimum wage workers themselves, and, according to raisetheminimumwage.com, the group behind the Fight for 15 movement,71% of voters support increases in minimum wage.
“The process shows that our candidates are considering it a relevant issue, it’s a prevalent part of what’s going on in the city,” Sport and Health front desk minimum wage worker Noah Marcus said.
According to governing.com, a government economic database, there are 4,000 registered people currently in D.C. who are working for the current minimum wage or lower. The change will give all of the people raises by placing D.C.’s future minimum wage higher than every state’s current minimum wage; the closest to it is Florida, which is only at a $10.50 minimum wage.
From the lower level up, many are lead to believe a domino effect could be incurred through the ranks of the economic hierarchy; placing upward pressure on the wages of those currently slotted above the minimum wage baseline. “When the minimum wage goes up everything starts to go up,” Jimmy John’s general manager Brandon Scott said.
Infographic depicting the schedule the minimum wage increase. Infographic by Peter Hechler
The upward trend could spread to realms outward of pay grades as well. With the increasing cost of employment businesses will be forced to take measures to continue to maintain a profitable site. “I’m going to have to raise my prices; the prices raises will determine how much labor I have to cut.” Scott said.
While the resulting effects of the new wage raise are an uncertainty, change is an inevitability. Decade-long rumblings on the issue are bubbling up into tangible differences, finding out exactly what those differences will accumulate to is an activity reserved for 2020.
