The DASB Senate unanimously voted to oppose the new student employment policies that have been implemented by the Foothill-De Anza district, at the senate meeting Wednesday Jan. 15.

The new policies require student employees to be enrolled in at least 12 units each quarter and have no more than 150 units accumulated in total at De Anza College.

The district did not consult with students and created the employment guidelines last Spring, effective since Fall 2013.

Samba Njie, a worker at the Student Success Center, said at the meeting that the 12 unit minimum and 150 unit maximum infringes on students’ ability to have a job on campus.

Some student employees sometimes are forced to drop a class due to personal issues and fall below the 12 unit minimum required to be employed, said Njie.

Twenty-five percent of students who were employed in the fall withdrew from classes and were terminated immediately.

“I really think this is an unfair rule,” said George Robles, associate coordinator of the Extended Opportunities Program and Services at De Anza College.

Several student employees were at the meeting to talk about their personal experiences and the hardships they face as a result of the new regulations.

They explained that tutors have to be experienced in their subjects and to attain that, they must take several different classes which makes it easy to accumulate high amounts of units.

The district decided to create the new employment policy as a way of preventing students from keeping their jobs permanently, co-director of the Student Success Center Diana Alves de Lima said.

They were concerned with students working full time and only taking one or two classes in order to qualify for employment, Alves de Lima said.

“It’s kind of ridiculous that this policy was made without consulting students at all,” DASB President Stacie Rowe said.

“If they’re going to affect students they need to consult them,” Rowe said. “Everyone I’ve talked to has not been a fan of it.”

A meeting was scheduled for Jan. 18 with De Anza President Murphy and senior staff to discuss their positions.