Sunday, July 18, 19 99 O akville B eaver Weekend Sum m er jobs pay many dividends Hello, summer! Two whole months with no school. With no homework to finish or tests to study for; just think of all that spare time for students every where. Time to unwind, have a blast, party like it's 1999. Then again, with all that spare time, it's a perfect opportunity to pick up some spare cash. With this in mind, thousands of high school students decide to find part-time jobs, at least for the summer. The part-time job idea isn't as convenient as it seems. Since everyone else is trying to find a summer job (including university students coming home for the summer), the supply of jobs isn't nearly as great as the demand. There isn't a great availability for part-time jobs for high school students to start with. Our limited qualifications don't allow us much more in the way of employ ment than fast food, retail, and service jobs. Even with this, part- HEY! Stephanie MacLellan time student workers usually end up doing the "leftover" work; the jobs that the full-time workers don't have time for, or can't be bothered to do. And all this for minimum wage, or slightly better. I talked to a friend of mine who works for one of the most popular fast food chains in this country. Along with taking out the garbage at all hours of the day and night, the part-time staff receive their minimum wage salaries by cleaning floors and baking equipment with hazardous substances. For instance, the oven is cleaned with a corrosive solution, and employees are only given flimsy plastic gloves to protect their hands. Besides this, part time counter staff are the first rep resentatives of the company that are seen, so they are the ones to get yelled at by disgruntled cus tomers when something goes wrong, even though they often have nothing to do with it. As for the service industry, a friend of mine works in a well- known Oakville establishment as a hostess. The waitresses make the big money, but since she's under 19, she's not allowed to serve alcohol. As a hostess, she still gets her share of tips. "Guys tip me $5 to rack up the pool tables for them," she told me. "It's kind of degrading, because you know they're only doing it to get a look at your butt." Then there's the quintessential summer job: the lifeguard. While lifeguards make pretty good money, they earn it by facing seri ous health hazards. Imagine spending eight hours straight in the sun nearly every day, during the hottest and brightest part of day, during the hottest and bright est part of the year. No amount of sunscreen or water will have much of an effect in those condi tions. Students working part-time jobs deserve every penny of their salaries and a lot more respect for the work they do in their spare time. Most people don't think about all the hard work and sacri fice given by the part-time work ers when they order their coffee or go for a swim. Summer employment does provide some very insightful experiences. Perhaps, the most important one is that it lets stu dents see first-hand the type of jobs that exist for people without high school diplomas. Working at jobs like these will definitely encourage student workers to stay in school. Stephanie M acLellan is an Oakville high school student, her column will appear on a bi-w eek ly basis. haltonsearch.comi at Appleby College • Drawing • Painting • • Pottery • Video • A summer day camp for creative kids 5-15+ yrs. old Space still available for the week of July 26 For more information contact Barbara Eadie at 905- 845-8070 • Art • Creativity • Pride • Joy • • Confidence • Growth • Fun • 6 Q 0 0 ANY FILM ANY TIME CINEPLEX ODEON CINEMAGUIDE Show times effective Juh 16 • Ju l\ 22.1999 OAKVILLE MEWS ^Tr^T 171 SPEERS AT KERR STREET 844-4800 SH A KESPEAR E M LOVE (AA) FW . MON.-THUFtS.: 6:50,9:10; SAT.-SUN.: (1:00), 630,9:10_________ 1 0 TH IN G S I H A TE A B O U T YO U (PG) FflL MON.-THURS. 730; SAT. - SUN. (1:40), 730 NEVER B EEN K ISSED (PG) FFL, M0N.-THURS. 7:10,930; SAT.-StJN. (130), 7:10,930 (PG) FFL, M0N.-THJRS, 730,930; SAT.-SUN. (1:10), 730,930 TH E TM R TE E N TH FLO OR (AA) FBL, M0N.-THURS. 7:00,930; SAT.-SUN. (130), 730,930 FRL-THUFK.: 9:40 TO O A K V 111 E H Y D R O E FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS presents m m m m mi . .V : : y : p 5 " . w P O n l By D irected by Costum e & S et D esign by Lighting D esign by Oakvil/e Ticket Outlets: The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, 130 Navy Street Bookers Bookstore, 172 Lakeshore Rd. E. Tickets $ 1 3 General Admission 905-815-2021 ... . Mon. to Sat 8:00 pm at CORONATION PARK Lakeshore Rd (East of 3rd Line) TICKETS $13 General Admission G ra p tirc d e s k jn c o u rte s y o t GREEN U G H T G R A PH IC S M a sk c o u rte s y o f W IN O SO N G S A N D R AIN B O W S ROYAL BANK FIN A N C IA L GRO UP'Tint ffaltcntsST. LAWRENCECEM ENTr a nm M m Li lk Stephanie MacLellan haltonsearch.comi E FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS presents CORONATION PARK