From Dishes To Viruses, Etcetera

For Marie Sullivan '79 it meant going from a $2.75 an hour dull job in the music library to a better paying, more interesting spot as a research assistant in the psychology department--a big change for a psych major who admits "knowing nothing about music."

Aldo Badini '80 hopes to use the new requirements to bid a welcome farewell to dishwashing and find a new job a little more to his liking.

Lawrence Pliss '77 has been doing research for his thesis at the Medical School. With the help of the work-study office, he'll get transportation money plus a little pay to isolate the virus on which he is working.

Such good fortune comes as the result of an additional $143,000 in federal grants the University received last week for its financially-impaired College Work-Study Program.

The Department of Health, Education and Welfare money means about 350 additional work-study slots--more than doubling the 200 jobs the program could pay for last fall.

During the fall term, only those students whose parents contributed less than $500 to their term bills were eligible for work study. With the federal grants--which went separately to Harvard and Radcliffe--the parents' contribution ceiling was raised to $1500 for spring term work-study.

The HEW allocation provides a particularly needed shot in the arm because budget overruns had put the program in serious financial straits. The Work-Study Office had spent more than half of its 1976-77 budget on summer work-study funding.

The University received the grants from the regional HEW office after applying for work-study funds other schools had not spent. The application for such funds is a standard one, but Lawrence E. Maguire '58, director of student employment, was surprised at the size of the grants.

Last October he speculated that the midyear application would net work-study about $25,000--almost $120,000 less than the program actually received.

Only about 120 students went into the student employment office to confirm their new eligibility last week, which leaves plenty of money left for the employment office to dish out.