IMHO #2

Title: All internships should be paid by law

John Doe needs to complete an internship to graduate this summer. Knowing that the SJSU internship policy requires a 240-hour internship, he chooses to quit his job. Knowing that he was only going to find an unpaid internship, Doe saved up enough money to pay his rent for three months. Little did he know that he had to pay the school more than $1,000 to take the course...

This scenario has become a reality for many students at SJSU.

According to an article in the New York Times, 50 percent of college graduates had to do an internship to graduate, up from 17 percent in 1992.

Companies, especially during the current economic crisis, are taking advantage of the system by offering unpaid internships.

But the Labor Department is trying to save the day.

“If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” said Nancy J. Leppink, the acting director of the department’s wage and hour division, in the New York Times article.

Leppink's words aren't being taken seriously at SJSU. Most of my friends have done unpaid internships to graduate from SJSU. In fairness, internship adviser Bob Rucker did ask me if I was OK with working for free. He put the onus on me to make a decision if I wanted to fight the company, and I decided not to fight.

I shouldn't have to fight to get paid for doing work. The United States has long been known for improving its labor laws. But for some reason, this country has been slow to end the cycle of college students working like slaves.

According to the New York Times article, companies that made their unpaid interns do unskilled work in a non-academic environment are clearly against the law.

In other words, if all your employer made you do was do coffee runs for three months, you could try to sue the company if you were unpaid.

And even for those companies that do provide an academic environment to their interns, it's still anything but fair that they contribute to the success of your business and get no funds in return.

I realize that getting experience in your career field is often unmatched by any class or lab. Making college students do an internship before graduating makes sense in that regard.

But for many, the internship kicked out a potential employer so the company could have someone do the work for free.

Part of freedom is not being forced to do things for free. And having to pay to do an unpaid internship sounds a lot like slavery.

College students already go through enough hoops to pay for their education, and not getting paid for an internship shouldn't be one of them.