A handful of Nicholls students staged a peaceful protest Thursday. Here's why.

A small group of students staged a peaceful protest Thursday at Nicholls State University in hopes of persuading officials to offer higher pay to student workers on campus.

Around noon, eight students walked out of their classrooms and carried signs into the quad touting their cause.

Esperanza Sanchez, 22, a psychology major and head of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, was joined by a few of the group's roughly 30 members.

Student workers earn $7.25 an hour and are only allowed to work up to 20 hours a week, university officials confirmed. About 500 student workers, all considered part-time, are employed on campus for a variety of jobs in places such as the library, rec center, and daycare center.

While no student workers attended Thursday's protest, Sanchez and others who did said the workers' pay and hours are not enough to live on.

"No one is able to live off of $200 every two weeks," said sophomore biology major Emily Lubag.

The students said they realize enrollment, and the tuition it brings in, is down and that the state Legislature also has a say in how much money is available for public university salaries.

"We're basically using the campus as a means to get our voices out there and gain some traction so that way legislators will be able to hear us," Sanchez said. "There's just an inequality of salaries."

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Nicholls President Jay Clune was not immediately available for comment.

University spokesman Jerad David said the student workers are important to Nicholls.

"We value the work they do tremendously," David said.

He added that enrollment has declined from 6,239 last fall to 5,899 this semester and that budgets have been tight.

Nicholls used to receive 75% of its money from state taxes and 25% from student tuition. A few years ago, the state slashed the amounts it gave to universities and Nicholls flipped its model.

Nicholls also has to abide by state and federal guidelines when it sets student workers' pay, David said.

Vice President of Student Affairs Michele Caruso said the protest was perfectly peaceful and that the students have a right to express themselves that way. She said there are many ways for a student employee to report problems or concerns, including an online form on the university website.

"Students do have multiple avenues to report any concerns or grievances they may have," Caruso said, "even if their supervisor or any person that's involved doesn't respond."

This article originally appeared on Daily Comet: Why these Nicholls students staged a peaceful protest Thursday