Sometimes the work is valuable to the student and the organization, for one reason or another has no funds to pay for it. An unpaid internship can be more valuable to a student than paying for a course.

For instance my students (I teach law) often get (and value) internships with federal judges – who have no money to hire them. Or pro bono organizations doing work the student likes. Most of those organizations provide free or low-cost services to the poor.

Nobody forces them to work for free. But I agree, there’s also the possibility of exploitation, and Jess raises an important point. I have no knowledge, and therefore no opinion, whether on balance the unpaid internships posted on ARSC tend to the exploitation or the valuable side.

Lofty

> On Mar 7, 2018, at 11:49 AM, Adrian Cosentini <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Good point. I personally find unpaid internships a bit immoral. Why should a person work for free?
> Adrianhttp://www.sawneybean.com/AudioTransformations/
>
>
>
> On Mar 7, 2018, at 10:52 AM, jess lamar reece holler <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I would suggest this list-serv not forward unpaid internship listings
> because of the privilege they assume and the injustices they continue to
> perpetuate in the field. Full stop.
>
> Allied cultural work organizations like the National Council on Public
> History and American Association of State and Local History have recently
> taken up such stances and now refuse to list unpaid internships on their
> job boards. If more professional organizations like ARSC take a stand, it
> will help to change a culture and to make our field more accessible to the
> diverse practitioners we say we welcome. Submitted for consideration.
>
> On Wednesday, March 7, 2018, Marcos Sueiro Bal <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
> Please share: Internship position at New York Public Radio Archives
>
> **WITH APOLOGIES FOR CROSS-POSTING**
>
> The NYPR Archives, which holds the assets for stations WNYC and WQXR, is
> seeking an unpaid summer intern. You can view the details of the position
> here:
> http://jobs.jobvite.com/newyork-public-radio/job/oyx36fwY
>
>
> Marcos Sueiro Bal|Archives Manager
> New York Public Radio
> T: 646.829.4063|F: 646.829.4146|E: [log in to unmask]<mailto:
> [log in to unmask]>
> Library catalog: http://cavafy.wnyc.net<http://cavafy.wnyc.net/>
> Follow our blog: http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/archives/
>
>
>
>
> --
> *Jess Lamar Reece Holler*
> Public & Community-Based Folklorist & Oral Historian
> Caledonia Northern Folk Studios -- Caledonia & Columbus, Ohio
> oldelectricity [at] gmail [dot] com
> tel. 614.273.5907
>
> "Later there might be goldenrod, but let it come."