The minimum wage—something Virginia has neglected for far too long. Yes, our commonwealth is in desperate need of a minimum wage increase, and we’re about to get it. But it might not be as great as you think.

SB 7, proposed by Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax), is a piece of legislation that raises the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour on January 1, 2021, to $10.50 on July 1, 2022, and to $11.50 on July 1, 2023. For following years, the bill includes measures of raising the minimum wage based on regions.

However, SB 7 itself is not the problem. The problem is the amendments…or one amendment in particular to be exact. Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) introduced several amendments to the bill before it passed in the Senate of Virginia. The most troubling of these amendments changed the bill so employers would not be required to pay students under the age of 22 the minimum wage.

Obviously, as a 20-year-old student, this amendment raises a lot of concern for me. At first glance it seems like nothing more than an attack on students. Why is my work less valuable than anyone else’s?

“I was put in charge of finding 21 votes to get a minimum wage increase through the Senate.  This amendment was necessary to get enough votes on board. The alternative was getting no minimum wage increase at all.  I supported the bill prior to amendments, and I will support whatever has the votes to become law,” Senator Surovell said in response to my request for a comment.

But his response raises more questions. If this amendment was integral to the bill passing, that means at least one Democratic State Senator wanted to make sure students were not paid fairly.

Not only could this lead to the disenfranchisement of lower income students, but it could also lead to their exploitation. And in turn, that could lead to the disenfranchisement of the older workforce. A business owner is far less likely to hire a struggling mother for minimum wage than a student he can exploit for less.

However, just because this is the bill that passed through the senate, it doesn’t mean that it will become law. The House of Delegates still needs to vote on the bill, and they can amend it again before passing it.

Students are among our society’s most vulnerable. Why should we exacerbate their problems instead of working to solve them?