Many people do not realize there are questions employers cannot ask when signing off on a job application.

Though it may seem each application asks nearly the same questions, tiny differences can set a question apart as illegal.

Julia Sherlock, Central Michigan University’s Career Services director, warns students to be careful as illegal questions can lead to job discrimination.

“Anything of a personal nature that’s out of the basic qualifications that they say you need for the job is typically out of bounds,” she said.

Sherlock said, however, that illegal questions are not as common today as they may have been years ago.

“I can’t even believe, especially in these days, that anything illegal would be on an application. There is very little mistakes on the employers ends,” she said. “It’s not a perfect world, but it’s certainly not acceptable.”

Boise State University Career Center has listed some illegal questions that specifically cannot be asked.

For example, employers cannot specifically ask  “Are you a U.S. citizen?”, “How old are you?”, “What is your marital status?”, “Do you need an accommodation to perform the job?” or “Have you ever been arrested?”

Brian Partie, associate director of Career Services, said students should do some background research before setting out on a job hunt.

“We always encourage students to thoroughly investigate what the job is that they’re applying for,” he said. “The truth is we haven’t had too many situations with students.”

On many applications employers ask people to fill out information regarding their race for filling purposes only. Though most say that it is optional, applicants are never legally obliged to do it, Sherlock said.

Mount Pleasant senior Kathleen Sheahan-Stahl said she did not realize certain questions are off-limits, but sometimes still on applications.

“They’re trying to just make you fill it out without having to make you do it,” she said. “They’re being very tricky.”

“The problem is that we just don’t know,” said Mary Ann Crawford, director of the Writing Center and a professor of English. “The Writing Center works on a tight budget already. So any cuts will affect the Writing Center.”

Reggie Becker, director of the Math Assistance Center, also is waiting for the announcement of a change-up in funds.

With Wilbur asking for departmental reports with scenarios of 3, 6 and 9 percent cuts prepared for her review, Crawford said if it happens, students on staff will be affected.

“I would be thoroughly upset,” she said. “Overall, I have nothing but good things to say about the writing and math centers.”

But to the employees of The Cabin, 930 W. Broomfield St., this day means some serious business.

“Right now, we’re cranking it. We’ll (make) 100-120 pizzas in a hour,” said general manager Leon Drake. “It’s one of my busiest days. We have to staff 15 to 20 percent more staffing.”

The crowd packed The Cabin wall to wall from 5 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, so much that people were forced to stand.

While it was packed, many of them were enjoying the tasteful art of 25 year-old pizza cook Josh Borgerding and his fellow coworkers.

“We take pride in our food. We try to make the same (pizza) for everybody,” the Mount Pleasant resident said. “That’s a huge thing that we push for. I am actually a teacher in Saginaw, (but) I like it so much I work here.”

While the cooks are flouring the dough and spreading the cheese, bartenders were busily filling the glasses to the brim with the foam and fizz of their patrons’ favorite drinks.

But for 25-year-old bartender Chad Miller, Homecoming is not all about the drinks. It is more about the stories.

“You hear a lot of stories about how this place was in their day,” he said about the alumni. “It’s a great job.”

Close this window or return to “24 Hours in Mount Pleasant.”

Thanks to the Office of Student Account Services and University Billing, working with it just got a little easier.

“We now have a new brochure called ‘Steps to Success,’ and we sent that to any new freshmen or international students,” said director Cindy Rubingh. “It also tells them what they need to do when they come to (Central Michigan University).”

When tuition is due, CMU alerts students to their new bill through their cmich.edu e-mail account. Students are directed to the “Pay my bill” link on the Portal’s left-hand menu.

One part which can get confusing is why the amount due on the billing statement is different from the actual amount charged to the account. But Rubingh said it is not hard to understand.

“That is when they would look at the current activity. We put everything on that account (in) real time,” she said.

The current billed amount is the amount charged in the last billing statement. The current activity screen shows what was charged to the student account as of the current date.

Student Services Court Manager Amber Loomis also said the inability to make payments over the phone adds to the confusion, especially for parents.

“Another big question is, ‘Can you take a payment over the phone?’ And we can’t. Our offices cannot process payments,” she said. “Students can set up their parents as an authorized payer.”

Students can use the Portal and click on Finances, then Grant Payment Access.

Though some students have trouble reading their statements, Plymouth senior Angie Schommer said she has not.

“To be honest with you, I just get the e-mail notification. My parents pay the tuition and they get an e-mail, too,” she said. “I guess we haven’t had problems with it, except they don’t take Visa anymore, and that’s the only card my parents have.”