By: Zoe Strickland Northwest Passage Editor-in-Chief
The position of Todd Hall haunter is in jeopardy due to wage disagreements between local ghost, Jessica Todd, and the administration. After decades of volunteering her time as the hall’s resident live-in spirit, Todd has begun demanding the creation of a salaried position, claiming that the school needs a “living wage for the non-living.”
When asked to explain her stance, Todd went on to say how the creation of a salary will be beneficial to the ghostly reputation of Western.
“In order for me to properly haunt the students, particularly the men of this institution, I need to be able to destress,” explained Todd. “I’m surrounded by the screams of children all day and am expected to haunt all night. I need money so I can explore the finer things of the afterlife and, as the students these days say, treat myself.”
In addition to her salary demands, Todd is also petitioning to receive retroactive pay for her past 70 years of work, as well as commission for the ghost tours that occur in the building. Due to Todd’s nature, men are barred from the negotiations. However, it’s predicted that the biggest hurdle will come when approaching President Rex Fuller about the salary approval.
Until her demands are met, Jessica Todd is refusing to partake in a haunting of any kind. When asked their opinion on the haunting, several first years stated that they had no idea Todd Hall even had a ghost.
When approached for a comment on her relevance, Todd pointed out that their lack of knowledge is merely an example of why she needs more incentive to perform quality hauntings and make her presence known once again amongst the community. The ghost also took this time to point out that if the school were to grant her a salary, they would not have to worry about paying for any form of health care, seeing as she passed away in 1944.
In the upcoming weeks, the administration is set to meet with Jessica Todd to discuss integrating a salaried position into the 2016-2017 budget.
Administrators have expressed hesitation when asked about whether or not they believe Todd will be in attendance; some have even come forth to say that they do not believe in ghosts. Jessica Todd is currently spending her free time haunting those people.
Contact the author at zstrickland14@wou.edu or on Twitter @nwpmagazine
