Wave Maker

I swear to you I have nothing against Harvard University --- it's just kismet that so many ridiculous stories seem to be coming out of the campus at once. This has been covered in other blogs last week, but I can't help myself:

The latest dust-up on the "too sensitive for your own good" campus has to do with the new room cleaning service called Dormaid. Apparently, some students are concerned that the offering of a service designed to provide students with habitable quarters is offensive because some cannot afford it:

"After recent approval by Associate Dean of the College Thomas A. Dingman ’67, other members of the Dean’s office, and all 12 House Masters, a new student service is sweeping onto campus. Dormaid, founded by Michael E. Kopko ’07, is a cleaning service that allows students to avoid the perennial problem of dingy, smutty, questionably-habitable rooms. But as appealing as the thought of a perpetually tidy room may be, (independent of family visits), Dormaid could potentially mess up as many rooms as it cleans. By creating yet another differential between the haves and have-nots on campus, Dormaid threatens our student unity....

Although Harvard has given its approval, students don’t have to. We urge the student body to boycott Dormaid. Everyone’s certainly busy, but Harvard students shouldn’t choose convenience over healthy relationships with their blockmates. It’s up to each one of us to ensure that our peers feel comfortable on campus, and if that means plugging in a vacuum every two weeks, then so be it."

An enterprising student (a sophomore!) observes the three elements of a successful business (a need, a solution, and an ability to pay) and offers his schoolmates a convenience, and the Harvard Crimson promotes a boycott because some who can't afford it may feel uncomfortable.

I have always viewed the university experience as a microcosm of the real world. Living in a university environment provides us with the opportunity (and responsibility) to learn how to survive, and thrive, in the world beyond. This includes the responsibility to understand and appreciate the differences among us, and to incorporate that understanding into the way we treat one another.

Apparently, some at Harvard have a different point of view ---that the differences among people should be disguised, lest someone be made to feel uncomfortable.

There's that word: comfortable. Looks like they Harvard Crimson editorial writers are getting a good head start on becoming faculty members!