Wheel in a Wheel

In 1902, commenting on student social work in an Old Sailor's Home, the Harvard Illustrated Magazine observed that "The four walls of a student's room mark a narrow horizon." Today, in an even more closely interdependent and socially conscious society; the evision of many Harvard men towards the community surrounding the college seems bounded by the same limitations. It is easy to remain oblivious to the needs of a world outside the Houses and feel satisfied with a tight little circle of friends and what extra-curricular activities the University has to offer. With only three percent of the student body entering into social service work, the College does not realize its potential donation to the Cambridge community and too many undergraduates sell themselves short on an experience that can be a vital part of their education.

This year with 220 men working in Metropolitan Settlement Houses, Harvard participation in social service work reaches an all time high. However, the needs of a Phllips Brooks House program that includes work in forty-five Settlement Houses and Y.M.C.A.s far outstrips the record enrollment. Only 130 of the total number working for P.B.H.'s Social Service Committee are available for steady work and even these men can give but three hours each week to the Settlement Houses. With 9000 underprivileged children depending on the Social Service Committee for their recreation each day, the badly understaffed houses cannot give an adequate measure of individual instruction, much less reach their maximum capacity. While Harvard contributes a larger share of Settlement House workers than any organization in Cambridge or Boston, the tremendous College potential has never been tapped. The only factor hampering a really effective program of recreation for Cambridge children and a large scale expansion of Settlement House services is the number of men willing to give their time to social work.

Social service work for the college man does not involve a purely philanthropic proposition with all give and no take. An education designed to dispense a vast fund of technical knowledge but lacking in any practical experience with the social problems undergraduates must face upon graduation is hardly adequate preparation for life. Students will not be able to discharge their responsibilities to the community they live in on theory alone. Settlement House work is one way to develop a genuine social consciousness through actual contact with the underprivileged children and round out an education that otherwise tends to restrict itself to the four corners of a book.