Left Out in the Cold

While the lucky among us were enjoying sun, sand, surf or maybe just the warm familiarity of home cooking and limitless sleep last week, dozens of dedicated students remained here on a near-deserted campus. Athletes with continuing practices, seniors rushing to finish their theses, and others on campus for extracurriculars or just to catch up on work were left with the College in near shut-down mode. While we realize it was vacation time, Harvard should respect its ever toiling students by preserving at least the most bare of living essentials. Below, a brief checklist to make those sitting out next year's spring break a little more comfortable:

Heat. In the craziest of New England weather weeks, the temperature swung from freezing to tropical in a matter of days, but in the first hours of vacation, when a baby blizzard struck Cambridge, students were left out in the cold with their radiators turned off to save energy and money. The College should take pity on its shivering students and leave the heat on if the temperature warrants.

Exercise. Though athletes with double practices in the morning and afternoon probably had no desire to head to the MAC for an evening stairmaster session, those searching for summer jobs or working during business hours found the MAC closed by 5 p.m. Limiting hours during vacation is understandable, but how about shaping the schedule to fit with student demand?

And most importantly: food. With every residential house dining hall closed and the only food on campus at Dudley (which required a costly full-week payment plan), students resorted to a nutritious combination of in-room dining (macaroni and cheese sold out at Christy's) and take-out food. The College should take more care to register students staying on campus and open at least two dining halls--one by the river and one in the quad--for ease of access and nourishment. Cost should not be an issue here: we skip enough meals during the semester to more than cover basic vacation food.

Ultimately, there is no real way around the pain of staying at school for vacation. As Matthew F. Lawson '00, a Lowell House resident who spent most of last week rowing, points out, "Being at Harvard over spring break was, at best, a dismal experience." But Harvard could make that experience a little less dismal by providing the bare essentials for students who must or who choose to stay in Cambridge instead of flying to Cancun.

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