A Little Elbow Grease & A Lot of Love

Over its 50-year history, the Student Dorm Crew has relied on above-average pay and generous incentives to encourage students to roll up their sleeves and scrub bathroom sinks. But when students found more money in their pockets after the University's much-touted increase in financial aid last fall, the Dorm Crew program was left to develop new strategies to encourage students to work.

Many agree that crew administrators have made what is possibly the least glamorous job on campus significantly more attractive with a generous pay structure and flexibility beyond that available in most other jobs.

But the unexpected snag last semester has forced its leaders to work on incentive programs now.

Financial Aid... A Drain on Workers

In the move heralded by many as bringing Harvard's financial aid program up to par with those of rival universities, the University's October announcement provided $2,000 of extra financial aid money to students who received financial assistance from the College.

But the decision, which greatly benefited students, was a smudge on the mirror of Dorm Crew, as students had the option of reducing loans, working less, or doing some of both options.

About 3,000 of the 4,000 undergraduates on financial aid benefited from the self-help policy," according to John C. Santry, staff assistant at the financial aid office.

Although Dorm Crew is not a workstudy job, 50 percent of the students chose to apply the financial aid increase to their loans. Dorm Crew leaders say it is because of students' reduced financial obligations that they have seen a significant decrease in the group's work force.

Dahni-EI Y. Giles '99, a Dorm Crew captain, says he understands why students are choosing not to work. "At Harvard the most valuable thing here is blocks of time. If [students] have the chance to put more time into their schedules, they'll do it," he says.

And though most would consider toiling over toilets unappealing, some Dorm Crew workers say it can be addictive. Many begin as workers during their first year and progress to become captains, then work during spring clean-up and Commencement.

"You get invested in it," says Pforzheimer House Captain Beth M. Holt '00. "It's a little bizarre." Although she did not quit after the recent financial aid windfall, she admits, "I don't know who would want to keep cleaning bathrooms if you don't have to."

Some Dorm Crew workers chose to reduce the number of hours they worked each week. Others stopped working, while some would-be workers never began the job.

Michael J. Schultz '02, another beneficiary of the aid boost, chose to apply the extra financial aid money to his loan. "I was able to do more public service and take an extra class," he said. "If I were working, I hardly would have been able to do any extracurriculars."

While the financial aid initiative caused a large drop in workers, Dorm Crew managers have learned to expect random fluctuations.

Clean-up Captain Elizabeth D. Wilcox '01 said she attributes the dropout rate to these fluctuations, not to the financial aid change. Students like having spending money, and are just finding alternatives to Dorm Crew says Wilcox.

Holt says she agrees, noting that she remembers receiving more complaints of neglected bathrooms last spring than during the current shortage.

Clean Bathrooms?

With a few exceptions, House bathrooms are supposed to be cleaned once a week, and Yard bathrooms are expected to be cleaned every two weeks. But with fewer students working fewer hours, some undergraduates are finding that their bathrooms haven't seen a scrubber for as long as a month.

Crew captains acknowledge that the weekly schedule has been distorted in recent months.

Medina says students are typically kind when complaining. "It's understandable that people will complain because we offer a service, and we do our best," he says, adding that customer response helps improve service.

Daisy A. Stanton '00 is one student who called the Dorm Crew office to complain. When she and her roommates moved into a Claverly Hall room that had been occupied last semester, she was disappointed to find that Dorm Crew had not come.

"There was furniture and trash everywhere. It was so foul," she says.

The Dorm Crew office told her about the shortage when she called earlier in the week, but as of yesterday afternoon she says her room had not been cleaned.

Feedback is not exclusively negative. Students often send complimentary e-mail messages about their Dorm Crew workers. After the introduction of new adhesive notices printed with the Dorm Crew e-mail address, the office received over 100 e-mails this semester--almost five times the amount received all last year.

Recruiting and Rebuilding

Although two-thirds of worker vacancies have been filled during the past month, Dorm Crew Supervisor Robert F. Wolfreys and his staff still must scramble to keep up with the high turnover rate.

Now forced to compete against the allure of the $2,000 reduction in student aid loans or a dramatically lightened work-study schedule Dorm Crew leaders say their group has adopted a strategic and business-oriented outlook.

Crew leaders and workers say their concern about vacant spots stems from a commitment to performing their jobs well. They also acknowledge that in the end, their positions--and their paychecks--depend on the group's ability to perform its cleaning duties.

"We're under contract with the superintendents of the Houses but if they really wanted to, they could get rid of us," says Obiora I. Menkiti '99. "Ultimately, our responsibility is to them and at some level that's a threat."

Dorm Crew will weather this storm, Wolfreys says, but he admits the group is aware its services can be performed by others.

A number of Houses already outsource some of their custodial functions to private contractors like Unicco, but Dorm Crew workers say they do not perceive outside groups as a serious threat to their organization's operations.

Nevertheless, Wolfreys says the group cannot "sit back" and wait for the situation to correct itself.

"If students weren't providing [custodial services], someone else would," Wolfreys says.

And according to Wolfreys, the group's contracts with the Houses dictate that the group is paid only for work it actually performs. Therefore, hours that are not filled due to vacant positions--or for any other reason--mean lost revenue for Dorm Crew. Crew leaders are aware that some of this revenue normally would have gone to pay for overhead expenses like rent on the group's Weld Hall office and Wolfreys' salary.

Wolfreys says a good deal of the credit for Dorm Crew's relatively sound financial situation lies with the ingenuity and dedication of the group's student leaders who have attacked the labor shortage from a "real world" viewpoint.

"This was a real business problems says Gretchen N. Meek '99, a head captain, who says she has been able to impress corporate interviewers with accounts of the group's attempts to rectify its staffing issues.

"Adversity tends to promote creativity," Wolfreys says of the various techniques his organization has attempted.

Those techniques have included sending personal letters to athletes when their sports' seasons end and offering money-hungry campus groups the opportunity to clean bathrooms in exchange for funds for their organizations.

And in a Jan. 4 e-mail message to

And in a Jan 4. e-mail message to current DormCrew workers, the group launched its "SpringWorkathon Deal," which guarantees $4,000 tocurrent workers who commit to working a specificamount of time between February and the end ofCommencement.

Many say the ploy was an effort to keepstaffing levels constant throughout the rest ofthe semester and to ensure that experienced DormCrew workers--now even more valuablecommodities--are content.

In addition, Dorm Crew has worked to spread itsname through campus with a stepped-up posteringand door-dropping effort.

Crew captains say the need to attract workersrequires extra effort, but after nearly four yearsof work, they feel connected to the success of theorganization.

"I was surprised how invested I was in thejob," Davis says.

"Get Paid In the Morning"

Many say it is not uncommon for Dorm Crewworkers to find themselves highly dedicated totheir jobs and the program overall.

In the beginning, current Quincy House DormCrew Captain Nicholas K. Davis '99 says it was thechance to meet fellow classmates while cleaningtheir rooms that encouraged him to stick to hiscleaning post during his first year at Harvard.

"I think my parents were more worried about itthan I was," he says. But "it was wonderful--Icouldn't believe how much I loved it."

Now four years into the job, having heldvarious positions throughout the group'shierarchy, Davis says Dorm Crew's flexibilitycontinues to be a draw.

Dorm Crew worker Jacqueline C. Hamm '01, who isa former Radcliffe rugby player, says that becauseworkers can choose their own schedules, workingfor Dorm Crew was something she could easily fitinto a schedule packed with classes and sportspractices.

"I could start off with a small number of hoursand then increase them as my schedule allowed,"Hamms says, who has since become a Dorm Crewcaptain for Adams House.

And according to group leaders, employees canvirtually tailor-make their schedules, spreadingout their allotment of hours over various days orworking all at once.

Still, most concede that money is themotivating factor to work for DormCrew--especially in the period after studentsleave campus in the end of May.

"It's big bucks and no whammies," Giles jokes,who has worked for the group throughout his fouryears at Harvard College.

Currently, a starting Dorm Crew worker earns$8.85 per hour, a figure that puts Dorm Crewworkers among the highest-paid students on campus.In past years, senior workers received raises witheach extra semester of service, although thepractice has been discontinued this year when itwas discovered that Dorm Crew workers were makingmore money than full-time, non-student employees.

The Business Called Dorm Crew

Aside from the obvious financial incentive,Wolfreys says there are real-world advantages toworking Dorm Crew.

Captains, especially those who hope to startcareers in consulting and business, developmanagement, leadership and problem-solving skillsapplicable to professional jobs, he said.

Wolfreys said Dorm Crew captains have spoken injob interviews about managing a crew of 20 peopleand a building with 400 beds, experience similarto hotel management. "I suspect that there aren'tmany kids who can put that on their resumes," hesaid.

Aside from operating bathroom and dorm cleaningthroughout the year, Dorm Crew also directs thedormitory clean-up that occurs after the Yard andthe Houses are vacated at the end of May, justbefore reunion week and Commencement.

In addition to these high-intensity, well-paidjobs, students have the opportunity to securepositions for the alumni reunions duringCommencement week.

Group leaders say the reunions offer workersthe opportunity to earn $2,000 or more for aboutfour weeks of work.

"It can be massively lucrative," says Daniel O.Medina '99, captain for Claverly Hall and DeWolfe."You can make a buttload of money and a buttloadis the best word for it."

Although dozens of students will compete forthe high-paying reunion-week jobs, Dorm Crewleaders are hoping to solve their current issuesof soiled sinks and untended toilets soon.

In response to complaints, Dorm Crew leaderscan only promise that all efforts are being madeto fill the empty positions.

"Let's face it--cleaning bathrooms is nevergoing to be a highly sought-after job here orelsewhere," Wolfreys says.

"We have to do every single thing we can torecruit people to do our job," he adds

And in a Jan 4. e-mail message to current DormCrew workers, the group launched its "SpringWorkathon Deal," which guarantees $4,000 tocurrent workers who commit to working a specificamount of time between February and the end ofCommencement.

Many say the ploy was an effort to keepstaffing levels constant throughout the rest ofthe semester and to ensure that experienced DormCrew workers--now even more valuablecommodities--are content.

In addition, Dorm Crew has worked to spread itsname through campus with a stepped-up posteringand door-dropping effort.

Crew captains say the need to attract workersrequires extra effort, but after nearly four yearsof work, they feel connected to the success of theorganization.

"I was surprised how invested I was in thejob," Davis says.

"Get Paid In the Morning"

Many say it is not uncommon for Dorm Crewworkers to find themselves highly dedicated totheir jobs and the program overall.

In the beginning, current Quincy House DormCrew Captain Nicholas K. Davis '99 says it was thechance to meet fellow classmates while cleaningtheir rooms that encouraged him to stick to hiscleaning post during his first year at Harvard.

"I think my parents were more worried about itthan I was," he says. But "it was wonderful--Icouldn't believe how much I loved it."

Now four years into the job, having heldvarious positions throughout the group'shierarchy, Davis says Dorm Crew's flexibilitycontinues to be a draw.

Dorm Crew worker Jacqueline C. Hamm '01, who isa former Radcliffe rugby player, says that becauseworkers can choose their own schedules, workingfor Dorm Crew was something she could easily fitinto a schedule packed with classes and sportspractices.

"I could start off with a small number of hoursand then increase them as my schedule allowed,"Hamms says, who has since become a Dorm Crewcaptain for Adams House.

And according to group leaders, employees canvirtually tailor-make their schedules, spreadingout their allotment of hours over various days orworking all at once.

Still, most concede that money is themotivating factor to work for DormCrew--especially in the period after studentsleave campus in the end of May.

"It's big bucks and no whammies," Giles jokes,who has worked for the group throughout his fouryears at Harvard College.

Currently, a starting Dorm Crew worker earns$8.85 per hour, a figure that puts Dorm Crewworkers among the highest-paid students on campus.In past years, senior workers received raises witheach extra semester of service, although thepractice has been discontinued this year when itwas discovered that Dorm Crew workers were makingmore money than full-time, non-student employees.

The Business Called Dorm Crew

Aside from the obvious financial incentive,Wolfreys says there are real-world advantages toworking Dorm Crew.

Captains, especially those who hope to startcareers in consulting and business, developmanagement, leadership and problem-solving skillsapplicable to professional jobs, he said.

Wolfreys said Dorm Crew captains have spoken injob interviews about managing a crew of 20 peopleand a building with 400 beds, experience similarto hotel management. "I suspect that there aren'tmany kids who can put that on their resumes," hesaid.

Aside from operating bathroom and dorm cleaningthroughout the year, Dorm Crew also directs thedormitory clean-up that occurs after the Yard andthe Houses are vacated at the end of May, justbefore reunion week and Commencement.

In addition to these high-intensity, well-paidjobs, students have the opportunity to securepositions for the alumni reunions duringCommencement week.

Group leaders say the reunions offer workersthe opportunity to earn $2,000 or more for aboutfour weeks of work.

"It can be massively lucrative," says Daniel O.Medina '99, captain for Claverly Hall and DeWolfe."You can make a buttload of money and a buttloadis the best word for it."

Although dozens of students will compete forthe high-paying reunion-week jobs, Dorm Crewleaders are hoping to solve their current issuesof soiled sinks and untended toilets soon.

In response to complaints, Dorm Crew leaderscan only promise that all efforts are being madeto fill the empty positions.

"Let's face it--cleaning bathrooms is nevergoing to be a highly sought-after job here orelsewhere," Wolfreys says.

"We have to do every single thing we can torecruit people to do our job," he adds