Absentee Landlords

Several times a year, Harvard's full Faculty convenes to discuss academic policy, disciplinary cases, and other matters of high importance to the University. Two weeks ago, they gathered to debate increasing sensitivity to sweatshops and consider the dismissal of D. Drew Douglas. Students felt these issues so significant that they staged the first public demonstration that this campus has seen in years. As for the Faculty, less than one third even bothered to show up.

Over 650 professors are considered members of the Faculty and are thereby eligible to attend full meetings. Only 174 signed in to the most recent. The Administration actually anticipates this sort of abysmal turn-out. The room in which meetings are held can only hold 250. We are dismayed by so many professor's apparent disinterest in the affairs of our school.

We understand that Faculty are burdened with innumerable commitments-research, teaching, departmental committees, etc. But the full Faculty meets so infrequently, we can't believe they can't find the time to attend. Given the grave issues so often on the agenda, they should make a special effort.

Professors have many excuses for their negligence. One professor interviewed by The Crimson said that he had meant to go to the recent meeting but had neglected to write down the date and subsequently forgot. Many of us have made similar mistakes pertaining to the due dates of response papers and have found that that excuse isn't particularly compelling. Some professors suggest that they are ignorant of the issues being discussed, and that they therefore feel uncomfortable making such weighty decisions. We suggest they get informed.

There is no doubt that serving as a Harvard professor is far from easy. And the countless meetings surely get tiresome. But it isn't as if the job is without its perks. The work of the Faculty has an enormous impact on both individual undergraduates and the school in general. The professors who gain so much from their affiliation with this institution owe it to the community to attend.