Keeping In Touch

The college guidelines may prohibit mass “spam” e-mails, but some rules are made to be broken. Such is the case with the two e-mail messages that President Lawrence H. Summers has sent to the undergraduate student body during the month of September. In both instances, by contacting students directly, Summers has demonstrated his commitment to establishing a connection with members of the Harvard community.

The first of these e-mails was a statement regarding the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on Sept. 11. Before Summers spoke at the vigil held in Tercentenary Theatre that same afternoon, he sent a letter to the community expressing his personal grief over the tragedy. His clear message that Harvard had no choice but to move forward was a welcome piece of guidance in a time of despair.

Earlier this week Summers again addressed the College by e-mail; this time, to invite undergraduates to attend his monthly office hours. Massachusetts Hall also purchased space in campus publications to advertise the times and dates of the appointments. Although we had hoped that the one-hour-per-month standard set by former President Neil L. Rudenstine would be exceeded during Summers’ tenure, we still appreciate Summers’ obvious effort to publicize the time he has set aside to meet with undergraduates. Office hours are of little benefit if students don’t know when they are.

Since he was named to the position last March, undergraduates have had opportunities to meet their president through student groups, in House dining halls or just walking through campus. We are glad to see Summers’ efforts to improve communication between students and Mass. Hall and trust that they will continue. We also hope Summers recognizes that it will take more than a single hour each month to acquaint himself with the undergraduate student body. During his first session of office hours yesterday afternoon, students who arrived after the 4 p.m. starting time were turned away, and Summers had to stay long after 5 p.m. to speak with the undergraduates who wanted to meet the president. Now that students know when Summers is available, more are likely to make use of the opportunity, and we hope additional office hours are scheduled to meet the demand.

And until then, we are looking forward to our turn.